Published Works

One Single Day



Light suffuses black
Ebony retreats
Yellow-white permeates
Lemony greens and peony pinks
Gentle bells tinkle afar
Echoing against
Crusted mountaintops
Day’s majesty reigns
Feeding, calming, surrounding
Awakening herons and palm fronds
Voices emerge, short and tall
Machinery grinds, motors hum
Scents arise carried aloft
Engine exhaust, strawberries
Steaming black coffee in ceramic mugs
Clouds drift like disjointed thoughts
Clocks tick forward
Whispering reminders
To get it done
Before the hours devour
Daytime energies that fold
Into dusky memories
And stars are scattered
Across an onyx
Blanket overhead
Once again
When sunlight retreats
Hides her hope
And patiently waits
To repeat it all
Another day

Published Works

Seaside Destiny


The water ripples and shimmers
A liquid mirror reflecting
My thoughts and desires
Light catches and diffuses
Bouncing sun streaks against an azure sky
The rhythm of the current
Against the rocks and seaweed
Scattered across a champagne landscape
Of shoreline
Dipping, ebbing
And leaving sodden footprints
Of those who tread along
In solitary thought
The water calls
It beckons understanding
Just beneath the turquoise surface
As minnows scamper
Into unknown depths
Swallowed by the whole
Afraid of toes seeking them out
The subtle splashing carries a gentle sound
As slowly I plod through ankle deep bath water
Scanning telescopically for glistening shell bits
Remnants of aquatic life tossed to shore
Reaching down, plucking a pink conch
Half sand-submerged
My fingers gently stroking its smooth perfection
Remembering, knowing the vibrant memory
Of long ago when we sought perfection
In one another
When lives were washed to purity
Like the salty sea to cleanse the snow white sand
And kisses lingered hot and blazing
Like a noonday sun in August
Everlasting summer in our hearts
Oh, to return to my seaside retreat
To rejuvenate the then
Remembering when
With every softened sand-step
Your memory lingers still

Published Works

The Old Man on The Porch


Old man sits on his porch
Rocking at sunset
And again at sunrise

Makes me wonder if he’s ever slept
Or ever dreamed
Of life beyond

That time-worn porch
Faded blue-grey paint
And sagging handrails

Grizzled blue-jeaned geezer
Budweiser in hand
Lucky Strike in the other

The scenes he has seen
Of life tumbling past
Season over season

That rusty graybeard
In a rickety rocker
Soaking up the sights

He’s been there for eons
Knows all the ghosts
Heard all the gossip

Yet he keeps on a-rockin’
Creaking floorboards music
Memories his company

It’s not what he’s seen
Or ever heard
It’s what he teaches in his eyes

Learn his lessons deep
Take life’s journeys
Past the front porch steps

Published Works

PEACEFUL


And in the end
Should there be peace
I will remember
What was good
I will recall
The quiet moments
Standing still
Words and thoughts
Need not define
The reasons for reactions
To what could not
Have been controlled
So when I hear
The spoken words
Within my mind
Of what there was
Or could have been
The silent rage
Within my soul
Will cease to be
And in the end
There will be peace

THE LAST TIME



Yesterday I waited for you
In our usual place
With the rain for company
And neon lights that blinked their messages
Reflected in the puddles in the street
I look around expecting to see you
Under an umbrella
Ready to swoop me high in the air
And drop a kiss
On my rain slicked nose
And as I waited I remembered
All the other times
You’d left me there
Waiting for the magic
You’d always bring
Now again it’s happened
Only now it’s permanent
You’ve taken your magic
Tucked it away in your pocket
So I walked back to my house
Me and the rain
While the neon signs glowed in the night

Published Works

When Summer Ends



When summer grudgingly ends
And autumn’s gusts
Beckon around my door
She relents and passes
The seasonal baton
To winter’s snowflakes
That dance along
My window ledge
High above the
Snarling tangled traffic
Halogen lampposts
Beam luminance
Across windshields
As wipers frantically
Send smeared snow askew
To an invisible darkness
At five o’clock
The cold darkness
Blends and turns
Gray days, one over the other
Waiting it out
For a spring thaw
When the shorter days
And taller shadows
Are finally interrupted
By tulips and crocus
Sprouting skyward
Searching for bluer skies
And puffed-up clouds
And fields of wildflowers,
Meadows of crickets
Welcome the rain clouds
That turn brown to green
That feed the streams,
Rivers and ponds
Yearning again for reflections
Of sun-lit days
When the heat of day
Yields softly to a
Crimson streaked sky
And gentle balmy nights
That repeat themselves
‘Til summer grudgingly ends
Again

Published Works

What’s Going On With You


So what’s going on with you

Do you still feel the gentle waves

Of passing time’s ebb and flow

And hear the echo of yesterday in dreams

Does the nighttime darkness keep you warm

And memories of then teach you truth

Do your dreams and wishes keep you moving

On to better, bigger, surer, stronger

Have you buried past mistakes and turned

Gloomy grayness to sunshine skies

And hold to promises kept beyond today

Giving love, sharing easy pleasures

For all your days, and all your moments

What’s going on with you

Published Works

Infinity

How can I measure
The love I feel for you
It does not come in ounces
Or in pounds
It reaches beyond the heavens
And into infinity
And who can define
Infinity or eternity
Does the grass grow throughout the meadow
The sun shine and rain fall
Do I smile when I see your face
Or hold you close
The clock ticks away the minutes
Into hours into days
And does the water fill the ocean
Waves crash upon the shore
I cannot tell you how much I love you
I cannot count the ways I care
Or put my feelings into a bottle
Weigh the worth in ounces
Or in pounds
I feel what I feel just for you
Because you’re you
And will only love you more tomorrow
Than I did today

Published Works

Unchanged


I've reached a time to indulge
The fantasies and night dreams
Make them real and live them out
In vivid raging colors
Just for me

Been around that proverbial block
A time or three and can tell the tales
That brought me here

I can reach the sky and yank the clouds down
To cover my sweat-soaked skin
From over-breathing, panting to regain control
Of my own destiny without interruption
To live beyond my years - for me

Seen some sights and known some folks
Would make your neck hairs rise
They touched me nonetheless

So now I'm on the edge
Of yesterday, between tomorrow and a future
Energized, motivated, yet circumspect
Aching to my core, for more
See me - It's still me

Published Works

Back Again

I’m back again
In my usual spot
Comfortably seated
Pen in my hand

With tangled thoughts
Still wrapped in past
Angers and regrets
Needing to release memories

I’m back again
Tried falling from Earth
Floated through space
Tripped over the moon

Set myself right
Held on to the breeze
Soared past rain clouds
Led by the stars

Now I’m back again
In a familiar place
Just me and my memories
Moon dust in hand

Published Works

Candles


Last night I watched the candle flames

Burn to the ends of their wicks

And I saw the melting wax

Forming puddles in their saucers

But before they burned themselves out

I watched the shadows the candles made

Playing tag on my walls

Chasing their dancing partners

Across the carpet on my floor

And while I watched the silhouettes

From the candles flirting with my own grey reflection

I thought of you beyond the shadows

And the memories of you kept me warm

Long after the flickering flames grew cold