Ink in the Blood Posts

Empty Vases

there are

petals in the river

blown there by the wind

far from the face of a flower

they kiss the water

and get swept away

by a strong current

the moon in its mood

at different phases

a sentimental star

cast the shadow down

a million miles from the garden

where once the eye would linger

perfumed in the air

a white rose took blush

in the heat of a stare

some roses fall to pieces

and get carried to the river

while others bleed on the vine

and drop like ash

a magic few

make it inside

by hand

to trim a table

or romance a room

or keep a page

or the company

of the mind

the mystery of the heart

where once a rose

did bloom

a token of youth

and all that’s lost

in June

TL

Wandering

on nights

like this

when it’s pouring

down

I think about things

certain things

like ticking clocks

that suddenly stop

moving

how boiling kettles

whistle and spit and spew

then settle

how ice cubes

melt into a drink

like a snowman in the snow

how a small child has more fun

with dirt and rocks and sticks

than plastic pieces that beep and blink

how you can have the best intentions

and be misunderstood

how nobody wants to lose

but loss is not a choice

how you can look at a picture

and it takes you back

how the land can stay the same

when everything else changes

how the body and mind can decay

but not the spirit

how you can look at the ground

and walk all over it

and never see yourself beneath it

how the poorest person can be rich

and the richest person can be poor

how it’s not the music that makes the music good

but the person listening to it

how you can take a brick and stack it

and build a castle

how the earth is full of wonder

in the smallest speck of dust

how nothing is without want

were it not for need

how against all odds

it makes it

and lives

TL

Graves

the leaves

are wet with rain

a final sip

before they fall away

leaving bones of bark

skeletal

would that a bird

give it blush

the moon its dress

the rain its jewels

TL

Away

this Christmas

give them a book

a story they might unfold

and tuck away inside

their pocket

‘cause ‘ya never know

when they might need it

in their travels

over an ocean

through a desert

past a cornfield

inside a cave

under a tree

beneath the snow

above the blade

where the wildflowers dally

and the songbird lilts

a book can do that

it can take you away

if it’s good

TL

Will You

when I’m not

shiny and new

innocent, too

will you

when I’m not

the rock in the room

but the river run out

will you

when I’m not

light and airy

but a little scary

dark and very

will you

when I’m not

happy just to be

a l i v e

but a bit sad inside

will you

when I’m not

wrong

but always right

right

will you

when I’m not

strong

at all

but the armor is

will you

when I’m not

willing to bend

‘cause I’m already broke

will you

when I’m not

ready to drop

the handle I’m holding

to travel the world

will you

when I’m not

aging gracefully

but aging out

will you

when I’m not

the trusting kind

‘cause I’ve been sold

will you

when I’m not

a face in the crowd

but a homebody at heart

will you

when I’m not

here but there

there but here

will you

when I’m not

nodding yes

but shaking no

to test

will you

when I’m not

a rose

but you think I am

will you

TL

Well Being

the sunlight

gave its energy

to the tomato

I ate

the carrots, the kale, the cucumbers

the celery, the beets, the radish

the spinach, the peppers, the parsley

from the ground they grew

sensing there was more

than darkness and dirt

they kept punching up

and saw the sky

that it was blue

felt the sun

the wind move

drank a drop of water

stood with trees

and petal flowers

watched the day open

and watched it close

night falls

but it’s not pitch dark

for the stars

so many stars

TL

Time Travel

today’s my

dad’s birthday

we only had one together

as I recall

the one before he died

waited all my life to see him again

put college on hold

got on a plane in September

had Halloween in October

turkey in November

Christmas in December

New Years in January

Valentines in February

how would I know

how could I ever know

that’d be The End

think it takes a lifetime

to accept the unacceptable

you don’t ever get over it

when you lose someone

you love

you just live in a different time

and place

but you’re still wearing

his coat, his black coat

‘cause it smells like him

and you wrap your arms around yourself

and pray he’s still alive

you get to the hospital

and he’s there in the bed

looks like he’s asleep

his skin’s still warm

they had to pry me off him

I just lie on the floor

I can’t breathe

it rained all night

I remember it rained all night

picked out a silver casket

a suit for him to wear

a tie I had just bought him for Christmas

I wrote him a letter

and read it aloud at his funeral

I put roses on his grave

and went back to class

‘cause I was in the middle of a semester at UNLV

the professor in my creative writing course

told me he was glad I came back

and didn’t drop the class

he told me how hard it must be

he had no idea

no one did

TL

Art

shadows

hung on the wall

frameless and free

not there for long

long enough to see

the picture change

its form

when i was small

i was a shadow watcher

of walls and streets

and i’d make up stories

in my mind

museums of moving pieces

that played out

like an ocean

with its waves

flowing and unfolding

against the sand

tossing up shells

and seaweed and minnows

in my hand

and watching them fall

like drops

from a cloud

TL

Control

it’s funny how

we choose

with our choices

take a plate

for example

each day

morning

noon

night

we take our empty plate

and fill it

with whatever we like

and sit or stand somewhere

and consume it

how do we feel after

years after

what is the effect

of choice

was it poison

or medicine

we took

food should heal you

never hurt you

it should energize you

not suck the living life out of you

how many special occasions

weekends, holidays, vacations

had-a-bad-day-so-I-went-and-ate-it

does it take

to make somebody so sick

and tired

they can’t breathe right

walk down the street right

sleep at night right

it seems simple enough right

they say 80 percent

is in the kitchen

and 20 percent

is in the sweat

I say 100 percent is self

controlled

TL

The Rise and Fall and Lift

she loved

music

it was something

she understood

something she would say

if she had words

and if she lived

and never died

