Ticket
projector’s rolling
in a dark room
full of folks
with half a stub
good for a 2-hour trip
far from phones ringing
voices with nothing to say
maybe that’s why movies are magic
a poor man’s portal
to all the lives he’d like to live
the explorer in him
craves ancient ruins
the gentleman in him
“shaken but not stirred”
the musician in him
a steel guitar
the king in him
destroys and conquers
the romantic in him
takes a knee
and the boy in him
well, he’s up that tree
TL
Childhood
last week
she brought me a leaf
and said, “keep it forever …”
taped it to the wall
and it’s still green
but feels fragile
like a forgotten flower
flattened between the pages
of a novella
would have whirled
in the wind
had she not come along
and found it where it fell
then carefully she carried it
and placed it in my hands
a hand-picked gift
wrapped in innocence
and tied with timeless twine
TL
Pocket Watch
saw a man
in the morning
sitting all alone
his cane
his only friend
a mechanical maze
before him
like to think
he was in Rome
feeding fat pigeons
and sipping black coffee
and not alone
his love tossing crumbs
cathedral bells ringing
crunch of crusty bread
fountains flowing
clouds departed
rays of light
overhead
TL
Sailor
and he was sitting there
in his wheelchair
staring at the red roses
in a day he’d be dead
his small life
a black and white clipping
his wife a widow
his kids feuding
could tell he was tired
of living
he just wanted to drift
on out to sea
guess they had room
on the boat, a seat set aside
the print was barely dry
when the publisher said, “sorry …”
on to the next tragic story
TL
Landscape
skid row
be it
a country road
train town
metro museum
scene’s the same
broken glass, rust and ruin
from the front porch
of their shackles
they watch the SUVs sail by
as the sun sets on cemeteries
and a stray roams wild
the kitchen’s closed
wash woman went to pasture
men are barred, boozed or buried
few find work
or keep a check
even the children know
there’s no Christmas cookies
or sugar-plums or silver bells or stockings hung
no colored lights or wonderland
just the black of night
and the stars are free
and a poor man’s pipe
the only candlelight
sleep’s a Savior
pain’s a baptism
and love’s a white dove
TL
“Blue Birds Fly”
14 years
still recall
you standing there
on the eve of a New Year
grinning like a Cheshire cat
ready to pounce
emerald eyes flashing
and I was a goner
we grew up together
you and I
growing still
not done with dreams
the world for her
and all its wonder
rain and thunder
let us stand
not too near
for it was Grace
that brought her here
and it is Grace
that will see her through
the dark goodnight
that ray of light
dust of days
bye blue bird bye
daddy and I
we’re here
just
not too near
Faith without fear
love you,
my dear
TL
Soldier
he was in a war
never knew him before
his ears still ring
from all the bombing
he never wastes a napkin
never eats too much
never says too much
never takes too much
never sits too long
never bothers anyone
he’s spent a lot of time alone
dealing with his demons
if I could wave a wand
I’d make it all go away
he would have never went to war
his dad would have lived and been good to him
he would have went to college and been an engineer
his wife and kids would have remained under one roof
his life so good, he’d never need a drink
not even a drop
TL
Fair
merry-go-round
was in town
cotton candy clouds
floated barely off the ground
apples painted glossy
balloon high
Dumbo flies
fish swim
green dragon rails
tiny trains chug achoo
spinning cups
dizzy strawberries
turning kaleidoscope
and you
round in my belly
kicking to get out
then you were there
like you’d always been
trailing tickets
wearing out the wheel
making daddy squeal
“wee, wee, wee, all the way home”
TL
Mystery
here at the keys
playing a sad song
maybe it’s September
or maybe it’s just me
a troubled sea
in search of something
beneath the surface
a memory not mine
opened a present,
but it was empty
looked around
then looked away
this year …
think I’ll pass
on the cake
for it feels
a bit
out of place
like a made-up
moment
that was
never real
still don’t
know how
to feel
TL
All Times
blue frosting
everywhere
what if we forget
there’s a photograph
somewhere
ages and ages
she’ll share …
if we make it there
will we know
it’s her
lest our minds meander
the broken brick road
may our hearts
beat still
with the rhythm
that defies reason
and gives
us back
a flash
of who
we were
what we
loved
“you, my brown-eyed girl”
TL
Seasons
Summer a sigh
as slumber befalls
the return of rain
are you the same
dust on the frame
print the past
the lessons four
rehearsal run
where’s the eraser
meant to stay
longer
in the sun
before my hair
turned gray
and my mind a maze
leaves are leaving long lines
without a trace of shade
concrete color wash and wear
walked the woods in winter
felt the flurries melt my face
bent down to touch the ground
round and round the colors turn
till green is grass and yellow rings a bell
as bonnets of blue curtsey to the wind
summer yawns and stretches forth
wide awake and walking
