Face to Face

Wanting to speak
I find myself wrapped up
in a cocoon of
concern.

If the words are wrong
will they fall on the floor?

Landing on the hardwood,
will they shatter or
will they survive
bruised, broken
but waiting
to be heard.

Still Believe

It takes a lot sometimes to find
the ease of love
the familiar give and take
and breath that comes from
shared memories.

We find that changes confuse
our sight.
Views diverge where they seem
most important.
Voices raise and
blood pressure follows.
Eyeballs roll and words are tough
to swallow, don't wallow in
despair ;
the bond is there.

The breaths we took
before we knew
what breathing meant
were in your arms.

The tears that washed
our softest cheeks
were soothed
with your lips
pressed to our brows.

We know you...
the you beyond the now.

See us now before your gaze
the spawn of flesh
and goodness. You took all
the best
all you had
you shined it bright
and placed it at our feet.

We hold it here for you
in this velvet box
with no real locks
but safely kept, washed freshly now
with tears
we've kept
inside.

Seeing still your grandeur
bent not broken
words not spoken
remain in the room.
Just as you
believe in us
we believe
in you.

Skywatcher

I am a skywatcher.
I lay in wait...
Stepping out from
the night to find
a blanket of lights
outwitting my nightmares

breathing in the
scent of
tiny
gatherings of crabgrass
dancing in the
weeping of the night

I am a skywatcher
just catching the dawn
pink and bursting
gliding forth
delaying my fears

pausing for
the hopes of
one
barn swallow lifted
singing in the
vapor of the dawn

Brilliant gold lifting
along the horizon
I lose the day to
sagging limbs tied
monontonous practice
covered
closed
kept
under and in
whirring and ticking
down and hunched
false brilliance squared
capturing
pieces
holding off
waiting to
be
free to
stretch
each
bony
chunk
of spine
rise
walk
escape

I am a skywatcher
through the glass
fiery splinters
catch me
hold me
breaking free
freshness washes in
face lifted
bottled self
beyond casings
flies up
out
into
cool orange streaks
rising over
tall pines
finding
celestial relief

sour song

Musical lyrics order my brain
follow the rhythm to manage the pain

Lighten the load of bricks in the pile
building on memories, won't reconcile

Haphazardly stacked they rob sanity
ordered and patterned, salvation they'll be

I'll lay them around me in garden-like rows
as they're prancing and dancing and stopping to pose

Lovely arrangements enliven the tune
swirl over sharp corners softened, but soon

The very refrain that first made me grin
blocked out by new layers, it's closing me in

Truth

The thing about the truth is...

I have always had an uncanny ability to see it, and know it, even when I do not want to.

Pretending to believe is...

next to impossible because I can see myself trying.

The thing about the truth is...

that it smacks me in the face...daily

leaving me bruised and aching.

The thing about the truth is...

that even when I think I have eluded its grasp, I cannot escape it.

The truth does not set me free...

it just leaves me with nowhere to hide

Commencing

One hand
tensed but strong
reached out.

Wet with rain
slick, slipping
fingers unfurled

losing hold
falling back
falling through, wet with

remembering a broken chain,

motionless breath

backs turned

fog settled

rolling down, quivering
belly, open mouth
sinking under
...through
sand
held

held
by

dust
dampened by
sweat

Imperfections

Cracks in the ceiling
claw marks on the furniture
writing on the wall
no erasing these,
no removing...
the scars
show the journey

the journey
brings the
gifts

Unburied

Lost in
the soles of these
dust-covered boots
rubber-thick
holding bent toes
worn cotton
weakening ankles

until
unseen faces lifted
echoed
cracked in song
whispered shadowed strength


bolstered by brothers
beneath
a life left behind
and a promise
of sunlit sand

found standing solidly
cracked leather
waiting
to rise
to a surface, known
but new

Dancing on the Beach

Sunlight slips past unnoticed
as she marks her spot
in the sand

lit from behind
a gargantuan wash of
burnt embers
fortell the bonfires



unconcerned she starts
the song...
a beat, stacatto rhythm
electric drums
crooner calls
passion
to passion





a breeze unease
homeless in her wake
hips and pelvis
turn and twist


limbs respond, reverb
and sway taking off
she flies across
hardpacked sand
crashing waves

lost in trance
alive with fire
a moving spirit
pulls her up
and knocks her down


twirls her
across
to the other side
of
her dream


and those left watching
remain unseen

After Breaking

Stabbed to bleeding but not to
detachment
limping with stinging discomfort
to remind the offender of
his crime

