Adapt
with
the windows
down
rolled past
houses
and glimpsed
light pink
roses
climbing
a chain-link
fence
and somehow
they reached me
through the metal
without words
like a bird
in the rain
TL
Poetry
Adapt
with
the windows
down
rolled past
houses
and glimpsed
light pink
roses
climbing
a chain-link
fence
and somehow
they reached me
through the metal
without words
like a bird
in the rain
TL
IF
“if you can
keep your head
when all about you
are losing theirs
and blaming it
on you
if you can
trust yourself
when all men doubt you
but make allowance
for their doubting, too
if you can
wait
and not be tired
by waiting
or being lied about
don’t deal in lies
or being hated
don’t give way to hating
and yet
don’t look too good
nor talk too wise
if you can dream
and not make dreams your master
if you can think
and not make thoughts your aim
if you can meet
with Triumph and Disaster
and treat those two impostors
just the same
if you can bear
to hear the truth you’ve spoken
twisted by knaves
to make a trap for fools
or watch the things
you gave your life to
broken
and stoop
and build ’em up
with worn-out tools
if you can make
one heap of all your winnings
and risk it
on one turn
of pitch-and-toss
and lose
and start again
at your beginnings
and never
breathe a word
about your loss
if you can force
your heart
and nerve
and sinew
to serve your turn
long after they are gone
and so hold on
when there is nothing in you
except the Will which says to them
‘Hold on!’
if you can talk
with crowds
and keep your virtue
or walk with kings
nor lose
the common touch
if neither foes
nor loving friends
can hurt you
if all men count with you
but none too much
if you can fill
the unforgiving minute
with sixty seconds’
worth
of distance run
yours is the earth
and everything
that’s in it
and
which is more
you’ll be a man
my son”
Poet Rudyard Kipling
(i have lived every single syllable of this transforming poem since reciting it in a high school graduation speech in May of 1991 … 35 years ago … jest yesterday)
The Return
and low
after all
the weight of snow
and searing sun
wicked wind
and raging walls of water
lies a speck of sand
at the bottom
of the sea
were it dust
it would float on up
and away
to another land
in time
but circumstantial seas
buried it beneath
the depths of oceans
far and wide
forgotten there
over time
the bygone traveler
just begun
takes a turn round the bend
to sail the stars
in search of life
where it starts
where it ends
stirring up the surface
where the sun and moon
are mirrored
it leaves a wake
the speck of sand
then can take
to travel up
from the depths
through the coral reef
and strands of weed
to break the surface
like a wild whale
racing with the wind
one heads to the blue beyond
the other to the shore
where castles
there
are built by hand
in a magic winter
wonderland
TL
he’s gone …
with the wind
TL
(Nov. 19, 1938 – May 6, 2026)
Man in the Arena
“It is not
the critic
who counts;
not the man
who points out
how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done
them better.
The credit belongs
to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred
by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly,
who errs,
who comes up short
again and again,
because there is no effort
without error and shortcoming,
but who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions,
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who, at best,
knows,
in the end,
the triumph of high achievement,
and who,
at the worst,
if he fails,
at least he fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be
with those cold and timid souls
who neither know victory
nor defeat.”
– US President Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909
Yeah, No
when they …
wheel ‘ya out
with your bundle
and ‘ya go forth
all careful-like
and super slow
over every bump
and dip
in the road
and then
you’re home
and it begins …
your new life
… this new life
that grows inside of you
and then outside of you
turning the burrito blankey
into a cape
the baby flies
down the hall
and the clock falls
off the wall
and you get stuck
on the seconds
the minutes
the hours
but time keeps
turning over
and over
and over
and you panic
and try to buy up
all the watches
all the clocks
but it’s too late
you’re too late
and you can see
the sequin cape
sparkling out the driver’s-side-window
as it flaps outta sight
all carefree-like
hitting every bump
and dip
in the road
boom booming
further and further
away from home
and it begins …
your new life
… this new life
that grows inside of you
and then outside of you
turning the burrito blankey
into a cape
TL
Up the Mountain
at first
school was
good
i remember it …
how it was
in pre-school
then kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
but around
6th Grade
I noticed
a change
she had held a lot
in
but it would eventually
spill out …
at home
or in the car
or behind closed doors
she was being bullied
because of me
and she didn’t want to tell me
about it
‘cause she knew how much it’d hurt me
like it hurt her
even though she looked white
like her Daddy
the children
had seen me
their parents had seen me
and they all knew from a glance
