Ink in the Blood Posts

Grateful

driving along

my mind

on towers

the suffering

of September

that helpless

feeling

that never wanes

when suddenly

I’m snapped back

to the present

four-lanes of flying traffic

what …

what is that kitten doing in the road

and I just knew

knew, knew, knew

there would be a black smudge

on the turn-around

braced myself for it

as I passed all those cars

and I’m staring hard

but there’s nothing to see

look to the right

a footstep from the road

there the kitten

a morning shadow

on green grass

too spent to make a move

looks up at me

helplessly

and I close my eyes

thank you …

TL

Like That

like when GM

tanked

like when the ocean

was oil

like when sports lost

at the ATM

like when construction workers

had nothing to construct

like when fast food

replaced slow food

like when prices at the pump

became a bill

like when terrorists

grounded planes

like when military service

was forgotten

like when children

don’t get to be children

like when weapons

are misused

like when humanity

is compromised

like when people forget

how to think for themselves

like when young people lose direction

and old people have to take it

like when there aren’t enough homes

or enough rooms at the shelter

like when fighters

don’t get back up

like that …

TL

Sweeping

sometimes

I sweep the porch

for no reason

really

I know the leaves

and dead bugs

and dusty dirt

will be swept back

before I turn in

that night

but that’s ok

I sweep it

anyway

TL

Joan Rivers

and after all

the plastic

she was never

fake

TL

Watermelon

what once

resembled

a tiny tree

in a pint-size pot

has grown not up

but out

covering a portion

of lawn

in vines

that “Jack in the Beanstalk”

could climb

had there been no boulder

and each day

the boulder gets

a bit bigger

bit broader

like a swelled head

that heard

every word

she ever said

TL

Order Up

he has

a paperboy cap

that covers

a head of hair

that once held

a shade

and he matches

his cap

to his clothes

and I watch him

stroll

in that purposeful way

gone is the day

when he sat at the table

and his mother fed him full

maybe his wife, too

now, he wakes up

and gets dressed

and puts on his cap

and heads out the door

 to the burger joint

down the street

where they know

what he likes

before he can say,

“egg”

