Lice!

They do not die
From natural causes,
Organic rinses,
Or mayonnaise washes.

They do not fly
From child to child.
They do not care
If you wash your hair.

Other children
Are not hinderin'
With their louse
Your child's shot at the White House.  
 
Breath.
Don't curse.

Respectfully Yours,
The School Nurse

Gazuntite!

If you have to

cough or sneeze,

Make sure it's in
    your elbow please.

 

A View

To dangle my feet above the street
With a view of the passers by
Would be for me heaven at about seven
When the rays of the sun come out
The warm wind blow, the bright sun glow  
The rats as they scurry around
The goal that teases all of these meices
Is lost as I look about

I Shut My Mouth

I sit and read
   I write and think
   You fill me as I piss in ink

The crack of the wood
    Beneath my feet
    Beneath my pen in metered ink 

The trees outside begin to sway
    They seem to say in rustling leaves
    "You are arrayed as one of these."

What name have you for me?

Let me see Your hand!
Let me feel Your side!
Let me know know You're here,

Not the whisper in the wind.

I tell you-
Tear the mountains!
Shatter the rock!
Earthquake and fire!

Ask me why I'm here!

I stand braced like a man,
I wait your questions.
I will answer your voice.

Do not break my upraised arm!
It shakes at you!

I will wrestle you.
I will grapple you and not let go.
I will not yeild my foot to slip till morning falls.

Yet...

You've wretched my hip.
   I canont stand.
You took my job.
   I have to wait.
My interviews are on deaf ears.
   I cannot speak.

The Shakes

It starts
Like my eyes begin to recede
Stiff neck
When I wake up  at 3am
Muscle weakness
A slight tremor
Seems to get worse
In a few days
I can't sleep
I can't love
I can't stop
Until I get the closing hours right
The SSRI calms them down
I wonder when they won't go away

Exuberant love

Red followed white
And freaked me out
A sleepless night
Followed next day by cautious tests
The fun of exuberant love 

Crude Past Tenses

If thought is the past of think,
Than what is the past of tweet?
Think of thought and not of tweet,
Not of ..., but of meat.

Let Mortality Settle In

One thing I hate
Are the statements we make
When a loved one "shuffles off this mortal coil,"
As if we cannot pause
And let mortality settle in
The Six by Six by Four foot hole
We lay it in. 

I know she'll be back

I miss her with the ferocity of a rhinoceros
Anything else is preposterous
I miss us
 

Dirt and Salt

It's been a long time
Since I saw dirt run down the drain
And tasted salt on my lips
As the water washed me

It's been a long time
Since I helped a friend
Dig a hole, a ditch, and use my chains
To free the roots of bitterness

It's been a while
Since I could say,
To hell with good neighbors and their fences
 I've got love to mend.   

Fireflies

There's always time for fireflies
Purple shirt, short skirt, twirling with the wings
Barefoot, running in the wet grass
Evening sun behind the trees
Crickets chirping, birds still singing
All to say, "fun has yet to stop"

My Nephew's Loss

To speak:

My body is shaking
With tears and sorrow
For the boy
Who's core is shaken
By the news
A pillar gone
His mother's mother in glory.

Denial of death,
Against refuted immortality
Anger at powers, Self, Parents, and God
For refuted omnipotence as seen from the here and now
His road is hard and unimaginable
A crossroads to strength and scarring

Yet God is good
Though evil works
To crumble and destroy
His grace comes from those around us
And in His still soft voice
Within our soul

To pray:

Have mercy on the boy
And protect him in your wings
Lord Send your angels to minister to his needs
And may he feel Your love and assurance
The power and omnipotence
Of the life to come
The power of Your triumph over death, Amen.

Prosperity Theology Proposterosity

You can't claim a seed
That wasn't yours
It was a gift to start with
Trusted with
You reap what you did not sow
You sow what you may not reap
Do not claim prosperity
You may crumble when you suffer

8th grade dance

They come alive
When someone else begins
They circle in their group of friends
Never mixing
Parallel play
Showing off and hiding
Like breathing in and out
Testing waters and letting go
Seeing the boat is safe
Finding themselves
Within the danger of the group.

It rhymes!

For those of you inclined
To elevate your mind
And trot out Greek while giving sermons
And Aramaic for the learned(s):
Latin makes me feel smart, pēditum!

I hope

Her
Patience
Wearing thin
I was not nice
I was down right mean
How many times will she
Accept apologies from me

One more at least, I hope

Dead and Living

It rises from the heat below
And throws its carbon to the wind
Child of a flame's desire
For the fuel of fallen limbs
Taken from the living forest
The dead now burning bright within
The body warming body of my kin