Ink in the Blood Posts

Dim the Lights

had a dream

but don’t

remember

much

about it

even though

i tried

to piece it

looked for it

in the face

but

it was blank

like the page

nobody read

took a walk

but went nowhere

watched a child

laugh

and a curtain close

the world’s in the wash

ringed out

and worn

slowly drying

the wind picks up

running across the grass

like a ballerina

on pointe

and the stage isn’t big

enough

for the sell-out crowd

and the song isn’t long

enough

to forget where you are

so we buy another tree

and dress it up

with a star

TL

The Bottom of the Well

what of

the cuts

too deep

and dark

to bleed

the ocean

spills over

the edge

sizzling in

the sun

smoke lifts

and drifts

into the ether

catching in the trees

of Tennessee

covering the mountains

in snow

and each stone

in the riverbed

turns

over

with nothing

to say

footprints

in the dirt

where someone else’s

been

it’s autumn already

and i haven’t

said goodbye

but you left me

anyway

keep playing the same

songs

even if the new ones

play

all the rooms are empty

but the surface of things

are filled and overflowing

and i stand in the middle

of grocery stores

staring up at shelves

never reaching

what’s in the back

linger a little longer

in the rose garden

rows of wrapped petals

they’ve been cut

too

wish i coulda

saved ‘em all

i save their memory

in my mind

going back in time

to the place i was born

to the shadow of someone

on the ground

who cannot

bleed

TL

A Fallen Tree

and by and by

creatures

meek and grand

weak and strong

lost and found

might happen upon

your path

and you will learn

from each

what you need

to know

and they you

and this knowing

that each exists

in its own time

will give what it needs

to give

and take what it needs

to take

like the sky above

and the ground below

and in-between

the drops of rain

and the dust of snow

something green

will eventually

grow

TL

Out of Africa

Karen: “When you go away …

you don’t always go on safari, do you?

 Just want to be away.”

Denys: “It’s not meant to hurt you.”

Karen: “It does.”

Denys: “I’m with you because I choose to be with you.

I don’t want to live someone else’s idea of how to live.

Don’t ask me to do that.

I don’t want to find out one day that I’m at the end of someone else’s life.

I’m willing to pay for mine.

To be lonely sometimes.

To die alone, if I have to.

I think that’s fair.”

Karen: “Not quite.

You want me to pay for it as well.”

Denys: “No, you have a choice,

and you’re not willing to do the same

for me.”

Robert Redford (Aug. 18, 1936 – Sept. 16, 2025)

The Way We Were

Katie: “You’ll never find anyone

as good for you as I am,

to believe in you

as much as I do

or love you as much!”

Hubbell: “I know that.”

Katie: “Well then,

why?”

Robert Redford (Aug. 18, 1936 – Sept. 16, 2025)

