All the Way
never call in
except for
that one time
for Michael Grimm
the Mississippi boy
who ambled out
on stage
sat down
on a stool
guitar in hand
soul on his sleeve
man, oh man
took my breath away
yelled out to my love
“Hey, you gotta hear this guy play”
blew us away
and just like that
a star was born
soon as he sang
“You give your hand to me”
TL
Test
she appeared
with a little black dog
from a distance
she’d seemed so happy
must have been a mirage
for this was a sad soul
and told me so
the little black dog was new
the one she had before
had died not long ago
round about the time she lost her job
and found out she was sick with something
she said she didn’t know how much more she could take
“hard lessons,” she said
nodded my head and wished her better days
that her little black dog would help her get out of bed
and get her out the door and down the street
back on her feet
TL
Traffic
orange light
blinking right
and we’re all waiting
our turn
down the highway
some move painfully slow
while others act like
they’ve got somewhere to go
or maybe they’re running late
or running away
who knows
not too fast
not too slow
somewhere between
sightseers and tunnel vision
middle of the road
and your whole life
you’re trying to figure out
how to go
not too fast
not too slow
TL
Boca Raton
and we’re sitting there
just the two of us
with our ice cream
having walked
from shore to shore
for two scoops
and unaware of your stare
I had run out of cream
and was looking down
at the end of my cone
an empty shell
when suddenly
a spoonful appeared
and I looked up
and realized
you’d given me your last bite
and in the smallness of that moment
with so many years of marriage between us
I thought to myself
wow, you still love me
TL
Coffee Cup
the woman
both arms swinging
must have not felt
good today
but the guy
without his left
was swinging his right
still in the ring
and the old man
on the bench
must have given in
to his couch
and the girl at the register
hasn’t changed
“patience,” say to myself
get in the car
windows down
song rolled up
wind in my hair
home in 10
then back again
TL
Hallelujah
Cohen penned it
perfect on the page
and lived to hear the praise
but Buckley
ripped it real
then slipped to sleep
missing Christmas morning
the way he played
his voice surreal
guess it didn’t matter much
how people feel
he was singing for himself
and the rest just happened by
TL
And Sow
early risers
meet the sun
before it stirs
the cream
its effervescent glow
rising in the steam
from sprinklers
banked below
through the dappled trees
it lingers in the leaves
then laser-like
it streams
its golden rays
through pane
casting shadows
down the lane
it catches on the vanes
spinning stacks of hay
till the land is paved
with good intentions
and the rows are ready
for the reaping
TL
11th of September
was at school
serving a ball
over a net
oblivious
when I heard
somebody say
New York
plane
towers
then it was
everywhere
and the ball dropped
and rolled away
and a feeling came over me
that day
that I’d never play
quite the way
I did before
oblivious
TL
Hourglass
don’t know why
it didn’t work
when it took a second
guess that’s the trouble
with first
don’t get it right
will it always be wrong
when the moment’s past
can the clock tick back
or is time a traitor
stuck on the eleventh hour
was it worth a turn-around
strangers walk on by
four years back
all those days without
wonder if it really
would have made a difference
now
at the last stroke
before midnight
TL
Train Tracks
he could not
go with her
not this time
she had to do this
a l o n e
so he stayed behind
and took care of things
all the things required of the living
and the world still turned
even if there were parts still flooded
and the seasons changed
giving way to the wind
the return of spring
fresh flowers in a ring
for life is for the living
dance and sing
no, love’s not free
wouldn’t want it to be
its ransom paid in full
at departure
and only the brave
would board
its train
a passenger
of the rain
TL
Ticket
projector’s rolling
in a dark room
full of folks
with half a stub
good for a 2-hour trip
far from phones ringing
voices with nothing to say
maybe that’s why movies are magic
a poor man’s portal
to all the lives he’d like to live
