Sep 22, 2024

Fingerprint in Red

I felt a pulse
And bruised her neck
A fingerprint in red

Two rounds of work
That broke her ribs
Heart now barely beating

Her blood so thin 
Skin now yellow 
Unnaturally prolonged

She’d spoke that morning
And ate her lunch
She’d laughed about her twins 

Now they’re here 
    and ask me bluntly
Ask the man who bruised her

If anything can save her

I shake my head
The doc agrees
We wait for time to take her 

Jun 18, 2024

Decatur Street

The Road Song plays 
Coffee tastes sweet and black
Crawfish and some Jambalaya
Lingers like a bent string 
Reaching for a bit more
Of the note, the flavor
What I was looking for

Jun 17, 2024

Steamboats


Watching the wheel churn 
Brown water from the North
Hauling barges and their cargo
To New Orleans and Barbados 
Much safer now than then 
For both Huck… and Jim. 

May 29, 2024

Don't Cry

I watch him
Almost ended life 
The quiet desperation
Health destroyed
His loved ones
Are now visiting
When cancer is almost done
They will sob
They will mourn
He just wants to say goodbye
And hug them 
Smile 
Don’t cry


May 16, 2024

Angels and stones

Can't sit down or stand up
It goes from back to front
Deep aching sword of flame

It rules all with iron fist
Pounding my left lower back
My eyes see stars through pain

Nothing works, hospital time
I wake her with the dawn 

She drives me in and waits 
Speaking for me, I only
Say hello and thank you 

Morphine touches nothing 
My Angel holds it all
Through seven dark hours
 
She watches over me
The two millimeter stone inside me



Jan 31, 2024

Undiagnosed

The pixels curve and wallow out.

The screen is bad or rez is low?

The colors smudge, but in a line,

Organic in its journey South. 

It takes a sagging turn due East 

Before it rounds the corner North.

Ever tighter ellipses seek

To distract 

From the plot

I'm watching...

My fingerprint on the projector lens!



Mar 9, 2023

Third Time Pays for All

Addis then to N'djamena rolling 

Paris passes underneath me

My supplies beside me in the belly

Flying the team both here and there 

Patients waiting and those at home

Anticipating 

Here we go


Feb 14, 2023

Midnight Bus to Georgia

Gas station squalling 
A tussle with cops

The kite was crashing
Tube now trailing out
Doing the talking
And me to say good morning

Take it down a notch or two
Let's send you back on
The bus you wanted
But too high to catch
Last night off the ground
With no shoes 

Passed the hat
Sent you home with shoes, food, and well wishes.

Sep 9, 2021

A Nurse’s Song

 I don’t sightsee.

There’s not much there to see:

Sand and goats and the French military.

I go to do.

Give my hands, my back, and a few 

Long days to see the surgeries through.

So, if this is my last swan song,

At least I went out with my scrubs still on.


Aug 27, 2021

Cut and Suture

Back to where they took me
Back to where I went
Back to cut and suture
Back to pray and wait

Jan 12, 2021

Drowning Man

A Levite's in the river
Leaving bodies in his wake
The Spirit's leaving heaven
River rushes over face

A body floating downward
Looking up and contemplates
Like Jonah in the ocean
Is he self made fishing bait

Nov 19, 2020

Glass and Masks and Hoods


I held his hand until he passed
And then again until he died. 
His air had stopped. but still his heart beat on

I watched him as his color changed 
That tell tale sign that all is gone
A yellow hew that stays when pink is drained

His loved ones were behind the glass 
Had waved and cried without a touch
They tried to get what comfort could be had

By his own words and his own hand 
Mask off  and ready for the light
He looked ahead and faded by

Leaving us 
Behind glass 
And masks and hoods. 


Oct 15, 2019

Christmas Waltz

I'll romance her
That's what I want to do
Gently dance her
Down the isle to view
Christmas movies
After dinner for two
Lightly talking
Of all we're going to do
Slowly floating
Down the Danube with you.

Jan 22, 2019

Hypomanic Patter

If meds will help, then meds I’ll take.
If running helps, then shoes I’ll buy.
If darkness falls, then light I'll find.
If pride stands up, I’ll wash some feet.

Dec 20, 2018

The Lament of Bob Parr

Isolation
Packed in a cube
Away from view
From anyone in need
Of what I do.

