"And they call it, puppy love"

sky changes hue from mornings

thru mid day to evening
the clouds they soar
some stratus fast some cottons slow

days go by, weeks and

months travel in packs
they bundle in years

change is constant, chaos its drink

yet through all this, love is the same
there’s blue, there’s grey, there’s red
and there's unconditional

when first I knew love
was from it’s absence
clouds covering the sun,
stars not appearing at night,
when she walked away

doc told me today

my little one is being taken away
by an insidious malady
his cuddles and warmth
soon to be replaced,
abounding my day, with tears

I used to push love away

not deserving of it
abandoned as a child
uncaring cold took its place
then one day love swallowed my heart

love is a curious spirit

sometimes I wish I’d never
known it so in its absence
the pain would not be so great

Oh well, if through my latter years

the changes and chaos of the universe
should leave room for me to witness love again
I’ll probably hold it, embrace it and hope
if its absence rears again
it will be when my eyes have, forever, closed  

stranger in the midst

a stranger has crawled under my skin

with aged folds, long unkempt nails
he struggles to bathe every other day
his torn unwashed flannel shirt
sleeves rolled up and a pair of jeans worn
needing to jump in the shower with him

he carries luggage, inside strewn pictures

and olden bound notebooks
with smudged pencil scribbles
and ink written memories now run
from line to line with the passing of time

this luggage with a skeleton key lock

has been opened takes him
on a path of trails intentionally
long forgotten he knows,
unless discarded in the river,
he'll carry this luggage around forever

he pulls out this note book,

thin wire bound card board flaps,
flips them open discovering
his forgotten demons plundered in pain
slightly legible on smudged pages stained
with tears and occasional drops
of fading blood

arm hair raise as he reads these

sadden memories causing his eyes
to weld with tears, heart laments 
with estranged beating rhythms
struggles confronting his past
wrestles with anguish and anger

I realize I do not like his company  

so I close the notebook flap
toss it back into the decrepit old luggage
I lumber to the rivers edge fling it
with great might out as far as possible
watch it as slowly to the bottom
it sinks where it will catch passing
debris and fish will nest upon it

so long stranger

a smile lost

we’ve carried the smile of our hearts

in our hands for so long, now.
feeling safe that we would
not drop it

the love sick smile that we

once stored in that secret
special place where only
you and I knew its keep

we would bring it out

to share to pleasure upon
even when there’d be pain
and turmoil rampant
we’d wrap ourselves
in our smile and all would
be fine

burning coals could be

underneath our naked feet
and we would not notice
with the nascence
of our smile

have we displaced its keep

or did it fall
slip between our fingers
while bathing in the suds of time  
rinsing in waters of complacency

will you help me find it

and grasp it tightly in our hands
shelter it in a new secret cove
not to be misplaced again

song of the stream

remember when we used to run

and climb, we’d jump into a pile of leaves
run through cool streams with shoes on
we’d stop and sit on the rivers’ bank
sometimes talk about our dreams
but mostly look into each others eyes
and promise to each other our tomorrow

tomorrow has come and no longer can I run

age has taken my legs my hips
still I wish to roll around the Fall of leaves
and listen to the song of that nearby stream

we now sit together on the rivers’ bank

share what we had seen when some of yesterdays
we’d look into each others’ eyes
when quiet and a swirling wind would whisper
in our ears in lieu of spoken words  
and we’d listen to the water in the stream
as it harmonized a chorus to our dreams

alone, a tiny stone

a tiny stone

sits all alone
amidst large rocks
and giant trees

comes a small child

picks it up
in his tiny hands
smiles finding it pleasing
he tosses it into
a cool wet stream

this tiny stone

for a moment
was not alone
it rode the wind
and felt a wet cool

the child felt

joy when the tiny
stone skipped more
than twice

no longer did this

tiny stone feel it was alone
in the largeness
of all around
someone noticed it

if you see a tiny stone

sitting all alone
place it in the palm
of your hand
smile at it
set it back

you will change

its world and
so too
your universe

 

shattered vas

a shattered vas

shard pieces
strewn splayed
I lay there
hoping somehow
to be put back together

disconcerted disheartened

by all who just walk by
and I am not alone
on this cold hard floor
other fine crystal
and porcelain china
lies broken next to me

I’m frayed and afraid

for I’ve seen too many
broken pieces not mended
or repaired but in the stead
swept and discarded
forgotten

If only we'd all imagine

what wondrous mosaic
these broken pieces
would make
when re-assembled   
with a little
Love and care

nebulous kiss

a morning mist paints

the long grass, the trees
with a sheath of translucent sheen
while a grey white veil breathes off
concrete streets and rooftops
dancing surreally like an ocean wave

unseen chirping sounds abound

through the mist with caws from
perching beaks somewhere yonder
in the trees

an eerie feeling comes o’er me

as if my soul has left my incarnate
shell floating hovering using the
grey veil as its attire
a nebulous feel of existence

these latter years I’ve gathered

thoughts and memories and with
introspection ascend to heights
that release the tethers that
once held my youth earthbound
hoarding of temporal objects
displaying my feign ways

this soul that hovers as once mine

now melded in the pervading
grey mist portraying the universal spirit
must avail itself to the true worth
and mystical value of Being
releasing worldly pleasures,
yet in balance, washing away
the pangs and pains

tell me

'...what is all this kissing’s worth...'  

