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Books

there is only this moment

Morning Mist

wild voices come when they will

In the Spirit of T'ao Ch'ien

Never Stop Asking for Poems - Selected Works

Twenty Days on Route 20

Sea Smoke and Sand Dollars

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From the Introduction:

I have realized for a long time that I have a triangle foundation. The three sides are creativity, nature and people/relationships. It is a fluid triangle, with the length of each side varying in time. These poems all fall under the people/relationship side of my triangle. Thus YOU for a title. You as other, as part of me, as someone I haven’t met yet, as someone appearing in my dreams, as someone very distinct, as someone calling to me through time and space. You know who you are.

YOU is the third collection of some of my Daily Spontan-eous Poems that I’ve been writing and posting on Facebook since 8/22/14. The first two books, wild voices come when they will and there is only this moment were released in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Once again, as was the case with there is only this moment, these poems were selected by a good friend, Gwen Zimmerman. Gwen read through 450 poems and selected these 70 poems as one grouping she titled “relationship.”

From the book:

so many walls separate

you from me

tradition, culture, prejudice

suspicion, fear, worry

lack of confidence

personal inhibition

let’s break down those walls

you from your side

I from mine

brick by brick

layer by layer

till nothing remains

between us

just wide open space

where we can join

eye to eye

hand in hand

heart to heart

YOU

is a 76 page hand-stitched paperbook with spine - $12.00

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From the Introduction:

In June of 2017 I stopped in at the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Huntington Wildlife Forest to visit my son, Chapin, a student at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Chapin was just starting a Summer internship at the forest. A few serendipitous events occurred which led to a 10-day Poet-in-Residence stay at Huntington Lodge. The poems in this chapbook are one of the results of that stay, in late October, 2017.

From the book:

Passing Through

underneath ground pine

underneath spruce, fir

maple, beech, birch

underneath russula emetica

underneath wintergreen

bunchberry, partridgeberry

underneath wood ferns

underneath Arbutus Lake

Rich Lake, Wolf Lake

underneath otter footsteps

deer footsteps, bear footsteps

my footsteps

underneath soil we all walk on

lies bedrock of ancient mountains

we are all just passing through

even mountains, too

Wild Fruit

partridge berry on woodland floor

small, mostly tasteless fruit

not bad, not good, but edible

wintergreen berries below Arbutus Lodge

red amidst shiny green leaves

slight wintergreen flavor

wild cranberries, purple, red

in boggy area of Rich Lake

northern tartness in each bite

though late autumn

still some wild fruit

left to pick

left to taste

Ten Days in Huntington Wildlife Forest

is a 32 page hand-stitched chapbook - $10.00

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******************************** there is only this moment

Introduction

This is the second collection of some of my Daily Spontaneous Poems that I’ve been writing and posting on Facebook since 8/22/14. The first book, wild voices come when they will, was released in September of 2015.

The poems contained in this book were written in the year since wild voices come when they will was published. Each of these poems was posted on Facebook just as it was written, spontaneously, with no editing whatsoever. That is how they appear in this book, just as written. The only change I’ve made is to omit the number and date that accompanied each poem as it was posted. That information seemed irrelevant for the book.

The poems that comprise there is only this moment were selected by a good friend, Gwen Zimmerman. She read through the daily poems and actually came up with two groupings; this one, which she labeled loosely “transcendent” poems, and another that were “nature” centered. This book only contains the poems that were part of the former group, though there are also references to nature in many of them.

I continue to post Daily Spontaneous Poems on my Facebook page, along with Daily Photographs. (The cover photo is one of those Daily Photos.) As of today, I’ve posted 879 poems and 1371 photographs. I occasionally miss a day, but not very often. Each of these endeavors has become a daily practice for me, whether I’m home on Wheeler Hill or somewhere out on the poetic road across America. I hope you enjoy this poetic part of my practice.

