Poems by Al Young
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Baylands Meditation
Dumbarton Bridge, Autumn 2011
by Al Young
Native to Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Michigan emigré Al Young, a longtime California Peninsula resident, has lived in Berkeley since Y2K.
In one cinematic, galactic pull-back,
you finally get the raw hang of it,
you get it that sweat and pee and breath itself
evaporate. On down the line, we drink
all the water we make. No outside water
gets in, no ancient water gets out.
Breath by breath, spring by spring,
light-years at a time, everything alive leans
on every living presence. Feel this kiss
of cloud-fog and rain and stream and tide
and shore – soft, hard, fricative, alive
where feel and touch still taste and smell.
© Al Young