Month: January 2017

The Lessons

here

is where

i remember things

and turn them over

sometimes it takes me years

to understand

the smallest thing

the study of it

in its nature

that even then

i was learning something

useful

that i would need

for later on

TL

“Eye of the Tiger”

last night

SEC football fans

got a title show

and they didn’t have to pay for HBO

mere minutes

can change history

as any fighter knows

Alabama did not tote that trophy home

what a way to start 2017

in a Sports Illustrated piece

I read about the opposing coach

and how he showed his team

a clip of Rocky II

see, that just ain’t fair

you can’t mess with that mindset

they all thought they were Rocky out there

and not even the Tide can roll over

dat

TL

Rambling

the pumpkin

on the porch

looked like

a scoop of ice cream

that splat off the cone

leftover from October

like a tree in December

all the shipments of roses in February

are dust by March

that’s how it is

a picture can’t capture it

it’s not the same

the weight of a pumpkin in its prime

its bright orange color

speaks of pies and hayrides

and then it’s time to pick out a tree

or find the fake one

and dress it up

from head to toe

then strip it bare

and toss it to the curb

or stuff it back in the corner

the glitter of New Years

has been swept up

off the floor

all the shelves are full

of hearts and flowers

and stuffed teddy bears

those stupid commercials

a diamond is not forever

there’s the idea of love

and then there’s real love

everybody thinks they’re in love

until they’re not

I still think

if you truly love somebody

you will love them

for all of your life

it won’t be a choice

TL

Natural Light

the branches

are wet with rain

and chilled with ice

I see them winking

in my window

a string of twinkle lights

plugged into the sun

they need no night

TL

Mesmerize

think

I know

better now

for better do I know

myself

when once I would deny

repute or dispel

all the adjectives

think I know better

now

the truth

the telescopic lens

tunnels to the moon

it cuts out all the stars

and space

when one wonders

of the galaxy

beyond one’s lighted face

none of us belong

below

there is a lift of all

to rise above

such sorrow

and hear the bells

that toll

a compilation piece

of season

silent in its movement

like aging

at our birth

the disappearance

that is death

TL

Luggage

I walked

to the water

and knelt by the sea

the suitcase I carry

got too heavy for me

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the woolly blanket

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the dear diary

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the open empty jar

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the dried dark rose

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the cinder block brick

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the worn out right shoe

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the worn out left shoe

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the broken crack mirror

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the soft hard snowball

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the winter white candle

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the gold gilded music box

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the picture and its place

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the one-way ticket

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the hermit crab shell

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the black dress I wore

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

I said to the envelope

and I threw it out to shore

I don’t need that anymore

TL