Princess Diana
her son
married today
her second
by his side
her beloved boys
now men
continue on their way
and she is there
as she has always been
keeping them strong
and full of grace
her peaceful presence
their answered prayer
she is there
TL
Best Time
they’re all grown
the boy, the girl
the girl, the boy
the ones who ran
up and down the hill
like Jack and Jill
blowing bubbles
round and round
like “duck, duck, GOOSE”
counting stars
and falling bridges
cartwheels-Hot Wheels
they knew the secret
and never told
they heard the bell
and picked the apples
they climbed the trees
and jumped the rope
they skipped the rocks
and wrote with sticks
they sailed around the world
asleep in their bottom boat
they saved the rain
the bug, the frog
they rolled like barrels
swam like dogs
fell off their bike
got up and laughed
drew a sword
and saved the day
ate on the run
Cowboys and Indians
Demi-Plie
and nothing was ever as good
‘til the boy, the girl
the girl, the boy
came back
to play
TL
Matte
there’s a box
of black and whites
in the corner shop
dimes a dozen
proof they were here
and there were children, too
small versions
of the same print
dead of disease
lack of
such and such
and so forth
and so on
and so well
would that you
frame them all
and give them
something to say
TL
Timing
they traveled
the same road
trying to get to the other side
both made it to the middle
where one remained
seeped into the cement
the other lifted
and carried to the wheat
both had it hard
out there
in the wild
their number called up
too many times
grazed but missed
they made it
past their parents
found some hole
and buried themselves
when it was cold
found a full tree
when it was hot
and when the sky
withheld the rain
they dug for drops
hunkered in the ditch
waiting for an opening
to crawl through
they traveled
the same road
trying to get to the other side
both made it to the middle
where one remained
seeped into the cement
the other lifted
and carried to the wheat
TL
Beautiful
when they were
little girls
all their dolls
looked the same
like Cinderella
and Ken was always in love
with Barbie
for she was the ideal
and girls around the world
wanted that
and would shut their door
and bleach their black hair
and turn their brown eyes blue
and this was happening
around the world
in the house next door
across the street
and you wonder where they went
all those girls
and do they still love Cinderella
do they feel good enough
for Ken
TL
Sunrise
the streets
are clear of cars
the fountain
in the square
is churning out a cloud
of cotton candy
where children were
just yesterday
just last year
and the bunny’s in the back
waiting for her to wake up
and the fog is hovering
over Rosemere
like steam
off a coffee pot
and the guy
on the bicycle
has no teeth
and the woman running
has no makeup
and the lady with her bag
doesn’t need any
and the guy sitting outside his can
is puffing his own cloud
and the blades of grass
are growing
there at Garden Hills
where the living and the dead
are gathered
and spread
TL
“No Girls Allowed!”
wonder what
men say
when they’re away
from the wheel
leaned over the bed
of a Tonka truck
boot on the back bumper
spitting over their shoulder
laughing like teenagers
just turned 16
kings of the court
baseball braves
football phenoms
rock star waves
comedian crazed
wonder what
men say
do they whine like women
gossip like grandmas
argue like lawyers
curse like sailors
what is it
they’re trying to convey
as they talk and talk and talk
gasping for breath
punching at wind
recalling where all they’ve been
who, what, when
this universal thing
that draws men in
and keeps ‘em fountain fresh
TL
Remain
times
there were times
but you were busy
too busy to bother
so sought the stair
a single step
bleachers back
unaware
hear a beat
charge it to the moon
look at the ground
the dirt, the grass
feel the fan
will the rain
close my eyes
and see
TL
Bare
what of the words
unheard
that in a glance
you say
marry me today
and we will live
“beyond the border”
and push our boat
away from shore
and drift to the rim
of rain no more
the lightning line
where the “ring of fire”
slips the sky
for a burnt kiss
beneath the veil
and in its wake
the sea blinks
back the tears
and a wave
of diamonds
sail the wind
and scatter
like stars
where no moon
has been
TL
Gossamer
spider lines
cast out
and catch
the morning ray
like silver strands
that stream
through a head of green
damp with dew
and the wind blows through
and through
from far
and away
a distant day
you know it not
for your jar is full
of light
and you keep it there
at night
right by your bed
where you sleep
and wake up
and you forget
your jar
is blown of glass
not welded of steel
and when it breaks
regardless of the care
will the light
within
continue …
to spin and spin
TL
Cocoon
they took
their hammock
to a tree
and stretched it
to another
and got in
like caterpillars
and the rest of it
fell away
as they lie
suspended
leaf to limb
TL
Cycle
they inched
along the aisle
this man
this woman
this child
and a sense
of something sad
seemed to surround them
permeating from their pores
as they trudged
to the front
to check-out
and this woman
yells at this man
she married
“Matt, What Are You Doing,
Get Over Here!”
