Lilac Bush in the yard
blossoms
laden with snow
First year in four
for Lilac’s
full blossoms
Blooming in spite of hail
late snow
bitter wind
driving rain
Tiny purple buds
burst into lavish lavender
While memory
fosters forests
of Lilac bushes
where little girls run
and hide
in the center
Their secret cove
of fragrant blossoms
of purple bliss
Survival
I am stuck
like the noodle
that keeps slipping off this spoon
swimming in shallow sleep
between too much
and not enough to do
murky waters
swirling thoughts in twisted loops and twirls
floating around this soup bowl
that’s about to go cold.
A Memory
1A.
A butterfly is on the wing;
It has set fate upon a child.
All the earth will have to sing,
And the world shall be meek and mild.
Valerie is humming, and singing in a choir;
Drifting ever slowly down the Seine.
Seeking a greater depth to the murk and mire.
2. Across the depths of the floating glass, and a heavenly reflection is cast by rain. People are smiling and singing, black petals fall into the seine.
1B.
Her voice is a clarion call, from an angel that can beguile the rain.
Looking outwards over Paris,
She hums the tune of the young men.
A young man weeps from his terrace, gazing through immense sin.
The world is weeping evermore,
The trumpets are evermore, marking the score.
2B.
I look upon ivory and metal,
Twisting around a mortal coil.
I see a writing mass of vision,
Through the eyes of man deep in depression.
3.
What is the heaven that we have found,
What is it that should seek me?
Is it enough that we have drowned,
In the waste of every fortune we
see?
What is it that should seek me?
That should toil, likewise, upon this coil?
In the waste of every fortune we see,
What is the abhorrence of the upper class, that begrudged a prostitutes recoil?
In the waste of every fortune we see;
What is it that should seek me?
What is the abhorrence of the upper class, that begrudged a prostitutes recoil?
What is the heaven we have found?
Writ on water, is the passing of youth; not without significant passion.
Not without enthusiasm or willingness,
But because we must now become aged.
I walk with you.
Feel me by your side.
Know I am with you.
I cheer you on constantly.
I’m reaching out to you
from the other side,
from the life
you haven’t lived your way into yet.
You can’t see me.
You don’t know me.
But I’m sending you all my love.
Some day, we’ll meet
at the perfect time.
Until then,
feel my arms around you
when you rest.
Hear my voice
encouraging you
every step of the way.
I will carry you.
Feel my love
holding you
with every beat of my heart.
On the house trimmed in neutral tones
there’s a large Christmas wreath
four feet wide with fat lights
mounted over a second story window
blaring out-of-season cheer, but
there’s the little tail
sticking out from the right
and now it’s plain to see
this isn’t a holiday leftover
but the oddball letter of the family
bringing new meaning
of hostile proclamation
Failure says, There’s no such thing!
Invention says, Why not! Here is a packet of seeds. See what happens.
Failure says, Puff! They’re not innovative enough.
Invention says, Not risking ensures you’re right.
Failure says, I’ve seen your results before.
Invention says, Apparently you haven’t seen all of them.
Failure says, I only need see a few to know how off you are.
Invention says, The world changes quickly; you could be wrong this time.
And a sample of a few—O you!
Failure says, I learn nothing from your failures nor your successes.
Invention says, Ah, you admit I have some. It’s you not trying.
The bartender says, With you two it’s always the same argument! Twins,
leave before you come to blows. Pronto.
he castrated the calves with a razor blade,
sliced open their scrotums, pulled and
tossed the testicles into an empty feed bucket
for the dogs to eat
now he has separated the cows from their calves,
a sudden weaning,
so the milk dries up, forcing the cows into fertility
at night, I shut the windows to their lowing
mothers calling to calves calling to mothers
the house grows stifling
No, those evils out of my control,
I will not accept them.
Perhaps they do indeed
supersede my small sphere,
but I’ll not linger here
in wait while hatred seethes.
Change does come slow
but over eons igneous ignorance
will cool, foul lava
will crystalize to stone.
Always equilibrium and entropy
will rise and fall. So be it.
But my promise is this,
these calories I have to burn
will be well spent
in this dance, not on tip toe
but in full swing and
in full sweat,
uncompromised by
shy half steps, resolute
in the measured rest,
to overthrow within my breast,
the prejudice and scorn
that I have learned.
i wait five days for my pigeon to come back with a note on his leg
he dies on the backroads.
somehow this is something wonderful
raining through the night, thunder and bursting light
the peaceful drizzle of the afterlife just begun
somehow this is something good.
“should like to be the sun and moon,
perform dances that the world watches every night in quiet awe
i wish i had a locket from you, or that you had a locket from me
i’m too fond of lockets
i like that we are each other’s secret keepers
that way we don’t really need physical lockets
to feel as if we hold something from each other
i think that we are sisters
i know that we are sisters
avec tout l’amour”
somehow the death of the pigeon lets me read my letter
without feeling like i lost the war
1) “When you are sleeping and you move, but I pull you closer and you relax.”
2) “When you get excited about something your face gets a little red. You look so beautiful.”
3) “When you watch shows you are invested in and something happens you always say “WHAT?!” Wha-why are you laughing?! Yes it’s one of the things I find endearing about you! Well I’m not finished yet so hold your comments till the end!”
4) “When you walk into someone’s home and you greet the animals before you greet the people.”
5) “When you braid your hair after you shower and it stays wet for the rest of the day.”
6) “When you pick up a stuffed animal and instantly assign it a personality.”
7) “Whenever you work with marker or paint you somehow get it all over your hands. You look like a rainbow. Oh, happy pride month, by the way.”
8) “And lastly, I think, (unless I come up with another one in a second) is that you always give people the benefit of the doubt—even if they don’t deserve it.”