Nov 8, 2018

Consolidated Stars

Some day If it still exists
The Sun will kiss the warm dust,
Earth
And take in what it snared
So many years ago
Consolidated dust
Debris of matter formed
From interstellar bangs
Encircled, never touched
Until the day
Its kiss extended to our shores
And took back the dust
The Earth had snared
So many years ago
From the ones
Who used it for a while
To love
Each Other
Circled one another
Incomplete
Till he kissed warm dust
Being formed of stars
And fused as one, destroyed as ones
And life began again
Some day
As long as we exist
A son will kiss consolidated stars
And take in what she snared
So many years ago

Nov 1, 2018

1388

It sat empty
Ripped up wire
Plumbing missing
The cash in hand
Made an offer
 God Damn Flippers

Aug 9, 2018

At Work Today

Every freckle is a bed bug
Every tickled hair a look down
Every glance or stare a judgment
Every hope and breath it's not found
Every moment a new freak out
Every twitch a bug to see
Even now they get their work done
Everyone but me

Jul 21, 2018

Exploring du Maison

The bookshelves call my name
Spines whisper as I browse

Trilogies of mutinies
Empires in the sun
World wars on far flung shores
The enormous room
A eulogy of Mr Hanna’s deeds
From the Senate floor

Marker’s Mark, an empty chair
Ignoring all around

Mar 21, 2018

Friends to Miss Her

off to the doctor's
to say goodbye  
to a friend
she is finally
decidedly
moving on
her mother is gone
children are gone
nothing left
but friends to miss her

Jan 25, 2018

Why I Came Home Depressed

I hesitated in the seat
It sounded like she said
They were chopping up their EHR
So they could move ahead
To fracture up what they had built
The interview was dead

Nov 1, 2017

Grandma Helen Rides Along

She hears you
Or you think
She looks at you and smiles
When the joke's a zinger

Then she laughs
And says something in return
That belies her age

That sometimes curtain
Of her recent hazy
Sight and mind

Family Today

My youngest becoming a teen
Demanding attention good and bad
Still young enough to snuggle in, yet bite

My teen becoming a woman
Old enough to see the end of home
And try again to snuggle in and hug

My woman fighting for her health
Chronic issues causing fear and grief
Snuggles in in we and I feel what we are

My father sees his end
My mother seems content
Her parents holding tight

Sep 4, 2017

39

Ten spot and a single short
Of fifty years
Cruising in the space that stays
Till old-age sets
Forty shouldn't smart
Like thirty did
Don't miss twenty, but I see
It don't go on
Ten more and a single short
Till mid-life's here

Aug 23, 2017

Left Pocket

It vibrates rhythmically
Almost like a heart beat
But slower in the thigh
It feels like my phone

Had to get a smart watch
To not miss all my calls
Left pocket tells me lies

Jul 24, 2017

Monday

It all looks fuzzy
In the whiteboard
Opposite my desk

The flowers blooming
Wind is blowing
Opposite my desk

I'm wanting outside
Out my window
Opposite my desk

Jul 18, 2017

Statler and Waldorf

I have paid my tithe to relax
Soy macciatto and a scone
Satisfy my soul and make the words flow

Watching bakers roll the dough out
T-rex on her shoulder
Kind instruction from the owner standing

Late night in the office
So, I took some time off
Tithing and relaxing with some coffee 

Music flowing from the 90's
Bopping, typing in my world
The one-year old is singing, dancing too 

A friend strolls in and shakes my hand
We've sat here like the Muppets duo
In a box seat watching what they show us

 

May 26, 2017

Maple Flavored Haiku

Falling from the green
Ohio Maples bursting
Twirling to the ground.

The lush canopy
Bringing forth their joyous song
Notes wafting gently

For the ears and eye
The grand symphony of Spring
Renewal of life

May 24, 2017

A Father's Anxiety

She leaves in three weeks
More than ever
I have to let go

I have to let go
More than ever it sits
On my mind

On my mind
She'll be gone in three weeks
Let her go

Let her go
Off to London she flies
How she'll grow

But I know...

