Month: February 2023

Raining Crystals

used to spend

hours

on a dirt road

digging for quartz

crystal

it wasn’t paved

back then

but a cloud

of dust

a muddy mess

when it rained

hot on bare feet

in the blaze of summer

rock hard in the dead of winter

took so many walks

up and down

that dusty dead-end

never searching

for gold

‘cause there’s no prism

in a nugget

but if you hold a quartz

crystal

up to the light

there’s a rainbow

in your hands

i had a collection of color

something hopeful

in my pocket

since then my collection

has morphed

into Swarovski

anything with a sparkle

stops me

so when I saw this ginormous quartz

crystal

under a spotlight

incased in glass

I stood there

transfixed

my daughter noticed me

taking pictures

of it

and listened to me

ramble on

about how

i used to dig in the dirt for hours

looking for a cut of crystal

diamonds to me

and here was this enormous slab

that reminded me of that scene in Superman

the fortress of solitude

it was something to see

up close

but nothing quite

could prepare me

for the sight of it

in my house

full of rainbows

and light

the weight of it in my hands

on the day I turned 50

and all I could do was

cry

TL

Dessert Plate

the plate

was empty

void of art

or color

design

circular in nature

a plain

marshmallow white

it sat on a shelf

waiting

not knowing

for what

until a small hand

reached up

and lifted it

out

suddenly the plate

was full

it had color

and design

art

it had never

felt

like this

before

and even after

being scraped

and submerged

and scrubbed

clean

and put back

on a shelf

the plate

was no longer

plain

or empty

as it were

for it had

served

its purpose

TL

Eminem’s Jade

she is

the best

thing

that ever

happened

to him

she helped

heal him

just by her being

just to be here

in this moment

in time

amid the roses

and the melody

they’ll dance

the daddy-daughter

dance

TL

i know …

what it’s like

to be home

less

over and over and over

again

i know

what it’s like

to be hungry

over and over and over

again

i know

what it’s like

to be afraid

over and over and over

again

i know

what it’s like

to be burned

over and over and over

again

i know

i’m not  a l o n e

people survive

their circumstances

or they don’t

they go on

or they go

away

what could be

worse

than suicide

to think there’s

nothing

to live for

no more

too many

have left

not strong

enough

to face

the night

or the day

but what’s worse

than that

is taking

not only your life

but the life of

others

innocent others

who never stood

a chance

they walk in

with guns blazing

with the intent to kill

not only themselves

but anyone and everyone

in sight

they hole up in their

houses

with the intent to kill

not only themselves

but their spouse

their very children

anybody in the house

they get behind the wheel

with the intent to kill

not only themselves

but whoever’s in the car

with ‘em

they take the pills and drink the poison

with the intent to kill

not only themselves

but whoever’s around ‘em

they offer it up or force it down

they walk around free

and clear

getting away

with murder

with rape

with the intent to harm

another

physically

mentally

emotionally

but a body’s soul

belongs to but

no one

the soul cannot

be killed

this

i know

TL

Behind the Curtain

Roberta Flack

still plays

on her green piano

“Will You Still Love Me

Tomorrow …”

her undeniable voice

echoes through time

and space

like the mist

over water

leaving its veil

“The First Time

Ever I Saw

Your Face …”

TL

The Wind

it once was

a beautiful

vessel

carefully crafted

in glass

fired by breath

in ember

it would hold

a waterfall

where a white rose

still enclosed

would sip

there was no warning

when the storm hit

the wind so full of force

knocked the vase

to the floor

where it shattered

into stars

marking the night

the waterfall

crept away

in waves

leaving the stem

unformed

the rose had lost

the sun

and the moon

and all the stars

all at once

the storm had

dug into the dirt

and made a hole

and covered it

up

‘til there was no trace

no scent

nothing

so much of nothing

even the rose

herself

forgot …

so she slept

beneath the dirt

as the seasons

came and went

not knowing

that even in the dark

she was still alive

still forming

there was no warning

when the storm hit

the wind so full of force

dug into the dirt

down deep into the dark

and lifted the rose

up

and they danced

away

far away

from the forgotten place

where time had stopped

ticking

the wind laid the rose

in a garden

and wept over her

‘til she adjusted

to the light

the rose had changed

now fully formed

it had been growing

in layers

in the darkness of nothing

and that night

the earth moved

and time resumed its

ticking

the rose saw the stars

shattered in the night sky

so far away

from where she was

and it was like seeing them

for the first time

and the moon

appeared

with its full face

shining

like a ray on the rose

and after long reflection

she saw herself

again

remembering how roses

bloom

and in that moment

there in the garden

in the season of the sun

she knew no

death

TL