the explorer in him
craves ancient ruins
the gentleman in him
“shaken but not stirred”
the musician in him
a steel guitar
the king in him
destroys and conquers
the romantic in him
takes a knee
and the boy in him
well, he’s up that tree
TL
Childhood
last week
she brought me a leaf
and said, “keep it forever …”
taped it to the wall
and it’s still green
but feels fragile
like a forgotten flower
flattened between the pages
of a novella
would have whirled
in the wind
had she not come along
and found it where it fell
then carefully she carried it
and placed it in my hands
a hand-picked gift
wrapped in innocence
and tied with timeless twine
TL
Pocket Watch
saw a man
in the morning
sitting all alone
his cane
his only friend
a mechanical maze
before him
like to think
he was in Rome
feeding fat pigeons
and sipping black coffee
and not alone
his love tossing crumbs
cathedral bells ringing
crunch of crusty bread
fountains flowing
clouds departed
rays of light
overhead
TL
Sailor
and he was sitting there
in his wheelchair
staring at the red roses
in a day he’d be dead
his small life
a black and white clipping
his wife a widow
his kids feuding
could tell he was tired
of living
he just wanted to drift
on out to sea
guess they had room
on the boat, a seat set aside
the print was barely dry
when the publisher said, “sorry …”
on to the next tragic story
TL
Landscape
skid row
be it
a country road
train town
metro museum
scene’s the same
broken glass, rust and ruin
from the front porch
of their shackles
they watch the SUVs sail by
as the sun sets on cemeteries
and a stray roams wild
the kitchen’s closed
wash woman went to pasture
men are barred, boozed or buried
few find work
or keep a check
even the children know
there’s no Christmas cookies
or sugar-plums or silver bells or stockings hung
no colored lights or wonderland
just the black of night
and the stars are free
and a poor man’s pipe
the only candlelight
sleep’s a Savior
pain’s a baptism
and love’s a white dove
TL
“Blue Birds Fly”
14 years
still recall
you standing there
on the eve of a New Year
grinning like a Cheshire cat
ready to pounce
emerald eyes flashing
and I was a goner
we grew up together
you and I
growing still
not done with dreams
the world for her
and all its wonder
rain and thunder
let us stand
not too near
for it was Grace
that brought her here
and it is Grace
that will see her through
the dark goodnight
that ray of light
dust of days
bye blue bird bye
daddy and I
we’re here
just
not too near
Faith without fear
love you,
my dear
TL
Soldier
he was in a war
never knew him before
his ears still ring
from all the bombing
he never wastes a napkin
never eats too much
never says too much
never takes too much
never sits too long
never bothers anyone
he’s spent a lot of time alone
dealing with his demons
if I could wave a wand
I’d make it all go away
he would have never went to war
his dad would have lived and been good to him
he would have went to college and been an engineer
his wife and kids would have remained under one roof
his life so good, he’d never need a drink
not even a drop
TL
Fair
merry-go-round
was in town
cotton candy clouds
floated barely off the ground
apples painted glossy
balloon high
Dumbo flies
fish swim
green dragon rails
tiny trains chug achoo
spinning cups
dizzy strawberries
turning kaleidoscope
and you
round in my belly
kicking to get out
then you were there
like you’d always been
trailing tickets
wearing out the wheel
making daddy squeal
“wee, wee, wee, all the way home”
TL
Mystery
here at the keys
playing a sad song
maybe it’s September
or maybe it’s just me
a troubled sea
in search of something
beneath the surface
a memory not mine
opened a present,
but it was empty
looked around
then looked away
this year …
think I’ll pass
on the cake
for it feels
a bit
out of place
like a made-up
moment
that was
never real
still don’t
know how
to feel
TL
All Times
blue frosting
everywhere
what if we forget
there’s a photograph
somewhere
ages and ages
she’ll share …
if we make it there
will we know
it’s her
lest our minds meander
the broken brick road
may our hearts
beat still
with the rhythm
that defies reason
and gives
us back
a flash
of who
we were
what we
loved
“you, my brown-eyed girl”
TL