and like an obedient and beaten down dog
he does what he’s told
without a whimper
and this child
between them
does not react at all
for he wasn’t smiling
before
TL
Present
careful not
to drop the top
she toddles
through the door
a baby no more
and tells me
to come quick
for there’s treasure
in her pockets
and there on the carpet
a small Stonehenge
appears
and she tells me
she would have gotten more
had she had bigger pockets
and she picks each one up
and holds it to the light
to show the shape
the cut and color
and then she shows
how to stack ‘em
“like that”
and in the space
of that
my past is her present
and I’m amazed
how it rushes back
just
“like that”
TL
Missing
sat there
too long
through three songs
looking out
past the view
beyond the list
of “things to do”
and in the mini mirror
catch a glimpse
of this guy
flying by with his buggy
his black coat
a blanket over his boy
maybe three
he picks him up
and tucks him in his seat
with the black blanket
and puts his parcels in the back
and pushes his buggy
where it belongs
and gets in
and is gone
as if he wasn’t there
a second ago
like that throw-away plate
parked two rows up
and Chesney sings
‘bout the loss
of certain things
TL
Ask
have you
ever tried
to answer
the questions
of a child
and found
yourself unsure
of what to say
how to say it
when to delay it
and in your head
you think
why
why does it have to be
this way
why is the world
in such trouble
why are people in peril
pretending nothing’s wrong
“that it’s just the way it is”
why can’t we see
past our plate
the checks we write
the doors we darken
the corners we pass
are we a self-propelling population
was that a person
we just passed
why is he standing
like that
why is she walking
that way
are they in pain
what is that
TL
Fifth Masters
no more so
than yourself
in your ear
an echo
in your heart
the truth
what is great
in anyone
is not a trophy
a cover or a coat
the intangible
is what separates
the good
and the great
and no one
can tell you
which is which
less you let them
don’t let them
just be
TL
Working
the soap
on the sink
shrinks
and shrinks
to make
a bowl of suds
for hurried hands
in need of gloves
devoid of soil
spit and oil
clear of can’t
and won’t
free of salt and sugar
spilt milk
and cracked eggs
a burn that bled
red and red
run the water
run it right
‘til it runs clear
and moonlit bright
like a lake
in summer
slow to speak
pew reposed
an unhurried verse
Frost wrote
TL
Abuse
what scar
have you
baby blue
did your mother
rock you
your father, too
was it gentle like a lapping wave
or rough like a crashing cascade
was there a song
for you
was it soft and soothing
or did it scream away the cow,
the moon
did you grow up
too soon
was pain your spoon
was there a choice
in choosing
to stay, to go
or were you too young
to vote
but not too young
for war
did you watch
the bodies fall to floor
was that your mother
on the ground
was that your step-father
with the gun
did he turn and run
and catch a bullet in the back
did you hear the shot
did it bust your drum
this ringing in your ear
do you still hear …
baby blue
what scar
have you
TL
Storm
turned on
the faucet
and it broke
in my hand
and kept gushing
out water
into the sink
spilling over the side
onto the floor
like it never had before
and then it was up
to my neck
and I swallowed a breath
and held it
and swam out the door
and the water kept rising
and rising and rising
up the walls
from the floor
punching out windows
busting down doors
and I watched
everything I’d saved,
and thought I’d need someday,
carried away
but I was ok
and then I woke up
and it was
today
TL
Women
she …
this woman
that is
every woman
will be strong
in ways
that have no weight
in brawn or beauty
for a woman is
what every woman is
from the moment
of her birth
there beyond
her perfect form
and clear complexion
is a being
that even then
draws reserves
for whenever when
she is called
to be
what it is
she has no choice
of being
for within
each woman
is an endless stream
that she will weep
whenever when
and from that well
she draws
her strength
the strength
that comes
from all the women
that ever were
or ever will be
TL