Ink in the Blood Posts

Illumination

saw the clouds

ever-changing

as the sea

and there

the heavens

opened

in wonderment

for me

soften by the hue

and shredded by the wind

this brilliant bulb

on high

shone

by and by

and over yonder

fell a sheet of rain

mid downy pillows

where down

I lay

just a moment

so it seemed

when woken

by a rumble

framed in flashes

then the clouds

settled now

mid a mighty mast

and there I sailed

the silver sea

meant for you

meant for me

a promise

there was made

anew

all things past

a present

all things here

a gift

all things yet

a trove

this much

is all

I know

TL

Seagull

the guy

with him

called him

“Bill”

“Scoot over Bill,” he said

and Bill scooted over

to let the girls aboard

and the girls glanced at Bill

and saw he had no teeth

that his body was that of a boy

and his face was that of a man

and his eyes were that of an old, old man

stuck in a body that did not fit the fire,

the fire in his belly

and when it was Bill’s turn

to strap on the safety belts

he met no eye

he just stood there

staring at the white bow of the boat

waiting for his feet to lift

from the white

and as his feet dangled in air

his smile was newborn

his eyes without sea

his heavy mind at ease

just him and the breeze

gliding over an ocean

and the minutes weren’t long enough

not nearly

like the rope

that reeled him back

to the bow

TL

Anew

the sky

was lit within

below the bosom

steep and pathless

beyond the fields

of burnt-brushed trees

and a house

of simple means

and there

this road

it just

kept rolling

rolling on by

like a river

where

think I’ll

hang it

there

TL

Less

before

the cup

was

washed

and dried

and put back

in place

it sat

with me

in Panama

taking stock

and weeding out

when up

on iridescent leg

this crab

did climb

out of the crack

in the floor

called, time

where my sole

had sunken

long and low

and in and out

he’d go

out his little hole

and flick some sand

and dart back in

and this he did

time and time again

‘til it felt ordinary

what was at first

extraordinary

TL

Gravity

half a moon

veiled in cloud

shone the sand

the ever-changing sea

and the whitecap line

reaches for

the line ahead

white tide

rolling in

bath water

draining out

TL

Free

there is something

reassuring

in the quiet night

of waiting

and knowing

you aren’t alone

that no matter your lot

you will return

same as so and so

to the same spot

and turn your eye

to the chandelier

in the sky

and bask in its beauty

if only for a time

and your being there

and believing, somehow, it was important

to be there

is in itself an admission

and as the last facet fades to fog

you feel small

as you start back

the way you came

TL

Growth

pass a field

of cattle

black shadows

barely moving

midday

and further down

the brown mare

kicks around

the dust

no orchard

for miles

just barb wire

and pasture

and she’s good

at waiting

around

for sooner

or later

TL

Dealt

they have

their cards

on the table

one solitaire

one tented

and the cards fall

where they may

and both start over

one with diamonds

the other gold

TL

Squares

her hands

needed something

to fold

something to carry

something to put away

and in the rhythm of repetition

she returned to the woman she was

who remembered she had a husband

and boys and girls

who called her, “Mama”

and she could remember when her husband died

when her children left home

and she could remember the garden in the back

full of fruit and flowers

and how the roses blushed and burned

and she remembered that she was worn

slap to the bone

that soon she’d leave her children

for her husband

and when the last of it

was folded

and carried

and put away

she returned to the woman she was

who could not remember

her name

TL

Frames

she sat in a corner

like Little Jack Horner

bellowing out,

“EVERYTHING must go,

even the house!”

and this was her greeting

to young and to old

and smiled we did

as we sifted

all manner of ware

strewn here, strewn there

and down on a creaking knee

we bent to see

what walls would wear

long scenic shores

through Tuscan trees

off the white of France

mid fields of frozen flowers

carbons of Renoir, Monet

and again, she bellowed out,

“Take it all, $50 for the lot!”

but a museum we were not

and later she would say

how she could not stay

in a house too big

for a pair

and as we left her there

we heard her holler

to the next dollar

“EVERYTHING must go,

even the house!”

