Ink in the Blood Posts

In the Window

there were

stars

reflected on black windows

mirrors that see

across the street

nobody lives there anymore

they turned off the electricity

and shut the door

their mail sent to the North Pole

what would they have wanted

you don’t actually see the wind blowing

only what’s in the way

across the street

is a restaurant

where people go to eat

and say things out loud

and when there’s nothing to say

there’s music

songs on rotation

the clang of cleanup

chairs scraping the floor

ice hitting bottom

you can think so loud it shows

so many things you never say

or said

everybody dies

but not everybody

lives

TL

Therein

we are

complex creatures

that seek simplicity

in the profoundness

of place

where we are

at the age we are

on the sliding scale

they say the world is round

circular

maybe unending

we all begin again

I am a student

as I have always been

and will be

TL

The Guy in Gray

warmer than

it was

yesterday

the sidewalks converge

walkers

strollers

pets

bikers

joggers

and the guy in gray

looks new

his eyes downcast

he’s jogging

and it’s hard when you’re heavy

especially uphill

before 8 a.m.

but what he doesn’t know

is the effect

people watch people

in a split second

the mind sees

motivation

motivation in action

and files it

for later

TL

By the Dozen

a vase

of white roses

slowly die

by day

not a natural death

cut short

and hauled down the highway

to the market

for sale

gone is the sun

the wind

rain

four walls

without grass or leaves

bought for their beauty

beheld

a sentiment, a gesture

a notion long held

the boy at the door

the lover in love

the married man

roses require

no sonnets

or dragons slain

cut and dried

pick a color

any color

TL

The Sea at Night

the light

changes

from red

behind a lone rig

we crawl

and it feels like a train

slow moving

reminds me of rain

gobbling on glass

I could drift

on over

and pass

buy why

I’m not in a hurry

tonight

got Olivia Mae on repeat

the moon’s looming large

and I can’t count the stars

not alone

when I’m alone

encapsulated in my car

my hand at the wheel

I could go anywhere

past the limits

find my way to the beach

take off my coat

and shoes

walk down to the edge

where the water pulls at the sand

and stand there

‘til I can’t see my toes

no more

TL

Discover

the movement

of the body

is a gift

the movement

of the mind

is a magic gift

the movement

of the spirit

is beyond

a gift

to forget this

to lose this

lose touch of this

is detrimental

to our very being

our existence

above ground

the seeker inside

must be a child

who wakes up from a nap

and is

truly awake

truly present

in the moment

missing nothing

wasting nothing

all gifts in motion

like the waves

in the sea

flowing

TL

Snow Day

there’s glitter

in the air

it shimmers

like white sand

and sparkles like the sea

stars on a cold night

the dew on grass

drops of rain on a branch

diamonds crunching

underfoot

a chandelier of icicles

overhead

a pauper is king

TL

Something Green

you don’t have

to have

a hundred acres

to be happy

you don’t even have

to have

a backyard

to be happy

dirt is free

natural and abundant

dig some up

and put some in a pot

or a container

or whatever

and put some holes

at the bottom

drain out the water

seeds or rooted plants

don’t care where

you put ‘em

whether it’s a hundred acres

or the backyard

or a single pot

something good will grow

if you water it

and put it in the sun

and hum

you’ll be happy

TL

The Unexpected

never ever really

been

a jewelry-kinda-gal

I like pearls

yes

and that’s about it

or so I thought

and I wasn’t even shopping for myself

looking for something special

for my daughter for Christmas

when my eye got caught

on something blue

it was a ring

in a simple setting

and as soon as I put it on my finger

I knew

I had to have it

but I wasn’t shopping for myself

so I stood there

like a fool

staring at it under the glass

mumbling to myself

what am I doing

I’ve never bought myself jewelry like that

but that day

something came over me

and there was no way

I was leaving

without it

and the nice lady

even wrapped it up gold

with a ribbon

as if I could wait ‘til Christmas

soon as I got in the car

I ripped it open

and put it on my finger

and sighed with relief

the color of the stone

soothing

reminds me of the sky

and blue water

it’s like having a teeny tiny pond

always on hand

TL

Vibration

the ground

is cold

so cold

to the touch

you forget it was ever

warm

maybe it’s warm below

or maybe it’s ice cold

the wind is winter

birds do not bathe in winter

breath of smoke

like a chimney in a row

a cup of coffee carried

the snow fell

like an afterthought

and then decided why not

and covered the ground

clouds on the grass

I do not walk on clouds

I swim in the sea

and bathe like a bird

the water warm with suds

toes tangled in seaweed

so much of life is left in a wake

the compass cuts four ways

just hatched turtles

have no choice

they belong in the ocean

a line in the sand

disappears

TL

Progress

on this

the new day

of the new year

what is it

that causes you

to pause

and reassess

we all have an internal list

of sorts

spoken and unspoken

acknowledged and unacknowledged

mine is long … and tedious

much of the same old same old

but there are a few things

big things

I’ve taken off the list

this year

TL

Rendering

there are ways

around anything

and everything

all things

but death

there’s no way

around that

and though your belief

may lift you up

into eternal light

thereafter

you will no longer

be here

with your laughter and tears

and I don’t care who you are

or who you think you are

