Month: February 2014

The Gift

in his down

time

when he

wasn’t under

the hood

or over the dash

of his not-long-bought

jeep

the antique one, the model, that turned his head

the one he gave up his blue boat for

determined to restore

like any good mechanic

he knows her body well

her inner-workings sublime to his practical mind

he can get lost for days

in there

but now and again

above his brew

through the windshield

he’d catch a glimmer

a streak

and catlike he’d move himself

into position

still as steel

ready to take him out

that damn squirrel

had to die

all the damage done

the detonation of insulation

the gnawing, the gloating

something had to be done

so he’d grab his bb gun

and fire a few

and wait it out

and this went on

for months

would have

months more

if he hadn’t

had a hankering

to drive him out

with the hose

he blasted the water

through the gutter

who knows how long

when he heard

something cry

and reached in

the river

and felt around

until his hand

met something

small and wet

soaked and spent

and barely breathing

he climbed down the ladder

and had the strangest look

what to do

so he took a towel

and dried the ball

and dragged out an aquarium

and found half a bag of shavings

and dumped it in

and for some reason

he figured on plastic gloves

and started filling them with hot water

and soon as he laid ‘em down

that baby squirrel

knew his mama

and slept

for hours

and woke up

hungry for a bottle

these days

he can’t get enough walnuts

or the love of a child

who gave him a name

and all her toys

and when she runs from

room to room

he follows her about

like a “little lamb”

bounding across fields of carpet and tile

he climbs her leg

his only tree

and scampers up and down the trunk

‘til he tires

and wants his bottle

and the man

with the gun

watches the child

put the baby to bed

and he can’t help

but smile

and shake his head

TL

Well-Worn

when the words

run out

and the silence

sets in

and you feel

you’ve felt

what it is

to be born

and live like that

and take your lot

the sum of it

the plus

the minus

and make it what

the shell of a living thing

that crawled along

the same path

where seeds were sown

and flowers grew

and the butterflies appeared

like they disappeared

and the rain

fell short

of the root

the sun severed

from the moon

a blue sky

were it always

blue

like a blessing

or were it always

gray

like a stone

or were it ever was

a bed

of black velvet

that held

a diamond

new

TL

Fleeting

the shadow

of a bird

against red brick

like a line

cast out

to sea

the hook flew

across the surface

and sunk somewhere

beyond the bareness

of you … of me

TL

Two Wheels

with a wink

and a wrench

he took off

each training wheel

and tossed ‘em

to the ground

and she looked down

at the pink plastic wheels

then back to the bike

then up to him

and Papa smiled and told her

“There’s nothing to it …

don’t look down at the bike,

look straight ahead”

he said it might take her

five days or five minutes

all depends

seemed a second

as I stood there

in the melting snow

and watched her

wheel away

further and further

I saw her

smaller and smaller

in the distance

crawling across the floor

when suddenly she stood up

and took a step

and started walking …

“Mama, can you believe

I can ride a bike now!”

TL