Back Road
split second
turn
took me
from town
the list and laundry
and what to cook
saw the land
unfold
like the sea
rolling
and the seed took
down an endless row
where long I looked
the length of barbwire
where the crows were cawing,
“the crop is good, the crop is good, the crop is good”
and still were the tractors
under the oaks
and clear was the sky
a drop-less blue
and where was i
TL
Whatever Ails
take the sun
and pour it
in your hand
and spread it
over your body
and go to sleep
and when you wake
you won’t be cold
or lonely
no more
TL
Lace
the spider
so small
climbs so high
up the trunk
higher and higher
she follows the line of the limb
and takes her thread and spins it
to the other side
and back and forth
and round and round
and up and down
she goes
sewing her doily
just so
TL
Lest
in the mess
of it all
we forget
the lessons
of the little
what children know
the earth
is not exclusive
to the few
they know
what the birds know
scribbles on paper
mean what
to a squirrel
signs and deeds and dedications
human manifestation
the blue butterfly
has no plan
the crickets
no audience
the fish
no direction
and yet
they move
as one
TL
Open Space
essential
to the soul
of man
of woman
of child
is roam
a place to roam
wild and free
and travel we
to the edge of time
we do
for none of us
is without this want
this need
this desire
to leave
all we know
for an unknown place
a silent glade
an untouched blade
this sense of searching
an internal longing
a restless breath
a solitary sigh
is there
ever in the eye
where all things lie
sitting in the Sahara
listening to the sea
meditating on a mountain
swimming in aquamarine
sleeping in an igloo
dancing in a teepee
walking in wildflowers
standing in snow
tasting the rain
feeling the gust
watching the wind
rush and rush
running where
there are no roads
or dead end signs
or gates to climb
or walls to rope
or doors to push
or windows to close
where there is
no beginning
no end
only the middle
of the page
where no pen
has been
TL
Rainy Days
tea bags
keep breaking
a p a r t
and the bird’s going
crazy in his cage
and the balls keep going
over the wall
and the songs are all sad
about love
and the sun covered its head
under the clouds
and granny’s in her house
getting old
and the feathers are floating
top to bottom
and she’s checking her look in the mirror
6 to 16
and those yellow roses always turn
brown by morning
and none of it’s new to me
so why
“and Mother Mary speaks to me …
let it be”
TL
Stories
you can
do everything right
or everything wrong
you can read all the books
or none at all
you can fall in love
or never come close
you can travel the world
or never leave home
you can work all your life
or not
you can believe in dreams
or give them up
you can pick all the flowers
or leave them in the ground
you can drive down the street
or walk
you can save all your money
or spend it
you can talk and talk and talk
or listen
you can give and give and give
or take
you can hurt someone
or heal them
you can shuffle
or deal
you can hold on
or let go …
you can live as if you know
or live and know you don’t
and no matter what you do
or don’t do
nothing prepares you
for The End
TL
Love Me
when nothing
makes sense
and I can’t see
my way
where I’m going
where I’m at
where I’ve been
tell me this again
tell me that you love me
I need to hear it now
tell me you don’t care
where I’m going
where I’m at
where I’ve been
only that you love me
tell me this again
I need to hear it now
not so much in words
just my hand in yours
TL
“Mind Over Matter”
close my eyes
can hear the gull
and children squealing
and palms swaying
and coolers closing
and umbrellas opening
and my heart beating
can feel the coal on my feet
and still I lie down
and welcome the pain
then rivers of relief
in the fingertips of foam
I swim in the sea
taste the salt on my lip
and float away
from shore
human no more
TL
Candles
within
the breath
of this moment
someone, somewhere
out there
is getting older
is walking down the aisle
is nursing a newborn
is marking a milestone
is remembering
is forgetting
is falling
is praying
is laughing
is crying
or just trying
to get through
the night
TL
Reassurance
an ageless
dance
we do
moment we appear
to the moment we disappear
the bundled baby
we say,
“you’re so beautiful”
the dying
we say,
“it’s okay … you can let go now …”
and the wind sweeps
leaves away
and the rain rolls down
ridges of bark
dispersed
even, uneven
and the butterflies
won’t be back
‘til spring
and the sun
won’t be back
‘til summer
and this is how
the story goes
for the young
for the old
so if you love
love now
while love is
TL
Submission
summer storms
are like fire in the night
flashes of youth
in the east
show the destruction
in the west
where the wind
spins the sand
a cyclone
of dust and debris
and just as sudden
the stillness
takes hold
and there looms the moon
smiling at the stars
between the sheet
of night
TL
Self
what would
you say
to yourself
if you knew
yourself
what would
you say
to yourself …
would it be
sticky sweet
or a bitter rind
would it be
light and airy
or a weighted stone
would it be
giving and kind
or eerily sublime
would it be
replete and replenished
or drained and dug
would it be
happy and whole
or a sad, sad soul
what would
you say
TL
Blades
many a morning
she sat on her narrow drive
and scooted along with a pair of scissors
conforming each blade
no wild weeds here
and in the fall
she’d gather dead leaves
and black bag ‘em
and carry ‘em across the street
lining them up just so
but some things could not be controlled
bike treads and hydrant dogs and solitary soles
would come and go
and if she were in her right mind
this day
those cars parked on her lawn
haphazard
would be towed
far, far away
TL
Cracked Porcelain
Roman
are the numerals
that tumble the face
round and round
a polished stone
gleaming like sun on snow
you throw it in the air
toss it in the deep
chunk it over the fence
cross the street
through a window
against the wall
under the stove
rolls to stop
and lays there
helpless
in the dark
TL
Infancy
yesterday …
she had no teeth
today …
she lost two
and so
tonight …
the good fairy
will wing against her window
and leave dust in her hair
ballet on her breath
and a token of truth
to temper the void
morning brings
TL
Blue Moon
she went about
the necessary
all that was expected
practice perfected
so while her body
moved in and out of doors
and the talk was small
ticks on the wall
up and down the sun
sliver to circle
stand here, turn there
switch on, switch off
take it out, put it there
prepare, purpose, plan
throw up your hands
let it fall
inside you know it all
doesn’t matter
anyway
long as
you know
you were here …
really here
once upon
a time
TL
Music
like a melody
deeper than sound
you don’t know why
just does
something inside
like all the records
you never heard before
all the notes you never knew
and it fills some part of you
some place you missed
long the way
and you know it now
as you walk away
TL
Sacred
be there no
possession
save the possession
of thyself
TL
The Desk
it was old
made of torn trees
and brushed amber
covered in scars
felt how deep
the mar
slid the drawers
open and closed
and saw
the inner workings
still intact
untouched by time
knew it mine
and emptied
my pockets
then and there
for there is
no price …
TL