Unpredictable
‘tis
cold today
enough for a coat cold
and it might
rain today
enough for an umbrella rain
then again, might not
rain at all
alas, this is
the South
and it might
shine today
enough for shades shine
or might not
it could hail
golf balls
instead
TL
You Are
when you
sit by the sea a l o n e
you are the sea
when you
watch the rain through the window
you are the drops
when you
float off your feet over the waves
you are the ocean
when you
skip stones across the riverbank
you are the ripple
when you
cry your truth in the valley low
you are the well
when you
toss your penny into the fountain there
you are the wish
TL
Obscurity
the untold
story
has no legion
letters
no dotted i
or crossed t
for certain things
in life
there are no words
TL
Woodall
she was
supposed to
blow out her candles
her 64 candles
this day
with her family
all around her
singing
but she got sudden sick
and went to the hospital
thinking she’d stay a few days
and go home
to her husband
but her body shut down
in one of those hospital rooms
and she died
with her family
all around her
crying
when night falls
they’ll go
and reach out to her
one last time
and he’ll feel like
a little boy … once more
needing her
to pick him up
and hold him tight
tell him it’s gonna be all right
and after it’s all over
and the preacher prays
that last prayer
and he goes home
to his wife and baby boy
he’ll feel like
a man
who has aged
too soon
TL
Rainbow Falls
tried this
once before
and turned
around
an hour in
got to that point
bricks and mortar
tell yourself
it’s ok
do it … another day
why not today
bleeding boots
whining when
sandal soles
that’s why
and they tell us
another hour
and a half
you’re there
and it’d be easy
if the trail
were smooth
and even
and dry
but it’s not
at all
resting on rocks
pulling up socks
twisting over rubble
sloshing through the muck
that plank bridge
and this is a vacation
12 miles
to watch
the water
f
a
l
l
and it hadn’t
a thing to do
with water
TL
Souvenir Shop
there was
a quality
of pitch
to her tone
a grittiness
at the bottom
of her laughter
the way she
talked
rhetorical
how she
lifted each
object
and turned it
over
said something
and when
she asked me
“where’re ‘ya from, dear?”
that was it
poor woman
had no idea
“I’m sorry …
you remind me …
of granny …”
TL
Marc Simont
I knew you
only
on the page
wielded there
by lead
and I was standing
at the shelf
a new mother
then
wrapped in wonder
at the beginning
of books
for her
picking off spines
and putting them back
row after row
when found
your tree
your girl
with the blue
watering can
your catch-me cat
your pacing dog
your use
of lifted light
and as I peeled
the pages back
I found
the sentiment
of the soul
made perfect
in the simplicity
of sketches
by a boy
of Paris birth
(Nov. 23, 1915 – July 13, 2013)
TL
Undone
when the day
had
undone at the seams
and left all
the stuffing on the floor
this time
she didn’t bend
or stoop
dropped the needle
in the hay
gave the thread to the spider
and walked away
to the trees
of fall
and found a spot of sun
to sit
a twig to twirl
or not
the running wind
ripped up the path
wiping away
more than dead leaves
TL
Confection
made it
to the store
got out
and bought a pink
marshmallow
and took it home
and unzipped it
and admired it
for a moment
before I pounded it
square
with a pair of boxing gloves
bought before the marshmallow
satisfied with the topping
took the mitts off
and slid under
the square
and baked for
almost 45 minutes
TL
Morning Rush
got his window
rolled
and flicks his cig
and I watch it
bounce and roll
to stop
the drift a version
just went through
red light, green light
his pick-up truck
nothing but dust
move on
to fill the tank
press the buttons
yes
no
and look up
at the slats
a corner of the covering
belongs to that bird
and he watches
that woman
walk to her car
with that big bag
of tater chips
that gulp drink
what he’d give
for a chip
crank the tank
watch the needle
hit the gas
the brake
see the leaves
rush upstream
like swimming salmon
a nest of swarming
honey bees
TL
Travel
the chimes
hang
still as air
pipes without
the faintest puff
circular strung
teetering
off balance
the disk for
a pressed lip
against four faces
vying for breath
a single spin
across the floor
the compass
pitched
like a ship
on its side
righted in India
TL
Selection
there’s
a poem
I tend
to read
whenever
I want
to feel
something
and the other
day
I got around
to looking up