that she was not just white
like her Daddy
that she was Asian, too
we were not prepared
for how that would
play out
I had even weighed the thought
of home-schooling her through the middle-school years
and when the bullying got really bad
in high school
I asked her several times if she wanted to switch schools
but she had worked so hard
academically
had been eyeing the Valedictorian spot
since grade-school
so she stayed
and kept climbing
despite the hate
and betrayal
‘til she made it happen …
her Valedictorian speech
was amazing
as was her full-ride scholarship
to college
where she is continuing
to crush it
in Chemical Engineering
already the recipient of two academic fellowships
she’ll head to Texas this summer
to intern at a highly competitive company
where she’ll get paid to do what she loves to do
so it won’t be work
and when she comes back in the Fall
she’ll continue tutoring college students
from various majors
who need help with their writing
from a peer who won’t judge them
for it
but will instead
encourage them
and believe in them
‘cause she knows
that Belief
is where it all
begins …
TL
Easter ain’t Easter
without Granny
(and she’d agree)
TL
Papa
waiting on
food
stood there
staring off
and in the distance
i see this guy
making his way
down the long corridor
he looks like Papa
the Papa i remember
who was heavyset
and walked with a limp
he didn’t need no cane
no walker
no wheelchair
back then
he’d hobble along
just fine
like this guy does
i had the urge
to follow this guy
into the vision center
and tell him
how lucky he is
to be able to walk
such a long distance
without a cane
or a walker
or a wheelchair
to keep on going
no matter what
no matter the aches
and pains
and bad days
to keep hobbling along
‘cause he’s doing just fine
he might not think it now
but if he only knew
how hard it is
to get up from a recliner
steady yourself
and shuffle one foot
in front of the other
to get to the kitchen
… he’d get up
and hobble himself
everywhere
TL
(written Jan. 11, 2022)
Roses
the roses
were bleeding
think they still are
but it’s dark
back there
so i can’t be sure
i can hear the petals
crackle and crunch
like the leaves
like snow
like fire
like an echo
i pick ‘em up
and turn ‘em over
and they turn red
in my hands
and i’m standing there
looking down
at the abyss
as if i’m watching myself
from afar
i wake up weeping
the pain is as real as it was
that night
i feel my way through the dark
and turn on the light
it feels like
it just happened
but it didn’t …
that was 31 years ago
the last gift
i gave you
was red
TL
(Written March 1, 2024)
Blank Pages
she left
the keys
untouched
but the memory
of the music
plays on
she left
the paint
dry on the brush
but the feeling
hangs on the wall
she never
puts the plates
away
so they sit
empty
on the table
like the chairs
on the floor
TL
(written March 1, 2024)
Lake
the weeping water
is full of sorrow
on its wrinkled face
a bird drinks its tears
and flies off
a submerged fish
pops up its head
gasping for breath
then disappears
beneath the depth
of clouds
that drift in blue
pools
the summer rain
sets in
and the wind picks up
tossing the light
and shadows
TL
(written July 10, 2024, on the dock)
Tiger Woods
play the Masters
not done …
TL
Fade Away
under the cloud
fade
into the blade
like run-off paint
on a pristine green
like smoke
after the wish
was made
like a strand of lights
unplugged
at the end
of a year
like a song
on repeat
that eventually
gets replaced
by a new rhythm
like a stick tree
that lost all its leaves
in one full gust
like an Oak that took a cut
then a char
before it crumbled
to ash
swept away
in the wind
like a pretty promise
on a Spring-filled day
that froze
under the weight
of a harsh winter
like a book
in a basement
box
that was once
held
and revered
like a bird
that fell
from the sky
that had migrated
a million miles
to feel warm
like a blue butterfly
that lived but a day
but what a day
like the scent
of a red rose
flattened
between the pages
of a poetic line
that will never be
what it was
what it once was
…
but it was
TL
Dear Dad,
it’s 3
in the morning
Spring is almost
sprung
with the time change
and all
we’ve had up
and down weather
round here
people are snowed-in
in New York
and other parts
making giant snowmen
and colorful igloos
and ice sculptures
no flakes here
jest off and on rain
planted watermelon seeds
yesterday
and garlic bulbs
and pruned the roses
and moved the dead-looking plants
the cold took
maybe they’ll perk back up
‘ya never know
had some red geraniums
in a window box one year
that looked deader than dust
but they came back
bright red
‘ya jest never know
need to run up to the lake
and turn the water
back on
it’d be nice to be there now
waiting for the sun to come up
over the water
but i love being here at home
too
been rearranging stuff
and thinking about things
lots of things
probably why i can’t sleep
time is slipping away
you’ve been gone
33 years today
you wouldn’t recognize
the world
right now
it’s nothing like it was
when you were in it
and i could go on and on about it
but it wouldn’t change a thing
it is what it is
but some things remain the same