Michael Czarnecki—Wheeler Hill, March 30, 2017

From the book:

firsts are notable

first frost

first snowfall

first robin

first library card

first date

first kiss

first lovemaking

first job

first marriage

first child

first car accident

first brush with death

first moment of doubt

first ah-ha moment

so many firsts

yet so many lasts

we’re never aware of

till much too late

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these poems are written for me

these daily creations a practice

something rare in my life

so too, daily photos, another practice

done more for me than anyone else

yoga didn’t draw me to practice

meditation didn’t draw me to practice

daily journal didn’t draw me to practice

yet, these daily spontaneous poems

these daily taken photographs

a practice become necessary

for me, yet shared beyond me

hoping others get something from

these practices that have become

essential in my life

there is only this moment

is a 68 page hand-stitched paper book with spine. $12.00

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From the Introduction:

This collection contains a few hundred of the haiku I've written in the last twenty years. There are many more that didn't find their way into this book. I continue to write haiku, finding it a wonderful practice, both literarily and spiritually.

When writing haiku, one is present in the moment. Awareness becomes more acute. The world around us also becomes the world within us. Is there anything more spiritual than that?

Contents

Introduction

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Journeys

Far North, Far West

Mississippi River Journey

Maine Coast Journey

Mid-Autumn Haiku

a November conversation

with Craig Czury

From the book:

bluebird in garden

a male, then female appears

moon near full tonight

old hitchhiking route

decades later, now in car

same ancient mountains

red truck full of corn

passing by on highway 4

my car full of poems

yesterday's footprints

covered up by windblown snow

thoughts of long gone friend

Morning Mist

is a 104 page hand-sewn paperbook with spine - $15.00.

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wild voices come

when they will

spontaneous poems #1

Introduction

On August 22, 2014, I had an idea to post a Daily Spontaneous Poem on my Facebook page. Little did I know that over a year later I would still be posting those daily creations.

I call them spontaneous poems because when I write them, they come in the moment and I do no revising once they are finished. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do this every day, but somehow I have, though there have been days that one didn't appear. Sometimes I was away from the computer most of the day or wasn't able to connect on the internet while on the road. Sometimes I was just too tired. Yet, most of the time a poem did get written and then immediately posted on Facebook.

When I write the poems, I do so quickly and do not give them any titles, just numbers. A few weeks after starting, I considered collecting the better ones, revising, giving titles and then working them into a manuscript. Instead, I decided to stay with the original idea, no revisions, no titles.

The poems collected here are less than twenty percent of what I have written and posted to date. They are numbered and appear in the order they were written, with many gaps throughout. Obviously, writing spontaneously and not revising, they are not all "keepers." The ones included here have been chosen by me. I sought no outside editor and also resisted the temptation to revise.

I continue to write and post Daily Poems. The process has become like a practice. If you are interested, feel free to friend me on FB and you'll get to see the current daily outpourings. Also, I post a Daily Photograph.

Ok, the hour is getting late. I need to wrap this up and go write my Daily Poem for today.

From the book:

as my bowl of soup cools

I think how if you were here

you'd love this homemade concoction

spicy shrimp noodle, no recipe followed

garlic, onion, hot pepper, sweet pepper

soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce

wild caught Alaskan shrimp, Asian noodles

straw mushrooms, liberal dashes of chili oil

no one here would have it with me

no one here caring for hot spicy foods

I cherish each tingly tasty spoonful

wish there weren't so many miles between us

you really would have loved it

this uncle who now sits in wheel chair

taken care of in assisted living quarters

memory partially here, partially gone

same uncle I used to trout fish with

wading streams a half century ago

he now ninety-two, I sixty-three

"You're still young," he tells me

and I still see us, working upstream

casting lures into shimmering water

that forever flows on

116

so many days without sun

today, when it appeared

nearly a shock, a revelation

realization that it still exists

yet later, another insight

not just sun but shadows also

have been absent in my life

wild voices come when they will

is an 80 page hand-sewn paperbook with spine - $12.00.

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In the Spirit of T'ao Ch'ien

Charles Rossiter, Editor

One of the poets in this book speaks of “First Breath” and “Last Breath.” Here are American poets who have “breathed in” the breath of such Chinese poets as T'ao Ch'ien, Han Shan, and Wang Wei. And here they breathe it back out again where it mingles with the breath of America.

Jonathan Chaves

Translator and Professor of Chinese

Contributors

Sam Hamill

Michael Czarnecki

David Budbill

Charles Rossiter

Antler

From the Introduction:

T'ao Ch'ien (365-427 C.E.) is a major figure in the Chinese poetic tradition whose influence on subsequent generations cannot be overstated. After holding several official posts he abandoned a traditional government career for the life of a reclusive gentleman farmer. His poems, expressed in natural language, reflect on ordinary daily occurrences and express a deep connection with nature. Despite their accessibility and seeming simplicity, they are deeply philosophical.

