sparrows
the birds on
Butcher Row
just wanna be fed
off the crumbs
you don’t eat
their dreams are trees
the branch closest to the sun
is the warmest one
and when it rains
as it does
there’s something to drink
a puddle for bathing
the flight dries the feathers
and the view at the top
is not
just for an Eagle
or an Owl
or an Angel
TL
In the Window
there were
stars
reflected on black windows
mirrors that see
across the street
nobody lives there anymore
they turned off the electricity
and shut the door
their mail sent to the North Pole
what would they have wanted
you don’t actually see the wind blowing
only what’s in the way
across the street
is a restaurant
where people go to eat
and say things out loud
and when there’s nothing to say
there’s music
songs on rotation
the clang of cleanup
chairs scraping the floor
ice hitting bottom
you can think so loud it shows
so many things you never say
or said
everybody dies
but not everybody
lives
TL
Therein
we are
complex creatures
that seek simplicity
in the profoundness
of place
where we are
at the age we are
on the sliding scale
they say the world is round
circular
maybe unending
we all begin again
I am a student
as I have always been
and will be
TL
The Guy in Gray
warmer than
it was
yesterday
the sidewalks converge
walkers
strollers
pets
bikers
joggers
and the guy in gray
looks new
his eyes downcast
he’s jogging
and it’s hard when you’re heavy
especially uphill
before 8 a.m.
but what he doesn’t know
is the effect
people watch people
in a split second
the mind sees
motivation
motivation in action
and files it
for later
TL
By the Dozen
a vase
of white roses
slowly die
by day
not a natural death
cut short
and hauled down the highway
to the market
for sale
gone is the sun
the wind
rain
four walls
without grass or leaves
bought for their beauty
beheld
a sentiment, a gesture
a notion long held
the boy at the door
the lover in love
the married man
roses require
no sonnets
or dragons slain
cut and dried
pick a color
any color
TL
The Sea at Night
the light
changes
from red
behind a lone rig
we crawl
and it feels like a train
slow moving
reminds me of rain
gobbling on glass
I could drift
on over
and pass
buy why
I’m not in a hurry
tonight
got Olivia Mae on repeat
the moon’s looming large
and I can’t count the stars
not alone
when I’m alone
encapsulated in my car
my hand at the wheel
I could go anywhere
past the limits
find my way to the beach
take off my coat
and shoes
walk down to the edge
where the water pulls at the sand
and stand there
‘til I can’t see my toes
no more
TL
Discover
the movement
of the body
is a gift
the movement
of the mind
is a magic gift
the movement
of the spirit
is beyond
a gift
to forget this
to lose this
lose touch of this
is detrimental
to our very being
our existence
above ground
the seeker inside
must be a child
who wakes up from a nap
and is
truly awake
truly present
in the moment
missing nothing
wasting nothing
all gifts in motion
like the waves
in the sea
flowing
TL
Snow Day
there’s glitter
in the air
it shimmers
like white sand
and sparkles like the sea
stars on a cold night
the dew on grass
drops of rain on a branch
diamonds crunching
underfoot
a chandelier of icicles
overhead
a pauper is king
TL
Something Green
you don’t have
to have
a hundred acres
to be happy
you don’t even have
to have
a backyard
to be happy
dirt is free
natural and abundant
dig some up
and put some in a pot
or a container
or whatever
and put some holes
at the bottom
drain out the water
seeds or rooted plants
don’t care where
you put ‘em
whether it’s a hundred acres
or the backyard
or a single pot
something good will grow
if you water it
and put it in the sun
and hum
you’ll be happy
TL
The Unexpected
never ever really
been
a jewelry-kinda-gal
I like pearls
yes
and that’s about it
or so I thought
and I wasn’t even shopping for myself
looking for something special
for my daughter for Christmas
when my eye got caught
on something blue
it was a ring
in a simple setting
and as soon as I put it on my finger
I knew
I had to have it
but I wasn’t shopping for myself
so I stood there
like a fool
staring at it under the glass
mumbling to myself
what am I doing
I’ve never bought myself jewelry like that
but that day
something came over me
and there was no way
I was leaving
without it
and the nice lady
even wrapped it up gold
with a ribbon
as if I could wait ‘til Christmas
soon as I got in the car
I ripped it open
and put it on my finger
and sighed with relief
the color of the stone
soothing
reminds me of the sky
and blue water
it’s like having a teeny tiny pond
always on hand
