Night Falls
and the stars
in the sky
look the same
cardboard box
or prison pane
multi estate
or backstreet alley
seafaring vessel
or locomotive ribbon
concert stage
or welfare line
boardroom
or bathroom
country road
or city street
mountaintop
or silent sea
cycle lane
or Harley hog
ringside
or bar side
football field
or distant knoll
courthouse clock
or vacant lot
treetop
or mud hole
third world
or Disney
hat
no hat
TL
Faith
the track they see
is open and free
if only they could run it
run it for me
the sky before night
is a palette of passion
if only they could see it
see it for me
the steel of a guitar
the depth of a sax
the weeping of a violin
the wave upon wave of lapping keys
the boom da boom da boom of dealing drums
if only they could hear it
hear it for me
the touch of a hand
barely a butterfly
like a baby’s breath
if only they could feel it
feel it for me
the kiss of the sun, the hold of the moon, the jewel of a star
the loss of leaves for greener ones
the high wind a distant breeze
the lilies of the valley say, “I do”
the dust of snow in your hair
the rain, the rain, the rain
the fog and the dew
the clouds of dust that show the road
the well with a wish at the bottom
the wheat in the field
the roots rising, the tiny plant punching up
the rocks of the river in surrender
the mountains shadowed and symbolic
and the prism turns up in a frown
and left you
a smile
bottle it for me
TL
Measured
at the light
a standard style truck
braked at the front
of the line
never saw the faces
just the backs
small forms of white
the smallest to the left
neither turned
nor talked
the sky gray-blue
the wind a memory
what was the necessity
packages or papers or property or prescriptions
ever it was
there was a purpose
a plan, a priority, a process
and at the appropriate speed
they went
about their way
TL
New Year
just a different
day
pain doesn’t up
and go away
whatever the struggle
it’s within
numb to most things
the heart hardens
harder to break
work the next day
and it’s just a job
less you love it
and the children laugh
and play
and the only ones
who really pay attention
are the old and gray
or the “no cures”
and the grass isn’t green
like when the stone was planted
and something happened
to that someone
for it to be that bad
and the wash is waiting
order up
“out with the old”
and it’s never new
was it all for naught
or did Thou
love Thee
deepest
in the dark
TL
Stranger
sitting in
a Chinese restaurant
waiting for
fortune cookies
and the cook comes out
his shirt wet
from washing
and chopping
and mopping
and woking
and he starts systematically
clearing away tables
and looks over at me
inquisitively
and asks, “what nationality”
automatic reply
predictable follow-up
automatic reply
“no, I don’t speak the language”
silence
then the look
pity … no family
then he looks at tiny
“is she your only”
automatic reply
predictable follow-up
automatic reply
“we’re talking about it”
silence
then he looks at me
“she will be lonely …”
nod my head
and look at the floor
and say,
“just don’t know
if I could ever
love another
as much”
he smiles
and says,
“it’s the same.
I have two girls,
and it’s the same love.”
silence
is it
TL
“White Christmas”
snow
and was
too tired
to care
barely there
to freeze frame
never felt
more adult
walked barefoot
in the cold
watched tiny
gobble gobs
looked up
at the moon
looming large
and lonesome
stood like a statue
like stone
the night
a chilled drink
should have
toasted it
instead
traded it
for a cup
of hot tea
TL
Lazenby
keep thinking
about him
out there
in that pasture
all alone
praying
his last
how he won’t
be there
Christmas morning
when his grandkids
undo the ribbon
how he won’t
get to taste all the treats
his wife made
or be there
to hear his kids talk
to ask ‘em how they’re doing
or to answer the doorbell
or the phone
or somebody’s wish
how he won’t
be driving around
in his truck
over the 2-lane bridge
on 2nd Avenue
that maroon truck
his dog knew
so well
TL
Education
what is a world
where conformity
steals individuality
where the need to feel big
makes another feel small
where the jealousy
of school girls
sends another
out the door
where the power
to “fit in”
blurs the pane
and breaks the frame
where instant gratification
removes any inclination …
where the need for public attention
overshadows the best intention
where the likes and the dislikes
carry over
to the love and the hate
multiplied and divided
to total what
where what a girl wants
is altogether different
than what a boy wants
where lessons
are learned
and scores are settled
where the strong rise
and the weak get by
where the sensitivity of a boy
is mocked and ridiculed
and brought to bare
where looking good
means more
than feeling good
where concealed weapons
are not the only
cause for fear
and it really is the world
out there
just contained
