Appearing in the Forest

Memaloose Spirits, Ghosts, the Undead
Nehalem Bay, Tillamook, Cape Lookout
Oregon, U.S. Highway 101

Memaloose Ghosts

By Michael Peter Garofalo

Yes, I've heard the Memaloose Ghosts
    in the Sitka swamps all talking,
and I've also left quickly in fear fast walking.
I've dreamt of skulls and skeletons,
graveyards of broken canoes,
Islands of the Dead,
   creepy Clatsop Chinook stories in my head.

In the Nehalem rain,
    with a deep dark dripping forest all around,
A Memaloose Ghost whispered to me
    in these hallowed grounds:

"The tide comes in, the tide goes out;
that's essential, Yes,
to What It's All About.
Your tide flows out, old man;
So it's now best to smile and shout, Yes,
and stroll bravely out."

"Saghili pee keekwillie chuck;
elip lekleh yes ahha,
Iktah Mitlite Konaway
Wake Sia Kopa.
Mika chuck chako
pee klatawa, oleman;
Alta elip klose ahha
tenas hehe pee hyas wawa
pee klata kopa lapea
skookum tum tum
klaghanie ahha."

- Words of the Memaloose Ghost in Her Chinook Jargon; translated above.

At the Edges of the West: U.S. Highway 101 and 1.
Memories of Pacific Coast Places
By Michael P. Garofalo

The poem above "Memaloose Ghosts," is one of dozens of my poems found on my webpage:

At the Edges of the West

https://www.egreenway.com/mpgss/shortpoemsmpg9sea2.htm

Travels on US Highway 101 and 1

Memories of Pacific Coast Places
West Coast Snapshots & Snippets
Delightful Coastal Spur Roads

Docu-Poem, Haiku, Short Poems, Photos,
Quatrians, Graphics, Concrete Poems

By Michael P. Garofalo

Vancouver, Washington

The West Edge Tour 2026

 

              

The West Edge Tour

2026

Highway 101 & 1

California & Oregon

San Diego to Astoria

Karen and Mike Garofalo

Old Cruisers in one Old SUV

Talking about What We See

Industry, Ag, Fish, Trees, Us

Leaving the City by the Bay

On the

Golden Gate Bridge

Where

Highway

101 & 1

Are One

 

Golden Gate Bridge 1937-

Where Highway 101 & 1 Meet
At the Golden Gate Bridge

Blog Posts about The West Edge Tour 2026

Target Date: April 1st to April 21st, 2026

 

Day 1:

Vancouver, Portland, Longview,
Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach,
Nehalem, Rockaway, Tillamook,
Lincoln City, Depot Bay, Newport,
Waldport, Yachats, Florence.

 

Day 2:

Florence, Reedsport, Coos Bay,
Bandon, Port Orford, Gold's Beach,
Brookings, Crescent City, Orick,
Patrick's Point, McKinleyville, Eureka.

 

At the Edges of the West

Listening to Change

 Listening to Change

By Mike Garofalo

I listened to another say
what I resisted to hear
what was alien to me
what outlined my ire
what I wanted to fight

But then I settled down
loosened my blockhead mind

Thought things over patiently,
listened more carefully,
saw matters from other sides,
respected the integrity
and sincerity of other kinds

Of thinking outside my closed boxes
of my habits of opinions needing overhaul.

Bundled Up, Volume 1
Quintains, Pentastichs, Tankas

Gushen Grove Sonnets

Highway 101 and 1: A Docu-Poem
California, Oregon, Washington

25 Steps and Beyond
The Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Slouching Towards Incoherence

 

Slouching Into Incoherence

By Mike Garofalo

Incoherent poems of word salads
mis-mashed onions and beets mixed
with an obscure metaphorical dressing of
vinegar and bile, croutons of confusion,
tomatoes of nonsense thrown in.
I can’t figure Robert Creely out:
or from CA: Philip Whalen or Larry Ferlinghetti either}
[or from NY: John Ashbery or e.e. cummings either]

Brief excursions on bouncing backroads
of wordy mud puddles of randomness

closed the brittle door on hinges of sounds

read out, read out louder,
rant, whisper, shout out,
the spoken word; ritual tails
wagging like memories lost

flocks of vocabulary typhoons
smashing, yelling, broken cocoons
bursting butterflies of spinning sounds

Read out, read out louder
in a dank smoky coffee house
Hip precursor of Hippie clout

However,
Both Sides: Then and Now.
Hip Zen or Square Zen.
Clear as Sky or Clear as Mud,
Coherent as winter Logic or Obscure as summer Fog;
Throughout the Golden Gate...