TL
Vibration
the ground
is cold
so cold
to the touch
you forget it was ever
warm
maybe it’s warm below
or maybe it’s ice cold
the wind is winter
birds do not bathe in winter
breath of smoke
like a chimney in a row
a cup of coffee carried
the snow fell
like an afterthought
and then decided why not
and covered the ground
clouds on the grass
I do not walk on clouds
I swim in the sea
and bathe like a bird
the water warm with suds
toes tangled in seaweed
so much of life is left in a wake
the compass cuts four ways
just hatched turtles
have no choice
they belong in the ocean
a line in the sand
disappears
TL
Progress
on this
the new day
of the new year
what is it
that causes you
to pause
and reassess
we all have an internal list
of sorts
spoken and unspoken
acknowledged and unacknowledged
mine is long … and tedious
much of the same old same old
but there are a few things
big things
I’ve taken off the list
this year
TL
Rendering
there are ways
around anything
and everything
all things
but death
there’s no way
around that
and though your belief
may lift you up
into eternal light
thereafter
you will no longer
be here
with your laughter and tears
and I don’t care who you are
or who you think you are
or what you believe
or don’t believe
healthy or not
there is a great sadness
to leaving
and knowing you’ll never
come back
to this very place
in time
to this world
you are born
the impossibility of knowing it
fully
in but one lifetime
as it were
TL
Greenhouse
busy with
other things
made my way back
last night
to my poor plants
and saw that they’d held up
in my absence
as I went around watering
I found a single stem
a long-stem white rose
in full bloom
its moonlight glow
two days before
Christmas
had been growing quiet
and I never saw it
that morning
when we laid the cat
inside
and I never saw it
that night
when we took him out
to bury him
but it was there all along
its fragrance
in the air
TL
Quiet Strength
as I walked
away
I thought about
all the things
I didn’t say
what do you say
as I walked
away
I thought about
all the things
you didn’t say
what do you say
so, instead
we smiled
and laughed
and acted like
everything was ok
and as I looked at your beautiful face
so young
and heard you laugh like a tinkling piano
and joke about shopping at the last minute
I realized
in those precious few moments
what a gift you gave
you never chose to be this gift
this force in the universe
that gets up every day
and steps out the door
and drives down the road
and gets out of the car
and goes on …
but you are
you are a gift
‘cause you believe
deep in your very soul
this isn’t it
that someday
one day
you will see your little boy again
and he will know you
and be proud of you
and as he holds you ever tight
he’ll whisper in your ear
Mama … Mama … Mama …
it’s all right …
you kept me alive
with the light
in your eyes
TL
Midnight
ok, I’m gonna
write about you
so, I can let you go
I remember when I held you
so small in my hands
a baby panther
your eyes glowed
looking deep into my soul
and at first you weren’t so sure
about us
‘cause somebody left you
on the street
to die
a good-hearted man found you
and scooped you up
and brought you home
and we loved you
just like that
we watched you grow
from a kitten to a cat
to a ninja
and just the other day
I took your picture
as you stared out at the snow
how would I know
you’d be dead soon
how would I know
on a school morning
walking out to the car
that we’d find you
lying there under the truck
not asleep but dead
and I don’t know what happened to you
and I don’t want to know what happened to you
like the rabbit
I don’t want to know
all I know is I see you everywhere
and I hear you everywhere
and I wish you were still here
looking up at me
with those glowing burning eyes
and while the birds and chipmunks rejoice
we who loved you so
are finding it hard
I finally put lights on the tree
but no ornaments
TL
Treasure
books
if you’re wondering
where I’ve been
and haven’t seen me
in so long
I’ve probably been hiding
within the pages
of a book
I can’t put down
I feel joy
unmeasurable
when I’m standing in a room
full of books
they comfort me
somehow
and ease my mind
I am still a child
inside
that seeks comfort
in none but a book
I run away
to distant lands
the rise and fall and lift
of words
is like music to me
a lullaby
that rocks me in the night
and when I needed
the strength
that only the right book
at the right time
can afford
one or two or three
they somehow found their way
to me
and only now
at mid-life
do I finally feel
utterly
understood
TL
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