The poems in this collection share characteristics with T'ao Ch'ien and other poets of ancient China. They are plain spoken, clear, generally short, and readily understandable. These poems explore the poets' states of consciousness and relationship with the natural world as they seek a self-understanding, as well as a connectedness with all that surrounds them. These poems document human relationships, and the comings and goings of other people in the poets' lives. When these poets address issues in the wider world, they see through the smoke and mirrors of officialdom and are critical of social injustice.

Like T'ao Ch'ien's poems, those collected here reflect a viewpoint on life and society from outside the mainstream. Poetry is at the center of each of these poets lives, yet, unlike many contemporary American poets, none holds an academic position. Although the poets live in varied circumstances, all five share the lifestyle of the Chinese mountain recluse when one considers what that lifestyle entails. As David Hinton, poet and translator of T'ao Ch'ien and other major Chinese poets describes it, the “mountain recluse” lifestyle generally included “a relatively comfortable house, a substantial library, family, friends,” as well as a political dimension, “for the wisdom cultivated in such a life was considered essential to sage governing.”

From the book:

Sam Hamill

Mountains and Rivers Without End

After making love, we are like

rivers come down from mountain summits.

We are still, we are moving,

calm in the depths of danger-

two rivers entering the sea

slowly, as if nothing matters:

quietly, but with great power

merging in deepening waters.

Michael Czarnecki

In The Spirit of T'ao Ch'ien:

a Sequence of 15 Poems

Hilltop covered in thick fog

nearby trees barely in view.

No sunrise over eastern ridge

only slow lightening of sky.

Cat meows, wanting food in his dish

homemade bread toasting on wood stove.

Would you understand if I said

right here, the center of the world.

David Budbill

An Old Dog Headed for the Park

Glad to Have Another Day

(Montreal, 3/18/07)

Two mornings now we've watched

an old dog

walk past the windows of our B&B,

out in the cold air,

out in the new snow, headed for

the park,

yesterday with the man,

this morning with the woman.

He's old,

he's overweight,

he moves real slow,

he waddles along

wagging his tail

the whole way.

Charlie Rossiter

Cold Mountain 2000:

Han Shan In the City

(4 poems from a series of 51)

I'm here in the city

but there's something wild and unknowable

about where I live.

Crooked alleys and dark shadows

make the way uncertain.

If I choose to go inside

there's no way you'll ever find me.

Antler

First Breath Last Breath

When a baby boy is born

and the midwife

holds him up

as he takes

his first breath,

Place him over

the Mother's face

so when the baby exhales

his first breath on Earth

the Mother breathes it.

And when the Mother dies

her middle-aged son

the baby grew up to be,

by her side

his head next to her head,

Follows her breathing with his breath

as it becomes shorter

and as the dying Mother

exhales her last breath

her son inhales it.

In the Spirit of T'ao Ch'ien

is an 84 page hand-sewn paperbook with spine - $16.00.

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Never Stop Asking

For Poems

Selected Works

Introduction

Sometime in 2007, at one of my readings, I mentioned that it has been forty years since writing my first poem. Dan Waber asked me if it was time to consider a “Selected Poems” book. I gave his question short shrift and didn't think much more about it.

Earlier this year, 2008, his question resurfaced in my mind. Maybe a case could be made for such a collection. A number of my chapbooks were out of print and some of the more popular poems I shared at my readings were never published in a book. Maybe those poems could form the core of a selected works collection, with a few others from throughout those decades added in to round it out a bit.

Thus, Never Stop Asking for Poems. The title is taken from a poem of mine that has never been published in a book but has been read often at readings throughout the country: “Liberty Street Poetry Reading, Bath, NY.” Chapbooks represented are the complete “Elegy for the Road, Kerouac's Ghost,” and selections from “Making Space for Others” and “Drinking Wine, Chanting Poems.” Also included is the first poem I read in public, in 1985 for the Bath Peace Group, “For the Natural Course of Events.” I've also selected a few poems from each decade that have never been seen in print form.

This book is only a small portion of the works I have written. It is a selected compilation. A collected works would be way beyond the possibilities of a book form. Included in Never Stop Asking for Poems are representative poems from throughout these many decades of writing.

