Month: November 2019

Love Like That

the first time

you want for something

so much it hurts

and you’re told “no.”

is that the moment when

it kicks in

the c o n d i t i o n s

of love

little children seem to know

they just innately know

how to love something

or someone

without a promise

or a prize

there are no conditions

to it

it’s like they’re lit up from within

with an abundance of LOVE

so much so

they can’t contain it

so they give it all

away

without any thought

or hesitation

or expectation

it is the purest

simplest

most profound

love

there is in the world

the love that needs no return

it just is

and it’s what we search for

in the end

TL

Weighing on my Mind

5am

can’t sleep

make coffee

and listen to the train

huffing and puffing

down the tracks

sun’s creeping up

through the trees

and all the leaves

are hanging on

a moment more

before they spiral down

the winds are coming

awash with rain

time keeps moving

before I can

catch up

laying the plate down

taking it back up

did you remember what you ate

think I need a smaller plate

20 pounds

back to the gym I go

‘cause the gym at home

ain’t seen me

in a while

rice

noodles

and bread

“Oh, My”

looked up optimal weight online

5’1” should weigh 112

yeah, I weighed 110

back when

lots of living since then

“muscle weighs more than fat”

kept telling myself that

I don’t want to be 110 again

but 120

that’s the magic number

not sure which is HARDER

losing weight …

or maintaining it …

yeah, both

TL

Ashley

in a month

she’ll be

what she

always wanted

to be

married

she turned 26

in July

and teaches

kids in the classroom

what they ought to know

when she was a little girl

she’d line up her dolls

on the couch

and pace in front of them

talking

telling them what to do

and they always listened to everything

she had to say

she had an amazing imagination

she could have been an actress

I could see her doing those Hallmark Christmas movies

but she’d rather have the real thing

to fall in love for real

to open her wedding gifts today

one step closer

to standing beside him

the love of her life

looking into his eyes

saying, “I do”

TL

The Prayer

it snowed

in Birmingham

today

it started falling fast

last Sunday

and now the ground

is frozen solid

and everything is winter white

and hushed

like when they bring

the baby out

for the mother

and the father

to hold

promises are made

in that moment

whispered like a prayer

that only God can hear

and even as the years

open and fold

and the baby changes form

becomes an adult

the parent prayer remains

ever wrapped in mortal flesh

the gift of time

is a clock on earth

that stops ticking

today or tomorrow

but in Heaven

time is a continuous thing

like a circle

… unbroken

TL