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