Entries in My poems (21)
Misstep
July 24, 2008 at 09:57 Descending
the stairs
she misses
a step
and the world
beneath her feet
rises up to punish her
with a series of smacks
and thuds
that send her
tumbling into the cellar.
The concrete floor
is cool and gritty under her cheek
stars rise before her eyes
bumps bud beneath
tender flesh
bruises bloom
like pansies
Purple. Blue. Black.
Green.
Darkness sits beside her
and whispers in her ear.
She accepts the heavy covers
it lays on her shoulders
and closes her eyes,
waiting for Strength
to call.
July 24, 2008
Summer night
June 19, 2008 at 13:19 she sits on the patio and smokes
inhaling and exhaling with deliberation
remembering that summer
savoring the taste of it of him
stirring her feelings
turning over and sparking
like the embers smoldering in the fire pit
like the diamond ring winking in the fading light.
dusk slips quietly toward night
the mosquitoes are out for blood
but as her cigarette traces
arcs of loneliness in the dark
her eyes are on the fireflies
twinkling in the deep green shadows
signaling to the world
they are looking for love.
June 19, 2008
Soundtrack
April 22, 2008 at 10:02 At night when the house is silent
Dreams slide by
Like the trains
Carrying lives and luggage
To a new destination.
The engineers
Blow the horns
The soundtrack
Behind my quiet life
The music of arrivals and departures.
The passengers
Pass by
Glimpsing backyards and clothes lines
Graffiti and bridges
White clapboard houses
With black shutters.
They see the shape of my life
While I sleep behind locked doors
Dreaming of departures
And homecomings
And arms that circle tight
The rumbling journey ahead.
April 22, 2008
Rings
April 11, 2008 at 14:50 I like to think
I was your favorite
mistake.
We only had silver--
never gold.
Diamonds were too hard
the cost too high--
We chose onyx and turquoise instead.
Today all I see is black and blue--
All our bruises
Still tender
After all these years.
We never stopped
circling each other.
Another round and
I'm dizzy wondering
When will this end?
I am done with rings.
I am turning--
Searching for hands
reaching out
holding on
steadying me
while the world tilts and spins.
April 11, 2008
Box Cutting
March 28, 2008 at 09:06 On the other side of this door
Is a woman
Unpacking a life
Feeling the weight
Of all that is coiled tight
And bound together
The space too small
The time too short
The years and boxes
Too heavy
Next to the window
Is this woman
Unpacking her self
Bent in two
Reaching and stretching
Searching for what is precious
Believing it has been pushed
To the bottom of a box
Lost in layers and layers
Of crumpled beige paper
Clouds sweep the sky
The light shifts
Sun and shadow dance
Across her face
She stands upright
The past in her hands.
Surrounded by sheet after sheet
Of blank paper
She pauses to rest
And imagine
The colors, the words, the feel
Of a spirit
Unboxed.
March 28, 2008
The measure of my life
March 10, 2008 at 15:31 Four forks
Four spoons
Four dull knives
Four white plates
Four shallow bowls
Four folded napkins
Four empty glasses
Waiting to be filled
Four chairs around
A square table
Four of us with appetites
Waiting to be satisfied
Four pairs of shoes by the door
Four jackets on hooks
Four packed bags
Heavy with expectations
This is the tidy life we built,
But
I will not be bound
By its straight lines
I will not be square
I will not be boxed
I will go off on tangents
Embrace blind curves
I will dare
To throw my life off balance
I will
Make it odd
Not even
I will
Answer the knock
At the door
Add more plates
To the table
Pour the wine
Toast the future
Celebrate
The expanding
And ever changing shape
Of my universe
March 10, 2008
Gatekeeping
February 29, 2008 at 02:26 
I’m an old dog on the porch
Who should be guarding
The house
Assessing the threat posed
By strangers and strays
Sounding an alarm and
Threatening to attack
When boundaries are breached.
Instead
When someone approaches
The gate
I leap to my feet:
If hope is a thing with feathers
I’m a hound in perfect point.
Still.
Expectant.
When the gate latch
Is lifted
Affection not caution
Is unleashed.
I bound forward
Ready to receive
Whatever
Is tossed my way.
Content with leftovers
Bare bones
A few words
A moment of being seen.
It’s what
I love most about myself.
And it’s what I despise.
Perhaps I’m wise
To be open
To every face
That smiles from the gate
But often I feel
I’m just a fool
Welcoming plunderers.
February 29, 2008
Suggest a title for this one
February 26, 2008 at 09:43 “There are things to be said, I think, but it’s not yet the time to say them.”
— letter from a friend
This is why
I bottle my words
And wait to uncork them:
Timing is everything
Sometimes the urge
To spill words
Is as potent
And regrettable
As a crimson stain
Spreading across a white cloth.
Words released
At the wrong moment
Will be tinged with anger
And leave a bitter aftertaste,
Or be too sweet
With apologies and forgiveness
Flavors that mask the complexity
Of the Truth.
So I take my words
To the cellar of my subconscious
Lie on my side in the dark
And keep my cool
While my thoughts
Ferment and change
Bubble and become.
Careful
I am
A bottle set on edge
That can easily shatter
Or explode under pressure.
We could both be hurt.
I am
Waiting
For the right moment
To come into the light,
Open up,
Lean forward, and
Pour out my words
For you.
Words that have aged
Become
All I aspire to be:
Mature yet colorful
Flavorful and complex
Intoxicating and memorable.
Full of clarity
Full of grace.
The perfect beginning
The perfect ending.
February 25, 2008
Hooked
February 20, 2008 at 11:45 A glimmer
A glint
A spark
Between us.
I bit the hook.
You reeled
Me in
Out of the murky depths
Up to the surface
Where my skin
Shone like silver.
Wide-eyed
Dazzled and blinded
Breathless and bare
I surrendered to you
Under blue skies.
Your eyes
Measured my worth.
Your hands
Weighed my value,
Stroked my white belly,
Paused,
And then tossed me
Back to the life
I didn't want.
At night
I dream of the hook
And the way I shimmied
And shimmered.
I wake to the lingering taste
Of metal and blood--
The price I paid
For daring
To shine for you.
Wednesday Night
January 18, 2008 at 03:31 I had a dream
We were in Florida
Your eyes as blue
As the sky beyond the palm trees
Your hair lit by sunshine.
We were finally face to face
And you were talking to me
But each time you'd reach
A critical part of the sentence
Something would drown you out--
Another person speaking,
A background noise.
My words became only
"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
And then I realized I was losing
More and more of your words
The conversation became all sounds
But no meanings.
And I wondered
As my face went blank
If your smile
Concealed
Thoughts that I was not so smart
After all.
My heart clutched then raced
With a sense of panic and betrayal
As I realized I had become
Deaf and dumb
Under a sunny sky.
January 18, 2008