Sheltered In Place

they will never know the stillness,
the silence, as the world hushes
when the first snowflakes drop out of the sky.

they will never feel the crisp air
or see white blanket the fields
as it does every year.

kept indoors,
safe and warm,
where humidity breathes,
where mist showers from above,
and crawling critters burrow,
where life continues.

under wraps to avoid
a deep freeze,
never a first blossom of the year
but life sustains
returning
again, and again.

among rows of green
as infants in a nursery,
this is the only place
sprouts now grow.

under a careful eye
we’re both determined
to stay alive.

Posted on October 22, 2020October 23, 2020
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nous avons tout le temps pour nous

The summer’s ritual of an evening rain gushes down upon my large umbrella. I quickly step to dodge flooding puddles surrounding me. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing most of my life, avoiding disasters. But the person awaiting my arrival, he is my safe haven. Everything leading up to this moment, although it may have been disastrous at times, is exactly how it should have been. I pull to close the umbrella, brush a few raindrops from my face, take a deep sigh, and pull open the door to the coffee shop where we’ve arranged to meet. He stands to greet me. My nerves are shot, and I can’t for the life of me know where to begin. I squeeze out a nervous smile. We’ve already reconnected for the past year but, this is the first time I get to see him again and I’m uneasy. Do I start from step one, see where this goes? Do I immediately pull into the throes of a lover’s embrace? So many questions racing for an answer. I want to turn off the questions in my mind, sit here and stare at him for a while. Order a coffee & tea, and say something, anything to believe that this was all meant to be. I want him to teach me a few phrases I have yet to learn and do all the things we have left to do. And I know we will. We have the time. We have all the time. We have all the time for us.

Thanks for reading. This is an edited repost from August 2020.

Posted on October 20, 2020October 20, 2020
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Summer Love Swept Away

summer days filled
with dragonfly dreams

our love, like beach vacationers
passing by

retreated
deep in the night

we’ll remember
what summer love has done

in this jaded seaside town
after the blazing sun has gone down
nothing remains but tumultuous sea sounds

like a discarded napkin
left by a shattered dish,
love was swept away with the rubbish

Posted on October 19, 2020
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The Weight of The World is Love

The Genealogy of Style

Jean-Michel Basquiat. Photo by Allen Ginsberg, December 1987

SONG

The weight of the world
is love.
Under the burden
of solitude,
under the burden
of dissatisfaction

the weight,
the weight we carry
is love.

Who can deny?
In dreams
it touches
the body,
in thought
constructs
a miracle,
in imagination
anguishes
till born
in human–
looks out of the heart
burning with purity–
for the burden of life
is love,

Jean-Michel Basquiat with an earth globe on his shoulder. Photo by Christopher Makos, May 29, 1984

but we carry the weight
wearily,
and so must rest
in the arms of love
at last,
must rest in the arms
of love.

No rest
without love,
no sleep
without dreams
of love–
be mad or chill
obsessed with angels
or machines,
the final wish
is love
–cannot be bitter,
cannot deny,
cannot withhold
if denied:

the weight is too heavy

–must give

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Posted on October 13, 2020
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You Never Knew

you think you know a guy
years, months, weeks,
day in and day out
conversations exchanged
how things were left unsaid
how we chose, or chose not, to be

how we hide behind the way we speak
how we say, or don’t say,
the things we mean

you think you know a guy
and suddenly he’s a stranger
you never knew his thoughts,
never knew the things he’s done,
never knew the reasons why
things have come undone

you think you know a guy
now he’s an ass, a jerk,
in a mid-life crisis,
he doesn’t know how to deal
he’d rather eschew responsibility
and break away

you think you know a guy
he only showed what he wanted you to see
now he’s come clean,
no more pretending

you think you know a guy
but did you ever
really know him at all?

Thanks for reading. This goes out to anyone who has been blindsided by a loved one.

Posted on October 9, 2020October 12, 2020
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The Season of Changes

Every Autumn fills
with browns and reds,
yellows and oranges;

Sweeping leaves
and a steady wind
blowing through trees.

Halloween decorations,
candy corn, and costume trials
as little ones prepare

for changes in the air.
Days lead up to celebrating
another trip around the sun,

and yet this season is another reminder
of all those years ago
when we lost you.

Years collect dust rings
in the corners of my mind, so many
things that could have been shared.

The warmth of your embrace,
the gentleness of your hands,
all we lost when cancer captured you.

No longer a smile beaming,
distant eyes,
a dream that no longer bled truth.

Doctors predicted six months,
then three,
it turned to mere weeks.

Sam was no more than a week old
when she greeted you. Pictures snapped
lost but still haunt.

We didn’t need them to prove
an ending met a beginning.
It was part of our story to carry on.

Posted on October 8, 2020October 8, 2020
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Back Where We Started [with audio]

*spoken word*

Driven too far,
gone too fast,
said too many things
to make it last.
Now you’ve gone away
and we can’t go back,
back to where this love
once started.

Now I drive too long
to make sense of it all.
Drive too hard
to run away from it all.
But I can’t go back,
back to where this love
once started.

The lights don’t shine bright for me.
No, I can’t go back to where
we used to be.
Sure, it’s easy to say
we can make it different
but I think it’s better this way.

[2017]

Posted on October 7, 2020October 6, 2020
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Small Promises

Out there beyond the hill
Lights twinkle in time with distant voices
Preparing for the new year
Making small promises of things to come
Promising small victories of things to overcome

What will they remember
When they look back at the year
The fickle promises collapsing around them
Or achievements made
Or constant redirections to get through another day

Posted on October 6, 2020October 8, 2020
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I’m Yours, Completely [with audio]

*spoken word*

I’m in, all in
I’m kicking and screaming as loud as can be
I’m yours,
Completely yours

From the tops of the mountains
To the valleys below
I’m shouting everywhere I go
I’m yours,
Completely yours

I’d move everything I see
If it blocked you from me
I’m yours,
Completely yours

As long as you’re near
There is nothing we should fear
I’m yours,
Completely yours

From the moment we first kissed
My heart immediately knew it
I’m yours,
Completely yours

This poem is available in Coffee Shop Sessions II. Click here to purchase on Amazon: Coffee Shop Sessions II: Moving Mountains One by One.

Posted on October 5, 2020October 5, 2020
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My Photos

Over the years while out and about, there seems to be a need to capture what’s in front of me before the moment and the lighting, the lines, and the beauty escapes the scene. I’ve noticed that my photography includes florals, landscapes, still life, and architecture. If there’s a person in the frame, I wait patiently until the frame is clean before I proceed. Of course, I take pictures of family or friends, but these are the ones that I claim to be the best of the best, and yet all taken from my phone. Click a thumbnail below to view the full photo.