The Curse of the Noodle

[for Bruno, and for all musicians who can’t keep their hands still]

Musicians all know of it, scary but true:
The Curse of the Noodle, ba doobie doo doo.

Just sitting quiet, guitar on your knee,
The Noodle is waiting, ba doobie doo bee.

You scoff if you think this might happen to you,
But the Noodle is coming, ba doobie doo doo.

And just when you shouldn’t play, I’ll guarantee
The Noodle draws closer, ba doobie doo bee.

Your fingers now stray—one note, and then two.
The Noodle will get you, ba doobie doo doo.

Rehearsal derailed, and you’re on a spree,
The Noodle has struck! Ba doobie doo bee.

Ba doobie doo baba doo baba dee doo,
The Noodle has claimed one more victim: it’s you.

When I Sit Down and Close My Eyes

When I sit down and close my eyes
in hopes of meditating deep,
I often find, to my surprise,
that suddenly I fall asleep.

I focus now, with all my might,
when I sit down and close my eyes.
My stomach thinks “that can’t be right!”
and queues up thoughts of apple pies.

And so go more attempts and tries:
distracted, itchy, or so-so.
When I sit down and close my eyes,
it doesn’t always seem to flow.

But still I hope and persevere,
and long to soar in heavenly skies.
And sometimes I can see them clear,
when I sit down and close my eyes.

Raindance for California

Stretching, reaching, straining, dry,
      Lake Oroville, Shasta, Don Pedro, McClure
We suck the ground, we gasp the sky,
      Trinity, Tahoe, Clear Lake, Pardee

Dusty branches slapping our sides,
      Hetch Hetchy, Lake Almanor, New Bullards Bar
Stinging dry tears from the groundwater’s hide,
      Millerton, Pine Flat, Folsom, Stampede

We melt the rocks in the creek bone trails,
      Lake Oroville, Shasta, Don Pedro, McClure
A stone libation over shriveled scales,
      Trinity, Tahoe, Clear Lake, Pardee

When deserts are fertile, ravines in flood,
      Hetch Hetchy, Lake Almanor, New Bullards Bar
Then water again can be our blood,
      Millerton, Pine Flat, Folsom, Stampede

While any of us may yet remain,
      Lake Oroville, Shasta, Don Pedro, McClure
Dance! Pray! Call down the rain!
      Trinity, Tahoe, Clear Lake, Pardee