in time
within stone walls
hidden in locker halls
and made visible
in the blank stare
of that boy
here
that girl
there
TL
One Down
dropped a dish
THUNDER CLAP
on tile
swept white shards
and lint-like specks
whole one second
shattered the next
trashed the pieces
and swept it over
not fine china
or heirloom sake
just a plain old plate
set of seven
used to be eight
TL
Christmas Tree
he said
he wasn’t
looking forward
to Christmas
this year
80 odd years
nearing 90
there must
have been
some great ones
somewhere
in all that
time
but met him
late in life
later still
used to be
a tree
they put up
each year
but there’s
no tree
blinking
in the window
this year
and hasn’t been
the last few
but he smiles
when he sees
tiny
and his eyes
blink
TL
View
cold like snow
and the vultures
come calling
round the
dead deer
on the side
of the road
and tiny
sees only
a bunch
of black birds
and wishes
she had
her camera
to take
their picture
TL
Memory
before she
knows
what love is
she colors it
red
before she
writes
a sentence
she scribbles
an EKG line
before she
says
a word
she’s taking in
the rays
how a raindrop
f
a
l
l
s
what the wind
can do
where snowflakes
go
how a candle
burns
how after a wish
the smoke
drifts
TL
Newborn
there were
two doves
cooing
in the backyard
that day
and we watched them
peck the ground
without a sound
as we swayed
side-to-side
like a tree
rocking
in the wind
TL
Sightseeing
the year’s
almost out
men and women
still in the field
somewhere
or in their homes
grieving for the loss
of something or someone
or on the street
looking for food
for shelter
for somebody
to see ‘em
someday
or filing papers
and fighting over custody
and everything else
or removed from their house
and taken somewhere
else
or losing their minds
their memory
their name
or standing in line
at a store
bagging presents
without purpose
or sitting in traffic
with the music on
with the music off
or reading a book
turning blank pages
or clicking on the tube
watching re-runs
or in the hospital
in the bed
out of the bed
or in the classroom
in the desk
at the front
at the back
or in the cube
surfing the net
eye on 5
or in the factory
punching cards
in and out
shifting gears
year to year
or behind bars
chained to their shame
or in court
handing down a sentence
for life
or in a fast-food joint
trying to stay sane
at the window
or behind a counter
scanning cans
living for a break
or at the liquor store
brown bag lunch
or at the register
taking a carton down
stick relief
from what
or living with a diagnosis
cure
no cure
or trying to stay awake
in the rig
or sorting mail
picking up packages
putting them down
or at the switchboard
red light
green light
or in a dorm
and nothing matters
but passing
or in the park
sitting on a bench
with nothing to say
or grazing at the frig
trying to fill
some empty place
or sweating to the beat
trying to
stay young
or hooked on a feeling
meth, crack, weed
or wasting away
this
this very day
the year’s
almost out
TL
Little Light
like when
children sing
that kind
of goodness
and the bells do ring
and the street is empty
and the church is full
and the lights aglow
a Kinkade canvas
in the snow
and nobody’s hungry
or hurting
underneath the wreath
of a Christmas star
TL
“To Thine …”
suppose
that some
would never
face
themselves
in the mirror
far easier
to pretend
to lie and deceive
to not know what
you believe
for fear of losing
face
who you think
you are
but what is fear
but a room
you put yourself in
would that you want
to turn the key
and walk
on out the door
free
TL
The Garden
for umpteen years
Farmer Green
walked the rows
pickin’ out the weeds
so the good would grow
scheduled sprinklers
timed just right
then how the seeds
would sow
and fill the field
to die
and come back
again
that’s how
the wild flower
grew
it shown its face
one morn
to the waking sun
and caught
the farmer’s eye
and by and by
he delighted
in its budding
brilliance
so removed
this floral was
from the perfect patch
he knew
the one
just up the hill
he kept
behind a pristine
picket fence
to keep
the rabid rabbits out
and the red, red roses in
he tried
to do the same
to this foreign flower
for it had become
his heart’s desire
but the fence
he built
could not
withstand
the wind
or the will
of a single
stem
to die
and come back
again
TL
Aged
people with their faces
barren they come
barren they go
like a night
without stars
the clouds took
when once
not a patch
of shadow
did show
and full
was the face
that shone
a harvest moon
TL
Rapunzel
and after
all the time
gone by
the king
and queen
had lived
to see
the day
of dreams
soon as they
opened the door
and saw her
standing there
and it was really her
… it was really them
TL
Adieu
in a warm wind
wet with rain
days drifted
piled back
like fallen leaves
and skeleton trees
December
on the tongue
bittersweet
TL