Perspective
she rested
her head
on a rock
the wind
at her back
like a pat
the sound
of a bird
winging away
it might rain
today
I understand
the rain
and why it
falls
TL
Poetry
Perspective
she rested
her head
on a rock
the wind
at her back
like a pat
the sound
of a bird
winging away
it might rain
today
I understand
the rain
and why it
falls
TL
What Was
apart
from that
it was good
like looking
out to sea
and catching
a glimpse
of gold
before
it
sinks
beneath the sand
only to float up
elsewhere
shimmering and shining
in another
place
and time
unmatched
in words
and deed
the feeling
of a dream
before
it is
TL
SHANIA
before
she was
a superstar
writing and singing
her own
signature songs
she was
just a 10-year-old child
living in poverty
suffering at the hands
of her step-dad
who abused her
in every way
imaginable
she wasn’t just struggling
to find food
but a way to cope
day to day
living with a volcanic step-dad
an abused mother
and sisters that looked to her
for mothering
it was the magic of music
that swept her away
and saved her
and gave her
another life
to live
one she dreamt of
and prayed for
and worked for
sacrificed for
she’s strong
not because she chose
to be
but because
she had no other
choice
but to be
a songbird
in the dead
of winter
singing
to the trees
to the drunks in bars
to the people who paid
to the strangers from town to town
city to city
country to country
stage to stage
‘til she made it
to the Hall of Fame
where great songwriters
get to go
and be remembered
for the gifts they gave
away
TL
Tub
I cleaned
the tub
the one
we used to
sit in
when you were
small enough
to lift
and tote
and set
and whirl
and spin
back then
it was all about
the bubbles
those magic sparkle bubbles
you loved looking
at
and I loved looking at you
looking at them
feels like yesterday
when it was just
you and me
sittin’ in the tub
bubble high
do you remember how
I’d write words on your back
and you’d try to guess
what they were
and how you always got
I love you
now, you’re 16
and 16
can turn her own faucets on
and pour her own bubbles in
and light her own candle
and drain her own water out
and fix her own cup of tea
she needs me
in other ways now
mostly just to listen
and encourage
and say
it’ll be ok
I love you,
too
TL
True Grit
she’s a runner
that went the distance
and kept going
beyond the finish line
for her
there is no line
she is the human spirit
made known
her life has shown
the essence of what is essential
that no matter what
you’re faced with
in life
whatever it is …
you press on
and chip away
at the mountain
in front of you
she dug her way out
of the dirt that fateful day
and found out
who she really was
what she was capable of
and how she would
lead
down the stretch
at her own pace
figuring out
along the way
how to survive
and begin again
she pushed past
the endurance level
past what is expected
concluded and closed
she took what
could have killed her
that day
in the desert
and transformed
into something beyond
this world
she believed
in the tomorrow
she lives today
and she’s not done
turning the dirt
over
true grit: Turia Pitt
TL
War Veteran
snow on
the ground
ice cold
a numbness
takes over
the body is gone
but still breathing
the heart outside itself
still beating
the mind is lost
in time
not in the present
but the past
it chapters back
through the stacks
to that line
that beautiful line
you wrote in that letter
that made the snow
melt
it was summer
in the winter
of that year
or was it winter
in the summer
or was it spring
when it felt like fall
was morning night
or night morning
when there’s too much pain
the mind escapes
seamlessly
the way clouds move
against the shade
of blue
the bluest blue
TL
Country Rose
jest
don’t talk
through a song
especially one
she wrote
for a woman
who once graced
the Opry stage
and filled the airways
with her songs
‘bout hunger and heartbreak
the ones that fed
a little girl
somewhere in Kentucky
who ended up becoming
a singer herself
a writer of songs
yeah, somebody shoulda shushed
the woman in silver
sittin’ stage front
carrying on that conversation
with that guy
that coulda waited
‘til the woman in gold
up there on the stage
was done
singing her song
the one she wrote
for a country rose
that once grew
wild
in a hollow
