Month: July 2011

Illumination

saw the clouds

ever-changing

as the sea

and there

the heavens

opened

in wonderment

for me

soften by the hue

and shredded by the wind

this brilliant bulb

on high

shone

by and by

and over yonder

fell a sheet of rain

mid downy pillows

where down

I lay

just a moment

so it seemed

when woken

by a rumble

framed in flashes

then the clouds

settled now

mid a mighty mast

and there I sailed

the silver sea

meant for you

meant for me

a promise

there was made

anew

all things past

a present

all things here

a gift

all things yet

a trove

this much

is all

I know

TL

Seagull

the guy

with him

called him

“Bill”

“Scoot over Bill,” he said

and Bill scooted over

to let the girls aboard

and the girls glanced at Bill

and saw he had no teeth

that his body was that of a boy

and his face was that of a man

and his eyes were that of an old, old man

stuck in a body that did not fit the fire,

the fire in his belly

and when it was Bill’s turn

to strap on the safety belts

he met no eye

he just stood there

staring at the white bow of the boat

waiting for his feet to lift

from the white

and as his feet dangled in air

his smile was newborn

his eyes without sea

his heavy mind at ease

just him and the breeze

gliding over an ocean

and the minutes weren’t long enough

not nearly

like the rope

that reeled him back

to the bow

TL

Anew

the sky

was lit within

below the bosom

steep and pathless

beyond the fields

of burnt-brushed trees

and a house

of simple means

and there

this road

it just

kept rolling

rolling on by

like a river

where

think I’ll

hang it

there

TL

Less

before

the cup

was

washed

and dried

and put back

in place

it sat

with me

in Panama

taking stock

and weeding out

when up

on iridescent leg

this crab

did climb

out of the crack

in the floor

called, time

where my sole

had sunken

long and low

and in and out

he’d go

out his little hole

and flick some sand

and dart back in

and this he did

time and time again

‘til it felt ordinary

what was at first

extraordinary

TL

Gravity

half a moon

veiled in cloud

shone the sand

the ever-changing sea

and the whitecap line

reaches for

the line ahead

white tide

rolling in

bath water

draining out

TL

Free

there is something

reassuring

in the quiet night

of waiting

and knowing

you aren’t alone

that no matter your lot

you will return

same as so and so

to the same spot

and turn your eye

to the chandelier

in the sky

and bask in its beauty

if only for a time

and your being there

and believing, somehow, it was important

to be there

is in itself an admission

and as the last facet fades to fog

you feel small

as you start back

the way you came

TL