Nevertheless
sticks are
sprouting
wisps of hair
washed in rain
the length
measured
before
the tree
was there
to shade
against the glare
of a silent sun
and a day
that missed
its morning
TL
Poetry
Nevertheless
sticks are
sprouting
wisps of hair
washed in rain
the length
measured
before
the tree
was there
to shade
against the glare
of a silent sun
and a day
that missed
its morning
TL
Teacher
heard
her heels
click, click, click
on out the door
four years
up and down the hall
heard
her heels
click, click, click
seemed she
always knew
where she was going
click, click, click
a planner by nature
a worrier by birth
a corrector by habit
she was a mentor
to a kid
who needed mentoring
and the books
she gave
were magic
“It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times …”
and I’ve missed her
O how much
TL
20
New Year’s
day
is March
to me
always be
March
to me
dead …what was that
didn’t know
that
20 thought she knew
1+1 makes 2
and if you
cross the t
and dot the i
somehow
you’d dodge
that bullet
but down went
20
hit the cement
cold
body got up
as bodies do
but inside
got stuck
as insides do
stuck in the moment
‘cause you left me
hanging
on the line …
and i’m still
holding the phone
‘cause you said
you’d be home
and i’ve waited
for you
to come home
20 years
now
you know
i know
and when
i’d go
to your grave
and sit in
your blade
wasn’t to see you
you know
’cause i knew
you weren’t there
but the girl i knew
was
the me
i was
with you
will always
be
there
and i thought
about the ticket
and getting on
that plane
and going
to see her
today
but see
i have
her now
and she
needs me
you know
the way
i needed you
and she
loves her daddy
the way
i loved you …
love you
still
TL
“Forget-Me-Not”
s t a n d
where …
you are
and feel
the ground
beneath
and walk
its dirty streets
not
point-to-point
but
here to there
and rest
not on concrete
steps
but
along its
ever blade
and sleep
not on bricks and mortar
but
in its puddle
full of drops
and sit
not in somebody’s seat
for it’s already
taken
but
in its fallen leaves
the stillness
of the heart
for the earth yields
what love forgot
what time
does not
TL
Drip
lights are
still up
blinking
on boxes
lined in
a row
and last
night
they were
blurry
like a Monet
wipers like
brushes
dabbing
and dipping
framed
in the shield
the movie
just watched
like the single
cup of cappuccino
drunk
like the smallness
of the shelf
they built
at the bookstore
for Frost
and other
dead poets
like the song
Chesney sings
to me
and me
alone
like the
street
dressed
in sequins
the lamps
like sticks
in silver
holders
standing
apart
the wax
warm
and willing
to bend
a bit
before
it hardens
on the
table
TL
Aspect
in the circular
silence
of our lives
we return
and away
are the massive
amounts
of consumption
our mind and body
did wallow
and it matters not
those things
those blistering things
that kept you
hemmed in
and you see
the sun
break through
the gray
and change
the direction
of your eye
from ground
to sky
an ancestral
tribe
TL
Suicide
lack of love
is that
the trigger
that took him
before He could
lack of love
is that
the pill
that took her
before He could
lack of love
is that
the reason
for the letter left
lack of love
is that
the reason
for no words
lack of love
did no one see
the pain
welled within
TL
To Night
i believe
He in Heaven
weeps for we
for the you in me
and the me in you
that somewhere
rain is falling
all around
the world
and some
are drowning
in such sorrow
for what
would have been
their tomorrow
TL
Depends
some girls
want diamond
rings
and pretty things
picture places
wrinkle erasers
some girls
want bars of gold
and fast cars
bottles of booze
warm body, anybody
some girls
want a smooth line
gets ‘em every time
miles of smiles
tattoos “love you”
some girls
want Friday nights
and glitzy lights
casino fights
liqueur laughter
some girls
want happily-ever-after
and white knights
royal weddings
a pink palace
that’s what
some girls want
for me
it was always
something real
like the moon at midnight
all those stars
sun sipping the sea
bird on the breeze
an old oak tree
rain on my skin
bathing within
unpicked roses
message in a bottle
fresh cut grass
lying on your back
shaping clouds
aimless acres
rushing water
untouched snow
songs you can’t let go
falling in love
a good book
an empty pew
a second glance
slow, slow dance
bit of romance
intensity
that’s just me
TL
Streets
headed home
stopped at a 4-lane
looking at lights
and a young man
appears
crossed the street
and stood at my window
his eyes soft and sad
mumbled something
his breath a bottle
“Mama, who was that man?”
and as we watched him
disappear into the night
I looked at her
in my rearview mirror
and just said,
“someone who needs
a prayer”
TL
In Life
to admit
you’re wrong
makes it right
TL
The Game
and the ball’s
back in Alabama
where Saban
was a fan …
“bout had a heart attack”
and you
marvel at greatness
wherever, whenever
and wonder
at its shape
its cut
its line
wonder
how to define
for always
when you win
anything
worth winning
you lose
something
in return
TL
Dial Down
in my
midnight ride
i reach
for the me
i know
is in there
somewhere
and i take her
down the road
where time
and place
and pleasing
have no hold
where the cataract stares
of the couple in the car side me
have no control
and i crank it up
to the nth decimal
‘til the sound reverberates
a sudden earthquake
and i can feel myself
let go
as Seger and i sing it …
“Roll Me Away …”
“Still the Same …”
“Against the Wind …”
thank God for him
TL
Wherever Was
peered into
a plastic kaleidoscope
and watched
the colors turn
round
gazed across
the sea
and saw
the waves
frown
stared at
the fall
of rain
growing gray
to ground
glimpsed a
silhouette
on the bridge
stopped and still
blinked at
the puddle
on the street
and saw
a child
look back
TL
Inheritance
when you
clock-out
for good
early or late
or on-time
matters not
no more
left
as you came
naked
stripped of
faces you war
love you lost …
found
armor you donned
the shield, the sword
put down
for the pain
is for
the newborn babe
who will
wear the faces
you war
and acquire the armor
you hid in
for sun and shadows
are like
love and hate
Heaven and earth
joy and sorrow
yesterday, tomorrow
TL
Emotion
and nothing
changes that
TL
Room
before
the stone
is laid
the earth
makes room
a square room
without ceiling
window or door
where rays of light
warm it
by day
the moon
by night
in a cycle season
of return
much like the rain
falling
from the sky
the room is filled
with drops
and when the living leave
and the day ends
and begins again
there are butterflies
that float across the flowers
their wings brushed
with sunlight
TL
Pennies
woke up
yesterday
when i was young
and the road
was
and i was
and it was
like my daughter
is
was i ever
that …
sure
that filled
that loved
TL
Back Road
split second
turn
took me
from town
the list and laundry
and what to cook
saw the land
unfold
like the sea
rolling
and the seed took
down an endless row
where long I looked
the length of barbwire
where the crows were cawing,
“the crop is good, the crop is good, the crop is good”
and still were the tractors
under the oaks
and clear was the sky
a drop-less blue
and where was i
TL
Whatever Ails
take the sun
and pour it
in your hand
and spread it
over your body
and go to sleep
and when you wake
you won’t be cold
or lonely
no more
TL