• A New Sun
• The Path To
• coldrealit
• Peace Within
• myo(h
• Walls Whisper
• Of Darkness
• the land
• Crossing The Cosmos
• simplefok
• Faith Restored
• Fireflies In A Cornfield
• The Greatest Slice
• At The Pound
• some(ba
• Why The Dark
• Arctic Scene
• In The Valley
• Come The Spring
• Love Song I
• Love Song II
• Love Song III
• Love Song IV
• Love Song V
• Love Song VI
• Love Song VII
• Love Song VIII
• They
• Those Eyes
• Debut
• Who To Fear
• Girl I
• Girl II
• Girl III
• Girl IV
• Tigress
• Lillian
• Death: A Mistress
• Feeling Touched
• On An Overpass
• On Edge
• Radiates From Fingertips
• Again The Spring
• On The Boardwalk
• As We Do
• Blades of Grass
• Steadfast Vision
• She Is Joy
• Warm Breath
• Carolers
• A Way Of Looking
• (will shine)
• For Julie
• The Fear
• At Night I See You

A New Sun

Dawn
silence makes to think
sunlight cuts through
between parted shades
A new sun
fills an old room
the same picture smiles
hung only yesterday
same chair holds the dust
A new light
dries the dew
chases shadows
around the fixtures
makes fresh the darkness
until
it is to be
again

The Path To

The path -
it looked so good
from the hill
an elevated isleand
with flowers
waving in the wind
onn its sides
smelling sweet
But its amber way
became twisted
turned dark
and was touched
with Frost

coldreality

coldreality
cold cold
COLDreal
cold(it)y
C
old(isee
m)
Real
it
y

Peace Within

Its soft ripples
glaring upward
the sun laughing
across its back
blue
like the marble
our planet-
it moves
rolling gently
inviting me in
to caress me
in cool freshness
There is silence
peace within
and the world I
take with me
in trqardrop fragments
rushes to escape
return

myo(h

myo(h
ere)wn
l(I)tt
lecor
nero
f(si)T
hewo
rld

Walls Whisper

Walls whisper
of it
hiding in the cracks
touching the dark shadows
forming its patterns
lingering in the worn rug
hanging from doorknobs
Walls whisper
of it
speckled in the dirt
sprawling on the couch
staring
at the curtains
(its bedcovers)
looking out
seeing itself
Loneliness
I hear the whispers
see the cracks
doorknobs
the dirty couch beneath
the curtains
and I sigh a hollow sigh
so glad it
has not touched me

Of Darkness

Of darkness-
a silent womb
with visions
and collections
of revelations
tucked in dark corners
pockets
Dreams:
round dream
that roll by
on soft felt
into pockets
Of darkness-
Black fog
that drifts away
dissipates
becomes light

the land

the land
onceroughism( olded)eltedland
swepto fcolor
flakesdrif t(thepeace)
lingerbetwe eneachother
whoperingof their journey
Oh the splendor
Rat In A Cage
A little fury rat
comes to visit
a new cage
bars made of concrete
and glass
Somehow
running on
the endless spinning roadway
has led him here
And somehow
the cage
that locks in the very sky
and belittles scampering claws
that carry a mass of
individual expression
crawling from corner
to corner
Makes him feel safe

Crossing the Cosmos

We step
(softly I pray)
and yet
the echoes of our movement
abound to our every reach-
to those
that may reach to us
and beyond
to the stars
we see above
and to those we do not
And if
we do not step so hard
as to allow
the crack in our sidewalk
to open wide
and devour us
we shall be the better for it
But never know

simplefok

Ithot
atfirst
Uwer
simplefok
(love
addscolor
toalifeless
painting)
butU
havemade
althe
diffrens

Faith Restored

I rush off
to flee the furious rage
swearing there exists
no souls left of kind dignity
and find a niche
among the trees
that tickle the clouds
and sing through the breeze
Then-
with my eyes cast
upon a book
I see an image
pass twice
beyond my unfocused eyes
and become a man
filled with solid pride
of the very mountain
surrounding us
and he hands me
a bowl of beans
a piece of bread
I can only smile

Fireflies in a Cornfield

The dance of the stars
carried down on silent wings
sets the field aglow
in a tide of twinkling embers
flickering
against a violet twilight
they ebb and flow
in an incessant tide
of amber luminescence

The Greatest Slice

He knew how to do it
and when
too many doors had slammed
the wood stopped knocking
pocket plastic
carried no more weight
he sighed
collected his numbers
took a seat in the sky
and served himself
the finest
whatever the greedy grinners
would have at hand
he cut from the pie
the greatest slice
took it to the river
scenes of fantasies fulfilled
flickered like a matinee
and an eternity
the descent