The Way

how someone

dies

is how someone

grieves

it is a gift

indeed

to die at home

in your bed

in your golden year

surrounded by

the familiar

sights and sounds and smells

but seldom so

as circumstantial evidence

shows

much of it is

out of your hands

out of your control

when there is

no choice …

but to let go

but you resist

and hold on

for the whole

of your life

‘cause the way

someone dies

is the way

someone grieves

and so it is

and so it was

and so it will be

no matter how we wish

it were

the body bleeds

the mind goes blank

the eyes close

the heart stops

and the soul begins

transition

like waves in the sea

like wind in the trees

like rain in the soil

like snow in the sun

like color in the cloud

TL

Weaver

out there

in the morning

ray

watched a web-worker

spin

she followed the line

from limb-to-limb

nimble and light

her work

delicate and intricate

glistened

in the summer sun

like tinsel on a tall tree

a sudden gust

or torrential rain

could sweep it all away

on any given day

still

she’d find a way

to wait it out

and build it all

all over again

she’s unafraid

of seasonal change

too busy

building

and rebuilding

to pay it

much mind

she can’t worry

with the wind

it’s snowing

in Tennessee

TL

Labor Day

been a year

since she left

her home

feels more like 5

used my bed

as a raft

and floated there

too long

staring up

at stars

searching for

a constellation

got too far out

and had to paddle back

waited ‘til the ice

thawed

and the daffodils

lit up

took some breaks

along the way

and watched the water

change

birds flew ahead

in an arrow

the wind pushed me

the rest of the way

the grass was still green

and the roses still red

put my gloves back on

and found a bag

took my putter in hand

and found a green

made a meal for two

looked around at all

the stuff

and started going

through it

but if it weren’t

for the unexpected

far-fetched

hand-me-down-gift

i’d still be on that raft

hadn’t loved like that

since Forest

funny how an animal

knows just what to do

without uttering a word

been a year

the hardest yet

since ‘93

Granny’s

still

gone …

TL

Train on Time

stopped

at the tracks

your mind blinks back

and it’s just like that

time is a train

that can’t turn

around

and go back

it can only go forward

the line is too long

and too heavy

connected cargo

from end-to-end

on its way out

of town

how many trips

did it take

how much loading

and unloading

at the dock

how many places

it’s been

and gone

through

all the seasons

of change

how much rain

and ice

heat and wind

how many sunrises

and sunsets

how many tunnels

and bridges

and blinking lights

how many eyes

watched it fly by

with a schedule

to keep

no matter what

the train must

arrive on time

to meet its

destination

TL

There in the Dark

what do you

think about

before you sleep

is it worry

is it regret

is it the day

is it yesterday

is it tomorrow

is it death

is it life

is it what you said

is it what you didn’t say

is it what you wish you’d said

is it WHY

is it goodbye

is it joy

is it light

is it love

is it hope

is it loss

is it sorrow

is it peace

is it just

sleep

TL

There’s a Song

the trees

are lit

with fireflies

as summer

folds

into fall

travel takes way

only distance and time

can say

geese appeared

on the green

strolling along

the cart path

dots of rain

on a monarch’s wing

brushed the water

a clear canvas

the picture could be

most anything

or nothing

but nothing

is something

for silence

can fill

the empty space

with sound

the baby bird

lived

on the edge

of endings

chirping along to jazz

looking up into potted leaves

before it fell

silent

never knowing trees

or seed

or a puddle bath

or soaring flights

on the break of day

but it knew

love

TL

Leanne Morgan

Perimenopause

Menopause

Mid-Life

Loss

Transition

Empty Nest

The Past

All at Once …

and ‘ya jest feel like

you’re in this storm

and the wind is jest whipping

this way and that away

and there you are

hanging on

by a thread

a spiderweb’s thread

wondering

how the L …

and then an Angel descends

with her golden hair streaming

lit from within

a wonky wink in her eyes

she’ll size ‘ya up quick

and drawl in her trademark tongue

“it’s gonna be ok … whatever it is …

you’re gonna be ok …”

and then make ‘ya laugh

like you haven’t laughed

in who knows when

wow what a gift

the gift of understanding

Thank You

for her

TL

Resilient Roses

behind the closed

curtain

of her lashes

the petals

fell away

like the rain

revealing

a single stem

just as it is

still green

mid the thorns

and dead leaves

already

new buds

form …

reforming

and returning

TL

How Could You …

not for

a billion

a year

would i have

hurt you

that away

and it stops me

to this day

no matter

where i am

or how i am

the sun could be

out

the sky so blue

all the leaves green

and waving in the wind

smiling faces

all around

music overhead

and still

there’s a quiet

space

i can’t contain

TL

Wish You Were Here

in the shadow

of a summer

off the Florida

keys

if only

i had known

what i know now

would i have

sailed away

and took a risk

seen the sea

for what it was

never knowing

what lurks beneath

blinded by the surface

of the sun

thought i knew

the stars

for they twinkled

same as the sea

same as they did

way away

from me

and every facet

was a flame

that drew me in

taking hold

a lover of light

on a moth’s wing

the cemetery is silent

in its season

a body i once knew

has left

no box can hold

there was a rainbow

on the way

home

and the colors blurred

and melted like a snow

cone

and a part of me is here

and a part of me is there

and in the end

we are every

where

TL

Empty Nest

i feel

like a flower

that’s died

maybe

i’ll come back

in the Spring

TL

The Walk

when

i got on that plane

in September

of ‘93

to finally

be reunited

with my Dad

after all those years

i had thought

it would magically

fix everything

and wash away

the past

and i would be

free of it

but i never considered

death

would come calling

in six months

my number one relationship

was with God

and He knew how much

i loved you

He knew

‘cause you were always in my prayers

and i was always praying

so when He took you

from me

that quick

i felt …

betrayed

i felt angry

i felt lost

i felt empty

i felt hopeless

buried in deep dark pain

after the funeral

i stopped going to church

not that i ever believed you had to go

to church

in order to believe in God

i’ve always believed

the Kingdom of Heaven is within

and no one knows your heart

but you

and your Creator

i don’t believe in the judgment of man

and i gotta say

churchgoers – by and large

are maybe the most judgmental

beings on earth

and i have never understood

that

but i don’t understand a lot of things

i remember thinking

God is a jealous God

He wants no one to come before Him

and how i had put my Dad above Him

and this was the price

paid

i was 20 at the time

(or somewhere close to that since i don’t know exactly how old i really am)