Jumping off the ground,
falling up Meanings; or,
standing up Clarity...
Hanging around San Francisco City:

"Coits Tower still screws the sky"
Gregory Corso freed St. Michael from Alcatraz
Moscone and Milk: justice denied
Rexroth translated Chinese verses
Maya Angelou Let the Caged Bird Sing
Jefferson Starship wandered into the White Rabbit's hole
Thomas Cleary translated Taoist prose
Alan Watt’s old houseboat was sold
LSD glasses clearly unclear besmirched
Robert Hass pruned apple trees in Olema
Deng Ming Dao's Scholar-Warrior arose
The Summer of Love amplified Hippie Fun
Edward Espe Brown baked bread in Zen Robes
PhD's from UCB and Stanford ruled the roost
Wendy Johnson gardened the Green Gulch grounds
Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco
Isaac Bonewit's magic arose from Neo-Druid lore
Mike McClure centered Beast Language INCANTATIONS
Silicon Valley kids coded new languages with Fortran lines
Amy Tan put SanFran Chinatown folks on the map
Allen Ginsberg’s Berkeley Sunflowers chanted
Steve Job's last words were "Wow"
Jerry Garcia lifted up the Grateful Dead
Philip Whalen helped the dying and bowed
Robert Creely gave a brief, succinct, convoluted scowl
David Brautigan went lingcod fishing in the Bay
Lawrence Ferlinghetti turned the lights on at City Lights
Eric Hoffer loaded boats and warned of True Believers
Zen Master Suzuki taught what Not to Think
UCB students sat-in & shouted out
Hitchhiking poets cried like clowns

Eyes of my Ears: Mystified
Beat poets died. City Lights sighed.

Befuddled by
some poet's words
repeating rereads
increased the blur.
No pearl in the oyster.

25 Steps and Beyond:
The Collected Works of Mike Garofalo

Bridges in the Coastal Northwest USA

 

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 2

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 2

Today was a bitter cold day in Sunset Bay. The temperature went from a 24F low up to a 38F high.  Burr!

Last night in the yurt was an unpleasant experience. I have never yurt camped in the late autumn or winter on the Pacific Coast when the temperature dropped below 40F.  The yurt heater was inadequate, the walls cold, and the vinyl couch and bed need my covers. 

30F is too cold for comfortable walking for an oldster like me.

Explore Sunset Bay, Charleston, Coos Bay, Cape Arrago State Park (1932 donated by two women: Simpsons. Shore Acres, Lighthouse

Excellent fish and chips at the Arrago Cafe in 'downtown' Charleston. 

Lately, I have been working on reading and writing sonnets and longer poems:

    A Gift of Dried Garlic Flowers

    25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works

Photos from the Internet:

Sunset Bay State Park Yurt Camping Trip Day 1

Sunset Bay State Park, Coastal Oregon, Near Charleston and Coos Bay
Yurt Camping Trip Day 1

Drive from Vancouver south on Interstate 5 through Portland, Salem, and into Eugene. It was foggy this morning in the Valley.

Then, east from Eugene to Florence on the coast, then Reedsport, Sand Dunes, Big Bridge, North Bend, Coos Bay, Charleston, and finally arriving at Sunset Bay State Park. Check in time at the yurt is 4 pm. 

Quite cold here at Sunset Bay. Burr!  Much colder than my other trips to the beach for yurt camping. Difficult to enjoy sitting outside.

By 5 pm, I was quite tired from the long drive and after setting up my yurt. And, 
the cold was not encouraging for me.

So I stayed inside the yurt, bundled up to keep warm, read, wrote, napped, smoked half a MaryJ, sipped chocolate, enjoyed a grapefruit, ate nuts. No 
cell phone service here.

Enjoyed Bastendorff Beach County Park just southwest of Charleston. They
offer yurt cabins, RV access, tent camping. The Beach was spectacular, just south of the north jetty entrance to Coos Bay and Charleston. 

Near Bastendorff is Sun Outdoors Commercial Park had nice cabins and looked interesting.

Drove around Coos Bay city area and North Bend.