there would still be

a melody in some

corner of the world

somewhere

waiting for her

to come along

and spin

TL

As is

twinkle lights

in the trash

all connected

but one stopped working

right

in the strand

somewhere long the line

it got burned out

another box

another light

plug it in

and it’s Christmas again

farmed trees still in the soil

executed for their beauty

and planted with a purpose

row after row

rolling down the highway

like months in a year

like years in a month

a product for purchase

everything has a price

a mark

it’s inevitable

invisible

one by one

the bulbs

stop working

right

in the strand

and the tree

with a fresh shave

and a clean scent

looks in the mirror

down the row

and spins around

for the show

small hands are clapping

tap tapping

running through the limbs

and the snow falls in the forest

evergreen

like it ever needed

lights

TL

Jim Askew

people knew him

round town

as the local pharmacist

a ready smile

a gentle ear

he had an old-fashion love for people

a genuine way about him

that set you at ease

and made you want to be better

he never wasted the world

85 years blinked by

in a child’s eye

the heart of a poet

lies here

TL

Rainforest

I’m swimming

in a blue sky

the clouds pull

through my hair

the water’s warm

from the sun

I tread to the mountain

after years at sea

the sting in my eyes

held my breath

and went under

kicking around

found a broken compass

at the bottom

relics in the sand

see the sunlight wavy

swim up

and break the surface

reach out and touch land

the mountain wasn’t a mountain

not a mound

but an island flat

and full of flowers

I live there for a while

to catch my breath

and breathe

scoop the stars up

in my hand

and skip them across the puddle

and watch them float

into the night

a shimmering path

calling to the butterflies

in Peru

to come and rest

here

for a while

TL

So Long As

of all

the movies

I’ve ever tried on

it’s Rocky

that fit

and felt right

i fell in love with it

as a kid

and kept going back to it

in my teens, 20s, 30s, 40s

of course, I have the whole series

on dvd

and whenever it comes on tv

I stop

and sit down

the storyline is rich in simplicity

but deep in humanity

the main character

is kind to the unkind

it’s what I look for in a person

he wasn’t just a fighter

on the street

trying to make it

he was a man struggling within himself

it was never about a belt

it was about belief

needing to know

for yourself

if you got it in ‘ya

if you can endure

all the hits

all the falls

all the breaks

and get back up

and not care what the critics say

so long as you know

you got it in ‘ya

“to go the distance”

then you can go back home

and live your life

and be at peace

with yourself

with others

TL

20 Years Today

when a man

and a woman

get married

they have no idea

what the future holds

falling in love

is easy

standing there

dressed up

saying, “I do”

is simple

living together

alone

is luxurious

sharing meals

and movies

and the day

is comforting

laughing and being silly

is natural

giving each other space

is essential

getting mad and getting over it

is necessary

taking each other for granted

is a given

understanding, being understood

is needed

hearing what’s not said

is important

being your own person

is intended

supporting each other’s dreams

is real

disappointment, regret

is tough

giving and receiving comfort

is human

knowing what’s worth it

and what ain’t

is key

making mistakes and owning them

is growth

putting the other first

is unselfish

creating a life of balance

is universal

learning something new

is sharing

wanting what’s best for the other

is friendship

believing in the other

is respect

not agreeing but agreeable

is compromise

finding the humor

is grounding

noticing the little things

is big

being grateful

is happiness

being in the moment

is living

being yourself

is freedom

being emotional

is a woman

being oblivious

is a man

being humble

is endearing

being real

is renewing

being quiet

is peaceful

being strong

is required

being happy

is within

being loved

is everything

TL

Proud

when she

was two

trying on words

and turning them over

on her tongue

she’d string them along

into a line

her memory a mile

and one day

I taught her how to say

The Pledge of Allegiance

and before I knew it

she was reciting it

word for word

so, yesterday

when she handed me

a tiny triangle

I felt that same sense

of amazement

at school, they had taught her

how to properly fold

the American Flag

and she was so proud to show me

what she had learned

in fifth grade

TL

Headlines & Highlights

Miranda’s on

the radio

with her vice

her ex’s on

the tv

with his voice

Trump is running

for president

against a woman

“Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”

is hot on Netflix

a hurricane in Haiti

left nearly 1,000 dead

SEC football is back

like Tiger Woods

Brad and Angelina

are over

Kim K was robbed

in Paris

Tom Hanks

returns to the big screen

(thank you)

Britney and Justin

are still

making music

Bieber’s back on tour

and Taylor Swift

has pushed pause

but not for long

TL

Inlet

um

I jest

broke

my

f

a

v

o

r

i

t

e

cup

the old English

blue and white

one

that I found

off the Internet

about a year ago

and had to have

‘cause of its

faded blue

patina

that had me

at the castle

where the silent sailboats

drift on by

and now, I’m thinking why

didn’t I

drink from it

on the daily

instead of

jest gazing at it

from afar

now, I gotta go out

and find

some cement

to seal it

and hope my tea

don’t seep

into the sea

through the crack of Gibraltar

TL

Unequivocal

I’ve run out

of frames

for all the pictures

in my pocket

places I’ve been

people I’ve met

moments I’ve had

kept

the pictures fade

in time

the faces, all the places

run together

but the feeling

I felt

in the stills

is like a gift

I can open

whenever I want

wherever I am

however it is

at the last of it

when the eyes close

the body no more

there the picture

streaming like a river

in a golden frame

TL

Ladies Golf

one was

from Spain

one was

from Georgia

one was

from Columbia

and the one

from Alabama

was watching

Spain

and Georgia

and Columbia

lift a little ball

from the ground

up

to send it sailing

through the years

past all the practice

when Spain

and Georgia

and Columbia

were once 10, too

lifting a little ball

from the ground

up

like the one

from Alabama

TL