May 15, 2017

More Time With You

Don't pull the sheets
Past your face 
To make it through the day

Hiding from the monsters
In our genes
We cannot wish away

Medicine has found us
At our age
Three pills a day

So, walk with me
Hand in hand
Together we will stay 
 

Youngest

Her eyes have come alive
We banter back and forth
Delighted with the joke
She knows she's in the game
I know she's in the game
We now begin to talk
At a place that's not a fight


Jan 18, 2017

Civilized

Instead of peeing on a tree
I pee into a bowl
Instead of satisfying me
I piss it down a hole.

Nov 19, 2016

First Snow


Level two traumas on the way
I hear the sirens pulling in 
And crews in choppers flying out 
First snow of the season fell today

Oct 3, 2016

Waiting Room

Sitting in the same room
We waited for her Pops
To find his final peace
Unnerves me
Waiting for my wife
To finish up her surgery

Jul 24, 2016

Hair in the Laundry

It tickles me
From in my sleeve
Evades my eye
Till I look 'round
And 'round and 'round
And 'round and 'round

A joy of x and x
My x and y
Could never do without

Apr 12, 2016

The start of day

gushing over the causeway
edge
of the trees the sun comes
up
in my bed I see it
fill
the room and
dance
in my eyes,
then.
gone.
it's day.

Mar 9, 2016

Frogs of Spring

Yesterday, I heard the frogs sing
Still cool, the air vibrated
With their throaty calls for more
My heart sang to hear it too

Feb 8, 2016

Whisper of the Dead

Never have I had
Such a sense of dread
And whisper of the dead

And yet I know
It soaked my bones
And wet my brow

It whispered to my soul
Took my eye and fixed it
On the great divide
 

Jan 20, 2016

A Wild Man in My Basement

A man lives in my basement

He's sitting in my chair

His knees are in the ashes

With cinders in his hair

He's playing with the fire

Without a single care

A wild man's in my basement

Away from the world upstairs

Dec 18, 2015

In Reponse

The Winter Solstice is upon us.
The days will soon begin
To lengthen out and bring
The sun back out again

Dec 11, 2015

Less of Me

Mastication
Molaration
Second on the chew.

Ectomy
Left of me
Tongue is searching through.

Hole in me
Hold of me
Wholly something new.

Oct 28, 2015

Look Up

One day will become two
The third day will follow
Pick up anew 
A new day tomorrow 

The clouds will not stay long
The sun is returning 
The bridge of an old song 
Your heart still is singing 

So look up and lift up 
Though rain may be falling 
The voice of your gladness
Sadness spurning


Sep 2, 2015

End of Shift

What a hell I worked today
Never stopped until just now
Sitting in my leather chair
Relaxing all my cares away
Downtime Pilsner in my hand
Eyes closed drifting from the day 
Nothing moving, body still
Happy in my nowhere land

May 14, 2015

Waiting... waiting...

Pounding
Slowly
Pressurize my skull
Inside
Aching
Allergic damage full
Mold or
Weather
Moving in to kill
Growing
Intense
Pace the floor until
Waiting
For the
NSAID to kick in

Apr 27, 2015

"Preach"

Angel's walk on her head 
They rock her back and forth
Causing her to fill up

Her body out of whack 
She feels it deep inside
Her soul and heart and feet

If only she could stand
And release the pressure 
In her gut-sack sagging 

She used to fear to speak
Till she hovered over
Heard the word that scared her

Mar 17, 2015

Today

sun
done 
clouds
proud
green
Fenian 
brown 
town 
today
play
morning 
snoring 

Mar 3, 2015

3rd Stage

of four stages, three i have come
not yet being of two score years
in the journey of my life song
this is the sorest of them all

first of fear and much trembling
i beheld Him as a judge
fire at my backside waiting
i implored Him for my safety
i listened, learned, and sat
soaking in the knowledge given 

'till I asked My own deep questions of the burning
and found desire in myself to know him more
drawing time of inward focused seeking
emotions in the rolling of My ego reeked
fingers, pride in good deduction
showed their eager tendrils spreading 
soon were pruned by those still watching
caring for my inner seeking
second stage of mortal meaning

for the waning of the magic thinking
tugs of Mortal feelings,
third stage of spiritual seeking, 
ground me of my lighter musings
set me straight on path of contemplation
of darkened consciousness, the possible nothingness
of my eventual demise

yet, in it all i see
what i saw when i was young
and have begun to see again
none is in control except the heart that is within
and where it goes
when fourth stage of this journey ends
and shows me, maybe not, where it begins
is Faith in things we cannot see at all