TL

Hereafter

dip of hand

leaves a swirl

of satin ribbon

that snakes across

a lake in morn

where ripples

even out

to edge

like wrinkles

from a made-up bed

and night is nigh

as warm you were

and waking

and stirred your cup

and drunk the dreg

and fore you left

you said

later and after

like there would be

later and after

but ribbons unravel

end to end

so, if you’re waiting

for a lull

in the lake

that is your life

don’t dally the day

twilling later and after

for nothing is more

than here

than now

TL

Jennifer Mejia

her little sister’s

on TV

and probably always

wanted to be

but not like this

not like that

and little starts out strong

like she taught her to be

but little gets lost

in that broken place

and you ache for her

the little girl

who’ll walk the world

without her sister’s hand in hers

and you ache for her

TL

Roberta Flack

3 a.m.

and you’re here

with me

and the moon

and I play your song

and it sounds the same

so it must be me

that’s changed

and I thought I knew you then

like I know you now

but time tells

otherwise

and you realize

too late

the mistakes

were not

“things we can’t untie”

TL

Dear Dad,

she just sneezed

down the hall

dust or dog or bunny or bird

and she was just here

a second ago

with her pirate patch

but blinked

five now

and too beautiful

for words

and has no idea

an inquisitive child

sensitive and serene and silly

there’s a look she can give

like she can see past it

all your flaws

and she tells you like it is

then does a little jig

and screams for ice cream

and a cone

but never eats the cone

just the cream

and she loves salmon

swimming in malt vinegar

and pours too much soy sauce

too much salt

 too much lemonade

 too much Mr. Bubble

and she’d rather the frosting over the cake

and when she finds a penny in the parking lot

she thinks she’s rich

and she is

TL

My Love

never said

but saw

that was all

TL

Left

and after all

that

no need

just want

aware to sit

too spent for else

or much

leave it

to the young

to that

to the puppies

to the kittens

to the calf

leave it

to that

leave it

to the leaves

let go

of the trees

leave it

to that

leave it

to the tables

to the chairs

to the silent stare

leave it

to that

leave it

to the glass

to the rim

to the cube

leave it

to that

leave it

to the gold

to the greedy

to the cold

leave it

to that

leave it

to the wind

to the dust

to the smoke

leave it

to that

leave it

to the word

to the syllable

to the verb

leave it

to that

leave it

to the sea

to the sand

to the weed

leave it

to that

leave it

to the mouse

to the cat

to the trap

leave it

to that

leave it

to the song

to the dance

to the second chance

leave it

to that

leave it

to the lies

to the truth

to the bye

leave it

to that

leave it

to the memory

to the mind

to the sublime

leave it

to that

leave it

to the wept

to the mirth

to the earth

leave it

to that

leave it

to the love

to the unloved

to the mud

leave it

to that

leave it

to the up

to the down

to the turn-around

leave it

to that

leave it

to the broken

to the whole

to the speck

leave it

to that

leave it

to the best

to the worst

to the first

leave it

to that

leave it

to the line

to the pins

to the cloth

leave it

to that

leave it

to the time

to the moment

to the beep

leave it

to that

leave it

to the quiet

to the loud

to the proud

leave it

to that

leave it

to the hit

to the miss

to the if

leave it

to that

leave it

to the travel

to the ticket

to the top

leave it

to that

leave it

to the can’t

to the won’t

to the could

leave it

to that

leave it

to the lone

to the crowd

to the rest

leave it

to that

leave it

to the trace

to the trail

to the tomb

leave it

to that

TL

Movie Magic

sitting there

in your body

still in your story

staring at a square

and the scenery

and the sound

and the emotion

carry you

off the couch

to the shores of someday

and the words

are the words you would say

to someone

if you spoke

and the song

is the song you would sing

to someone

if you sang

and the moment

is the moment you would give

to someone

if you gave

TL

Unreal

ad-apt

ad-just

ad-here

womb to world

knees, toes, soles

the first time you bleed

and the grass is green

and the dirt is brown

and the shadow of someone

disappears

and there are bones in a box

and it’s too much for the mind

what with days

and a million moons

weddings and babies and balloons

and there are forms to fill

and forms to file

and you’re in

and you’re out

and the occupation

turns to weather

which way the wind

and what hurts when

falls and breaks

cataracts and canes

and it sums the same

less it happens

out-of-order

 bones in a box

without length

and it’s too much

to contain

TL

Pine

underneath a Georgia pine

the cones are constant

and I find myself

searching that

all along

that even

in the toss about

and in the stillness

of the ground

the cones are constant

and I find myself

searching that

all along

TL

Oprah

if only

she had had

a daughter …

if only

she would

TL