©2018
The bus was crowded
Sweaty
The air conditioning on the Greyhound
Broken
But the air was
Sweet
Like the pot of gold
She always hoped to
Find in the new city
Her first time there
Her first time anywhere
Outside her life
In service
To her dream
She could finally go there
Finally see the bright shining city
Near the coast
Near heaven
Near the sea
No more meals alone in the kitchen
With the lawn mower
This was her journey
Her time
Her destination
Now in that mercy she could rest
And she slept the sleep of Gods
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Pharmacist
©2017
If you fall in love with a poet, she will pen great verses of love
And elegies for an asshole if you break up
If you should fall in love with your pharmacist
She knows about the viagra and the blood pressure medicine
And about all the things you put in your system to get through
Another day
And if you fall out of love
Watch out for what she puts in the bottle the next time you get refills
And watch out for your heart
There’s no prescription strong enough when it breaks
To The Daughter I Will Never Have
©2017
How I want you to be known
Courageous
Strong
Sharp
Take no prisoners
Badass but kind
True to your essence
And always searching for your essence
Be anyone you want
Be with anyone you want
Become anyone you want
Even if that image is different
Than what we all think we know
You have so much potential
Even at this stage of imagination
You can be like all the brave women I have ever known
Whose stories may also never be told
Even though they were here
Or maybe no one listened
You have the opportunity to create worlds
You have the opportunity to tear down walls
I want you to lead
To never doubt yourself
To never doubt the good in you
To never let any man say you are not good enough
To never let any man take you for granted
Either as a colleague
Or a lover
Or a friend
Love your brother
Who you will never know
Because you never were
And if you think of me
Think kindly
And know that I tried
To bring you here
To take your place in the world
And your presence is reflected in the great sisterhood
That glass is being shattered every single day
And each shard reflects your light.
Single/Lens/Reflex
©2017
I need to take my camera
To a repair shop
All pictures are dark
And faded
No light gets in
As if the camera was sucked into a black hole
Where it can’t breathe
I see everything through the lens of death
I can’t see light anymore except as
The absence of darkness
The absence of you
Is what turns my eyes inward
The absence of you
Is the absence of meaning
And the absence of quiet
And the absence of rain upon my face
After a long hot summer day
Or the absence of applause
When the music ends
The lens of death is a lens that can never focus
Except on distant objects
On distant times and places
Darkness is sandpaper
It rubs off my resolve
To breathe
You were a soft cloth
That could keep my lens clear
And help me see
More than the darkness in front of me
Wide Open
©2017
Mouth agape
As if to say
No one is home
And you, steadily
Rocking back and forth
On your heels
Waving goodbye to me
And I
Steadfast like a mountain lion
Watching prey approach
Look in the mirror and
Wonder when my soul left my body
And why the wind blows through
My heart
Agape
But still open
Graphic Hearts
©1998
A cat running from the kitchen with grease all over its fur
A dropped cigarette
An early morning audience
These are the signatures of the artists that I’ve loved
I’ve had designs
Theirs were better
One didn’t love
One wouldn’t love
One probably never knew
But I couldn’t tell her anyway
I could never even tell myself
These are those whose works hang
On the hooks of my soul
Like the stars outside
That the astronauts
Now earthbound
Now making a final inspection
Of their vehicle to the heavens
Just touched
And like them
I look up longingly and say
“I was just up there”
Lift
©2017
A paramotor pilot
Runs across the field
With a motor on his back
A wing above his head
A world waiting to be seen
And I run into trouble the same way
I have climbed into the unwashed skies
But with eyes closed
Head on a pillow
Trying to rest
After I’ve given away
My legacy
For naught
My wings are tied to my past
If I let go
I may not fly
But I might walk away
Whip
©2017
He moves fast as a whip, she said
Which means that he avoids conflict
And barbs
And quiet walks in the square
Where people can see him
But somehow, he moves through the world
Without fear
His hesitation is his savior
And his countenance his shield
He doesn’t remember the last time he loved
That’s a whole lot better than me
I remember how the sun shone on my face
I move slowly through the universe
I don’t want to be seen
Because they might find out who I am
Deep down
Where the whip lands
And never stops flailing
I never stop flailing
I never stop wanting
I did for a while once
With her
But then I was whipped away
Too painful
Too sharp
Too fast
Gauze
©2017
The sound of the tape being peeled off my skin
Keeps me humble
I don’t want to be ripped from you the same way
But you say it’s for your own good
And I say it’s an ill-considered fate
Like putting on the wrong size skates
Or standing on the edge of the train platform in your bare feet
Or spending all your money on a lottery ticket
The day after the jackpot has been awarded
You were my ticket
My prize
Not because I had you
But because I gambled
And I lost eventually
But for one moment in the sun
My name was called
And I had the fortune of the Gods
In The Wilderness
©2017
If God looked at me
And saw that I am nothing
Like She imagined
Would she still reject me
The way some women do?
Would she say,
“No, You’re a lovely guy,
But I am looking for a different type
To partner in the work of creation.”
Such is my spiritual dilemma.
No Tinder or Match or eHarmony or OKC
(Well, maybe JDate)
For this type of relationship.
Just a walk in the fields
And a prayer that I find my way
Home.