i had just completed my Freshman year of college

and could not stop thinking about going to see my Dad

it was like something was pulling me toward him

i’m grateful i was there with him

i’m grateful i had those six months with him

i’m grateful for the time …

time is unmeasurable

my Dad died at 50

i’ve lived longer than my Dad

i feel like he never left me

and it’s been 32 years

so much has changed

and yet so much remains

we walked together when i was small

and we walked together when i was big

and when i took a walk yesterday in the park

we were walking together still

like no time had passed

Thank You

TL

The Sum of All Things

even now

you would shrug

and say

I don’t understand

what I did

whatever did I do

to deserve this …

I loved her …

but that wasn’t love

i know what love is

and that wasn’t love

i used to think

i owed you my life

‘cause you flipped through a book

and saw my face

and picked me

lucky me, right

you thought you were buying

a doll

an Oriental doll

and it made no difference if the doll

came from Korea or Timbuktu

you’d give it a Japanese name

‘cause you liked the name: Tamiko

but you never considered

how that’d make me feel

one day

how i’d have to explain

no, i’m not Japanese

for the billionth time

oh well, right

yes – i blamed you

for destroying

my dream

of having a family

an adoptive family

you only thought of yourself

there was a choice

and you chose him

you chose a broken man

who would break you

you already had a man

a good man

my dad – my adoptive dad

but you chose another man

who already belonged to

someone else

he already had a wife and his own kids

what were you thinking

you weren’t

you were feeling

lust

i was there

i remember

everything

but you never saw me

or wondered what that would do to me

i never felt like your child

you treated me

like a servant

who would cook and clean

for you

once upon a time i resented that

feeling like Cinderella

and all

but you taught me

how to take care of myself

how not to rely on anyone

else

you treated me like an adult

so i acted like an adult

i worried about things

a child should not worry about

i buried so much

stuff

and pretended things weren’t

that bad

but they were

weren’t they

they were really bad

wouldn’t you say

i couldn’t help you

i tried

but i couldn’t help you

i had wanted to save you

to save us

but i didn’t know how

i was still too young

to know how

i remember bringing you ice

for the bruises

i remember him pushing you down

choking you

kicking you

punching you

throwing you around

i was there …

i saw it

i heard it

i felt it

the holidays were the worst

i hated holidays

and summers

summers were awful

there was no school

in the summer

but for a few

there was a reprieve

when i got to go to Florida

and spend time with Gram and Aunt Cindy

but i worried the whole time

that you’d kill each other

while i was away

even sober the two of you were never

compatible

every breath was a fight

i’ll never understand

why you both chose to live

like that

day in and day out

year after year

in pure misery

pure hatred

i guess you both gave up

or got used to the trauma

i don’t know

all i know is it taught me

how to adapt and adjust

to anything

i know now

neither of you were equipped

to raise children

let alone grandchildren

i had thought maybe

you would both

want to do better by her

but you started fighting

in front of her

she learned the F word

in third-grade

not at school

but from you

and when you told her

you wished you’d never adopted me

she came home and told me that in tears

you should have said that to me

NOT to her

i could have handled that

she could not

the drinking was the last straw

i couldn’t protect myself

from the two of you

but i could protect her

and that’s what i did

i chose to protect my daughter

and put her first

TL

Diamonds on the Drink

oftentimes

throughout my journey

in each phase

the small me

has thought …

you don’t know me

at all

if you knew me

just a little

you wouldn’t

add a tear

to the well within

not a drop

you’d add

you’d think to yourself

no …

i won’t hurt her

no more

she’s been through

enough

instead you would meet me

with laughter and joy

and in that joy

you would bring me

relief

that’s what you did

for me …

i never told you

that

and it’s too late

now

but i’ll say it

anyways

though there was a river

our laughter shook the trees

and the leaves fell

into the rushing wave

and floated

like a diamond

on out to sea

TL

An Escape

i felt

validated

in school

i felt in control

in the classroom

there was order

there

and things made sense

i was living

in complete chaos

and uncertainty

but school

felt safe

it was where

i excelled

reading and writing

were like food and water

to me

i had to have them

to survive

TL