barefoot blades running through and through
ask again
are you the same
dust on the frame
print the past
the lessons four
TL
Camelot
followed a winding path
that took me from the streets
to a misty morning
where the greens
wink with dewy diamonds
and the trees whisper, “Hollow”
round the bend
the crows are ever-watchful
of who goes forth
as they strut across the lawn
in tailored tuxedos
down the way
little birds bathe
in left-over rain
before winging away
as a yellow butterfly weaves
between the papered trees
at the crossroads
no turning thought
a bridge of wood beckons further
as castles in the distance
rise and fall
trees are swaying
but none so fair
as the one with locks of hair
that weeps
and brings me still
to the center
of somewhere
far from here
TL
Above the Dirt
passed a Mexican man
on my way to Pasadena
in a glance
his life
no “parade of roses”
he swung his shovel high
like a golfer
in full swing
far from the green
his boots ditch deep
he seemed to see
not trees nor traffic
so spent on digging
out the dirt was he
took no notice of the time
how the sun sat fat
upon his shoulders
the luxuries of life
not his to waste
for he knows
he can be replaced
so he swings his shovel high
it’s “do or die”
TL
Parents
they sat at a table
the three of them
as they always have
the dad, the mom and the daughter
the daughter now 18
she tells us she’s about to be married
to a military man
and how she can’t wait to follow him
from place to place
land to land
as she beams in love’s pure light
her dad doesn’t say too much
his face says it all
her mother smiles
sad smiles
their daughter’s 18
what do you do
you can’t beg
you can’t say, “Please …”
you can’t stowaway
you can’t torture her with tears
you can’t scream or rant or rave
you can’t play the guilt game
you can’t give way
you’ve got to stay
right where you are
so she’ll know how
to find you …
her mother
her father
TL
Shadow
where are you
are you still alive
or did you die alone;
you could have died today
while I went about my way,
I’d have never known
would I have felt the loss
somewhere in the wind
would I weep and not know why
did you send your spirit with me
all that time ago …
for I have felt that it was so
in the smallest moments,
the darkest days
would that you love me still
in the quiet of the night
the stillness of the sea
the moon the same
for you
for me
TL
Meant To Be
“It was meant to be …”
not sure of that
of what that really means,
but I hear it all the time
so what you’re telling me,
albeit from the threshold of a full frig,
is that those folks standing there
holding that cardboard sign, “HUNGRY,”
are where they’re meant to be
or that there are children, a third away,
starving for a grain of rice for it was meant to be
or that schoolchildren, who live in the land of the free,
are fed their three squares in a cafeteria line since it was meant to be
or that a mother would steal food stamps
and be branded a felon for life
cause it was meant to be
or that even in Washington, DC., the homeless sleep
on concrete steps that lead to White Houses
where Declarations were signed and sealed
for it was decreed that was
meant to be
TL
Unknown Stone
is it enough
to fill in
the blanks
with what you have
instead of what you lost
do you really have to know
what you’ve never known before
and what if
what you thought you knew
turns out to be untrue …
like a given name
any given day
does it matter
where you were
or
where you are
can you rest in peace
in this life
or
the next
never knowing
who you really are
TL
Separation
too tired
to sleep
something you said
has me out of bed
past midnight
walking the floor
what a warm cup of milk
won’t spill
there’s so much to say
but never said
do tears tell the time
schoolbag in hand
thought we just met
smiled all day
and shook hands
thought I was doing ok
like I could do this
but what is this
you look at me,
and I look at you
I love you so much …
you’ll never know how much
and you say, in that matter-of-fact way,
“Yes, I do, Mommy,
I do know how much –
you love me
too much”
TL
Dust
painted the wall
red
and it bled
coat after coat
the color high
the color low
would not blend
would not roll
they say red is hard
to get just right
it varies in the light
from a garden rose
to an orchard row
a dance between
a dance below
it takes a step
then takes a turn
before it smokes
and ember burns
“ashes to ashes”
are the masses
who painted high
and painted low
for that perfect pitch
and ever-glow
of stain on glass
no body knows
“then sings my soul”
TL
“Little Boy Blue”
here is a poem
for you
at 4
you don’t know the door
but you will at 18
go far …
and find yourself
don’t be anybody else
don’t be them
be the golden boy
I know you are
the one I saw
that day
running away
or trying to
you’d almost reached the toys
before they came after you
no time for toys
you were there to pick a movie out for rent
and you would
heard you crying in that awful way
heard them yelling at you, blaming you
as if you were a grown man
who had taken their food away
at 4
you don’t know the door
but you will at 18
go far …
TL