Lately, I have been working on reading and writing sonnets and longer poems:

    A Gift of Dried Garlic Flowers

    25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works

Cape Disappointment Yurt
January 2025

Photos from the Internet:

Recent Poetry by Michael P. Garofalo

 

25 Steps and Beyond:
The Collected Works

By Mike Garofalo

Poetry, Anthologies, Indexes
Studies, Blog, Guides, Travel
Ethics, Art, Koans, Spirituality

 

Highway 101 and Hwy 1

Stepping Over Epiphanies

Sonnets from Gushen Grove

Haiku - North Sacramento Valley

Above the Fog

Daodejing: Indexes, Concordance, Anthology

A Fork in the Crypto Road

The Spirit of Gardening

Exhibits at the Cyber Garden Gazebo: TextArt

Flowers in the Sky

Biography: Mike Garofalo

At the Edges of the West, Volume 1

At the Edges of the West, Volume 2

A Wreck Ahead Comes Into View

Cloud Hands Blog

Cuttings: Month by Month Snippings

How to Live a Good Life

Stuck in Some Concrete Poetry

US Interstate 5 and Hwy 99

The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam

Pulling Onions: 1,000 One Liners

Four Days at Grayland Beach

Meetings with Master Chang San Feng

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology

Biography: Mike Garofalo

More Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Poetry Research

Interstate 5 and Hwy 99

Five Senses

Memories of Pacific Coast Places

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey

Uncle Mike's Cellphone Poetry Series

Fireplace Records Koan Collection

Brief Poems and Haiku

Tao Te Ching: Concordance, Anthology

Zen Buddhist Koans: Research, Indexes

Blooming Onions Pulled from the Mind-Ground

Zen Poetry

Virtues and the Good Life

Villanelle Form Poems

Sonnet Form Studies

Biography: Mike Garofalo

Monthly Observations and Poetry

Green Way Research Index

Body-Mind-Somatics Arts

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Neo-Pagan Spirituality Studies

the scissors of my decisions

more to come ...

Mike Garofalo lives in Vancouver, Washington,
Orchards Neighborhood, Clark County.

He is available for public readings or gigs
in Vancouver, south to Portland, and
north to Longview.

He writes, reads and studies poetry.
His hobbies include:
harmonica, walking, gardening,
taijiquan, string figures and tricks,
yurt camping, and web publishing.

He is a 6'6" Tai Chi Chuan big man,
at 80 years of age.
He has a decent, pleasant, and
friendly speaking voice.

Best to send him email.
Phone: 530-528-3646 (but he seldoms checks)

Mike will be studying, practicing, writing,
yurt camping, and walking outdoors at
Sunset Bay State Park, near Charleston
and Coos Bay, Oregon,
on February 10-13, 2025.

Happy 2025 New Year!!!

 

 

 

Michael Peter Garofalo (1946-) grew up in East Los Angeles,
was educated in Catholic Schools, lived with two other brothers,
graduated (B.A., M.S.) from local universities, married
Blanche Karen Eubanks, served in the US Air Force, worked
in and managed many City and Los Angeles County Public Libraries,
raised two children, socialized, traveled, and learned. Retired as
the Regional Administrator, East Region, Los Angeles County
Public Library in 1998. We moved to a rural 5 acre property
 in Red Bluff, in the North Sacramento Valley, CA. Webmaster
 since 1999. Worked part-time for the Corning School District
(Technology and Media Services Manager); and as a yoga,
Taijiquan, and fitness club instructor until 2016. Traveled
extensively in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
We both retired, and we moved to Vancouver, WA, in 2017.
Currently in 2025: reading, writing, gardening, harmonica
playing, string figures playing, activities with grand daughters,
home chores, yurt camping, learning to read Spanish,
exercise, traveling in the Northwest, walking, web publishing,
family events, poetry research, photography, Northwest research,
Nature mysticism, sports events, and other projects.