TL
Cherry Blossoms
there’s a river
in Itaewon
that formed
from tears
that fell
beneath
a harvest moon
where roses
in first blush
all but bloomed
a mother stoops
to pick a petal
off the water
before it floats
out of sight
a father bends
and helps the mother
to stand
they walk away
old now
taking the long way
home
in rooms that echo
laughter
where their beloved child
ran about
wild and free
now the music box
is closed
its tender tune
plays elsewhere
in the Spring
the cherry blossoms
will bloom
and the wind will hold off
a moment more
as will the rain
there’s a river
in Itaewon
that knows it
well
TL
When Fireflies Fall
to say
i too
felt the light
is this not
what all creatures
long for
the brush of wings
in the night
the blink of bulbs
strung like stars
that fell close
enough to touch
would that you save
in a jar away
for the road
gets weary
for travelers near
and far
and the eyes grow blind
to beauty
and all feeling fades
from surface
as the water moves
like breath
barely breathing
the mist
TL
Something Else
a month
has gone
by
and I guess
I’m still
adjusting
to the 13th year
a year of change
… you get up
on a school morning
on a September day
and make coffee
like you always have
and go about your daily routine
but this time’s different
this time
you don’t get in the car
and drive to school
and watch her get out of the car
or watch her get back in the car
after 13 years of doing that
suddenly
you’re left standing there
in the driveway
waving
and even though
you knew this day would come
it’s something else
something new
something blue
I suppose I’ve taken it
in stride
but I realize I haven’t really
left the house
on my own
in a month
Chapter 50 … is hard … it’s jest …
so ‘ya make yourself
a big bowl of pasta
and wonder where time goes
I’ve really gotta get out of the house
maybe tomorrow
I will
today I’m with Otis
“Sittin’ by the Dock of the Bay …
Wastin’ Time”
TL
Listening
my house
speaks to me
it has a lot to say
I’ve tried to shush it
to quiet its chatter
its long-winded declaration
speeches on the promenade
the whisper
of bygone days
but it won’t let me
it begs me
to remember
every age
TL
Full Flow
is like
the wind
on water
a leaf falling in
unattached
the shimmer
of sunny days
the salt of the sea
the crunch of snow
the crackle of fire
the drip drop tick tock
of rain
the feeling
of being
of becoming
TL
On the Green
everything gets quiet
the mind
melts away
there’s no memory
of the painful past
no worry
of the future unknown
you’re left with only
this moment
at hand
right in front of you
clear and focused
just you
with your putter
7 balls
and the hole
it’s simple
yet complex
but to be
good at it
to get better
at it
you have to
get in the zone
where nothing else matters
not the heat of the sun
not the pelt of the rain
not the gust of the wind
not the cut of the cold
not the sting of the mosquito
not the hurl of the mower
or the weed eater
it’s all about getting the ball
to sink down in the hole
to get as close as you can
to submersion
one shot is great
two shots are good
three shots need work
four shots need a break
you get to begin again
each time
you approach the ball
putting is my go-to
my balance
find your balance
TL
D o o r s
there are
open doors
closed doors
cracked doors
propped doors
locked doors
unlocked doors
bolted doors
chained doors
sliding doors
barred doors
divided doors
dark doors
light doors
gray doors
clear doors
split doors
broken doors
whole doors
crushed doors
new doors
old doors
ancient doors
painted doors
primed doors
peeling doors
stripped doors
sealed doors
busted doors
burnt doors
charred doors
shuttered doors
double doors
single doors
quiet doors
squeaky doors
banging doors
slammed doors
secure doors
unsecure doors
decoy doors
remote doors
coded doors
public doors
private doors
hidden doors
passing doors
display doors
plastic doors
wooden doors
steel doors
hinged doors
unhinged doors
screened doors
guarded doors
passage doors
gated doors
make-shift doors
exterior doors
interior doors
forgotten doors
faded doors
fallen doors
destroyed doors
restored doors
rusted doors
silver doors
golden doors
glass doors
measured doors
unmeasured doors
structural doors
framed doors
custom doors
uncustom doors
staged doors
curtain doors