At The Pound

At the pound
full of whimpering sound
all their little faces
stare up at me
as they knew
what would be
as if they remembered
the dark places
they were left in
the dark faces
that left them there
passed them by-
left to die
One left in a trash can
One on a dusty road
If I could I would save one
sad that it could be
only one

some(ba

some(ba
stard)o
nein
acar
G
aveo
urun
cleA
pape
RBAG
(E)

Why The Dark

Why the dark
the sadness in the words
the melancholy
that sprinkles the pages
like th cold rain
from a dark cloud
black as the letters
dark as the dream
Woeful words
cry in thought
to smile in reality
knowing
though they may not be heard
they have been spoken

Arctic Scene

Suspended in a moment-
Jutting from the icy waters
just as white
with teeth and claws
pointed sharp
as the cutting icy edge
It is the living form
of the glaciers
the pillars of its home
Within the grip
of one mighty claw
below the fierceness
of the suspended other
lies a victim of survival
upon the ice
placid
beautiful
as the water
embracing the snowy towers-
a seal pup
The moment is over

In The Valley

It is not a hill
that is yours to take
it is one given
you have chosen
to climb
and if you fall
roll listlessly
and land
to stare
into the heavens
embracing you
while you
call vainly for reasons
Know that
it is not the fall
that is the ruin
but the courage to climb another
given hill
that makes the journey
that leads to the mountains
and the jubilation
of the view

Come The Spring

Come the Spring-
I shall cry
to think that
so many times
we watched
flocks of flowers
rise from the melted earth
and extend their arms
to grasp warm breezes
and perfume lovers
romancing in green grass
like us
once
but in the coming
she goes
and in this
rebirth of life
my heart dies

Love Song I

Tell me
from where did you come
which riotous cry
of so many
I sent thundering through
the calm of the
steadfast skies
touched you
and led you to me
to make one so small
climb the highest peak
and embrace the greatest joy
for but a short time?
I have touched heaven
kissed it through your smile
and let it ignite
a frozen ember!
And so it shall remain warm

Love Song II

ccccchhhhheeeeekkkkk
rrrrrooooosssssyyyyyy
llllliiiiikkkkkeeeeeaaaaa
fffflllloooowwwweeerrrr
ssssmmmmiiiiillllleeeee
cccrrreeeaaaatttteeeessss
eeennnllliiivvveeennnsss
sshhaarrppennssmoootthh
sssoooffffttttnnnneeeessss

Love Song III

Face in hands
buried deep
feeling
the flow of tears
roll aimlessly
between fingertips
and then a glance
beyond the glass
to see snowflakes
conducting a wintry ballet
She
is always so beautiful

Love Song IV

The best thing
for me to do
would be
to forget
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl
that girl

Love Song VI

We
a lean-to
one supports the other
alone
will
falter and
be
buried in the mud
but
together
the two cannot topple
the two shall stand

Love Song VII

You
are not of me
but of your own
we possess not each other
except
our mutual wonder
of the world at play
and the
thoughts of everything
become everything
There is no action
that may entwine
the other's heart-
no mask
can say the words
yet
of a bond
stronger than all it binds
we are bound
and in it
we must place our fears

Love Song VIII

Two
in the arms
of each other
of love
locked in the embrace
of that moment
Two
are one
bundled in covers
draped in tenderness
wrapped in slumber
knowing not today
but believing in forever
Two
the sun finds
and warms
to rise
together

They

they
co(co
me)me
expec
(hit
her)t
ing
m(y)
ight
ywo(ch)
rdsand
i(ld)
fea
r(en)

Those Eyes

Those eyes
a fragile blue
they were
like tinted crystal
searching in the sky
wanting to
drink in the world
so new
so strange
New muscles
barely under control
once reached for a mobile
turning it
spinning it in the light
of Mother Goose walls
and maternal smiles
those little creatures
running around themselves
searching for a direction
endlessly
like the mobile
that moves us
its little creatures
holding procelain dreams
on paper plates
unaware
of the little blue eyes
that slept
and never never
awoke
to see its toy
still
turning
turning
turning

Debut

Fingers
outstretched
on the armchair
tremble from the cold
(so I say)
but the pain
of the lie
devours me
Barely a finger
lifted to help
but a roar of heavy fists
pounded
at the error
They call out
(so slow to love
so quick to hate)
demanding much
but know little
of the battle

Who To Fear

It's a sad state of affairs
scampering at my feet
tugging at my seams
acting out scenes
from the latest movie
or the greatest video challenge
calling names
playing games
being little concerned
about what is not at hand
it's a little obscure
they're not quite sure
of which striving-to-be-different
parent to go home to
who to talk to
and who
to fear

