At Rest
following a line
of leaves
down a dusty lane
that turns around
the shoulder
and opens
at the bend
meadowland
like waves of wheat
that wash
against the sand
erasing all the steps
that trod
in puddles over time
wild are the flowers
that broke open
up the hill
setting in the sun
folding under moons
no one sees
the petals drop
then the wind
TL
By and By
in the realm
of reality
dust is dirt
that floats in air
and smoke is steam
that rises and goes no
where
and a single grain of sand
is just a speck
a drop of ocean
that fell
like a faraway star
this sense of somewhere
beyond mortal understanding
of time and place
we find ourselves
in the least of these
remembering moments
that bend
like the light
as the body ages
without sound
the inside stays
anew
centenarians the world over
concur
and have in their hearts
the same refrain
that you held
my hand
when it hurt
and let me cry
when the shadows fall
and the room goes dark
and you have to go it
a
l
o
n
e
journeying
way away from earth
from all earthly things
headed home
from whence
you were
evermore
TL
Limitless
last night
I sat at a table
for three
and was served
the best meal
I’ve ever ate
in my life
the chef is 14
and she is unafraid
of lengthy recipes
that require a certain level
of depth and detail
she is concise
and incredibly creative
in her thought process
and for years now
I’ve been fortunate
to dine at her table
without a reservation
and experience
one culinary creation
after another
but last night
was the first time
she ever prepared
a Korean dish
in the kitchen
she had quietly looked up recipes online
and asked me to take her to the Asian Market
and the grocery store
armed with her mask, her list and my debit card
she marched out with her buggy full of ingredients
not normally on hand
and glanced at the time, pleased with herself
for she was already ticking off the time it would take
to prepare everything and plate the meals
by the time her daddy came home
and when it was finally time to sit down
at the table
I held the tears in check
and just sat there stunned
looking at all the dishes
and then looking at her
and then looking at all the dishes
and then looking at her
this was a meal that requires marinating
and blanching
and chopping
and measuring
and timing
and frying
and grilling
and steaming
and boiling
and certain spices
and sauces
and seasoning
the filling for the dumplings
had like 7 ingredients
and she pinched the edges like
she does a pie
and each dish could have stood alone
as a meal
I looked at the table
at these four main dishes
and two side dishes
and really didn’t know what to say
but … “wow”
just wow
the flavor was authentic
and the presentation was beautiful
and the feeling was overwhelming
she could quite literally open up her own restaurant
right now
already she’s cooked American, French, Italian, Mexican, Korean, etc.
and all manner of desserts and appetizers
I would gladly be her dishwasher
her taste tester
her server
her shopper
her chauffer
her investor
but she says this is jest a hobby of hers
something she enjoys
doing
I’m like … ok …
so, what’s for dinner?
TL
On the Surface
never once
did I consider
the surface
I’d just lace up
my shoes
and go
wherever I felt like flying
running was such a release
whatever I was holding in
or worried about
didn’t seem so heavy
after a run
but a knee injury
when you’re young
can catch up with you
when you’re old
so much so you can no longer walk
wherever you want
let alone run
you have to consider the surface
first
before you take off
and over time
you figure out what hurts
and what doesn’t
I know people who’d give anything
just to walk
let alone run
and I know people who have no excuse
not to walk
let alone run
but none of us understand this
but the bedridden
TL
“Play Smarter not Harder”
the blisters
still hurt on my hands
‘cause I don’t let up on the club
especially when I’m out there
chipping away
and ‘ya get in this rhythm
where they fall just right
and ‘ya don’t wanna let up
on the grip
and if it’s 90 degrees
the palms get sweaty
and slip
and the grip gets tighter
and tighter
which is why
the blisters still hurt
on my hands
gloves would be useful
yeah
but ‘ya lose the feel with gloves
at least for me anyway
so I reach for the box of Band-Aids
instead
maybe someday
I’ll let up on the hold
‘cause I’ve cut the circulation off
or maybe I’ll jest learn how
to trust my club
wouldn’t that be so much easier
yeah, no
TL
Daffodils
they don’t
teach ‘ya how
to be strong
there’s no syllabus
for that
no coursework
no class
they teach ‘ya the basics
of math
English
science
history
and ‘ya sit there
taking tests
hoping to make
the grade
and this process
takes 12 years
elementary
middle school
high school
and then you graduate
and go out into the world
with your lessons
and you enroll in Life 101
and at first it seems so
simple
nothing to it
but life’s not like that
at all
it’s complicated
it can be beautiful one second
and ugly the next
divorce is messy
nobody wins
accidental death is messy
addiction is messy
losing someone you love is messy
watching a loved one die is very messy
job loss
getting sick with something
abusive relationships
homelessness
natural and unnatural disasters
isolation
suicide
obesity
hoarding
emotional trauma
physical abuse
abandonment
it can get messy
quick
and that’s the short list
humans go through transformation
from the moment of birth
to the hour of death
externally and internally
we change form
like the seasons
like springtime
sleeping beneath the snow
dreaming of daffodils
we appear
and then disappear
but we were here
and it was messy
and it was beautiful
and it was worth it
to love
and be loved
TL
Emily Dickinson Poem:
“If I Should Die”
“And if I go, while you’re still here …
Know that I live on,
Vibrating to a different measure
Behind a thin veil you cannot see through.