 

 

 

 

Exhibits at the Cyber Garden Gazebo: TextArt and Concrete Poetry
By Michael P. Garofalo

At the Edges of the West, Volume 1

  

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology by Mike Garofalo

 

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology

by Mike Garofalo 

Highway 101 and Hwy 1

Stepping Over Epiphanies

Haiku - North Sacramento Valley

A Fork in the Crypto Road

The Spirit of Gardening

Exhibits at the Cyber Garden Gazebo: TextArt

At the Edges of the West, Volume 1

At the Edges of the West, Volume 2

A Wreck Ahead Comes Into View

Cloud Hands Blog

Cuttings: Month by Month Snippings

Stuck in Some Concrete Poetry

US Interstate 5 and Hwy 99

The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam

Pulling Onions: 1,000 One Liners

Four Days at Grayland Beach

Meetings with Master Chang San Feng

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology

More Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Poetry Research

Interstate 5 and Hwy 99

Five Senses

Uncle Mike's Cellphone Poetry Series

Fireplace Records Koan Collection

Brief Poems and Haiku

Tao Te Ching: Concordance, Anthology

Zen Buddhist Koans: Research, Indexes

Zen Poetry

Virtues and the Good Life

Monthly Observations and Poetry

the scissors of my decisions

more to come ...

 

Eye to Eye Memories from Cape Disappointment

 Eye to Eye Memories

Raccoon in a tree:
me looking at him
him looking at me

Deer at a mailbox:
me looking at her
her looking at me

Two eyes looked at two eyes—
Four eyes make memories
for a curious raccoon and me
or a white-tailed doe and me.

Animals in the forests, swamps, clearings
at Cape Disappointment, in January—
Memories of Seeing:
others as they seem to be,
Beachcombers searching carefully
focused clearly and true
Looking around by my shoes
right before my very eyes
A happy dog runs to my side
seeing is believing some believe
Many clouds and wind, rain will come
"I saw it" is a claim to truth
A Seaview Cafe sign says "closed"
seeing gives birth to memories
A stray cat begs for food from me
memories give context to what I see
The Big Picture is my biggest scheme
    the gestalt I see
    sets the stage background for me
I invent what is seen
Did I imagine or did I see?
He testified "I saw..."
what I saw is a memory
A seagull searched the sand
    the new glasses helped me see
    my memories more clearly
I forget most of It—
sleep caused me not to see
Not talking increased what I saw
watching someone talking
children yelled, we looked
I remembered, I forgot
memories weaken, pictures fade
I remembered to look, fortunately
remember, two eyes is all you need
    Seeing the 101 North sign
    my memories aligned geographically
Did I see a tree or a memory?
without memories it is
    just a blur to see—

The Raccoon and I met on North Jetty Road,
he between two spruce trees on a branch,
and I, sitting in the shade, entranced;
For our quick and passing Glance,
    assessing dangers with four eyes—

Reading opens up my open eyes
memorizing a poem brings it to life
naming what you see builds memories
watching someone talking
Seeing and Looking and Saying What—

Did I really see that or just imagined it all?
For the reader, writer, speaker, audience;
Who makes the call?
Real or imagined, fiction or fact—

Dali's drooping melted clock
Pollack's abstract overdubbed sprays
Van Gogh's perfect rolling clouds
Memories hanging paintings in my mind

That Racoon's mask and eyes
    are still looking back in my head.
    The Raccoon was real,
    Not so sure that I
        was very real
        in my head
        anyway.

[Is that Real or real? God or god?
A painting or a photograph?]

 

 

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology
by Michael Peter Garofalo

Highway 101 and Hwy 1

Stepping Over Epiphanies

Haiku - North Sacramento Valley

A Fork in the Crypto Road

Exhibits at the Cyber Garden Gazebo: TextArt

At the Edges of the West

A Wreck Ahead Comes Into View

Cloud Hands Blog

Stuck in Some Concrete Poetry

Pulling Onions: 1,000 One Liners

Four Days at Grayland Beach

Meetings with Master Chang San Feng

25 Steps and Beyond Anthology

More Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Poetry Research

Five Senses

Fireplace Records Koan Collection

the scissors of my decisions

more to come ...

 

Stepping Over Epiphanies

Stepping Over Epiphanies

By Michael P. Garofalo

 

Affecting all the molecules in me
the pull of the moon and sea
feeling the call to walk the shore
Smiled, opened the door

Tides and time sent signals to me
to step nimbly over epiphanies
seen flipped over in the turning sands
Surprised, opened my hands

Waiting for nobody but me
a fleck of cold fire
flung out on this fleck of space
Sang out, loved this place

Shore pines paint a background scene
stubby short trees
swaying gently in the salty breeze
Unruffled, I found tranquility

Stunned by the crisp clean colors
savoring the scents of the sea
enchanted by the incessant singing surf
Awakened, a mystical reverie

Pointing to the ineffable realization of
insights known to me alone
Erupted up from our sensory reality
Profound, not foreknown