I thank Mr. Kerr, my junior year high school English teacher, who was responsible for the first poem I ever wrote. I am, and will be, eternally grateful for the encouragement he gave me to continue writing poems. And I thank Dan Waber for first suggesting the idea of a selected works collection of my poetry. Dan, you were right, it's time.

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Never Stop Asking for Poems

104 page paperback, hand-sewn, with flat spine.

$12.00

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Twenty Days On Route 20

(Click here to go to a site devoted to US ROUTE 20)

In 1971, Michael Czarnecki bought a backpack, tent and sleeping bag, put out his thumb and over the next five years hitchhiked 30,000 miles through the northeastern United States and Canada. 25 years later, he again took off on the road, this time on a twenty day solo journey across America in an old, beat 1983 Honda Civic Wagon. Leaving family and friends behind, Michael set off to cross the country for the very first time.

Twenty Days on Route 20 chronicles that first time crossing of America. The account is written in haibun, a Japanese literary form combining condensed prose and haiku. Matsuo Basho, Japan's great 17th century haiku master, wrote his classic travel sagas in haibun. Now, more than 300 years later, Michael uses that same form to chronicle his pilgrimage across this vast continent.

Starting from Boston, Route 20 traverses the northern third of the country, through a varied American landscape: rolling hills of New York State; mid-America farmland and villages; sprawling, bustling Chicago; Mississippi and Missouri rivers; Nebraska sandhills; Wyoming plateau country; Yellowstone National Park; lava fields; high desert; Cascade Mountains and finally, the Pacific.

Michael barters for motel rooms, explores small towns, cities and countryside, gives poetry readings, encounters raven and coyote and observes the country slowly unfolding as the road leads forever west.

This second printing 10 years after the journey, contains some slight revisions of the original text and brings back into print a fascinating journey across America on the longest US Route in the country.

From the book:

As I sat eating my meal I began considering where I would sleep for the night. KC's Corner Restaurant & Motel - hmmm! This was a low budget journey and I couldn't be spending much money on places to sleep. The second night out was too early to succumb to the temptation of a soft, comfortable bed in a motel. Then one of those sudden inspirations came to me - why not barter for a room!

I hesitatingly walked up to the owner of KC's and explained my journey to him. I mentioned that I would be writing a book and that if he let me use a room for the night I would acknowledge KC's on the acknowledgement page and then give him enough books to cover the cost of the room. To my surprise he immediately accepted the offer! This spontaneous idea changed the whole character of the rest of the trip.

I had never done this before, barter writings for lodgings. Felt a little bit like Vachel Lindsay, the early 20th Century poet from Springfield, Illinois. I remember reading his work as a junior in high school and being excited to learn that he went on walking trips, exchanging rhymes for room and board. Poetry had real world value! So now, 30 years later, here I was in a comfortable room because of someone's willingness to accept written words for payment. Mr. Kerr, if only you could know how as a teacher you changed my life!

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Stopped at Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis to soak in the Bath House. A 19th century treaty between the federal government and the Arapaho and Shoshone stipulated that the waters from this mineral spring be made available to the public for free. The 104 degree water in the Bath House can be enjoyed for 20 minutes without charge, so I rented a swimsuit, 75¢, and had a great soak for the allotted time.

mineral hot springs

Arapaho, Shoshone

my body thanks you

An employee at the Bath House told me they may start charging for use of the facilities. When I mentioned the treaty she said that the treaty was between the federal government and the natives. It's a state park now and they aren't bound by the treaty. It goes on and on and on.

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Twenty Days on Route 20

76 page paperback, hand-sewn, with flat spine.

$12.00

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Sea Smoke and Sand Dollars

From the Introduction:

This book contains various writings of mine - poetry, prose poems, haibun, haiku - that are about Acadia or were written while living here. Some pieces are quite old, a few quite new. If fortunate, I suspect there will be many more pieces I'll write about this magical place - I hope to return many more times in the years to come, it's only been 33 and a half years since that first visit! Like I warn everyone who is thinking of coming here for the first time - nobody ever goes to Acadia just once!

November 20, 2004

Seal Harbor, Maine

From the book:

Written First Evening Upon Returning

To Mount Desert Island To Live

Full moon hangs over Champlain.

Across the way, snow covered

Cadillac, Dorr loom immense

above the frozen Tarn.

So many years away

and this first night back

feels so much like