Ink in the Blood Posts

Midnight

three steps back

for every one

circle the floor

look up

at the chandelier

hear the strings

the ivory keys

was that my heart

somebody’s blocking

the door

it’s getting late

gotta go home

sometime

the gown’s too heavy

the slipper’s too tight

the expectation too much

there are no white knights

that was just a story to tell

but you can’t budge

the woman at the window

she’ll grow old there

like Mrs. Havisham

so, here’s a cup of tea

with honey

and here’s your song

hear the strings

the ivory keys

now, where was I …

TL

Funerals

nevertheless

she showed up

dress and heels

string of pearls

commandeered

an empty pew

way in the back

and found a spot

on the floor

and stared at it

it got her through

the appointed speakers

the poster prayer

the clammy hands

and out the door

to the blinding sun

and long, low shadows

to where the grass grows

and each crack in the sidewalk

draws you closer to your car

get in and shut the door

and take a breath

and turn the key

and drive away

wipers swishing

TL

Common Sense

the fly

found the fruit

pick up the magic wand

and he disappears

his radar ripe

in practiced flight

he’s gone to Kalamazoo

but he’ll be back

 he always comes back

when I’m gone

TL

Bravo

there’s a small bird

that sings

in this tree

outside my door

and it’s still dark

with the moon about

but this bird doesn’t know

the difference

tweet, tweet, tweet

and the sun must have heard

spotlight’s on the bird

it draws a second wind

TWEET, TWEET, TWEET

TL

Peaks and Valleys

could feel

the static

slight turn

smile waiting

familiar

but can’t place it

fumble for words

for he knows me right off

but I can’t quite

and it’s a game

gives up a point

and tells me

of course

now, I know

and it’s good

to see him

to hear his voice

his laugh

and know he made it out

should have said as much

but there was an audience

so we reached

for the weather

and football

and “have a good day”

and watched him

walk away

back to life

TL

Understood

you bore me

but I never say that

just nod

and inject, “Oh, yeah …”

they never notice

trailed away are they

some blessed distraction

and gone I go

to the books I know,

and they know me

from long ago

the girl I was

turn the page

and there I am

in the apple orchards

of Avalon

TL

Golden Years

they don’t talk

anymore

 

they don’t laugh

or yell

 

they don’t touch

or dance

 

they’re married

too long

 

they have separate

corners

 

they eat standing up

get even, sitting down

 

they’ve aged

early

 

they’ve stayed

late

 

they’re dead

on their feet

TL

 

Excavation

never saw her

again

the way she was

back then

never saw him

again

the way he was

back then

but the choices

were never mine to make

the heart doesn’t care

what you think or say

it goes its own way

through the dark forest

into the cave

over the bridge

across the desert

and into the sea

least I tried

got on the boat

and never bailed

went down with the ship

lungs burning

guns blazing

but love wasn’t done

hadn’t taken enough

so it drank the ocean

and ate all the trees

’til all was left

was summer sand

and a hand to dig

for water

TL

Fireflies

these are the days

marking the wall

the pinnacle place

sizing shoes

something new

a lighter hue

the songs you sing

and there’s the moon

and there’s the sun

and there’s the bug

where’d it go

can we keep it

and there’s the wrapper

I didn’t eat it

it must have been a ghooooost

or sooooomething, you know,

like that bad old, bad old, troll

oh, all right, all right, I ate it

and there’s the mud

and there’s the water

and there’s a butterfly

and there’s a bee

and there’s a frog

and there’s a fly

see that spider

watch that worm

is that a cricket

catch that caterpillar

did you see that

there it is

do you see it

right there

do you see it

did you see it

turn your head

now, do you see it

do you see it

yes, I see it …

I see it

TL

Car Wash

there’s a waterfall

hidden in this hole

in the wall

and for a few bucks

you can watch it fall

crash and cascade

like the rush of a wave

then drizzle and drip

“calm before the storm”

rumble of rain in the belly

bubbles blinking

then smack

goes the blue wax,

flecks of green and purple pigment

like seaweed swimming

feel like a fish

in a tank

nose against

the glass

TL

 