Minion of a Sleepless Night

Minions of a sleepless night

float about shadowing
my every thought not
allowing them to rest
but chase them into
a frenzied state

My eye lids close

to block what ever
distracting light may
try to pierce the dark
that blankets the night
pulled gently taught
over me

I toss and turn like

a dog who tries to
find that comfort spot
after turning and turning
then scratching and propping
the surface with its front paws
where it will finally lie

Not until late early morning

did my mind and body
finally lay at rest
trying to consume
the final nocturne hours
before the croaks and chirps
give way to the whistling
of morning birds

Still I know that even

in my waking state

when intermittently reverie

taps me on my shoulder

there lurks the shadow minions

cloaked in sleepless attire

of disruption and unrest

with shards of frenzied thoughts

Seasons Change

Seasons change

Summer to autumn
Autumn to winter
Winter to spring

They transition at a

timely pace with
colors and hues
white cold but follows
with a warm embrace

You see me today

you forget me tomorrow
long lost in the shadows
of yesterdays and you
leave without a trace

Classics in writ speak

of lovers in love
when neither wars
or distance could
separate their hearts

Days would go by
weeks then years
when together again
tiff time had never
sent them apart

The human soul seems

to have changed yet
unlike what beauty
change of season renders
the human heart  beats
but no longer remembers

come with me

when I put my hands together

and I cup them
they hold what came before
what has become
much room left
to hold what will be

if you take my hand

you can come with me

reaping love

the wind howls softly

water splashes and crashes
over stones and limbs
having fallen into its stream

my eyes take pleasure

in the sight of flight
as they coo and cackle
in the dusk before night

quietly I sit to feel

the gentleness of life
without the sorrows,
and thoughts of human plight

I steal this moment

of Nature’s nest
to give my mind and heart
a little time to rest

I care much for hearts

of others but cry inside
when seemingly for me
they show no druthers

I sit here alone
with Nature’s breath

kissing me gently upon my face
gathering tightly in its embrace

as I close ‘mine eye’

to sleep I ask for when
it takes my soul to keep
my life, my love
shall for others reap

changing tide

time passes

aging envelops me
it embraces me
tighter and tighter

storms I used to

only wince at
now leave me
with anxious despair

when time was young

I could build me
a shelter with strong hands
and soon the storm
would pass

sitting on beach sand

would lead me to play
run in it and watch
the ocean tides come in
challenge me to swim
in them

when once the hand

that held mine as we’d
kick sand and splash
each other in play
wishes no longer to
walk near the ocean
out of fear

and when I do

a quivering timbre
voice calls out
‘don’t forget
to come back to me’

the beach sand, now,

my every step labors
although still pleasing to
'mine eye', of what I can see,
the ocean waves
with their roar
seem menacing to me

sweet memory

Tenderly I’ve stroked your ears

rubbed your eyes
kissed your lips
held your hand
we’ve listened to each others heart
wiped each others tears

now distance has replaced

the presence of your lovely face

no longer do you hear me

nor see me when I look at you
you’ve forgotten the moist
warmth of our kisses
and their intended consequences
your fingers no longer
intertwine in mine
to pull us toward each other

our two hearts still beat

though no longer in rhythm and sync
our tears, yes our tears
are shed but for different causes
different reasons no longer do
you wipe them as you walk away

we’ve lost each other

in the haze the maze of life

I have

the sweet memory  
of your voice
the sparkle of your eyes
the warm memory
of your soft skin pressed
against mine
your tender lips
but not least
the memory that once in time
our two hearts
beat as one

mist of 'life'

I am the wet grey mist

that hovers in the dusk
next to street lamps
rolls in with the morning dew
sometimes I’m mistaken by fog
when I ascend from the waters’ edge

you walk in me and through me

inhale me into your being not
knowing you have assimilated
with my soul the only thing
you know is that your blouse
is damp and moist it clings
to your back and enhances the
soft voluptuousness of your breast

your hair begins to strand

down your shoulders as if you just
walked out of the shower
and had not dried it yet
your brow beads with
drops of my soul it glistens
on your face

you begin to realize that I’m

there inside you everywhere
and as you stroll slowly methodically
down the cobblestone street
you gaze upon the verdant rolling hills
and you tilt your head upward
and gaze upon the sky
giving praise that you are here
I am the mist of ‘life’

Fiftieth Anniversary

I’m reminded that it’s not about me

when I think of Martin Luther  King and
the march in Washington DC in
nineteen sixty three but before came
nineteen sixty one and nineteen sixty two,
respectively, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu

We arrive at the fiftieth anniversary

where much blood was spilled, lives
lost so that equality and liberties
would apply to human beings in spite
of color and ethnicity, gender or individual
choice and proclivities

I’m saddened by the evil face

that has recently evinced
surreptitious in its mimes
depicting from the times
where supremacy and rule
of a certain race and subjugation
of the ‘colored’ face

The rule of law is being manipulated

to meet the needs of a particular class
and our jurisprudence system is being
presently applied with much prejudice
toward religion, gender, economic status
disability, the aged and ethnicity.

