Steel Armor
Wielding
sWords
Cut
The core
Of who
You are
Or ever
Hope to be
Stabs to
The back
Hurt
But jabs
To the heart
Bleed
TL
Poetry
Steel Armor
Wielding
sWords
Cut
The core
Of who
You are
Or ever
Hope to be
Stabs to
The back
Hurt
But jabs
To the heart
Bleed
TL
His Love’s Gone By
36 years
And she’s gone
And left him
London, Paris
Egypt, Africa
They would have …
Now, it’s hard for him
To get out of bed
And put his
Boots on
And move
He’d rather
Go under cover
Pretend
It never happened
So, he’s going through
The motions
A stranger to himself
One day
the mask
he’s wearing
will replace
the face
he was
with her
But his eyes
Will never hide
What her leaving
Did to him
TL
Maintain
What once
Was new
Lost its glue
Fix the faucet
or
watch
it
drip
Clean out
The closet
Or close
The door
Give that plant
A drink
Or let it dry
See yourself
As you are
Or pretend
You haven’t
A scar
Take a
hard turn
Or stick
To streets
You know
Control it
Or let it
Control you
Understand
Or stand under
Simplify
Your soul
Or cover
The surface
Take the time
Or let time
Take you
TL
Just a Few …
The sway
Of a tree
You and Me
A cup of
Tea
Rain on
A roof
Smell of
Spring
The first
Time
Color
Blue
Rays
Of light
Drops
Of dew
The fall
Of snow
One more
Kiss fore I go
Ships at sea
Big screen
Movie
“The Road
Not Taken”
A country
Song
An empty
Pew
Bubbles
On the breeze
When you
Come home
Yellow roses
Just because
Vegas lights
White linen
Candlelight
Running in
The rain
Slow moving
Train
Reading
My mind
Time
After
Time
TL
Grandfather
When she
Was three
She wanted
To see
A picture
Of me
When I was
Little
She turned
The pages
Of the book
And asked,
“Who’s that?”
I told her
That was my
Dad
She asked,
“Where is he?”
I didn’t say
Anything
She asked,
“Did he die?”
“Yes,” I said. “His heart gave out.”
She asked,
“Do you miss him?”
“All the time,” I said.
She cried and said,
“I wish I could known him.”
“He sure would have loved you,” I said.
“He would have been your grandfather.”
She asked,
“Do you still miss him?”
“Yes … I missed him when
I married your dad.
I missed him when
You were born …”
In tears she asked,
“Will he ever come back?”
“No,” I said. “He can’t.”
She asked,
“Why not?”
I put my hand
On my heart
And told her
he lives
Right here
She asked again,
“Will he ever come back?”
I told her
That I believed
There was a place
Called Heaven
And that he could
See us from there,
But we couldn’t
See him
She asked,
“Why not?”
I told her
It was
Like magic,
Like Santa Clause
And how we never
See him
When he puts
Our presents under the tree
But we know
He’s been there
In tears she asked,
“Will my daddy ever die?”
I hugged her
Told her not to worry
About that
She asked,
“Will you die?”
I hugged her
Told her not to worry
About that
She asked,
“Will I die?”
I hugged her
Told her not to worry
About that
TL
Still
When you left
There was nothing
To say
Wasn’t long
Yet long enough
To know
Love doesn’t
Take a lifetime
Just a moment …
Used to
Talk to you
Shared
Our meals together
Took you
To work with me
Brought you home
Dared to dream
But we had
Different dreams
You and me
They never said
But I knew
You were
Baby blue
TL
Regrets
Said a lot
Of things
I never meant
To say
Meant to say
A lot of things
But never
Found a way
Did a lot
Of things
I never meant
To do
Didn’t do
A lot of things
I really
Wanted to
TL
Gift
She sees
For me
All the sticks
I missed
All the stones
I didn’t throw
She hears
For me
The dog
In the distance
The airplane
Headed for the moon
She feels
For me
The stranger
We drove past
Walking nowhere
The stray
Walking the same way
She runs
For me
Without fear
Or hesitation
Straight for
The puddle
Both feet in
She holds
For me
What I let go
The magic moment
Here and now
The simple
Shrug
That says,
“Forget about it …”
“Let’s just play”
She is
For me
Heaven here
The gift of
Love
That speaks
To me
Without words
TL
Helpless
He was the last to leave
His wife left 10 years ago
His children 30 years earlier
When he bought the house
He imagined them there forever
He forgot about time
How it changes
He woke up one day
And he was old
His wife had died too soon
His children rarely came around
The house he bought
Was bought
Now he sits
In a rolling chair
Parked in a
Homeless hallway
He lays his head
On a narrow bed
In a narrow room
With a narrow view
He can’t believe
This is it
That’s all there is
He’s not supposed to be here
He’s supposed to be at home
Asleep beside his wife
With his kids down the hall
Work the next day
So who turned off the lights?
TL
Solitude
Standing there
Anywhere
Shadows form
Stone smiles
Walk away
Back to bare
Face falls
As you are
Like a lonely
Willow
Weeping
In the wind
Told my sorrow
To the sun
Bathed my body
In the rain
Stole away
On a moonbeam
Picked out
A star
Morning light
Without a breeze
Songbird sings
The sweetest song
Before the rush
Of hours
And the storm
Of buzzing bees
Let me linger longer
In the mist
Of gardenias
And ballet of butterflies
TL
Sundial
Telling time
Late 30
Half past one
Ten past ten
“If not now –
Then when”
Go to sleep
Wake up again
Quarter
To midnight
Wasting wind
Shadows lie
Rest gone bye
Blue blanket
Patch of clouds
Green carpet
Concealing root
Wildflowers
Dots of dew
Butterfly petals
Falling free
Half past one
Ten past ten
“If not now –
Then when”
TL
Grace
Ever wonder
Where I went
What became of me
Ever wonder
What I look like
If I’m happy
Ever wonder
What I did with my life
If I found love
Ever wonder
“What if”
Regrets
In case you wonder
I went on
Survived
In case you wonder
I don’t look like anyone
Happy just the same
In case you wonder
Went to college, got a degree
Love found me
In case you wonder
“What if”
Don’t
I found my place
A world away
And I’m doing ok
All my dreams came true
Hope yours did, too
TL
Table for Two
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh, I thought you said something.”