that you would recognize …
the light still comes up
in the morning
illuminating the leaves
and turning the dew to diamonds
same on the sea
and across the river
and the mist still moves across the pasture
through the trees
like a blessing
before it drifts off
leaving the flowers to say
what they say
and the rabbits still come out
and chew on the clover
and the deer on corn
the cows still graze on grass
the horses still chew on hay
the chickens still lay their eggs
and the rooster still crows
the robin comes back in the Spring
like the daffodils and the buttercups
like lily-of-the-valley
and children still hunt fer the golden egg
and play outside
and watch it rain when it rains
and wish for snow at Christmas
and a rainbow in the sky is still something
to see
you can still hear a distant train on the tracks
and a church bell ring
and a cheer go up at a game
and the bases are still loaded
and the field is still full of fans
and the court is still slammed
and the boxers are still in the ring
and golf is still green
and everyone everywhere is still running
their own race
at their own pace
there’s always something to still laugh about
or cry about
or whine about
just more magnified
now
but the basic things in life
remain …
i still miss you
too much
same as i did
when i was
jest a kid
TL
(March 1, 1993)
Rambling Rose
my face
is falling
i lie in bed
thinking
how this form
of mine
is only temporary
as i look at my hand
and turn it over
and even though
i know this
full-well
and grew up knowing this
full-well
like everyone else
does
and you watch
people you know
and people you don’t know
die
and you sit through
funerals
and stare down at the dirt
or look up at the wind
or touch the urn
or the stone
or the grass
or the water
knowing one day
that’ll be you
too
still … it’s too much
for the mind to measure
whether you’re 3
or 122
death is a hard thing
to turn over
and make sense of
you’re born
but you don’t remember
being born
and you live for however long
you get to
and then you die
but you don’t remember
being dead
unless you have one of those
near-death-experiences
or you have a dream
and it feels so real
but you don’t remember
everything
just parts
like memories
in the mind
that dim over time
we all agree
that the form we’re in
right now
is only temporary
but everyone has their own beliefs
on what happens after
that
whether you believe in life after death
or not
it’s hard to believe
that one day
we will no longer be
here
in the world
in the form we’re in
right now
and everything we’ve absorbed
by living this life
will what …
was it worth it
in the end
in the beginning
in the middle
love and loss
are circular
like a ring
only if you’ve lost
have you loved
only if you’ve loved
have you lost
is love lost
or is it found
or is it both
you tell me
TL
Cameilla
sat down
in a blue rocker
chilled in the cold
and spotted
your flowers
peeking through
and i remember when
you brought ‘em over
to us
in a black pot
and told us to plant ‘em
somewhere we can see ‘em
and how they’d come back
each year
more vibrant than the last
and as i stared at the hot pink petals
i thought … Granny, i hope you’re in a better place …
and immediately a gust of strong wind picked up
bending the treetops over
the wind was so wild
as if you were jumping up and down waving and yelling out
YES
YES
YES
and i looked back at the Camellias
in full bloom
more vibrant than they were last year
and smiled …
as the wind settled
back down
TL
The Old Movie Theatre
the marquees
are back to blank
like they were
in 2020
2021
2022
when the doors
were locked
and the parking lot
empty
but they lit back up
in 2023
2024
2025
only to go back
to blank
in 2026
and if i had the asking: $6.95 million
plus the renovation capital
to turn it around
i know jest what i’d do with it
as they say in real estate …
location, location, location
TL
The Stage
in the curtain
of light
the red petals
took the stage
in a wave of wind
they twirled and whirled
about
casting a glow
on each and every row
a field of red tulips
lit within
and in the end
when their dance was done
they bowed
in grace
to the season of the snow
as a sequin of snowflakes
took the stage
twirling and whirling
about
casting a glow
on each and every row
a field of winter white
lit within
and in the end
when their dance was done
they bowed
in grace
to the season of the sun
as the blades of grass
took the stage
twirling and whirling
about
casting a glow
on each and every row
a field of emerald green
lit within
and in the end
when their dance was done
they bowed
in grace
to the season of the rain
as falling leaves
took the stage
twirling and whirling
about
casting a glow
on each and every row
a field of feathers
lit within
and in the end
when their dance was done
they bowed
in grace
to the season of the wind
a wave of red petals
lit within
TL
Pongo
he’s perfectly
present
in the moment
as he stands
there
with the sunlight
gleaming
in his eyes
he lifts his head
to smell the wind
and perks his ears
to hear the squirrels
rustle
atop the trees
then watches
a black bird fly
over his head
as a confetti of leaves
float all around
he is happy
just to be
TL