It’s being masked by insidious forces

using language connoting illegalities
represented by the face of ‘color’
being portrayed as the threat that’s
deteriorating America’s Constitution,
not written as the ‘white Man’s law’

Lady Liberty’s torch that lights

the sky with the implied quote of
Martin Luther King, “ I Have A Dream”,
has run out of fuel, the book she holds
in her arm has not been read, lately and
her sister that holds the justice scale
has become unbalanced and her
blindfold keeps her from noticing

Will we once again find fuel to re-light

the welcoming torch, re-read the book
she holds and relieve the blindfold
but for a moment so that lady justice
may find a more equitable balance
on her scale?

our song

When the minutes and seconds arrive

just before I must leave this behind
I will inhale deep once more
and hope your nearby
so that you’re the air
that I breath

I will take with me memories

of oceans and skies
whispers in my heart will be
from nights spent with you
our times holding hands
under the evening’s sky
its colorful hue

I fear not my leave

for the life I did weave
with you by my side
in the last hours before sleep
share our bodies warmth
one last kiss on thy cheek

I shall hum me a tune

that reminds me of you
when our two hearts danced
as we counted the stars
under a blue moon
then strolled in the beach
as the sun cooled its feet
in the sea

I have no regrets

as my time was well spent
for I loved and I lost,
my pains at small cost
and so when I transition
into my gossamer wings
you’ll hear me sing our song
in your daytime reveries
and nighttime dreams

my wild forest

walking barefoot upon the grass

in my back yard
the Robins, Blue-Jays and Cardinals
try to impress each other

I think of Eagles nesting in the wild

the osprey and seaguls in the oceans
blue and grey Herons in wetlands
all within the reach of my imaginings

three wild squirrels jump down

from limb to limb on an Oak
that hovers over some tender brush
they skirmish and chatter
letting other tiny rodents know
we are the keepers

I think of Asian tigers

wild hedgehogs and gymnures
in the forests and paddies of Vietnam
roaring and snorting asserting
their reign in their domain

flowers of which were tilled

by my own hand assemble quietly
in my garden and the fountain
splashes soothingly onto man made
basins but its pleasing to my eyes
and baths for my feathered friends

I think of the Cascade and Alberta falls

In the Rocky Mountains where their
prominence befalls them with majesty
and wild flowers grow at their feet
with salmon and carp spewed for the
bear to eat

I look up at the white cotton splayed

azure sky and know that it also hovers
in the same where the oceans
make mile high waves and where
continents still belie supposed civilized hand
so I walk barefoot in my wild forest
on this fine day

kiss

my eyes opened today

I smile at your presence
it's in anticipation of that
first kiss of the day

in the most gentleness I know

I place my hands upon your cheeks
slowly bring you toward me
you allow my lips
to touch yours

and when that softness

bares its intended desire
I let it flow through me
like a firefly in the dusk,
I glow

My Shadow

naked I stand before you

just hair skin and bones
I possess nothing that is physical
my hair turns grey without
my knowing or wishing it
my skin wrinkles and peels
the muscles that held it taught
now weak beyond my control
my bones have become brittle
they ache and show signs of bending
when once they stood erect
they do this without my wanting

thoughts I carry are mine, though,

they prance about as I wish
I can express them with words
at least to the extent of my abilities
my hearts soul floats sometimes
in selfless ways but seemingly
always desiring of care and love
I am willing to share its spirit
whenever to whatever and whoever
wishes to share

have seen an abundance of suns
the winds have carried

its shadow before millions of stars
and thousands of moons
it has shared dreams
many with eyes wide open
  
my thoughts and my hearts soul
are the only things I possess
I am willing to share them
with whatever other shadows
riding the wind but ithey must
embrace my gift 
in its heartfelt and soulful wrappings  

white lucidity

This sphere upon which

I now ride
allows me to soar
it gives me space
when before so much
had dark’nd with clutter
and now that I have
emptied it of what is
of less worth to me
this space is blank,
it’s white

Lucidity

Wisdom
Knowledge,
in this order,
my home is supported
by pillars of this form
all of which were built
upon each other

they’re painted in coated

layers of passion reds
emotional blues
translucent yellow tears
purple salient grit

this grit is made

from smiles and many
caring embraces
from reveries and dreams
of special places
heartfelt honesty
its sturdiness
and strength,
from Love