Girl I

Girl in love
keeps heart warm
carries melodic vibrations
into face-talk vaccuums
fills a cold hand
full of sunshine
puts marshmallow dreams
upon a shoulder
lights the dim
with velvet touches
turns all of it
the furious cyclone of discontent
into a nothing wad
and sends it adrift
makes him smile

Girl II

Girl from a dream
touches my heart
like no other
makes me run to the road
and cry out
to a thousand deaf ears
the sound of a lost jubilation
In a single name
the echo
permeates
every visible entity
and lights the lamps
brightens the road

Girl III

Girl took a rainbow
became it
pins and needles
She
a living cushion
Violence a game
affection a staple
She
a sun with the world
to circle
at her fingertips
and all
for the call
“look at me”
totally!
All hers
to her own
alone
with us all

Girl IV

Girl like a leopard
trim smooth
extending her paws
outward
from the bar
slowly
each move calculated
she strides in sleek perfection
towards the young man
who watches
the dancing lights
the bouncing feet
But he turns
sees her
she retreats
and returns to the glass-
A single cube of ice
pirouetting on the bottom

Girl V

The whale is harpooned-
Turbulent waves
the surface split
to reveal vulnerable skin
With the victim ready
a loaded spear
penetrates the taut flesh
the whale is harpooned
The light of the pathway
where the fisherman
has so many times walked
flash ecstatically
from the fervor of the catch
the fury of emotion

Tigress

Sleek and slim
with a gaze
that calculates
to capture every
slight distraction
moving
with distinctive pace
and her muscles
carefully contoured
proclaiming power
while masking
the tragedy of survival
in pure perfection
of form
Silently
she lay
in the African warmth
confident
of her unspoken reign
for the land is hers

Lillian

Shadows converge
connect geometric patterns
form folds
of a single world
pressed into a solitary chamber
from whose sanitary walls
are raised out
a chair
a bed
a woman
She sits
like
the last raisin in the box
staring at the corners
that never meet
Should you venture
to speak a word
or the name
they have slid on her door
she may engage
with empty eyes
but only for a moment
And then return

Death: A Mistress

A man:
his face
lost in the cover
of a wide brimmed hat
touching
taunting
teasing
the woman he knows
he doesn't really want
He caresses
the heavy gray of her
dark shadow robe
In vain
he moves to
see her guile
feel her kiss
that embraces the strong
the daring
the brave
the famous
He patrons her
in every voice
whether song
story
show
she is the subject
who only reconciles
in cold silence
How he ignores
the sweet lady
already his own

Feeling Touched

She kissed me
yet
it was not
the soft touch of lips
the sigh of warm breath
the dissolving
of two heart entwining grasps
to one touch-dream reality
that made the moment
a singe of exhilaration
as it was
the single understanding
that she wanted to
kiss me

Seeing In The Dark
to the Virginia Easter Seal Society

Ignorance is
a pair of sunglasses
that allow us
to walk in the bright
and think in the dark
shading us from light
from the stark
reality of truth
The loss of a human function
affects not the heart
nor its
high-rise window dreams
needing ladders
to reach
and hands to hold
the metal
Yet some voices
cannot call for help
some hands
cannot grasp the rung
but must look into faces
with shaded eyes

On An Overpass

White speckled ribbons
flicker in parallel pairs
pass beneath a bridge
become blood-red corpuscles
of a pulsing body
system-city
cells of a great artery
of a great hand
that lies waiting

Radiates From Fingertips

Heat
radiates from fingertips
emanates as a corona
about an eclipse
flows unseen
on warm breath
moves
as the source moves
mingles
as flesh touches
collects
and fills a room
as Summer rain
fills the ragged edges
of a country pothole
until the door
grins slowly to the walls
and the warmth escapes
dissipates to cold
fills the wind
caresses sunlight
until it is
taken into warm lungs

On Edge

Subways
crawl seemingly
endlessly
beneath
standing bold concrete pillars
rushing
streams of blurred
downtrod faces
framed in the windows
like old stamps
One stands
on the corner of the edge
peering over the ledge
moving in neurotic sway
peering down another twisted
submerged metal tentacle
with
fold-now-unfold
arms

Again The Spring

Again the Spring
fills me
as does the vision of
slender necks
drops of sweet sweat
straining to touch
bronzing rays of warmth
like the faces of flowers
that reveal rare smiles
to the sky
and the raindrops
sprinkling like tears
on the hills
I shall
never
see
again

On The Boardwalk

On the boardwalk
and those silly
wicker cycles
keep rolling by
(American rickshaws
with ivy-league
just-doing-this-for-the-summer
human engines in the back)
He's high collared sweater white
pushing
a tourist black
whose smile
is several struggling decades wide

As We Do

If we were
then
so long ago
when they wrote books
to guide listless
wanfering sheep
then we could not feel
the way we do
we could not touch
as we touch
our hearts could not sing
in thunderous rapture
from deep inside
nor feelings linger
along soft lines
as we do
as we do now