the writer
‘cause I was
curious
about him
and the first
glimpse
of biographical information
noted his birth
but not his death
so I thought he was
still alive
and I’m reading
all about him
more than 30 books
professor at Syracuse
$50,000 prize
and then I’m surfing
this other site
to read more
about his life
and I see then
that he was
87
three days
from now
TL
Scars
the cherry
motel
used to be
red
remember it
being red
and it was red
for a while
not now
though
now when
I drive past it
I see blue
and she was
in grade school
then
a little adult
she was
and so
when it got
to be
so bad
the adult told
the child
you must leave
and the child
listened
and drove
the little adult
to the little motel
and they lived there
the two of them
for a little while
and each day
the bruises
got lighter
and lighter
until one day
you couldn’t
see them
black
no more
you just saw
blue
TL
Past Tense
was
he was
she was
what was
it was
was
what a sad
small verb
was
TL
Paramedics
the line
brakes
in procession
the seconds grainy
in glass
the lights roll past
flashing …
medics on the scene
50-year-old, white male
on the casino floor
dead on arrival
TL
Granny E
by the third
Monday
you will have
been gone
a year
and only
since September
has he been back
in the TV room
forced by an infected toe
in need of elevation
he’d been avoiding
your empty chair
as you well know
hasn’t moved
your stuff
too much
save a few pieces
he gave the girls
it’s hard, Granny,
it’s just hard
it takes him
forever
to get dressed
and make his way
but he does it
everyday
you’d be proud
and proud of the kids, too
they’ve kept going
even when
they didn’t wanna go
but bills have to be paid
somebody’s gotta fix supper
the clothes need laundering
the dog needs feeding
the mail has to go out
the grass needs shaving
the floor needs mopping
the calls need an answer
the trash has to go out
well, you know how it is
they just … stay busy
Scott’s doing ok
still cries when
that song comes on
the radio
and late at night
when we’ve all
gone to bed
he stays awake
with you
TL
“Away Above”
after all
the drops
that fell
Roy G Biv
showed his smile
upside
in the cloud
arched over
the Second Avenue
bridge
so close I could of
reached up
to touch
the violet
TL
Tough Love
he thinks
shooting doves
will make it
what it was …
better
and he’s mad
we ain’t coming
and won’t take no
knows what buttons
to press
blames his buddy’s wife
for his buddy’s absence
all along
yeah, what’s new
hard headed
and whinier
than any woman
he’ll tell ‘ya
all day
why his life’s
thatta way
he didn’t come
from money
bases were loaded
and he dropped
the ball … for her
and he thinks
that big ‘ole house
he bought
on all that land
makes her happy
makes his boys happy
makes him happy
but happy shouldn’t
be this hard
can’t tell him nothing
though
end of that bottle …
no, it ain’t gonna bring
your daddy back
ain’t gonna hold your family
tight at night
ain’t gonna take that hurt
you’ve been holding
outta here
ain’t gonna make-up for a childhood
that wasn’t your fault
people kill themselves
in myriad ways
quick and clean
slow and muddy
and it ain’t nobody
who can put you back
together
but the one
who tore you apart
TL
Grateful
driving along
my mind
on towers
the suffering
of September
that helpless
feeling
that never wanes
when suddenly
I’m snapped back
to the present
four-lanes of flying traffic
what …
what is that kitten doing in the road
and I just knew
knew, knew, knew
there would be a black smudge
on the turn-around
braced myself for it
as I passed all those cars
and I’m staring hard
but there’s nothing to see
look to the right
a footstep from the road
there the kitten
a morning shadow
on green grass
too spent to make a move
looks up at me
helplessly
and I close my eyes
thank you …
TL
Like That
like when GM
tanked
like when the ocean
was oil
like when sports lost
at the ATM
like when construction workers
had nothing to construct
like when fast food
replaced slow food
like when prices at the pump
became a bill
like when terrorists
grounded planes
like when military service
was forgotten
like when children
don’t get to be children
like when weapons
are misused
like when humanity
is compromised
like when people forget
how to think for themselves
like when young people lose direction
and old people have to take it
like when there aren’t enough homes
or enough rooms at the shelter
like when fighters
don’t get back up
like that …
TL