American
Old Glory
Ever winking
In the wind
Colors kept
And carried on
From childhood
And beyond
Blood red
Pure white
Regal blue
To die
To protect
To pledge
So many have
So many will
That me and mine
And you and yours
And they and theirs
May rest tonight
In peaceful slumber
And get to do
The same
Tomorrow
TL
Down the Road
There’s a white-washed,
Wooden cross
On the side of the road
A marker of loss
Symbol of sorrow
After awhile it becomes
Part of the landscape
But not for the people
Who planted it there
For them
It will always be
A foreign flower
That was never meant
To bloom
On the side of the road
TL
Day Away
Some blue beyond
Without a drift
Or recollection
Of the wind
No drop of rain
Or ray of light
Always day
Always night
A pool of sky
Floating by
No need
No want
No care
Just there
Without a watch
Without a wrist
For time
Never ticks
There’s nowhere
To go
Nothing to be
No days, weeks, months or years
No spring, summer, fall or winter
No joy
Or pain
What remains
Did “I love you”
Count
Or was it just
Something to say
More than that …
Is where I’m at
TL
Forever
And then you’re dead
As if you were never there
At all
And all the stuff you had to have
Winds up in thrifty hands
That beloved book you read a thousand times
May never see the light of day
The small garden
Gone
If you have children
They go on
Without you
If you have a better half
They find another half
So when I hear, “Forever”
I just shake my head
And think …
Pictures change
“Forever” merely means
A frame
TL
Daddy’s Girl
What’s he to do
But stand
Where he’s stood
Waiting in the wings
Case she needs a hand
With the laces
Think she’s got it now
Watch her run
Back to him
The care
He took
Wasn’t lost
It swam with exotic fish
It hopped free
In a carpet-chewing field
It moved aside to let
An old dog by
It made room for
A new breed
It was tested
In the “absolutely not” cat
Kept
It was in the packet of seeds
Ever growing in the breeze
It was in the every day
Constant way
He loved her mother
It was in the no matter
what, when or where
He’d make it right
It was in the gentle nature
That needed no voice
To hear it
It was in the prayerful way
He went about the day
No it wasn’t lost
The care he took
For in her daddy’s eyes
She can see
All he ever wanted
Her to be
TL
Ago
Across the table
She looks
At the lady
Staring back
At her
In careful conversation
They talk about that dress
They saw and the shoes
They had to have
They laugh about the
Gum they stepped in
The time the washing machine
Flooded the floor
That Thanksgiving turkey
Burnt beyond crispy
As she studies the menu
She studies her
And wonders if she’s doing okay
As she turns the page
And taps the table
In a flurry of pink polish
She longs to hold her hand
10 fingers, 10 toes
What she wouldn’t give …
To sing her to sleep
Once more
And hear her breathe
Good dreams
To wake her up
With a morning kiss
And hear her say,
In that sleepy wonderful way,
“I love you,
Mommy”
As the waiter scribbles
Their leafy order
They toast
The day
Then take turns
To the powder room
Never knowing …
The mirror was the same
The tissue in the trash
Held twin tears
They return
To the table
And smile
TL
Decide
Maybe someday …
Isn’t that what people say
But then
They forget
They ever said that
Until they see
Someone else
Living their someday
And then they wonder
How they kept their day
When there were so many
In the way
Maybe one night
They tossed and turned
Had a nightmare
Saw themselves
Somewhere
One in a chair
One in a box
With their someday
Buried in breath
Maybe they woke up
In time
In tears
And decided
To turn that day into
Their someday
Nightmare’s no stranger
So why is it
That some succumb
While others someday
TL
Life
Figured it out
Let me know
If you do
Cause I sure
Could use a clue
Sometimes
It seems
So clear
Beyond the blue
Like there are no
Graves of gray
But birthdays
Have a way
Of blowing out
The candles
On your cake
As you sit
There in the dark
Waiting for a slice
There is no frenzy
For the frosting
Forks replace
The fingers
On a small square
Mumble
How good it is
Let the joke
Be you
But when
The party’s over
And all is quiet
In the house
You roam from
room to room
Aimless as
A broken arrow
Until you find
Your bed
Sit on the side
And sigh
Another year
Gone by
TL
Bittersweet
Watched a
Silver tear
Trickle
Down
The years
Once upon
a time …
it fell
so smooth
and straight
Now it takes
Its time
Amid so many lines
TL
Graduation
There she is
black and white
Lovely
Like a lady
From a bygone
Book
Still without a shoe
Running whereto
Left me a coat
Of laughter
To cross
That puddle there
But the hills
Are hers
Where she goes
Been before
Won’t be the top
That tests
But the
Bottom
Where tangled
Roots are buried
Dig out the dirt
One handful
At a time
For however long
It takes
Swim in the stream
Look for the bridge
The one that
Brings you back
To the beginning
TL
Give and Take
Some only
Reach for
The sun
Others open
Their hand
To the rain
Some wish
On every
Star
Others wish
They could
See a star
Some look
At land
And see
Pots of
Gold
Others look
At land
And see
Treasure
In a tree
TL