the Tiger inside
not for
the applause
not for
the trophy
not for
the endorsements
not for
the rankings
not for
the cameras
not for
the cover
not for
the nod
won’t be
for none of that
on Thursday
it’ll just be about
play
for the joy
of being able
to play
the Greatest Game
there ever was
like riding a bike
you never forget
how
you just pick it back up
find your balance
and keep climbing
TL
Shanti Bhavan
they say
“it takes a village
to raise a child …”
in India
they do this
in an incredible
way
watching the stories
unfold across the screen
it reminded me
of Wonka’s “Golden Ticket”
and how the boy from a poor family
is given an opportunity
to change his life, his family’s life
in the documentary series:
“Daughters of Destiny”
they go a step further
in changing all the lives of India
one child at a time
to come from a place of no books
no paper, no pen
then to be given a book
full of words
they don’t understand
and learn how to read those words
until they make sense
how to contemplate them
how to write them
how to re-write them
English, math, history, science, art
it can lift a child
from the darkest depth
out into the light
of understanding
not only themselves
their worth
but others
how the world
works
the good and the bad
the joy and the sorrow
the love and the hate
the giver and the taker
the connection
what it is to live
and what it is to die
TL
Message in a Bottle
I do love
Christmas
but I swear
I jest took
the tree down
yesterday
Thanksgiving next week
Christmas next month
the New Year
2018
I mean really
Really
REALLY
time jest
keeps falling
in the glass
like running water
in a faucet
you become
more and more
aware of this
with each passing
all the memories
moments given
wrapped with ribbon
like Andy Whitfield
once said
“be here now”
TL
Thank You
when they
leave
their home
their very land
some come back …
and some don’t
some come back …
and can adjust
and some come back …
and can’t
some come back …
physically changed
and some come back …
mentally changed
and some come back …
but they’re still there
and they do this
time and time
again
simply so
that other things
important things
can stay the same
here at home
in their very land
TL
Sunlight on the Sea
I have a
fistful
of diamonds
cut
from the corners
where water falls
frozen
icicles in the sun
drop
one by one
shattered
I stoop
and pick up the shards
and carry them
to the edge
of an endless sea
my hand unclenched
i’m blinded by
the sun
TL
Behind the Scenes
it took
years
literally
to be able
to take the turn
and drive down
that road
past that place
and even more
to write about it
I had gone there
to cover a story
in February of 2008
a story about an infant
who had just been found
dead
in a drainage ditch
at an apartment complex
days later
I quit my job
there had been another story
just prior
sitting in a courtroom
listening to a report
of neglect and horrifying abuse
of a small child
I cried through the whole thing
cried all the way back to work
cried in the work restroom
cried all the way home
cried in the shower
cried on the pillow
then they sent me to cover
a story
about an infant
left in a ditch
and even though
I can drive by
now
it don’t mean
I don’t still
cry
TL
Hangers
on a Sunday
as the leaves fell
off the branches
I turned to my closet
and did what the Kondo woman
preaches in her book
I took every single item of clothing I own
OUT
and held up each piece
and asked myself
what she tells you to ask yourself
“does this spark joy”
turns out very little did
seven heaping helping bags later
I realize this
yes, I’ve weeded out my clothes before
but not like this
there were decades in there
things I would never wear again
things I forgot I had
things with tags
I really thought I might get stuck
in there
as the mountain grew higher and higher
I just kept my head down
and kept going
and going
and going
piece by piece
as the hangers piled up
and the bags were tied
clothing condensed
I thought to myself
well, maybe some of it
will spark joy
for somebody else
out there
that or make a good rag
to clean the car
after the clearing of clothes
Kondo tells her readers
to tackle all the books
then all the papers
then all the miscellaneous
and lastly, the sentimental
you’re supposed to hold up each item
and ask yourself, again
“does this spark joy”
yeah, I’m gonna skip the books
and magazines
and go straight to papers
TL
Mr. White
the morning
after
your funeral
I see …
that you have died
70’s too young, Bill
ain’t it
you had a cowboy way about you
a loner on the range
ready to ride out
at first light
in the dew and mist
ever searching for something
intangible to capture
you taught me how
to take a decent shot
even got an A
in your photojournalism class
and since it’s a small world
I’d end up sitting next to you
in the newsroom
you were a better photographer than a writer
great photos need no words
you carried a camera around
like some men carry guns
prepared
you were hard to read
smiling with that gap in your teeth
and raising a wired brow
your eyes seemed to hold secrets
maybe painful ones
we never talked like that
but you did love to talk about surface things
your photos delved deeper
for a close reader
TL
Room to Grow
take a walk
with me
down the path
where carpets of green
unroll
we’ll step on the wrinkles
and smooth out the line
on this floor of green
we’ll add some color
that will bloom and blush
and come back next year
shaded there
under tall umbrellas
a steady stream
transforms the stone
and over time
hard edges soften
on bare feet
we’ll sit and listen
to the water run
and long enough
we’ll watch the blue ceiling
turn pastel
and mix and move
into one
shade of shadow
a string of lights flung
they blink
like the crickets
and the frogs
and the fireflies
like the years gone by
all the days and nights
sleeping and waking up
the sun on one side
and the moon on the other
TL