Month: October 2010

Threshold

she looked down

at the toe of her shoe

and wagered

should she move

past the present

beyond the “Blue Bayou”

toward the crush

and figured

it’d be best

to take off

her shoes

first

TL

 

Say

have you

progressed

digressed

regressed

TL

Wild Women

two groups

of white-haired women

filed in

and assumed circle formation

round their respective tables

first group, stylishly coiffed, ordered

long stems of white wine

the second group, Santa wives, ordered

their regular – glass of water with a wedge of lemon

the first group engaged in pleasant conversation

while the second group whined to the waiter about the wait

each entrée seemed to center each table

this was their treat

their getaway

to meet on fall Fridays

for a few laughs

with the few that last

TL

 

All at Once

heard a preacher man say,

“Love is about responsibility …”

years since that sermon

still nodding my head

for words are just that

it’s the extended hand

not having to be asked

that room full of boxes,

and you picking one

that closet full of clothes

and you going through the motions, suit and tie

that letter he never read,

the one you wrote him and read aloud

picking up his last paycheck

closing his accounts

telling the caller, he’s dead

“Love is about responsibility …”

TL

 

Ever

if it were just so

how would you ever know

the difference

if the prince had no dragon to slay

would the princess ever know the depth

if children never left home

would they ever make it on their own

if dogs never got old and went away

would they ever know what they gave

if friends fade from sight

would you ever see them

if the love you gave had no return

would you ever know the sender

if the ocean never reached the castle

how then would a kingdom ever come

if there is nothing tested

how can there ever be a lesson

TL

Poverty Line

lone figure

on the street

can’t go home

can’t go there

 blank resume

no experience

no schooling

no background

no reference

and even if

no threads

for a sit down

no face to match

the image

no breaks for him

the classifieds are classified

nobody ever gave him nothin’

but a hard time

he understands hate

what it is to be homeless

to be hungry

but those people

blowin’ down the highway

with their paychecks in their pockets

and PTA and pet poodles

and dinner on the table

and “TiVo” shows

and presents under the tree

and heat in the house

and a blessin’ before bed

they don’t understand

how could they

they got somewhere to go

somewhere to be

someone waitin’ for ‘em

someone in their corner

they got kids in college

degrees on the wall

investments

and equity

and deposits

and insurance

and stocks

and bonds

and it’s startin’ to drizzle

and they’re opening their umbrellas

gettin’ outta the car

hard day at work

and the wife’s whinin’ bout getting wet

and the weatherman predicts

a cold front

TL

Prism

one eye closed

there the light

spectrum of stars

suspended

indelibly burned

behind the aspect

clarity of a child

TL

Wanderlust

map on the wall

been there, been there, been there, been there,

not there, not there, not there, not there,

want to go where, want to go where, want to go where,

want to go there, want to go there, want to go there,

want to go …

TL

Gymnasium

to a kid

it was magic

sunlight streaming

through loft-like windows

pooling like sheers

on hardwood

the stage was set

the projector rolling

from the top bleacher

what dreams would spin

and then the bell would ring

through the Himalayas

and the kid would rope down

and open the metal gate that was the door

and watch a wedge of light turn to sliver

and then to dust

TL

 

Symphony

the ocean

was rimmed

in brown sugar

frothy foam rising

drunk before daylight

the stars danced

around the moon

and the moon curtseyed

behind the cloud

and there was a sipping sound

as the waves lapped against

the rock that was my chair

and the wind combed through

and the shells of the sea

shone bright white

against the velvet of the night

an orchestra of rotation

though long it’s been

still the strings

reverberate through

time and space

TL

Quiet

it was

black

like the bark

of a tree

after it rains

TL

Within

had a dream

about you

the other night

holding each other tight

and the water rose

up to our necks

in a salty sea

“I’m sorry I hurt you so …”

and I said the same

and we let go

TL

Captured

run out of memory

out of AA

out of filter

out of process

and there you are

exposed to the elements

no lens to change

or pixel or point or push

and the raindrops cling to the blade

and tiptoe across the rolling river

and drip from tin tops

and slide down each strand

and dive off the board of your nose

in sync with sound

to the dark dirt below

where it disappears

forevermore

from single sight

and human form

a blur of motion

gone to drink

TL

 

Goodbye

the white house

where they lived

where they carved the turkey

and hung the garland

and ate breakfast together

and cleared away dinner dishes

and slept warm in their beds

is empty now

possessions packed

in black garbage bags

stacked along the screened-in porch

where they used to sit

and watch the sun dip

Vivian with her book

and cup of tea

and Virgil with his memories

walking down the street in his beige coat

rounding the bend, making his way to the park

“I love to go there and watch the children play.

They remind me of when my kids were little.”

That’s what he used to say

TL

Sincerely

pick up the phone

and put it down

dial but no ring

pick up the pen

and put it down

paper but no ink

what is there

left to say

only I loved you more

TL

Alive

and it’s a long way

up the mountain

white-haired man sat down and said,

“this trail is not for the old

but for the young”

the out-of-breath woman agreed

and the kid zipped by

and the ones with no quit

made it to the lookout tower

and were rewarded with rain

and down the mountain

the rain turned to hail

and after a zillion miles

back to civilization

in the comfort of the car

the ice thawed

quick as it fell

not a drop, not a pelt

smiled to myself

as the windows

fogged

TL

Falling

they took a walk

and the road

never gave out

and they talked and talked

and it was better

than talking to the wall

or to the dog

or to the stranger

or to the mirror

or to the operator

or to the headstone

or to the neighbor

or to the ticket taker

or to the “man in the moon”

or to the “woman in the shoe”

or to catmando

yes, it was far better

than talking

to the

nothing

to the

nobody

to the

nohow

to the

noway

to the

maybe

to the

if

to everything

up until

this

TL

Choice

which is worse

 

the afflicted pain

or the self-inflicted kind

 

all I know

there’s too much

of both

from here to there

 

folks I know

those I never will

was there a choice

for them

 

if so

why pain

why choose it

then multiply it

 

why

 

when there’s gold

in the meadows

glory in the hills

grace in the willows

 

why

 

when there’s a song to be sung

babies that need love

children that need

all of the above

 

why

 

when there’s still time

soil underfoot

and the road still bends

why then

TL

Annie

across the street

the carousel was calling

and my kid heard

laid down a $20

and bought some memories

and then some

the woman standing next to me,

a grandmother watching her granddaughter,

she tells me that Annie’s 6

and how happy she is to see her laughing

she could have stopped there

and said, “have a good day …”

but didn’t

Annie had a baby brother

but that was three years ago

it was a hot day

too hot to be left in a car

for that long

the on-duty officer turned the grandfather away

and then threw up

the mother, drugged out of her mind, had forgotten

her baby

now, she’s serving time

and her daughter, Annie, is growing up

without a mother, without a brother

she’s got her dad, but not really

her grandparents are the ones

who take her to town

to ride the carousel

TL

“Leap of Faith”

she’s talking

about 14 kids

her kids

how she was 10

when she gave birth

that first time

hard to stomach

but there were no lies

in those eyes

those sad, sad eyes

now turned inward

facing incurable cancer

said she refused to take chemo again

so she spends the last of it

in a corner shop

taking tourist’s pictures

in Tennessee

$12 an hour

three years she’s been there

her husband’s been dead that long

esophageal cancer took 25

she lights a cigarette

and takes a drag

and rolls up her sleeves

and reveals her strength

frog tattoos

“do you know what F.R.O.G. stands for?”

shake my head, “no”

“Fully Rely On God”

TL