Golden Years
they don’t talk
anymore
they don’t laugh
or yell
they don’t touch
or dance
they’re married
too long
they have separate
corners
they eat standing up
get even, sitting down
they’ve aged
early
they’ve stayed
late
they’re dead
on their feet
TL
Excavation
never saw her
again
the way she was
back then
never saw him
again
the way he was
back then
but the choices
were never mine to make
the heart doesn’t care
what you think or say
it goes its own way
through the dark forest
into the cave
over the bridge
across the desert
and into the sea
least I tried
got on the boat
and never bailed
went down with the ship
lungs burning
guns blazing
but love wasn’t done
hadn’t taken enough
so it drank the ocean
and ate all the trees
’til all was left
was summer sand
and a hand to dig
for water
TL
Fireflies
these are the days
marking the wall
the pinnacle place
sizing shoes
something new
a lighter hue
the songs you sing
and there’s the moon
and there’s the sun
and there’s the bug
where’d it go
can we keep it
and there’s the wrapper
I didn’t eat it
it must have been a ghooooost
or sooooomething, you know,
like that bad old, bad old, troll
oh, all right, all right, I ate it
and there’s the mud
and there’s the water
and there’s a butterfly
and there’s a bee
and there’s a frog
and there’s a fly
see that spider
watch that worm
is that a cricket
catch that caterpillar
did you see that
there it is
do you see it
right there
do you see it
did you see it
turn your head
now, do you see it
do you see it
yes, I see it …
I see it
TL
Car Wash
there’s a waterfall
hidden in this hole
in the wall
and for a few bucks
you can watch it fall
crash and cascade
like the rush of a wave
then drizzle and drip
“calm before the storm”
rumble of rain in the belly
bubbles blinking
then smack
goes the blue wax,
flecks of green and purple pigment
like seaweed swimming
feel like a fish
in a tank
nose against
the glass
TL
Alone
a cemetery
perhaps can be
a sanctuary
place without pretense
somewhere to go
and sit with stones
most of whom
you knew not
yet you knew them all
for they, too
lived and dreamed and lost
felt love in all its form
some died too young
others too old
some were already dead,
buried long ago
others newborn
names and dates
sometimes scripture
possibly a poem
plastic flowers picked up
by the wind
tokens tossed, taken in
and here and there
an empty spot
where the sun burns
and the rain soaks
and a bird flies over
and soles drift by
like swans on water
like a lullaby
TL
Cessna
took off
in a metal bird
left my body
on the ground
clouds were quiet
the sun was soft
saw myself
in a tiny toy car
stuck at the light
watched a stream of ants
go in and out the door
picked up a pool
and put it on my finger
glint of aquamarine
Lego houses
and broccoli trees
child’s laughter
left it there
with the sparrow
TL
Music Box
first it was
a plastic ballerina
whirl of white
spinning into the night
then it was red velvet
edged in antique gold
like a seat at the opera
longing for love
last it was silver
a cameo center
blue velvet
inside
the color of sky
a Switzerland sound
of a tinkling town
warmth of the hearth
frosted glass
full of flurries
TL
Last Time
was on my
way to work
about to turn in
and there’s this
black dog
in the midst
of Indy
got out
and walked him
up to his house
where the girl
who answered the knock
knew him
she hollered out
and a man appeared
and told me it wasn’t the first time
next morning
there’s the dog
got out
and dragged him
to the side
went back to the house
and as soon as the girl saw me
she cried
TL
Amen
what is it
to be human
to love and to hate
to think you don’t hate anything
or think you know how to love something
to sit in church on Sunday shaking hands
and then on Monday crushing petals underfoot
to tell someone you care about ‘em
and then leave ‘em to drown
and wonder why they don’t come around
to expect more than you’re capable of giving
wanting what you’ll never have
and never realizing what you do
casting judgment without cracking a case
figuring you never make mistakes
becoming everything you detest
and then it’s the holidays
and you gotta put on your face
and make like all is right
in the world
’cause that’s what humans do
they light candles
in the dark
’til the wick runs out
TL
Private Pain
he was smiling
whenever I saw him
as if nothing bad
had ever happened to him
and I was happy for him
then one day
he called me up
after reading
a story I’d written
about somebody
who had just died
on the roadway
after being hit by a car
and he asked me
if I’d talked to the driver
and then he was telling me
about himself
how he was that driver
once
years ago
and I could hear him