“No, must be all the noise.”
“Oh, yeah, it is noisy in here.”
“The music’s too loud.”
“Yeah, it’s too loud.”
“So, what are you going to order?”
“I don’t know. What are you going to order?”
“I’m going to have the same thing I always order.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I think I’ll try the buffalo.”
“The buffalo, are you sure? Aren’t you allergic to buffalo?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to try it.”
“So, how’s yours?”
“Good. It tastes like it always does. How’s the buffalo?”
“It’s fantastic. I’ve never had anything like it. You’ve got to try this!”
“Nah, it doesn’t look good to me. You eat it.”
“All right, but you don’t know what you’re missing.”
“So, do you want dessert?”
“No, I’m full. Do you?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll try the flaming custard.”
“The flaming custard, are you sure? Aren’t you allergic to that?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to try it.”
“Well, how is it?”
“I’ve never tasted anything this good. Here, you’ve got to try a bite.”
“Nah, I’m full. You eat it.”
“All right, but you don’t know what you’re missing.”
“So, you ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m ready to go.”
“So, what do you want to do next?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. I’m stuffed. Maybe we should just go home.”
“Fine. Let’s go home.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Hey, did you see that couple sitting next to us?”
“Yeah, I sure hope we never end up like that.”
“Yeah, they just sat there talking about nothing.”
“I know, I know. I felt sorry for them.”
“Promise me that’ll never be us.”
“Don’t worry, honey, we’ll never be like that.”
“You’re right. We never run out of things to say.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh, I thought you said something.”
TL
Penny
Things you
Don’t say
Have a way
Of drowning
In the sea
Like a coin-tossed
Wish in water
That you
Forgot
You cent
When you were
Three
And how
You shared
That wish
With me
In a whisper
Soft you said,
“I wish the flowers
would always bloom”
And then you tossed
Your penny in
And went about your way
As I stood
Soaked
From head to toe
In an afterglow
To this day
I can still
Feel the spray
Who makes a wish
like that …
At three
And sends it
Out to sea
With such a sense
Of certainty
Past and present
And all that is
To be
TL
U.S. Marine
He left
On a Thursday
To a faraway land
Two years
He said
In a place called,
Japan
Seems surreal
To think
Of him
As a man
When all I see
Is a little boy
With long hair
And holes at the knees
Running wild
And free
A jokester
A prankster
A Pokémon gangster
But boys
Wake up
One day
To find
Their backyard
Has shrunk to size
Like a pair
Of tennis shoes
And video games
Are all the same
Like a Text, a TV
Or a Touchdown!
Fast forward
Through driving school
Dating dilemmas
Graduation
“What Now …”
“There’s got to be more …”
“Than my back door …”
So off he went
And there he goes
To a faraway land
Two years
He said
In a place called,
Japan
TL
Mothers
She told me
she was 21
Had a baby
At 17
Laughed and said,
“5, 3, and 3-months”
How she quit school …
how her boyfriend
quit her
Still she smiled
As if her
Heart were whole
Down the way
Another lady
Spoke
Of how she finally
Took a chance
On love
Only to be left alone
With a bundle
Soon to be 3
She told me
She never knew
What love was
Until her daughter
taught her
Later
Driving home
Hours after
A day later
Thought about
These women
And how
I hoped
One day
Their children
Would know
How much
Their mothers
Loved them
so
TL
Dad
Sad you see
Wished it’d been me
Never felt the rain
For all the pain
River wide
Closed my eyes
Sent up a prayer
Like a beggar
On the street
Stood up
As you went by
Sat down
And said,
“Goodbye”
Laid down
In a field of stone
And dug
A trench
To put the tears
17 years
Underground
And still
I wait
For a single
sound
TL
Fountain of Youth
Hands on the wheel
Never meant to turn that way
Straight ahead was the plan
So why all this desert sand
I don’t know this land
So hard, and rough, and course
Had it mapped with water all around
So, how’d I end up in this town
A child echoes back
But which direction did it come?
Four corners of the world
Somewhere the kid got lost
Must have been somewhere between the sandbox and the jungle
Or maybe it was somewhere between the sea and the sky
I don’t know
But there’s no backtracking now
The flower can’t be far
I heard it grows in the sand and doesn’t need a drink;
For the sun wakes it up and warms its center
Said to be a hardy breed that survives
The worst of weather
It can’t be far now
TL
Narrow View
The boy went by
His small face troubled
From his backseat window
I could see myself
Sitting there
Way back when
Never looking past the flash
In front of me
Wanted to honk my horn
Roll down my window
And YELL at him
“Hey, you, that’s right, you there,
Don’t look so sad
Trust me, boy, it won’t always be this bad!
The light will change, before you know it.
So, buckle up, boy, and hold on tight.
You’re gonna be all right!”
Instead
I drove ahead
TL
Yesterday
Saw a white-haired woman
Standing in the wind
She looked about
Taking it all in
Seemed she’d lost
Something
And couldn’t quite remember
When
By and by
Wondered of the woman
Standing in the wind
Why if she’d only turned
Her stare
She would have found
Her door
Was just right there
TL