On the Eve of October
the shadows
are trembling
in the wind
as leaves twirl
to the ground
pass the pumpkins
on the sidewalk
footballs in the air
campers are rolling in
hunters are rolling out
boots and blue jeans
caramel and spice
hikers and bikers
wearing out the trail
like jeeps on the road
and golfers on the green
it’s getting cooler
in degrees
and the band
is playing
something upbeat
to drown out
the loss
TL
At the Bottom of a Sole
on the outside
looking in
I guess it depends
on the view
on how you view things
at the window
complex things
internally and externally
that affect the world
the world view
it can feel overwhelming
what’s at stake
too much on the table
too many fingers pointing
outward
there is a forgetting
when lines are drawn
and shields go up
basic things
get scattered
and everywhere you look
a mess
the mind shifts away
from early lessons
first steps
in the soles of another
how can you know
how it feels
if you’ve never worn heels
or boots
or moccasins
or patent leather
or plastic holes
or sequin slippers
or flops
or flats
or tracks
or sandals
or suede
or fins
or wedges
or steel toe
or combat
or tactical
or uniform
or casts
or surgical socks
or second-hand
or bags
or bandage
or bare
it’s hard to judge
a life
you’ve never stepped
a foot in
so why do we do
standing ignorant
in our own
set of shoes
TL
Deer
late on the green
putted ‘til the sun went down
‘til the cups faded into the field
Hogan’s quote about daylight
thinking how true
it ‘twas
as I headed home
in the dark
down
a
long
and
winding
road
feeling
relaxed
and
re-charged
when
out
of
the
dark
a
flash
of
light
hits
a
baby
deer
limping
fast
toward
me
I
swerve
left
to
miss
him
and
it
musta
startled
him
‘cause
he
fell
down
on
the
road
just
like
Bambi
did
on
the
ice
but
he
musta
got
right
back
up
‘cause
I
never
saw
his
body
any
where
on
the
road
or
the
side
of
the
road
I
never
saw
him
any
where
on
that
long
and
winding
road
but
I
see
him
in
the
dark
limping
fast
toward
me
TL
In the Middle of
there was
an apple on the desk
uneaten
there were tickets in the drawer
unused
there was an appointment on the books
unmade
there was a project in three phases
unphased
there were messages left on the phone
unreturned
there were stacks of mail in the box
unopened
there was packaged lunch in the frig
unpackaged
there were endless emails
unclicked
there were papers and files and faxes
unread
there were books on break
unturned
there was a sentence in a line
unfinished
there were flowers in a vase
untaken
there were things, so many things left
undone
there was the goodbye
the abrupt goodbye
so final
so surreal
unaccepted
TL