You will not see me,
So you must have faith.
I wait for the time when we can soar
Together again,
Both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to the fullest
And when you need me,
Just whisper my name in your heart,
… I will be there.”
(for Josey Dorsey, 4)
Songbird
“for you, there’ll be no more crying
for you, the sun will be shining
‘cause I feel that when I’m with you,
it’s all right, I know it’s right
and the songbirds keep singing
like they know the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you
like never before
to you, I would give the world
to you, I’d never be cold
’cause I feel that when I’m with you,
it’s all right, I know it’s right
and the songbirds keep singing like they know the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you
like never before, like never before, like never before
and I wish you all the love in the world
but most of all, I wish it from myself
and the songbirds keep singing
like they knew the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you
like never before, like never before, like never before … ”
(Songbird written by Christine Mcvie and performed by Eva Cassidy
and covered by Naya Rivera)
On a Sunday
the beautiful
Kelly Preston
has drifted away
TL
Henry van Dyke Poem: Reliance
“Not to the swift, the race:
Not to the strong, the fight:
Not to the righteous, perfect grace:
Not to the wise, the light.
But often faltering feet
Come surest to the goal;
And they who walk in darkness meet
The sunrise of the soul.
The truth the wise men sought
Was spoken by a child;
The alabaster box was brought
In trembling hands defiled.
Not from my torch, the gleam,
But from the stars above:
Not from my heart, life’s crystal stream,
But from the depths
Of love.”
Patricia Alatorre
your family
will have to be
strong for you
for the rest of their lives
they have no choice
your story cannot end
like that
there are countless
children
boys and girls
out there
counting on you
to be
their guardian
Angel
TL
Some Days
it rained
so hard
overnight
the ants
took refuge
in my car
and told all
their friends
TL
The Fourth of July
last night
a kaleidoscope
in the sky
turning over
patterned pieces
of colored glass
opening and closing
a fleeting design
mirroring memory
of a phase of life
twirling and whirling
breathtaking
and free
the possibilities
of something
bigger and brighter
more beautiful than before
and you wait for it
this closing encore
this last hurrah!
before the curtain closes
and everybody, everywhere
goes home
and you ask yourself
in the dark
was that it?
is it already over?
like a blink
TL
“America the Beautiful”
was at first a poem
written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893
and published two years later
the poem was put to music in 1910
and the rest is history …
“O beautiful for spacious skies
for amber waves of grain
for purple mountain majesties
above thy fruited plain
America, America
God shed His grace on thee
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
whose stern, impassioned stress
a thoroughfare for freedom beat
across the wilderness
America, America
God mend thine every flaw
confirm thy soul in self-control
thy liberty in law
O beautiful for heroes proved
in liberating strife
who more than self their country loved
and mercy more than life
America, America
may God thy gold refine
‘til all success be nobleness
and every gain divine
O beautiful for patriot dream
that sees beyond the years
thine alabaster cities gleam
undimmed by human tears
America, America
God shed His grace on thee
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea
O beautiful for spacious skies
for amber waves of grain
for purple mountain majesties
above thy fruited plain
America, America
God shed His grace on thee
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining sea …”
Umami
unbeaten
by the rain
he makes his way
in the dark
and turns the lock
and flips the lights
and heads to the back
where hours of preparation
meet the discipline of the mind
each day an empty bowl
he fills
for the ramen lovers
like me
who thought it came out of a package
with powdered packs and a crunchy square
and you could go your whole life long
thinking that …
‘til one day
in the rain
you happen upon a new place
to try
and you venture in
side
and sit down at his table
and order ramen
off the menu
expecting just another bowl
of soup
until they bring it out
steaming
this work of art
and you taste that first sip
of broth
unlike anything
and these noodles
are far from square
this bowl of ramen
is like a great book
that fills all the senses
and makes you forget
where you are
TL