Copper
in the dark
of night
we stood
under the stars
and felt no rain
lost in our own drops
our daughter’s dog
is dead
buried in the willows
of roses and remorse
TL
Poetry
Copper
in the dark
of night
we stood
under the stars
and felt no rain
lost in our own drops
our daughter’s dog
is dead
buried in the willows
of roses and remorse
TL
Unspoken
seven days
before Christmas
found myself
standing in a stable
watching children
gallop in sandy circles
the land is open
beyond the wooden fence
the gates
things are simple here
like apple orchards
like a mare
with her slow gait
a hush within a hurricane
she lets small hands
lead her
poses for a picture
listens to them talk
pat her goodbye
she heads to her stall
and we head to our car
and there’s another car
pulling in
and the kids get out
their mother I know
from school
we chat the usual
I look over
and see the window
rolled down
there’s a woman on the passenger side
I go over to say, “hello”
it’s her mother visiting from Korea
in the very back seat
sits her father
I wave hello
they get out of the car
and we’re all standing there talking
they in their Korean
me in my English
the daughter is translating
she tells them I was born in Seoul
and adopted
they look at me …
they see me
we hug each other
they walk over to my daughter
they hold her close
I need no translator
TL
Cultivation
globs of snow
dot the dirt
along a stretch
of frozen rows
mirrored in the horizon
hazy in the silence
of the morning ray
steamed in breath
the crimson tractor
sits ever ready
to plow a new path
over the old
and fat are the hens
that strut in their hutch
high off
corn and cotton
they lay their eggs
their work is done
as the cattle chew
and the mule
stands waiting
for something to happen
TL
The Call
we are
a call away
all of us
a call away
the phone rings
for some
before daylight
for others
nightlight
and nobody
wants to take that call
hear those words
you’re never ready
to hear those words
no matter how many times
you’ve taken that call
there’s still a question
haven’t asked
still a story
haven’t heard
still a laugh
haven’t laughed
still a moment
haven’t had
still that much
haven’t done
said
TL
December
diamond drops
dress the wooded tree
a distant wink of tinsel
in the amber light
of a torrential dawn
that left the parade
floating
the policeman in a puddle
the streets shown
the gray morning
a reprieve
before the bustle
deep pockets
and hurried squirrels
those letters mailed North
the music slows
the dog dreams of a bone
hams and turkeys
parcels and pudding
a star on top
the story of old
“no room at the inn …”
TL
What Love Is
he kept
looking down
at his watch
he knew what time
it started
at the appointed hour
he got up
from the table
and walked across
the kitchen floor
to the glass door
and stood there
staring out …
his boy being buried
his wife at the table
she doesn’t know
she forgot what they told her
he couldn’t leave her
TL