beaded doors
tinsel doors
taped doors
lit doors
unlit doors
still doors
revolving doors
coffin doors
dirt doors
stone doors
garden doors
inside doors
outside doors
standing doors
buried doors
blinking doors
treehouse doors
dollhouse doors
castle doors
cardboard doors
magic doors
invisible doors
disappearing doors
reappearing doors
walk-thru doors
waterfall doors
cave doors
elevator doors
emergency doors
escape doors
trap doors
storage doors
secret doors
floating doors
sinking doors
solid doors
dissolving doors
mirrored doors
blurred doors
tower doors
dungeon doors
drop doors
beginning doors
in-between doors
ending doors
no doors
TL
Feeling
i feel
i’ve felt
all there is
to feel
i’ve felt
TL
Nothing
they say
time heals all pain
not sure pain heals
loss is its own
frame
the picture of it
moves like light
and dark
like fog and mist
like flakes of snow
and drips of rain
like a seed that breaks
the surface
and lingers
a moth before it dies
the stones don’t change
only the names
the bringing and taking away
of flowers
how grass covers dirt
and concrete covers grass
nobody warns ‘ya
or maybe they do
or did
or didn’t
or meant to
really meant to
but never got around
to it
or didn’t know how
to go about it
people tend to do nothing
when they don’t know what to do
or say
but doing nothing
is something
you don’t forget
TL
The Changes Within
in August
the leaves are green
soaking in the rays
and rain
spinning in the wind
so alive
it’s hard to know
their time
is even now
running out
summer is over
the fall of leaves
will soon be raining
down
as beings on earth
we are connected to the seasons
in ways
that are instinctual in nature
maybe that’s why we gravitate to the expansiveness
of oceans and mountains and sky
get lost in the jungle
the desert
the pyramids
the places in pictures
over land and space
under
water
and above the cloud
to feel all there is to feel
what does travel teach you
in the end
that you already knew
but forgot
TL
3 Chords and the Truth
turned the dial
down
had to
but sick of the silence
so turned the dial
up
and found some
new stuff
music never leaves ‘ya
long
it brushes back a leaf
and flies in a V
and ripples the glass
and turns a red rose
brown
it fills the space
the dust don’t
and lifts the ink
off the skin
water wears away
the hardest stone
smooths it down
over time
they stack ‘em
in Tennessee
and leave ‘em
for strangers
to see
on their way
to capture
rumbling water
falls
TL
Nursery Rhymes
wonder why
violets are blue
why Valentine roses
are always red
why I can’t find
those little white bells
nowhere
like looking for those little blue smurfs
or trolls under the bridge
and I forget what I wanted
back in ’91
by ’93 I was standing in a showroom
full of shiny boxes picking one
to put in a hole
wondering how I got there
when life takes a turn
you always ask yourself … how’d I get here
time moves
and it don’t
aging is a process
that you can never process
why’d the spider go up the waterspout
in the first place
didn’t it sense the danger
or was it seeking shelter
what a song to sing
to itsy bitsy kids
like an old man
in the rain
forgetting which house is his
or the old woman who lived in a shoe
what an imagination
like a cow jumping over the moon
and the fork running away with the spoon
if you live long
enough
you end up
following the breadcrumbs
down the yellow brick road
back to the beginning
up the vine
and into the clouds
TL
Intersection
the spider
leaves its line
a thread
of existence
that it once
was here
too
conscious
or unconscious
this is the way
of all things
the looming light
behind the cloud
was yesterday
a ruffled edge
in the wind
green gems
a shining chandelier
water over rock
and shell
what once was
dust
had shape
and form
and being
the rain falls
and some creatures
wiggle out
or crawl
while others take cover
under mush
rooms
or tall tall
trees
or petals
in a ring
the icebergs
are melting
the trails
are too long
by foot
what a waste
of wealth
10 fingers
10 toes
and this little
piggy stayed
home
where does it all go
the mind wears away
go by feel
when the heart was
whole
and the page was blank
a scribble of color
that first letter
first word
before there was thought
and thinking
and staying between
the lines
just a thread
TL