Blades of Grass

We blades of grass
sometimes bend
sometimes twist
become emtwined
become entangled
some break
some stand
We
blades of grass
often shiny
often soiled
may be rigid
or bend in the breeze
feel alone in a crowd
or part of the many
may stand tall
or break another's fall
We
bound together
make the meadow green
make the children smile

Steadfast Vision

pine carpet
azure mist ridges
perpetually peer
over white frost
and
floating lace mist
at miles of
green glowing fields
that never smile
yet never frown
and murmur through
trickling flows of
fortitude streams
watching shadows
at its feet
chasing moonlight
chasing shadows
stopping to stare
Fashion Store Stare
Through
contoured rows of pastel prints
bright lights of white
flourescent fireworks
synthetic wood grain
piped-in washed-down pop
well dressed smiles
spinning logos
metal trees
can-I-help-you glances
(held up by)
signed-so-worth-more ties
and plastic beads
A well painted eye
gives me curious gaze
then turns away
and disappears

She Is Joy

She is joy
she is sadness
she is a touch in the dark
that brightens the night
she is a name
a whispered sweet memory
that hangs heavy
on the heart
She is joy
she is sadness
she is an interaction
of harmonious sounds
words
whispers
silence
She is joy
she is sadness
she is a warm hand
in a summer night's rain
she is the touch
that lingers in the palm
long after
She is joy
when she is here
she is sadness
when she is gone

Warm Breath

Warm breath-
the warmth
of warm breath
moist breath
showers
against flesh
soft breath
against warm flesh
Warm breath
warms flesh
in steady rhythm
steady steady rhythm
warm rhythm
like the rhythm
of the hearts
the warm hearts
so close
close to breath
Warm breath
warms flesh
warm flesh
showers the thought
in a gentle warmth

Carolers

Carolers:
rosy cheeks
tingling toes
harmonious sound
emanating in whisper clouds
against crisp winter air
and lightly lingering
crystal parachute snowflakes
And so we come
to sing in joy
to many whose faces
carry the carving of time
and whose hearts
beat with the burden of loneliness
One hears and smiles
remembering
a joyful youth
one tells stories
of battles fought long ago
Poor though we are
joyful are our hearts
for the gifts
we have given

A Way of Looking

There's a way of looking
at the world
a way of looking
looking at the world
of looking at
a way of the world
a way of looking
at a way
that leads to
a way there
There's a world of ways
of looking
of looking at the world
at the world
looking at the world's way
a way of looking
the world's way
There's a way of looking
of looking at the world
of looking there
and looking away
from a world
a world away

(will shine)

Clouds come
cover sunlight
like clouds
color coffee
darken
lighten
eyes search
celestial curtains
a measured spoon
moves in careless circles
memory shadows
drift over
rippled thought hills
eclipsing that memory
of sun
(will shine)

For Julie

A look to a look
but sees further than see
deep to the spirit
that dances with strength
in jubilant freshness
of now
Feeling
rides ocean breeze
across sand
with waves of
care-more-than-can-be
gentleness
touching
curves of shore
Face approaches face
lips meet
but touch
deeper than an eye

The Fear

Shy not away
from the fear
forget not the thoughts
faces painted on match books
burned
in a single stroke
as quick
as the final conflict
blue marble to black ash
fires char
horror struck
faces
smoke strangles
shattering screams
Only the memory
of what may be
shall bear the children

At Night I See You

A twinkle in the night
reminds me of your eye
radiant in darkness
silent above
a hurried rumble
is your face
As twilight
leaks into the sky
silken dreams
drift away
I look
to the fading wink
of a star
in a hushed dawning
and know
you are with me

Memories

Memories
tug st sleeve
tap on shoulder
giggle sneering giggles
mischief the shadows
I
grunt ignore
shrug shoulders
brush the lint
but feel
hollow laughs
cold blasts
against neck

Broken Petals

See it there
is waves in the wind
kisses sunlight
the fragrance of bright colors
But quickly grasped
swift hand
swoops to possess
the love of beauty
and becomes a grip
that tightens into chest
The fragile
now crushed
separates and
falls to meaningless
end
See it gone

Runner Comes Running

Runner comes running
fortitude strides
sail through
the constant familiar rain
splashing by
the once-barber-shop-
now drug store
puddle picture
He runs
past the parking lot
of bright white lines-
newly paved memories
crosses four lanes
rounds corner
shrinks away
past bulldozer sentinel
Strange
he showed no signs of age

Touching Moonlight

Days catch ride
on horse drawn moon
floats ebony ocean
stars tug on misty reins
pulls celestial cargo
sails through powdered
midnight reflections
I gaze as you may be
I think of you

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