Overcome
wanted to cry
on a Wednesday
but didn’t have time
so, I laughed
instead
TL
Poetry
Overcome
wanted to cry
on a Wednesday
but didn’t have time
so, I laughed
instead
TL
Vivid
woke up
late
dreaming weird
dreams
and I never dream
much
just she
and me
in the car
a blue car
had just
put our clubs
in the back
and got in
but instead of
going forward
we started slipping
back
slowly back
and kept moving
backwards
but we weren’t
anywhere near a course
we were on the hunting land
and we were lost
down this long dirt road
rolling back
further and further
and then the car
in movie slow-mo
flipped over
and landed on
all fours
and kept rolling
slowly backwards
until it finally stopped
in the middle of nowhere
and we got out
and I made a cell phone call
and then I heard a man
clear his throat
from a shack in the woods
and I told her
quick! get back in the car
then I woke up
weird, huh
TL
Consumption
a plate
is put down
between the fork
the knife and spoon
napkin and stem
a glow of light
shadows the room
a scent of softness
brings the shade
chairs slide back
and forth
the stem sips
the plate is raked
the napkin tossed aside
the fork, the knife, the spoon
at rest
all go down into the sink
the washer
scrubbed and polished
and well-used
TL
Depth
I hold out
my hand
to touch
the snow
a fallen flake
hard edges
melting all the while
it won’t ever be
as it was
in the air
wandering
taken on the map
of my palm
it streams
past the pyramids
where the wild horses run
skimming the shores of Siberia
back to Baikal
TL
Diamonds
yes, I do
I squint through
the same drop
as you
and see it
the same as you
the greens, the blues
the pitch beneath them, too
I see it
stuck on windows
or strung across the branch
or sipping slow on blades
out the creases
the corners of an eye
what dying does
what love requires
in the beginning
in the middle
in the end
I see it
same as you
the drop
before it fell
whence it was
above me
or below
TL
“Chaos and the Calm”
been away …
… just away
with the poet
James Bay
TL
Windshield
before long
I’ll be gone
and you’ll be gone
and they’ll be gone
we’ll all be gone
will you remember
how good it was
how good it could have been
that walk you never took
when the sun
shone
a polished moon
shattered on the glass
how the flowers swayed
small against the bark
the wind rushed up
and past
ripping through the limbs
a nest on the ground
what color is the sky
was it cold
the rain
not cold enough
did the snow melt the man
can’t see the star
from where i am
so, how do ‘ya know
it fell
if you weren’t there
to see it
TL
Restore
when you’re
in need
of a friend
you think
God mighta forgot
to send
step outside
your door
and follow the trail
where the armored trees
stand strong
lean on them
the wind
will find you
wherever you are
and help you along
your way
the sun will hold you
for a thousand summers
in its warm-full embrace
the flowers will give you
what you need to remember
about a beautiful thing
and if you should ever wonder
how you’ll ever make it through
just drop your head
and look down
at the dirt cold ground
the ants will show you
a thing or two
about endurance
how nothing is too hard
not even a downpour
TL
Injustice
there are
men and women
who serve
a life sentence
for their crimes
for all they’ve done wrong
there are
men and women
who do no time
never sentenced
for their crimes
for all they’ve done wrong
a child
does not speak
a child
does not say
a child
does not tell
there are
children round the world
who serve
a life sentence
for no crime
in a closet cell they sit
shackled
they can’t get up
even though
the Warden
long unlocked the chains
and signed their papers
free to go …
the cage door opened
w i d e
but the stupid bird just sits there
staring at the door
‘cause it forgot how to fly
TL
Acceptance
want not
to ask
a word why
of any when
of a whole thing
within its infinite
parts
whether working
in accord
in discord
the line stops
as it started
you forget a face
your own
the winter world
you walk in
and out of
a trail of glass
worn to water
you sink to its bottom
squinting like warmed ice
on a windshield
Atlantis does exist
TL
Transition
in the end
my dear friend
you won’t need
your spectacles
or your teeth
you won’t need
your shoes
or your wallet
you won’t need
your belt
or your buckle
you won’t need
your hat
or your coat
you won’t need
your watch
or your pen
you won’t need
a shower
or a commode
you won’t need
a phone
or a quarter
you won’t need
a television
or a remote
you won’t need
a car
or a house
you won’t need
a lawnmower
or a shed
you won’t need
a table
or a chair
you won’t need
a book
or a map
you won’t need
an envelope
or a stamp
you won’t need
your shirt
or your pants
you won’t need
trinkets
or tools
you won’t need
a cane
or a walker
or a wheelchair
you won’t need
a cup
or a saucer
you won’t need
a fork
or a spoon
or a knife