Days pass in relative
sameness
Familiar sun, shining on the same
tree branches
same food filling an unhungry
belly and
mixing it all up
flipping it all inside and
out

Slowing beside Rapids

Bluer and bluer again the sky
dwarfed us
we walked, pausing
beside rushing waters
swirling eddies of multidirectional
currents
seeming a rush of unified onslaught
revealed at odds
apart
perpendicular in their
pursuit
of the downstream haven
mesmerized and wishing to
go down
down
down
without losing
self
amidst
unwelcome comrades


saved at last
we found one
hairy arachnid and
one slovenly caterpillar
to join us back on land
free from the pull
of the whirlpool
free to walk in
two straight lines
touching only
where our fingers brushed
one another

Empty Your Vessel

Let in a drop of water
to slide down a parched throat
tasting a thousand years of
rusted swords, lost in the
mud
washed from the battlefield
as swiftly moving currents
stole away struggling limbs
silencing cries for mercy with
thunderous insistence

Outward to join briny waters
where deeply hidden
creatures created before marching soldiers
coming to rest upon
hovels and burrows
calling tentacles to
taste ruined flesh
and porous bones
leaving small evidence
of battles lost
or won
but promising adequacy
as cleansing waters
turn
struggle to dust
leaving only a
small remembrance
a ring of silver plain and glinting

love left upon a quilt
twice touched by slick passion
once folded, shelved
motheaten
(weeping still)

Thirst unmet
sullied with a flavor of
decomposition
too long to cleanse
blood, love, lost
to the untouchable
will of
entrepeneurs

Beside lakes and rivers
safely sought
camps built near
fresh water
beneath a universal moon
shining for
hope to bring
a new start
to
a widowed world.

Friday's Rap

Nothing’s flowing from my brain
Not a word to ease the pain
Dropped my pencil on the floor
Watched it rolling out the door
Rose to follow, grab it back
Cross the threshold
With a whack
Banging heads, you’re coming in
With my pencil and a grin

“Here it is now sit on down!”

Smiling still, despite my frown.

“Write of life and far off dreams
Plans and hopes, and crazy schemes…
Fill us all with sage advice
We will come back and read twice
Fill our hearts and feed our souls
Raise our spirits set our goals.”

Purpose hidden, tried to see
Clouded muse neutralizes me

Just need...

A day to fill with my own dumb plans
Making music anywhere I can
Free my heart and free my mind
Lead me on where I can find
Life awake and moving fast
Jumping in never looking back
Snapping fingers , swaying hips
Twirling legs, and pursing lips
Shoulders moving , paint the scene
Ribs a swirling in between
Connect this woman to the words
Find a voice you’ve never heard
Real and true and so organic
calm and fresh, no signs of panic
Wrapped within my own embrace
Flying off without a trace.

Dead in the middle

At the center of it all
Dead in the middle
There is an indescribable ache
That pervades and pulls the strength
Saps the energy of her faith
In righteousness
It cancels her firm belief that
Right and wrong
Actually exist
There must be some part of
What does not happen
That should
And of what should not happen
That does
For the innocent
Still perish and the blameless
Still bleed
so
Why would it matter for her to hold on to something
That might not be real
.

Love story

green leaf holds cool drop
of silvered water
shining
in sunlight
forgotten

slipping through
unnoticed as
sister rays
reflect back
into a crystalline sky

bewitched by a
smooth glow
captured there
awaiting the power
of a day's heat
they meet and
dance slowly
together

One to one
undiscovered yet
perfectly matched
drops allign
and hold on
tightly
boiling
slowly

escaping
vapor flies free
seeping
into air
joining with others
lost amidst
the fog

remembering still
searching always
among the sunbeams
for the perfect fit
a matched
pair

somewhere in
the sky

Rainy Day

On a rainy day not so long ago, I pictured you , eyes closed,there. I knew you felt the weight of the rain beating upon you and all of your responsiblities assaulted your mind, resting peace from your soul.

I knew you slept and it was best for you, but I longed for your wakeful self; for that small piece of you that I can claim as my own. You have given it to me whether that was your intention or not, and I shall hold onto it and keep it for myself, no matter the weather.

I hope you will not mind, but I refuse to give it back even if the wind blows us apart. It is by this small token that I will recognize you when we both ride adrift, after the storms have ended.

Daddy's Hands

Hardened brown rough
lined, dry, cracked....
strong

lift bales
pull ropes
grip hammer
grasp pen

hold on
pat
quivering
child

as I
cry
into
his shoulder

they rescue me.

