The Lake
the road
is the same road
nothing’s changed
about it
in 20 years
only my shadow
has
it used to fly down the road
with a hummingbird heart
before the coffee was brewed
and the dogs barked
then down to the dock
the stillness of the water
rippled only by a fish
or a turtle peering up
or a bass boat crawling by
I’d stare at the water
like some stare at fire
thinking or not thinking
that’s the part
that hasn’t changed
TL
Your Own Table
there’s some
thing
about cooking
your little meal
in your little kitchen
that makes it
a little more
fulfilling
TL
Intersection
if you keep
in mind
the line
behind you
the lines
beside you
and the line
ahead of you
you’ll better
understand
the lines
how they
connect
the beginning
the ending
and everything
in-between
TL
he was gone
before the ink could dry
on the page
nothing slowed him down
for long
like Rocky, he got up
he wasn’t anywhere near perfect
but he was real
and if he loved you or hated you
you felt it
he could talk to anybody anywhere
at anytime
he had tremendous empathy
for the down and out
the hopeless and hurting
he could relate to the pain
and loss
he’d give a stranger his last dollar
and if you had no family to stay with
he’d be your family
no matter what he’d been through
or how hard it was
he remained hopeful
and grateful
humble and kind
he might of been a newspaper man
to some
but to me and to many
he was a teacher
who could teach you a thing or two
about life
he sure didn’t waste it
like that Blake Shelton song
“man, he lived it …”
TL
The Moth
betrayed
would you then fall
away
and disappear
into the mountains
sit somewhere by the sea
and forget how forgotten
flowers fade in vases
ripe fruit rots
in the bowl
the wind is roaring
through the field
no trees to shield
or shelter
quiet is the night
that whispers early in the morn
and the birds are still singing their song
as the white moth dies a slow death at the door
and if I could talk to him
I’d ask him why
why does he keep coming back
to the flame
knowing he’ll get burned
time and again
is it because he’s stupid
or full of hope
or blind
or all of the above
who knows
or maybe after being burned
by so many beautiful brilliant bulbs
he just stopped feeling the singe
and became numb to it
this can happen overnight
which, of course, means the beautiful brilliant bulbs
can’t hurt him anymore
as he lies dying at my door
he doesn’t hurt anymore
‘cause he’s finally free
to fly
TL
Returning
when something
breakable
breaks
like the heart
it cracks open
creating space
and as time goes by
the space spreads out
f u r t h e r
this gives the soul somewhere
to wander about
as it waits its turn
to go home
TL
The Dying
in the abyss
one searches
the dark
in a timeless night
forgetting all things
backward
and forward
all the steps
it took
to get there
and then you’re there
at the ending
when all you want
is the beginning
when you were first born
shaking and lost
and somebody wrapped you up
and held you close
and you could hear their heart beating
and it was familiar to you
this soothing rhythmic sound
from far and away
and then you were asleep
TL
A Wrong Turn
she woke up
that morning
70
he woke up
that morning
32
she had never met him
before
he had never met her
before
for whatever reason
they were both traveling
the same road
that night
at exactly the same time
and for whatever reason
he was driving in the wrong direction
she had no time to react
they died on impact
TL
The Wind
the blades
of grass
clean shaven
down the stretch
after the rain
the black bird struts
his stuff
the squirrels race
to the top
turtles are sunning
on the bank
minnows moving
in the pond
a butterfly remembers
when
it had no wings
and wastes no time
resting on flowers
as if it knows
the wind will take it
wherever it goes
TL
Summer
in a single
s e c o n d
the sun fell
soft
into the sea
leaving suds
to wash and fold
the sand
that dried between
my toes
TL
U.S. Navy RE-1 Heath Phillips
I salute you
for your courage
for your bravery
for your heart
you never fought
in war
and yet you
saved so many lives
more than you’ll ever, ever
realize
may you finally
sleep at night
and wake up
in the morning
free
TL
The Beach
there’s an endless rack
of white lace
rows as far
as the eye
I spend 5 days
slipping dresses on
and off
taking my time
pearls
or no
my bare feet
tip toe
across silk
I shed something
sad
as I return
the dresses
I wore
and put the pearls
back
in their shell
TL
Winding a music box
brief
but beautiful
like the days
a butterfly lives
like a song
that plays 3 minutes
you hear at 100
like a passage
in a book you read
when you were young
and when you were old
you understood
like a meal
that took hours and hours to make
and minutes to devour
but there’s something about the flavor
and you search for it
at every table
like a movie
on the big screen
that made you sit there
after it was over
and everybody left
and went home
like a snow day
you have to roll in it
and throw it
and catch it
and make it last
like a garden
that bears in the summer
and folds in the fall
like a dog
after a bath
like a firefly
at night
like candles
on a cake
like fireworks
in July
like Legos
in small hands
like skipping a stone
across the sea
like a dance
first and last
like saying hello
and then
saying you gotta go
that last look
before the eyes
close
TL
Rushing
it’s raining
outside
she stirs her cup
and listens
the sound of it
like a rush
over rocks
saturates the soil
a stream in the street
hurries to the grill
seated in the gutter
the symphony rises
to ovation
from the belly below
a tire splashes
over
like drops hitting the tops
of umbrellas
they hurry home
TL
Mr. May
I’m sorry
I didn’t attend
your funeral
yesterday
even if I’d known
I wouldn’t have been able
to go
‘cause you can’t be in two places at once
unless you’re in that scene in The Notebook
anyway, I should have been there
and if I’d been there
I would’ve known
and not had to read about it
I just couldn’t make myself do it
I wanted to see you again
but I couldn’t get out of the car
I couldn’t walk through the parking lot
and punch in the code
and wait for the doors to open
and walk past the nurses’ station
and into your room
you on one side
and someone new on the other
I just couldn’t do it
I thought about it … a lot
but I couldn’t get past the pain
and I’m sorry
for that
I’m sorry,
Mr. May
TL
At Peace
in England
tiny bells
of lily
were ringing
at the noon
hour
and an empty seat
was saved
a quiet in the crowd
like a leaf on water
her little boy
grown up
and married
to a woman
she would have chosen
to sit by
TL
In the Fields
daisies are
such
happy flowers
light on their petals
they have buoyancy
in their range of movement
from the buggy
to the breeze
to the car
to the counter
to the vase
they have a special place
in the fields of my heart
they outlast
even the rose
and when they die
as ballerinas do
they simply bow their haloed heads
a ring of white feathers
whirling and twirling
into the wings
out of the spotlight
off stage
they find a quiet corner
and rest
TL
Leaves
six
feet
under
requires
more
than
a
shovel
it
can
take
decades
to
dig
out
the
dirt
to
get
to
the
bone
by
then
the
skin
is
gone
like
a
tree
in
the
cold
nothing
left
but
branches
bare
were
it
not
for
the
memory
of
Spring
TL
Cinderella
frozen fingers
on the line
in the sky
an aircraft
the sun on its wing
takes the girl
off the ground
and lifts her
to the cloud
the quiet cloud
wisps in the window
like sheers
in the wind
TL
Unforgiven
he’s revered
at church
by the pastor
and the congregation
whole generations
has a cross
in his yard
and designated awards
and accolades
and ceremonial gestures
of legacy
and so on
and so forth
wherever he goes
somebody knows him
who he is
but do they
really
know him
not even his family
does
he continues on
unscathed
would never admit
any wrongdoing
nobody would ever believe
he was ever wrong
he himself believes
he did no wrong
but the God
he professes to
knows
that grooming
a teenage girl
for sex
is dead
wrong
TL