you won’t need
a ticket
or a receipt
you won’t need
a list
or a reminder
you won’t need
to go
and come back
you won’t need
a key
or a lock
you won’t need
to talk
or be heard
you won’t need
to know what day
week or year
you won’t need
to please
or plan
or promise
you won’t need
a lamp
or a candle
or a stick
you won’t need
a match
or a lighter
or a switch
you won’t need
a compass
or a channel
or a chime
you won’t need
a toothpick
or a brush
or a comb
you won’t need
a dip
or a snuff
you won’t need
plenty
or enough
you won’t need
up or over
you won’t need
before or after
you won’t need
this
anymore
the sun and moon
will converge
the wind will lift you
like a leaf
and carry you across
the blue sea
to the end of the ocean
where the earth is ending
and the heavens just begun
TL
Trick-or-Treat
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t see ‘ya tonight
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
she won’t be knocking
at your door
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t be watching you
watching her
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t come in
and sit a spell
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t laugh like that
without a joke
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t get up
to hug ‘ya bye
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t hear ‘ya say
“come back
and see me
sometime …”
we won’t turn
right
we’ll drive straight
to the light
and take a left
we won’t see ‘ya tonight
TL
Consumed
in the degrees
of a storm
the wind
is an untamed thing
laying waste a forest
exposing roots to air
the slash of rain
fencing
nobody claps
but thunder
electricity in the sky
a second of connection
sparks fly
walk through fire
looking for the door
but you can’t get out
engulfed
you crawl to a window
and break the glass
so you can breathe
somebody tells you you’re bleeding
and you look down
and see it’s true
a burned up body
feels no cut
stitch
the bandage blue
you walk the forest
at night
watching the sun
through a window
the trees in ray
a bird flies in
sits there
on a limb
and takes off
TL
The Lines
stretched along
the side
towering like trees
glistening in the morning sun
dripping like spider webs
in the rain
these lines
carry connection
from one end
to the other
the dial
the punch
the press
the ringing
the hello
the “how ‘ya been …”
the hang up
the silence
the busy
the static
the hold
the wait
the call back
the forgot
the pick up
the ignore
the message
left
the tone
the truth
the trying
“he died last night”
“she took her own life”
what now
“the wedding’s when”
“ok, we’ll be there then”
the honeymoon
is over
“congratulations, it’s a boy!”
he’s getting older
“did you hear about that”
“yeah, it was so sad”
that’s life though
ain’t it
complex in the cruel
wonderful in the weary
sweet in the bitter
careful in the crazy
beautiful in the not
tragic in the torture
dead in the life
sheets in the sadness
singing in the dancing
empty stages
nobody came
the plate’s still full
left the drink
chilled
who’s gonna clean the kitchen
mow the grass
mail the letter
make sure it gets there
in time
does it need a signature
do you have a pen
you always have a pen
yeah, but
it won’t
here, use mine
thank you … I love how it writes
no, you keep it
TL
Underneath
hey …
‘ya busy
I know but
take a walk
with me
won’t take long
wanna show ‘ya
something
grab a coat
it’s windy
here’s your hat
might rain
you can drive
turn here
and park
we gotta cross
that street
and walk down
that path
yeah, I knew you’d like it
the leaves have a certain
edge
and the bark has a fresh
shave
and it has a story
behind it
and I know how ‘ya love
a good story
TL
The Bed
they put
a stake
in the ground
where your bo
dy
will be
lower
ed
tomorrow
morn
before supper
and goodnight
at the headboard
on your side
next to
her
muddy
and
mowed
the rain
will turn it
green
before long
a matching cover
to hide
the hole
TL
Raindrops
a moment
of silence
is like a drop
that falls
to earth
and finds
the flower
bowed
TL
Beholder
photos
on the floor
bound in books
with hard covers
pages in the middle
like dried petals
like insect shells
lie formless
in the sand
only in
a stranger’s
hands
TL
Fall
the shed of leaves
leap and spin
and fill the air
in prima form
the memory of
attachment
this little leaf
on the ground
that once was waving
from on high
TL
Cuts Both Ways
never did she
factor this
only saw the steps
away …
no presence did
she feel
as if nobody
hurt but her
and there were times
aplenty
that should have
made it plain
how different
we would see
the same
and maybe I’m
to blame
but some things remain
… unchanged
those things
that change us all
in a matter of a second
a minute more
regardless of when
questioned my resolve
so distance called
a way to bear
the inevitable
loss for loss
the scale
which weighs less
a shield
or a sword
TL