Alone

a cemetery

perhaps can be

a sanctuary

place without pretense

somewhere to go

and sit with stones

most of whom

you knew not

yet you knew them all

for they, too

lived and dreamed and lost

felt love in all its form

some died too young

others too old

some were already dead,

buried long ago

others newborn

names and dates

sometimes scripture

possibly a poem

plastic flowers picked up

by the wind

tokens tossed, taken in

and here and there

an empty spot

where the sun burns

and the rain soaks

and a bird flies over

and soles drift by

like swans on water

like a lullaby

TL

Cessna

took off

in a metal bird

left my body

on the ground

clouds were quiet

the sun was soft

saw myself

in a tiny toy car

stuck at the light

watched a stream of ants

go in and out the door

picked up a pool

and put it on my finger

glint of aquamarine

Lego houses

and broccoli trees

child’s laughter

left it there

with the sparrow

TL

Music Box

first it was

a plastic ballerina

whirl of white

spinning into the night

 

then it was red velvet

edged in antique gold

like a seat at the opera

longing for love

 

last it was silver

a cameo center

blue velvet

inside

the color of sky

a Switzerland sound

of a tinkling town

warmth of the hearth

frosted glass

full of flurries

TL

Last Time

was on my

way to work

about to turn in

and there’s this

black dog

in the midst

of Indy

got out

and walked him

up to his house

where the girl

who answered the knock

knew him

she hollered out

and a man appeared

and told me it wasn’t the first time

next morning

there’s the dog

got out

and dragged him

to the side

went back to the house

and as soon as the girl saw me

she cried

TL

Amen

what is it

to be human

to love and to hate

to think you don’t hate anything

or think you know how to love something

to sit in church on Sunday shaking hands

and then on Monday crushing petals underfoot

to tell someone you care about ‘em

and then leave ‘em to drown

and wonder why they don’t come around

to expect more than you’re capable of giving

wanting what you’ll never have

and never realizing what you do

casting judgment without cracking a case

figuring you never make mistakes

becoming everything you detest

and then it’s the holidays

and you gotta put on your face

and make like all is right

in the world

’cause that’s what humans do

they light candles

in the dark

’til the wick runs out

TL

Private Pain

he was smiling

whenever I saw him

as if nothing bad

had ever happened to him

and I was happy for him

then one day

he called me up

after reading

a story I’d written

about somebody

who had just died

on the roadway

after being hit by a car

and he asked me

if I’d talked to the driver

and then he was telling me

about himself

how he was that driver

once

years ago

and I could hear him

crying quietly

over the phone

and there was nothing

I could say

so I cried, too

through the years

he must have relived it

a thousand times

why’d it have to be me

she walked in front of

wasn’t his fault

and he knows it

but it doesn’t change a thing

a life is gone

and he goes on

but it’s clear

part of him is gone

the boy died that day

on a broken roadway

TL

Loss

Christmas before

he died

bought him a bunch of ties

neckties of varied stripe

enough for two weeks’ worth

didn’t have much money then

but was young enough not to care

so he’s sitting there in his red pajamas

with such surprise

held each one to his puffed up chest

and grinned like a little boy

who’d gotten the bike

there was the bottom of December

all of January, all of February

at the top of March

he was dead

his ties hanging

in the closet

where he left ‘em

TL

Crystal

saw it in the snow

this tiny town

I know

the sugar shaker

wasn’t stingy

with the sprinkles

pure confection

didn’t matter who you were

what you’ve done

or didn’t do

rich or poor

the branches glistened

the air alive

like Frosty

mug in hand

warmer than

it’s ever been

take a drive

and window watch

boys and girls

men and women

dogs and squirrels

and there’s a stillness

in the picture

a feeling of regret …

that time you yelled

or kept on going

when you should have

turned around

the “sorry” you never said

the understanding you never felt

the time you can’t get back

and then you’re back home

taking off your coat

and kicking off your shoes

and turning the thermostat

and getting something to eat

something to drink

saying, “what a beautiful day”

and even then

the sun is coming

for the snow

TL

Confetti

and the leaves

are falling

wrinkled

like the old do

and the young

are rushing about

as if

a magic pill

will be FDA approved

when it comes time to leave

and they’ll pop it

and go about their merry way

laying waste what’s left

somebody should have said something

somebody should have warned ‘em

maybe somebody did

but they were in a hurry

that day

and didn’t hear

TL

 

Time

yesterday

crept over a track

and looked to the left

far as the eye could see

and there in the distance

a deer

standing there

solitaire

middle of the railway

staring back at me

two of us

suspended

in a parallel path

an understanding

between us

same fate

TL