crying quietly
over the phone
and there was nothing
I could say
so I cried, too
through the years
he must have relived it
a thousand times
why’d it have to be me
she walked in front of
wasn’t his fault
and he knows it
but it doesn’t change a thing
a life is gone
and he goes on
but it’s clear
part of him is gone
the boy died that day
on a broken roadway
TL
Loss
Christmas before
he died
bought him a bunch of ties
neckties of varied stripe
enough for two weeks’ worth
didn’t have much money then
but was young enough not to care
so he’s sitting there in his red pajamas
with such surprise
held each one to his puffed up chest
and grinned like a little boy
who’d gotten the bike
there was the bottom of December
all of January, all of February
at the top of March
he was dead
his ties hanging
in the closet
where he left ‘em
TL
Crystal
saw it in the snow
this tiny town
I know
the sugar shaker
wasn’t stingy
with the sprinkles
pure confection
didn’t matter who you were
what you’ve done
or didn’t do
rich or poor
the branches glistened
the air alive
like Frosty
mug in hand
warmer than
it’s ever been
take a drive
and window watch
boys and girls
men and women
dogs and squirrels
and there’s a stillness
in the picture
a feeling of regret …
that time you yelled
or kept on going
when you should have
turned around
the “sorry” you never said
the understanding you never felt
the time you can’t get back
and then you’re back home
taking off your coat
and kicking off your shoes
and turning the thermostat
and getting something to eat
something to drink
saying, “what a beautiful day”
and even then
the sun is coming
for the snow
TL
Confetti
and the leaves
are falling
wrinkled
like the old do
and the young
are rushing about
as if
a magic pill
will be FDA approved
when it comes time to leave
and they’ll pop it
and go about their merry way
laying waste what’s left
somebody should have said something
somebody should have warned ‘em
maybe somebody did
but they were in a hurry
that day
and didn’t hear
TL
Time
yesterday
crept over a track
and looked to the left
far as the eye could see
and there in the distance
a deer
standing there
solitaire
middle of the railway
staring back at me
two of us
suspended
in a parallel path
an understanding
between us
same fate
TL
All the Way
never call in
except for
that one time
for Michael Grimm
the Mississippi boy
who ambled out
on stage
sat down
on a stool
guitar in hand
soul on his sleeve
man, oh man
took my breath away
yelled out to my love
“Hey, you gotta hear this guy play”
blew us away
and just like that
a star was born
soon as he sang
“You give your hand to me”
TL
Test
she appeared
with a little black dog
from a distance
she’d seemed so happy
must have been a mirage
for this was a sad soul
and told me so
the little black dog was new
the one she had before
had died not long ago
round about the time she lost her job
and found out she was sick with something
she said she didn’t know how much more she could take
“hard lessons,” she said
nodded my head and wished her better days
that her little black dog would help her get out of bed
and get her out the door and down the street
back on her feet
TL
Traffic
orange light
blinking right
and we’re all waiting
our turn
down the highway
some move painfully slow
while others act like
they’ve got somewhere to go
or maybe they’re running late
or running away
who knows
not too fast
not too slow
somewhere between
sightseers and tunnel vision
middle of the road
and your whole life
you’re trying to figure out
how to go
not too fast
not too slow
TL
Boca Raton
and we’re sitting there
just the two of us
with our ice cream
having walked
from shore to shore
for two scoops
and unaware of your stare
I had run out of cream
and was looking down
at the end of my cone
an empty shell
when suddenly
a spoonful appeared
and I looked up
and realized
you’d given me your last bite
and in the smallness of that moment
with so many years of marriage between us
I thought to myself
wow, you still love me
TL
Coffee Cup
the woman
both arms swinging
must have not felt
good today
but the guy
without his left
was swinging his right
still in the ring
and the old man
on the bench
must have given in
to his couch
and the girl at the register
hasn’t changed
“patience,” say to myself
get in the car
windows down
song rolled up
wind in my hair
home in 10
then back again
TL
Hallelujah
Cohen penned it
perfect on the page
and lived to hear the praise
but Buckley
ripped it real
then slipped to sleep
missing Christmas morning
the way he played
his voice surreal
guess it didn’t matter much
how people feel
he was singing for himself
and the rest just happened by
TL