Month: September 2017

Fall Days

been

chopping the tops

off carrots

and putting them in water

and watching them grow

tiny trees on orange islands

and if you were alive

you’d be smiling

at that

I remember

the seedlings there

on your kitchen counter

wrapped in clear plastic

and the books you gave me about plants

and how we used to talk about that

I have a small greenhouse now

you’d like

with plenty of plants

of varied variety

they like to be perfumed with peppermint

it wakes them up

and since it hasn’t rained lately

I’ll be using the hose

for watering

TL

Connection

the story

of

Jeff Bauman

will be played out

tomorrow

on the big screen

marking his healing process

and giving the rest of us

a glimpse

of what it takes

to go on

and while this movie

is important

for so many, many reasons

it’s timely, too

in a world

that is experiencing

such loss

it is the struggle in the story

the internal struggle

that shows us

something about ourselves

a truth that reaches out

across the line

TL

Color on the Page

at first

the sun

was a dot

then a smudge

the smudge became swirly

eventually circular

one day

there were rays

around the circle

like a fence

and over time

the fence would fall

d

o

w

n

toward the trees

and gardens would grow

flowers would bloom

the grass would point up

to the sky

a bird would fly by

there would be puddles

and rivers

and streams

the ocean

there would be hills

and mountains

and meadows

a cliff

there would be winter

and spring

and summer

and fall

there would be planes

and trains

and buses

and cars

and boats

there would be picnics

and kites

and bikes

and dogs

and cats

there would be parks

and parades

and parties

a carnival

there would be biking

and hiking

and walking

and jogging

and strolling

there would be games

on fields

and courses

and trails

the water

there would be chairs

and tables

and tents

the back end of a truck

there would be pictures

taken

and took

and tossed

and put in frames

there would be fountains

and funerals

and weddings

and playdates

and reunions

there would be walks

with a dog

with a child

with another

without the other

there would be sitting

on a bench

in a wheelchair

by the window

there would be days

without the sun

like all the yellow got used up

and mixed

and dried out

and there’d just be a dot

a smudge

TL

Sitting Still

a residual

gust of wind

blew out all the lights

and made mute

the box

The Weather Channel

went black

like the World Wide Web

the refrigerator stood still

and the oven lost heat

candles were burning

but it was still light outside

so, I opened the door

and pulled up a chair

and watched the wind

bend the trees

and move the rain

ripping the leaves

and I don’t know

how long I sat there

but at some point

the lights turned on

the refrigerator hummed

the remote worked

the mouse clicked

and there was noise

so, I put the chair back

in place

and shut the door

and turned the oven

back on

and made a cup of coffee

that I was grateful for

TL

Smoke

when you

walk out the door

and you don’t come back

no more

‘cause you dropped your keys

at the gate

will you remember

the band

and how it played

will you take your ticket

and find your seat

in the middle row

and lose yourself

at the exit

will you sit at the table

through the courses

and clearing

and wait for the check

will you drive to the beach

‘cause the beach is not far

from where you are

will you pick up a book

where you left off

and think about it

later on

at the light

will you take a walk

for no reason

or result

other than to get

where you’re going

will you tire

along the way

and lie down

for a bit

and rest your eyes

on a cloud

a moving cloud

that was here, now there

there, now here

will you drift on with it

like smoke

on a reservation

then away

TL

How It Was

seven years

gone by

on the eve of the eighth

pre-K

kindergarten

first grade

second

third

fourth

fifth

sixth

a parent

in the pick-up line

you sit there

the same

but you’re not the same

things have changed

all around you

but you sit there

the same

waiting in line

and you used to pick-up

a little kid

but that little kid is gone

this girl gets in

and she’s wearing contacts

and styling her own hair

without a bow in sight

painting her nails

and toes

and needing privacy

to change her clothes

and we drive down the road

and she doesn’t like my Seger CD

so, we switch to the radio

and listen to a commercial

waiting for it to turn into a song

and she likes this song

it’s a new song

“Every Little Thing”

and I like it, too

it has a story

and like most country songs

it’s about love

some sad song

about love

and how it was

TL

Song written by Civilla D. Martin, 1905 

“Why should I feel discouraged,

Why should the shadows come,

Why should my heart be lonely

And long for Heav’n and home,

When Jesus is my portion?

My constant friend is He:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

‘Let not your heart be troubled,’

His tender word I hear,

And resting on His goodness,

I lose my doubts and fears;

Tho’ by the path He leadeth

But one step I may see:

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted,

Whenever clouds arise,

When songs give place to sighing,

When hope within me dies,

I draw the closer to Him,

From care He sets me free;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know

He watches me.”

(For Dr. Don Roberts, Aug. 21, 1950 – Sept. 4, 2017)

Color-blind

is there

a verse

in diverse

and how would it

go

what would it

say

on the surface of things

is that all you see

what appears to be

an enemy

and they all look the same

they look like those people

over there

who want to kill us all

those people testing missiles

and marching with mantras

and scaring the L out of us

it’s bad enough they’re over here

living and working and going to school

and you can’t understand what they’re saying

so, it must be bad

they must be bad

they’re in the grocery store

the restaurants

in the park

taking over golf

walking down the street

driving down the road

used to be all you saw

was black and white

that’s all you ever saw

was black and white

and if that’s all you ever saw

then that’s how you see

the w o r l d

in black

and white

TL