TL

Obesity

well, that’s nice

I say

so, you gave it all

away

and they took it

you say

all of it

well, that’s nice

I say

so, where are they

I don’t know

you say

well, you must

have an inkling

I say

didn’t you buy

their ticket

their passport

their luggage

yes, but …

they were in a hurry

you see

and forgot to wave

“bye” to me

but, don’t worry

you say

they’ll be back

some day

they always come back

well, that’s nice

I say

I can see why

they’d come back

yeah …

you say

so, what do you do

when they’re away

I say

don’t you get lonely

oh, no, I have plenty of stuff to do

don’t worry

you say

well, that’s nice

I say

at least you have plenty of stuff

to do

when they’re away

yeah …

you say

TL

What More

the discipline

of the day

is a myriad

motion

that moves us

all along

in one direction

centered in one form

our well being

is found

and found again

in the effort made

and made again

small on surface

a dot of dust

on a table wide

though it would seem so

insignificant

in the pendulum swing

what is more

than this and this and this

a kind word

a noble deed, a measured thought

these and these and these

are what makes us …

the memory of us

significant

TL

Down Syndrome

she’s always

on time

so if you’re

running behind

you won’t see her

at all

and if there’s a lull

between minutes

she’ll be halfway

back to the door

by the time

you roll out

but if you’re

on time

that day

she will have just

come out

and started walking

down her driveway

all adult-like

and by the time

you pass by

she’ll be slowly

bending down

to pick up

the paper

like it was important

something she did

all her own

without any help

from anyone

not even the one

in the house

standing there

at the window

TL

Pure

ever wonder

how pure

the photo

is …

the one

nobody

ever shot

and hung

ever wonder

how pure

the song

is …

the one

nobody

ever spun

and sold

ever wonder

how pure

the rose

is …

the one

nobody

ever cut

and bottled

ever wonder

how pure

the grape

is …

the one

nobody

ever mashed

and labeled

ever wonder

how pure

the kiss

is …

the one

nobody

ever felt

and forgot

TL

How It Is

if you

roam around

a w h i l e

and peek in rooms

not yours

you might glimpse

a love that lives

in private quarters

unphotographed

and frameless

against the prying eye

the pickpocket

true of any love

if that’s what

you would call it

and maybe why

you’ll never read

a word about it

or watch it play

across the screen

you might pretend

to know

how it is

and think

you’ve held it

once or twice

but unless

you’re standing

in the room

to feel it

how would you

know it

how could you

know it

how it is

TL

In Wait

patience is

a pet

that lies in wait

for hours

they go to sleep

for years

with two door knobs

in their ears

and even when

at last

they hear the music

play

and cue the dance

of tap

they wait in line

behind

the bags of produce

product

books and ballet

they are but

the remainder

of the day

the last light

of dawn

they scrounge around

for the love

that’s left

devouring the crumbs

they eat their meals

as if they’ve never tasted food

and out the door

they run

as if the trees had never stood

trembling

they lift their nose

to the bird

and press it down

to the bug

they sniff the green off the grass

the dust off the dirt

the bark off the limb

they pause

with one paw up

and take it in

as if it is

their very being

TL

Third Grade

sitting in

her chair

at her desk

in her room

looking out

from her view

I can see why

she wanted

this teacher

that much

TL

Dress Shop

she used to

buy her dresses

here

back when

she wore dresses

rooms with racks

of pretty pieces

and she’s standing in every room

walking through every door

feeling the fabric

eyeing the stitching

raising the hem

to fit

her petite form

and she’s asking me

what I think

of the blue one

and I tell her

“beautiful … granny

you look beautiful …”

TL

Intersection

a pocket

of time

some a second

others hours

stopped at the quarter

different time zones

intersect

when we were

when we weren’t

stages of growth

growing now

each weak

makes you stronger

makes you weaker

given the take

what is a mistake

but a moment

of movement

across the board

depends on the turn

do you go backward

or forward

or stay where you are

TL

Robin Williams

63 years

he rolled

outta bed

and pulled on

his face

and stretched it

to make it

smile

and over time

the smile

got stuck

in place

so nobody ever

had to ask

if he was

happy

TL

The Dance

quick, quick

slow

quick, quick

slow

sidestep, twirl

sidestep, twirl

forward, back

forward, back

toe-to-heel

toe-to-heel

lift and fold

lift and fold

get back up

get back up

shoulders square

arms are there

point that toe

hold it, hold it, hold it

roll and bend

roll and bend

try it again

try it again

that’s it

that’s it

don’t stop

don’t stop

right there

right there

bravo, bravo, bravo

again, again, again

do it again …

and this time smile

TL

Underwater

and there was

a stream

that waded in

pooling in the corridor

and rising in the room

it left no corner dry

as it seeped into

the weeping wall

and stirred the ground to grain

and there they swam to her

and when they reached the bottom boat

that cradled her

they could not wake her up

for she was much too tired

had rowed much too long

in a restless sea

still they clung

to the side

trying to get a leg over

needing to say something … more

but the boat was drifting

offshore

sailing to the setting sun

and as they watched it

disappear

they felt the weightlessness of water

pushing them back to shore

and in the stillness

of the night

they lie spent in the sand

their eyes trained

on the evening star

(April 30, 2012)

TL

Wavelength

words

before

words

are kept

within

small bodies

of matter

where they

become

dots of glitter

dusted

on the tongue

like grains of sugar

like white sand

like powdered snow

the syllables

roll

like waves

into space

floating

in the atmosphere

that is here

and before

the letters align

like stars

that reach meridian

they twirl about

unencumbered

by echoes

of thought

or sound

or placement

there is no purpose

of being more

of being less

there is no intention

no imposition

no implication

unmolded

they just are

TL

Mr.

really knew

nothing

of him

nameless

ageless

homeless

we just happened

to like the same room

with the big window

‘cause you could

watch the birds fly

and the rain fall

and people come and go

this was his domain

but he let me stand there

next to him

without a word

and at first

I’d ask him some dumb questions

but he’d never say

anything

which was just as well

‘cause I had nothing to say

this room

was a getaway

the only spot in the place

where you could breathe

and he understood this

he’d sit helpless

in his rolling chair

at that window wide

day in, day out

staring past the tree

the street

as if he was waiting

for somebody

to come

and maybe they came

when I wasn’t there

maybe they’re there now

I hope they’re there now

TL