Smoldering

Beneath the cold, white-gray ash
one more piece of
burning oak lies
hidden

remnants of lines
of woodflesh
old pathways
for water persist
burning orange
hot
not seen until
the ashes are stirred,
mixed, turned

unveiling
a smoldering
nugget
burning unchecked.

Listen for me

listen to the birds
repeated sing song melodies
In harmony with the
Moving clouds
Keeping time
to the overpowering rhythm
Of my heart beating
deepening as it envelopes
my thoughts

hearing the tempo
of together
under a sky darkening, filling
with cleansing waters
steam rising
from asphalt as my feet
follow a path
to your door

A Crossing

downward glance
upon glassy water
stopped, clear
green plants and murky brown chocolate
mud settled
a landscape of unmoving certainty

bottom so close
yet
concealing many feet
between solid ground
and the weightlessness of a perch
above the still water

stuck
motionless
walk this bridge
for once covering
this face
no distinction between rapids and
calm
faithless walk
the drowning will
commence

Windbreaker

Back from the forest
gray bark, shadowed paths
returned to the back door
slipping in unheard for just
a moment

now and then
at once
on the edge of seen

but unseen
awareness of wounds
and
weariness
impossible
improbable
unattempted

pulling off wet jacket
sodden and cold
rubbing numb fingers
waiting
dropping to the floor
lightly

she hears the thud
but only she
with open ears
wishful thoughts
can tell

It has fallen
to the linoleum
later
someone would wonder
why she'd left it
behind


an imprint unwanted
a reminder of
protection lost
proof of
unbidden
unease
a hidden
demise
wrapped in
unraveling fabric

Touched

gazing into your eyes
caught
dark pools reflected
my face
captured by your being
stopped
there before you
watching
you see
me

scared
of
diving
into the deep
of seeing
all of you
I looked away

Without you here

I long for
your eyes
touching mine.

A Caress

In the heat of the day
when the sun is almost unbearable
I want to reach out and
draw you under the shade of my tree

There the grass is cool
the water flows freely
All villainy is at bay
Dreams can dance among the leaves.

Beneath the branches all armor can be dropped
the cool breeze can spin between us
interweaving our thoughts
lifting our hopes to
spiral out into the sunlight.

Sweaty Release

Hot red,skin burns
after moving
sliding
gliding
popping

into place
moistening
filling
slick with
salt water relief
hot day, hard work
sensuous swivels
embrace
as two
wash each other
with converging
oceans of longing

The Deep End

Deep below the surface
unseen power awaits
her arrival

an unfettered self
dives first plunging
fingertips beneath

glassy cold currents
washing upwards covering
warm skin

embracing elbows
clenched biceps
parting for closed eyes

Blackened visions encircle
slipping a whole being
underwater

Flailing limbs
burning lungs overflowing
overcome
with fear

searing agony biting
threads of flesh within
fizzling flames until
hope arrives

Buoyantly dancing
interlacing fingers
opening eyes
to a floating
embrace

Healing Waters

seeking cleansing
for
a truer
joyful
self

she visited
the hill

hearing
that
a chance existed
to
find tenderness
and heal

the hole
that bore
deeply
into her being

she dropped
to her knees
despairing to find

only after
dipping into the

waters

following the
moistening of lips

no truth
behind the promise
little hope
for a cleansed spirit

only stagnant water

and
a poisoned well

Clean Slate

Bleary eyed walking
stumbling over stones
toes wet with dew

downward focus
precarious footholds
slippping
muddied

new ground
running water
cuts the path

knocked down
floating
riding
currents

clear, strong
quenching
parched lips
seeping in
drenching
drowning

Morning Rush

see me as I am
sitting here in torn robe
hair askew
know me as I stand
beside you on the step
chapped hands
waving as the bus
pulls them away

know that I will be
dancing my story
feet aflame
Listen to my song
set to melodious silence
cracked voice
carried away
on the wind

hear the words I send
flying on the breeze
mind a whir
recognize my dream
stirring again
warming my coffee

Haitian Mama

Sunken into the ground
ruined concrete covers
treasures,trinkets, trash
Surrounded by her belongings
Scattered fragments of
the favorite white teacup with the yellow rose
Lay beside her thigh
She cannot see
them through
imprisoning beams


Spine curved unnaturally upon itself
Bruised arms wrapped tightly
Precious cargo crushed in loving embrace
She holds on to life’s blood
Bearing her breast to infant mouth
Soothing mother and child
As they wait