Jan 16, 2015

Black Tea

Black tea, not coffee
Honey kind o' day
Soothing in the cup 

Somehow it feels colder out today
Feel it in my bones
Premonition like

It settles in the corners
Nagging at my joints
Whispering unwelcomeness of age

Jan 15, 2015

A Birthday Toast to My Wife

A toast
To the most amazing woman I know:
Lead me
To be free in her arms and shows...
Even
An opinionated schmuck, ugly feller,
Can land
The hand of stunner, a woman like her.
Here's to
Many years till we're old and graying, thriving;  
Praying
She's still forgiving the luckiest man alive.  

Bitter Sweet Revival

Do it again sweet lady
Pour hot milk
Into bitter grounds
Froth it in ceramic cup
Past my lips
The bitter mix sips
Well down my soul and pours
Into words
Out of my fingers
Thursday morning at your shop 

Dec 4, 2014

Ressurection

An incomplete five year print 
Good luck finding all the rest

Parts of me
Stuffed in folders tight
And overflowing
Forgotten on the bookshelf

More lingers in my mind
I know I wrote it somewhere
Napkins thrown away
Printed, stashed, hidden
Waiting for you to see them
And turn them in your hands

'Cause by then I might be
A Memory, remembrance
Just like the Christmas carols
I hear now 
You might be hearing too

So we're connected.
Once again, I'm in your ear
The carols fading
My voice now louder  

Gentle, harsh,
Profane, and loving.
Imagined, direct,
Hopped up or sober,
It is mine and no other.

So, daughters, wife... who ever else 
When you hear me in your ear 
Even if I'm gone,
Rest assured it's me, was me, 

When to when
And
Then to then

Gathering who I was;
Adding, cutting away
Ashamed, proud
Of what I am, was
When this was printed
On the page    

It was worth jotting it down

And now you hear me speak it
Feel me in your ear drum
Trickling down
The cochlear nerve

My voice immortal
Five years long
But only if you read it,
Find it.

Resurrect me from the grave
Parts missing, but here I am 
Stuffed in folders tight
And overflowing

Nov 14, 2014

Punch Card

I miss it
Tactile assurances
Of the voting power
Physical
Reassuring feeling
In action, in the hand
Pushing through
Making more than ones and zeros   

Nov 10, 2014

Life Long Duet

She sang
Long forgotten notes in thirds above
His aging tremelo
Dancing steps they hadn't done in years
Sweet hymns above
Her inability to know where she was
Transcended by
Remembered melodies from behind the pew
His wife

He sang
Now gray and dapper sitting by the bedside
Gazing
With her in the moment, both now and then lost
In the love dance
His tenor wavered by the years, but no less tender
Time invested
In their tender duet that now transcends the physical decline 
Her beau
   

Oct 21, 2014

The Show

He stood for her
And caught her eye
Felt the pain of loss
When she walked by

Saluted her
Her walking pout  
And winced when she left
Sipped his drink and thought it out

His hope had risen when
She walked into his space
An extra syllable that
Then left him in his place

Much too complete
Sipping his gin
To be there whole
When she walked in

So she walked out
Sipped drinks with someone who
More than he
Was present too 

Jun 24, 2014

Three Weeks

Parasympathomimetic
Receptor agonist
The nightshade alkaloid
Smooth muscle constrictor
Pressure raising
Life shortening
Is three weeks gone for good
Death, out of hand,
Must find a different way   




May 22, 2014

Better Introspection

sensitive nothings will get you a date
and tears will get you a ring
but a powerful lust
will knock off the rust
put some step in your zing 
and a twinkle in the eye of your mate

May 21, 2014

Age Spots

I saw them
Staring at me from my hand
From the back I thought I knew
Grandmother's have them
My mother has them
And now I do too

May 6, 2014

Deer in Headlights

She knew it
She knew it had happened
I told her lies to calm her down
Something, anything, other reasons
It wasn't gonna stick around
Her mind was letting go
She knew it

Mar 20, 2014

Seven

(Purple, shiny)

                                      smartness on display;

Not to read, but to see

                                       what other people say.
She says they magnify her beauty
                   
                      [S h e -
                                   s k i p s -
                                                    a n d -
                                   w a l k s -
                       t h e -
                                   c a t w a l k -
                                                          s t a g e .]