Such awakenings come and go
sometimes fast or sometimes slow
unpredictable visons playing peekaboo
Pausing, not thinking too

Slogging up and down the dunes
breathing hard on que
one step up, a half-step back
Stopping, quite a view

Tip toeing over bull kelp strands
stepping on broken shells
avoiding the driftwood piles ever moving
Listening, a foghorn knells

A friendly dog off-leash comes to me
seeking a gentle pat and pet
desiring a kind human face to see
Laughing, she was wet

My granddaughter and I once walked
beside a Washington dune
not very long ago it seemed to us
Remembered, gone too soon

 

The poem above "Stepping Over Epiphanies," is one of dozens of my poems
found on my webpage:

At the Edges of the West

https://www.egreenway.com/mpgss/shortpoemsmpg9sea2.htm

Travels on US Highway 101 and 1

Memories of Pacific Coast Places
West Coast Snapshots & Snippets
Delightful Coastal Spur Roads

Docu-Poem, Haiku, Short Poems, Photos,
Quatrians, Graphics, Concrete Poems

By Michael P. Garofalo

Vancouver, Washington

Grayland State Park, Coastal Southwest Washington

 Grayland Beach State Park, Coastal Southwest Washington

We drove to Tokeland for gasoline.  Breakfast in Raymond.

I drove southeast from Grayland Beach to Tokeland and then to Raymond.  The road travels along the edge of the Willapa Bay.  The low tide revealed immense blocks of sand in this very shallow Bay.  Over half the water in the Bay comes in and goes out each day.  

The countryside from Raymond to Pe El or Doty is very beautiful rural country.  I took back roads from Pe El to Vader, and from Vader to Longview along the Cowlitz River.  The main Chelais river goes through Pe El and Chelais while making its way northwest to Aberdeen and Grays Harbor Bay; and, the south Chelais river flows further southeast from Pe El.  The level of "green" is astounding!  

Drove from Raymond to Pe El, then to Vader, then Interstate 5.
Unpack at home. Clean up. Shower. Rest.

It is 53 miles east from Raymond on the Willapa to Chelais via Washington State Road 6.  Always a pleasure.  

Raymond's many metal sculptures.

Chelais

Centralia and Chelais, Southwestern Washington

Centralia  Population 18,183  Images
On Interstate 5 between Portland and Olympia    WA6 Junction   Timber industry, farming, city, businesses, tourism. 
Centralia is 84 miles south of Seattle.  
Centralia Outlets Shopping     Business Directory

Centralia: Weyerhaeuser Timber Company   The company owns most of the Willapa Hills forests to the west of Centralia.  

Chehalis  Population  7,259   Images   Chehalis is 88 miles north of Portland, and 28 miles south of Olympia. 
On Interstate 5 between Portland and Olympia.  About 12 miles north of the I5/WA12 Junction near Mary's Corner. 
Timber industry, farming, city, businesses, tourism. 

Grand Mond   Great Wolf Lodge and Waterpark

Lucky Eagle Rochester Indian Hotel and Casino 

Chehalis River    Images   Newaukum River

Chehalis Reservation Confederated Tribes

Native Indians of Southwestern Washington

Raymond

Raymond  Population 2,975  Pacific County  WB  Junction of US101, WA 6, and WA 105. 
The largest town on the east side of Willapa Bay and largest city in Pacific County. 
Raymond is 35 miles north of Naselle, 56 miles west of Centralia, and 25 miles south of Aberdeen. 

Raymond Images  WB  

Raymond:  Carriage Museum   Willapa Seaport Museum    Harbor/Docks    Sightseeing    Paddling    

Raymond:  Willapa River  Images   WB  There is a north and south fork of the Willapa River in Raymond.  

Raymond:  Steamboats of Willapa Bay   There is a huge Weyerhaeuser lumber mill in Raymond. 
Many fish canneries are in or near South Bend and Raymond.  There are numerous commercial and public docks in the area. 

Raymond Timberland Library

Raymond:  Willapa Paddle Adventures   Paddling canoes or kayaks on the many Willapa Bay rivers is very popular. 

Raymond:  Willapa Hills State Park Trail   56 miles east to Centralia.  River biking trail from Raymond to South Bend. 

Numerous rusted metal sculptures along the roadway in Raymond.  

Four Days in Grayland
By Michael P. Garofalo