Today
was unusual
from black clouds
and sunshine,
golden on fescue
again.
Today was hot,
steamy,
the sun wicking
water from the earth
like a steambath.
Lightning
struck an oak
hear the house,
destroying near thirty
feet from the top.
Tomorrow,
I must remove
that treetop,
cutting it into sections
and trimming the limbs
still attached.
Grass has grown six
inches tall since last
mowing.
The calla Lillies
have caught their
trumpets full
of rain water.
That reminded me
of my grandmother’s
rain barrels
on either end
of the house.
Cicada hiss hot like steam coming off the blacktop
Rain is coming and they feel it deep within their thin shell of protection
The humidity circling around the air
Heavy like an anvil soon to fall from the sky
The world starts to become aware
She knows the thunderous clap
Of energy is to happen soon enough
Time to release that dangerous torrent
Of anguish pelted against the earth
Like gravel flung from squealing tires
The pressure in the back of my nose
Grows heavy and painful
My body aches before it, too, releases
Like the rain bursting from the clouds above
Soon it washes off me quick and slick
Romance on the beach
Blooms in the rough high tide waves
And I watch nearby
I think of old slow songs
That sound like the singer has a mouth full of blood
The slurs of lyrics
The pace
I feel like I’m watching it all unfold in front of me
Old home movies
Super 8 quality with grit
Blurred images
The faces are familiar
But I can’t place who they belong too
If I were younger this would be the the the moment every thing changed
My metamorphosis
Baptized and reborn
But I’m not young anymore
Not really
Daisy fresh fantasies have evaporated from me
Nothing changes
Heaven was the place above where angels sung
and their wings were made of our dreams. Our
prayers were sent up and the angels watched
us. They gave us subtle messages wrapped in
modern advice to guide our daily decisions.
Purgatory was the place where we’d be sent to
wait and wait and wait. Maybe the receptionists
were so busy that they just could not see us all
at the same time. Our grandparents warned us
to follow the rules otherwise we’d wait forever.
Hell was the place below where fires burnt until
the end of time and the screams of sinners would
echo across the halls. Whispers of wrongdoing
were present. The devil resided here and we were
told that he would tempt us to join his kingdom.
I had lucid dreams
south on Hwy One, full expanse of the frigid Pacific
lies a beach ~ a short jaunt to pushy waves and merciless sands
up for the challenge, shoes come off toes jump in to a frigid hide & seek
waves crash yin and yang ~ collapse and crash again
heel to toe digs in deeper claiming a solid stance
waves pull a mean tug of war heroically dancing back to sea
a gotta go faster midway ride flings feet backwards as heels sink deeper
ten at attention toes do a full speed reverse come back ~ a stand still stance
the ocean roars and rolls ~ in and out ~ crashes ~ again and again
speed picks up flattens the curl and the mind confused asks
Is Pacific pulling backward in her novocaine claws or is this a stand still?
numb ~ toes don’t answer
numb ~ this time she pushes even harder
numb ~ ruthlessly she sinks her ten captive toes deeper full speed reverse