or what you believe

or don’t believe

healthy or not

there is a great sadness

to leaving

and knowing you’ll never

come back

to this very place

in time

to this world

you are born

the impossibility of knowing it

fully

in but one lifetime

as it were

TL

Greenhouse

busy with

other things

made my way back

last night

to my poor plants

and saw that they’d held up

in my absence

as I went around watering

I found a single stem

a long-stem white rose

in full bloom

its moonlight glow

two days before

Christmas

had been growing quiet

and I never saw it

that morning

when we laid the cat

inside

and I never saw it

that night

when we took him out

to bury him

but it was there all along

its fragrance

in the air

TL

Quiet Strength

as I walked

away

I thought about

all the things

I didn’t say

what do you say

as I walked

away

I thought about

all the things

you didn’t say

what do you say

so, instead

we smiled

and laughed

and acted like

everything was ok

and as I looked at your beautiful face

so young

and heard you laugh like a tinkling piano

and joke about shopping at the last minute

I realized

in those precious few moments

what a gift you gave

you never chose to be this gift

this force in the universe

that gets up every day

and steps out the door

and drives down the road

and gets out of the car

and goes on …

but you are

you are a gift

‘cause you believe

deep in your very soul

this isn’t it

that someday

one day

you will see your little boy again

and he will know you

and be proud of you

and as he holds you ever tight

he’ll whisper in your ear

Mama … Mama … Mama …

it’s all right …

you kept me alive

with the light

in your eyes

TL

Midnight

ok, I’m gonna

write about you

so, I can let you go

I remember when I held you

so small in my hands

a baby panther

your eyes glowed

looking deep into my soul

and at first you weren’t so sure

about us

‘cause somebody left you

on the street

to die

a good-hearted man found you

and scooped you up

and brought you home

and we loved you

just like that

we watched you grow

from a kitten to a cat

to a ninja

and just the other day

I took your picture

as you stared out at the snow

how would I know

you’d be dead soon

how would I know

on a school morning

walking out to the car

that we’d find you

lying there under the truck

not asleep but dead

and I don’t know what happened to you

and I don’t want to know what happened to you

like the rabbit

I don’t want to know

all I know is I see you everywhere

and I hear you everywhere

and I wish you were still here

looking up at me

with those glowing burning eyes

and while the birds and chipmunks rejoice

we who loved you so

are finding it hard

I finally put lights on the tree

but no ornaments

TL

Treasure

books

if you’re wondering

where I’ve been

and haven’t seen me

in so long

I’ve probably been hiding

within the pages

of a book

I can’t put down

I feel joy

unmeasurable

when I’m standing in a room

full of books

they comfort me

somehow

and ease my mind

I am still a child

inside

that seeks comfort

in none but a book

I run away

to distant lands

the rise and fall and lift

of words

is like music to me

a lullaby

that rocks me in the night

and when I needed

the strength

that only the right book

at the right time

can afford

one or two or three

they somehow found their way

to me

and only now

at mid-life

do I finally feel

utterly

understood

TL

the Tiger inside

not for

the applause

not for

the trophy

not for

the endorsements

not for

the rankings

not for

the cameras

not for

the cover

not for

the nod

won’t be

for none of that

on Thursday

it’ll just be about

play

for the joy

of being able

to play

the Greatest Game

there ever was

like riding a bike

you never forget

how

you just pick it back up

find your balance

and keep climbing

TL

Shanti Bhavan

they say

“it takes a village

to raise a child …”

in India

they do this

in an incredible

way

watching the stories

unfold across the screen

it reminded me

of Wonka’s “Golden Ticket”

and how the boy from a poor family

is given an opportunity

to change his life, his family’s life

in the documentary series:

“Daughters of Destiny”

they go a step further

in changing all the lives of India

one child at a time

to come from a place of no books

no paper, no pen

then to be given a book

full of words

they don’t understand

and learn how to read those words

until they make sense

how to contemplate them

how to write them

how to re-write them

English, math, history, science, art

it can lift a child

from the darkest depth

out into the light

of understanding

not only themselves

their worth

but others

how the world

works

the good and the bad

the joy and the sorrow

the love and the hate

the giver and the taker

the connection

what it is to live

and what it is to die

TL

Message in a Bottle

I do love

Christmas

but I swear

I jest took

the tree down

yesterday

Thanksgiving next week

Christmas next month

the New Year

2018

I mean really

Really

REALLY

time jest

keeps falling

in the glass

like running water

in a faucet

you become

more and more

aware of this

with each passing

all the memories

moments given

wrapped with ribbon

like Andy Whitfield

once said

“be here now”

TL

Thank You

when they

leave

their home

their very land

some come back …

and some don’t

some come back …

and can adjust

and some come back …

and can’t

some come back …

physically changed

and some come back …

mentally changed

and some come back …

but they’re still there

and they do this

time and time

again

simply so

that other things

important things

can stay the same

here at home

in their very land

TL