More than they magnify the page.

My bespeckled,
                          ...freckled
                                            ...cutie. 
    

Feb 19, 2014

Watch

The hands tick away of their own accord
As if to say, "No more, no more."
They follow round and just behind
That moment now from all else gone
Cutting it sharp, the past, a sword
What follows, rust and dust, and evermore.

Jan 14, 2014

Fleeting By

Steel skies
Wet stone 
Spicy throat
Speakers drone
Drums roll
Ink flow
Write now 
I should know
My thoughts
Up, down
Fleeting by
A small town 

Dec 17, 2013

I know what I am.

Joan Jett loud on the radio!
Makes me want to run,
Get stuff done...
Smoke a stogie.
Find the wife;
Make some love,
Until she's done.
Infectious beats move me
In the air and top down! 

Nov 22, 2013

Bluegrass Morning.

Syncopated blue grass
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Flow over me like waves on a rainy day
Makes me move and sway
Triggers neurotransmitters that chase the blues away 

Nov 11, 2013

I say, "Pooh-Pooh"

Everyone loves good haiku
Not me, oh no, and
To the lion in the zoo...

Oct 23, 2013

Marley's Ten Year Ghost

Young man quietly places chains
On his own wrists
To be silent and to silence

Ten long years of penitent pride
Flesh grows over steel
The chains feel (almost) good

Cold steel shackles clink
They clatter like a pharisee
Praying proudly for all to see

Piety of the widow's mite
Power of the sinner's prayer
Have yet to set him free
From public, picked, and open wounds 

Oct 21, 2013

Ohio

Snow on Wednesday
Rain tomorrow
Sun today
Oh, Ohio!

Oct 9, 2013

Ins and Outs

Five plastic bags
And a pillow in my hand
Everything we could find
We carried out the door

A life reduced
To a bag of clothes
Taken out a swinging door
The room's already sold

He's lying in a bed
With tubes protruding
Controlling fluid in
Machines are breathing out

This room is full
Of ins and outs
Loved ones, skilled ones
Motion in the air

Training kick'd in
Comfort, education flowing out
Pizza on the table
Hugs and listening for the rest. 

Some are crying, sobbing
Stories flying 'round
His eyes open now and then
Perhaps it's sinking in 

The bags are in the car
Forgotten, unneeded
Mostly comforts now forgone
For family ins... and maybe outs.

I took it "well" until today
Pressure needs an out
It's dripping down my face.
Letting in and letting out.

Jul 22, 2013

Fair Warning

I admit it
I put Grandma to rest a long time ago
But it's still hard  

Talking to Dad
And hearing sixty-three years of love just breaking
His voice shaking, edgy 
My training kicks in
Just listening, keeping the edge off, tears down tight
Dad knows it too

He's not hiding
Says he "feels like shit... no reason to hide it now."
He's right, it'll hit me soon.
It always does
When I see the terrible job the undertaker tries
It's not his fault

It'll remind me that I can let go
Of the shell that clung so long when her mind let go
It's not her fault either
 

Apr 25, 2013

The Walking Wounded

He steps down off the curb and waits
For traffic flowing by
His pant leg folds unevenly
He pauses with a sigh
Nothing bends from hip to foot
A wound from years gone by

His gait is slow and even toned
The traffic doesn't yield
Self assured and steady goes
He walked the field
In Vietnam, perhaps Korea,
The wounded 's human shield

Tended now, the medic's wound,
By younger hands at home  
In grateful payment of
A phantom limb that's gone

Mar 5, 2013

How I Drink It.

I love coffee shops and greasy-spoons
Where I can belly-up to the bar
To drink my brew

With classic rock or obscure beats 
Rumbling through my brain  
Keeping time with the ink I spew

Don't snap your fingers when I walk in
Don't ask me what I want
It's me you're pouring to 

Just serve it hot and black in a ceramic mug
And put the next one in a paper cup
For me to breeze on out and bid adieu

Feb 11, 2013

Smears on the Screen

How do you write tears of joy?
The paper used to soak them up,
But now it splats and smears
When I blubber on the screen.

So here it goes what may;
I got the job I wanted today! 

