Grains
there are
watches in the drawer
and when I was young
I wore them all
tick, tick, tick
round and round
the carousel
but something happens
as you age
and somewhere
long the way
you put those watches away
and wake with the sun
and sleep by the moon
and smell the air
scent of the season
and take the time
to greet the day
and put it away
TL
Stray
why do you
whistle
when you know
he won’t come
even if he’s hungry
homeless
and hurt
why do you
whistle
as if he’ll come
TL
Wilderness
thought it was
a dog
run out
cross four lanes
like a shot
out of nowhere
but when the car ahead
hit the dog
and it fell to ground
saw it was
no dog at all
but a baby deer
lost its way
and there was
the hospital
just to the right
of the roadway
TL
Chopin
bring a key
an ivory key
that can open
all the locks
of all the doors
castle or cardboard
let it turn
hardened heart
to yearn
not for that
but for this
rise and fall
the procession
of us all
“Funeral March”
TL
Raindrop
sit by
the river
watch the water
whence it comes
whence it goes
over rock
and sand
past time
and place
puddle to brook
stream to sea
the water moves
endlessly
TL
Featherweights
little brown
birds
fight at the feeder
one, two
one, two
then away
to their corners
they wait
‘til the belted Blue Jay
takes off
then back to the ring
the little brown birds
bob and weave
and pay no mind
to the carrier Cardinal
or the white wing Dove
but the Jungle Cat,
who tiptoes on silent leaves
round the rooted tree,
is like a bell
that rings
“Fight Over!”
TL
Sacrifice
over your shoulder
what do you see
was it the way
it had to be
or did it have to be
that way
at all
was it hard
to see
what is hard
to miss
was it worth
the weight
how much
is too much
and if you could
bear it
would you bear it
sunk in soil
far from ray
would you lift it
this weight away
or would it be
too much
how much
is too much
TL
Endurance
the tea
is ever green
steeped in ancient herb
blended balance
for the beam
A to Z
come what may
sting of rain
or buzzing bee
heel to toe
don’t look down
just let it go
TL
T I M E
a constant coin
that never stops
turning
and you can be
heads one second
tails the next
and all the while
you’re getting older
and you’ve been where they’ve been
and you’re going where they’re going
and you look out your watercolor window
and the sun is the same
the rain, the wind
but the landscape
is different
is more
is less
TL
Farmers
and the AC
was blowin’
full blast
and all the bulbs
were burning
room to room
and the dishwasher,
the dryer,
the oven
were all ticking
and the vehicles
were parked
and the frig was full
like the faucet
like the dog
like the house
and there sat the TV
with all its channels
click, click, click
and here was this guy
peering outta the box
wearing a cowboy hat
that actually fit
like the lines on his face
still handsome and rugged and real
and he was talking ‘bout his daddy
how he farmed the land
how he survived
the Dust Bowl of ‘35
how he plowed
sunup to sundown
how his hands hurt something awful
how, even so, he’d go
pick up that ‘ole fiddle
and play
“his hands would be bleeding …”
and as he told that story
he wasn’t on TV
he was on a farm
back in Kansas
sitting on the floor
listening
to his daddy play
for him
TL
Needless
no use
for why
for where’s
the answer
in it
what can
you say
about
this day
or the one
before
or the one
after
is there
not enough
room at the table
is there
not enough
roofs overhead
is there
not enough
cloth to clothe
is there
not enough
shoes to sole
is there
not enough
water to drink
is there
not enough
wealth in the world
is there
not enough
love
not enough
understanding
not enough
thought
not enough
TL
Basic
children
teach us
what we
need
to know
TL
Light
may you
whoever you
may be
may you
but believe
not in years
flat and folded
but in the bed
of roses
may you
find yourself
in Thee
be it
shade or sun
would that you
pick one
and give it
to someone
and in the giving
would that you find
what it is you seek
in the shadow
of your sleep
TL
Gemstones
it’s covered
in concrete
the road i knew
the one
i’d walk …
past the “dead end” sign
past the pasture
with the pretty horses
past the wild plum trees
and blackberry bushes
past the homes
of factory workers
and in the summers
it’d be hard to breathe
harder, still, after a truck
kicked up a cloud
and the price for quartz
was fire on the fingers
but it’d be worth it
after you dunked off the dirt
and showed it to the sun
treasure in the trenches
end to end
just had to dig
for it
TL
Enough
how is it
there is
never enough
time
and it’s all
you can think of
at the hour
of loss
when the grains of time
fall like snow
and there you are
on your knees
in the middle of miles of winter
trying to pack it all back in the bottle
all the time you missed
but you’re no match for the sun
and there you are
in the ocean
wave upon wave
your body washed up on shore
too spent to stand
you lie in the sand
and go to sleep
for a while
and wake up
one day
somewhere
down the line
and realize
there was
in fact
enough
time
TL
Portal
this small box
took the tape
and played the past
when they were living
and breathing and being
and there was a table covered in cloth
and a white-tiered cake
and fresh flowers in a vase
and lots of food and drink
and there were memories
everywhere
60 years’ worth
“Look at Mama and Daddy,
didn’t they look good,” she said.
now, here it is
years later
60 years’ worth
standing where her Mama stood
“Look at Granny and Papa,
don’t they look good.”
TL
Healing
he gets out
of his car
and walks toward
a brick box
and goes in
and punches a button
on the wall
and waits for
the doors to open
and waits for
the doors to close
and remembers
what room
and makes his way
down the hall
floor to floor
knows ‘em all
knocks on the door
rap, rap, rap
waits for a welcome
goes in
and says something
and stands by the bed
and bows his head
and prays
TL
News
looting in London
brazen bank robbers behind bars
woman, without a face, has a mirror
three-year-old girl gone
woman went to Aruba – where is she
parents medicating their kids for no reason
Wall Street crunching
Americans, still, without a paycheck
men and women, still, in the field
people vying for presidency
back to school
TL
Poor
lined, without line
see their faces
structure the same
and there’s a heat wave
running rampant
through their veins
and they don’t know
what to do
with it
cause every day’s
the same
TL
Change
was a day
without wind
and you’re waking up
and walking around
and washing your face
and draining a drink
and clearing a plate
and pulling the door to
and pushing it fro
and doing whatever it is
you do
and you check the mail
and pay the bills
and cook something
and wash something
and wait for something
and say something
and take something
and make something
and think something
and watch something
and forget something
and then you
remember
what it was
you forgot
and you look
out the window
and the leaves
are whirling
TL