Feb 8, 2013

Morning Hope

She sniffs my cup
A little apprehensively
Wanting mingled apple spices
Two sniffs
She wrinkles up her nose
The acrid scent of coffee
Black
Wasn't what she wanted
Directives given
I will try again
She laughs  
"You're fired, till it's right"

Feb 6, 2013

Three o'clock blues at ten

the house is cold but the fire's hot
for my workin' woman who is not
here with me and rollin' rounds
while the blues are playin' mournful sounds
through my speakers, in my head
got me down! waitin' in my bed

Friday's verdict comin' soon
either way, today,
I drink deeply from the cup
of three o'clock blues at ten
BB's keepin' me afloat
and Clapton feeds me from within

Jan 11, 2013

Breath (draft 2)

I cradle your head in my arms
Thanking God I hold you

Your hair smells sweat
I nuzzle in and drift
 
Some day our oath will have ended
The sweet and bitter pill

The Lord's own time 
His will be done

I hold you close
And work on now
Trying not think about then
The loneliness for a job well done

Your head rests on my chest
I hear your breath come in and out
I match it just because I can
And drift back into dream

Dec 7, 2012

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

Nov 9, 2012

Gazuntite!

If you have to
cough or sneeze,
Make sure it's in
    your elbow please.

 

Oct 23, 2012

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

Oct 16, 2012

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.

Oct 15, 2012

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

Oct 2, 2012

Exuberant love

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

Sep 28, 2012

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.

Aug 1, 2012

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
 

Jun 27, 2012

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.   


Jun 18, 2012

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"

Jun 2, 2012

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.

Jun 1, 2012

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.

Apr 19, 2012

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

Apr 7, 2012

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

Dec 27, 2011

John Barker

No shame or doubt
For there is none in that place
Not looking down like heathen kings
But dancing in the isles and streets of gold
And singing praise more fully than he dreamed
And life more raw and beautiful then the veil here on earth

Dec 18, 2011

Good morning

Coffee in my hand
And Kipling in my pocket
Gospel in my ears
And a breeze is blowing in

Dec 12, 2011

Steps

Down the center isle she'd only walked
I carried her
With seven other men

Up with her dad
At birth, to wed,
And back with Grandad
And now with us.

Down the steps she never took,
We carried her again:
Just like her dad when life began.

With candles, vows, and separation-
Dedicated, married, and now deceased-
She finished what they started.
The eight of us attest to that.

Inside a car she never drove,
We placed her as gently as we could:
The rollers made it smooth.
I said goodbye before I let her go.

Followed by a line of cars and hearts
That stretched back eighty years or more
She would have fussed,
Although she thought it right to do.

Three men await her at the gate,
And two have walked that path before.

Nov 23, 2011

Bitterness

Some say superman is out there,
But I just saw him fall
Not to Lex Luther or Miss Lane
But to the noisy few
Who turned their back on him
And kicked him to the curb
Pretending, speaking for us all

Nov 18, 2011

She's on her way

She's on her way
To trip the light fantastic
With the older man
Who swept her heart away
Over sixty years ago

With barn dances and bright flowers
She was his sunshine
And then he went away
Still singing their sweet song

His sunshine, his only sunshine
Had waited for this day
With nights of lonely patience

No one could come between.

Oct 21, 2011

The task your feet are on

There is a God
And some are wrong
And none can love too much
Three things that make the world go round
And add the human touch

When all is dark
or, worse yet,
When shadows obscure the view
These three things your path will set
Past midnight dark and day anew

Forget your fear
Regrets, laments
And throw aside your crutch
For none of it will matter soon
All hindrance aside, your feet must rush

To finish well with crown and cup
The task your feet are on

God Damn!

God damn, I miss him
He sips wine, but I know his jokes
We can sit and talk and be at ease
God damn, I miss his face
Twenty with and thirteen apart
The other one is with the wind
God damn, I miss my friend
We disagree, but in his core
He stands on what we can agree

Oct 13, 2011

Past Desperation

Have you ever thought
That the only way
You would be allowed to rest
And decompress from the day
Would be to steer for the lights
Up the road a way
And find a bed in the ICU
Where your visitors would say
With time and pity in their voice
"It's not his fault he cannot work, or go to school today."

It took me fourteen sessions
Life talks and lessons
To be able to ask it that way
And to admit
The stress, it hurt

...and now my wife is headed that way.