the slag-shattered
glass of the future
moves frail and slow
through the arc of the ages
who’ve waited and watched
at the waning of truth
‘neath the brittled moon
of deliberate ancients
a fractured orb
that revolves in the void
of the others that see
what we knew to be
ever the voice of the lost
in plaintive cries
to the light of the dawning
that heralds the word
of this time that’s upon us
I am the bud and the blossom
I am the late-falling leaf
I am the arc fulfilled
of the here and the now
to hold us firm in the fire
of visions and longing
for what we were
and for all that we are to be
here in our heart
of this moment eternal
that seeks to flee
like a squandered teardrop
forever away from
our failing grasp
hold fast
NOTE: italicized lines are from Paul Dunbar’s “The Paradox”.
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spend more time trashin’
than I do replyin’
the shit keeps comin’
it’s so damned tryin’
scams and porno
just on and on
fuckin’ frustrating
keeps up — I’m gone
I wanna write poetry
not fight stupidity
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fiercely knowing — worldly wise
sleek as steel — tall and strong
swift and cunning — motor running
she might let you in, but not for long
her soul is free — she’ll not be caged
no mortal man will keep her tied
her spirit a prrr-fect beast enraged
she’s crushed all those who’ve ever tried
poor fool who craves this comely goddess
is hopelessly addicted
there’s only one word for this life-force
that word, my friend, is — wicked!
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it’s
my
birth day
february 18th
the date
of the month
I was born
74 years ago
so — wha’cha’ thinkin’?
happy — birth — day
well
not if you’d been there
I was an “undesired”
an inconvenient child
a discard
to be thrown away
though I was healthy
had all my fingers
all my toes
and lungs of a tenor
no matter
I was labeled — MISTAKE!
misbegotten
unfortunate
a problem
ultimately
to be left behind
alone
abandonned
so
I was placed
in a cold metal orphanage crib
frequently
with others
like me
in a big
sparse
cold room
overseen
by strange
grey-habit’d
amorphous figures
I had been tried
convicted
sentenced
for my early life
to know confusion
know shame
know the sorrow
of the unwanted
without ever
seein’
my accusers
we’d won the big war
over there
in here
my battle had just begun
and for the next few years
struggle I did
but some of that’s
for another story
which does include a hero
here I was
condemned
guilty only
of the crime
of inconvenience
so
today
it is my birth day
some
happy / birth / day —- huh?
well
apparently not for all
who were present that day
happy birthday?
hmmm…
lotsa ole friends have passed away
COVID-19’s running astray
normal life is on delay
the world’s nerves are in a fray
but hey
as for me today
I’m doin’ — OK!
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When green met blue and the moon, things got real surreal teal.
I’m the shade
wandering your dreams
but pieces of me
stick to whomever
I deep delve
you may have seen me
silhouetted against your sky
in coldest February
howling green
with the blue frozen moon
a duet
to make colors run
and coyotes
cower in their dens
I am teal
a trickster
some know me as blue
others as green
in fact
I am not quite either
yet both
moon and I are friends
we run through your dreams
from room
to imaginary room
your whole world
close enough to touch
we eat a midnight lunch
embellished with foreign lands
seasoned by your thoughts
onion layered
your thoughts
are too heavy to hold
show mercy
peel back the layers
thin by thin
skin by skin
peel them
to the quivering quick
the blue-green quick
my thoughts
split deep
the bone-white lies
of morality plays
open for you to see
hope they’re not terrifying
in your sight
hope they do not
make you cry
hope they do not
make you blue
or green
as you peel back
all the layers
onioned thought layers
held firm
like a carapace
to which
I’m stitched
and welded
and can no more leave
than you can enter
they tie me down
sometimes
but sometimes
barely so
survivor that I am
the inescapable optimism
in my barebones grin
flashes teal
in the brittle moonlight
exposing forgotten creases
and clandestine gateways
to your mind
someone can learn
a thing or two tonight
if someone
will ignite the light
the real teal light
She invites me in demurely, beautiful in her velvet robe, which she wears stunningly, stroking it with delicate fingers of soft silken hands.
I’ve watched her linger, gliding into it, embracing it to her breasts, and wrapping it ’round her slender shoulders. I’ve seen her tingle with excitement, surrendering to its touch.
Oh would this night I were that velvet, that drapes her lilting essence, falls in graceful folds, fondling her lithe form, as she ascends the stairs. The lush fiber rises on her breasts, with each soft subtle sigh, caressing her enticingly. This sunset evening it keeps her perfect body warm.
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When a powerful love runs its course, heartbreak pulls no punches.
you hit like a cloudburst
a thunderstorm of love
kisses hot as lightning
striking from above
your tempest pulled no punches
I was swept up in its force
but now the winds have died
this storm has run its course
my thoughts are chilled and cloudy
my eyes are steady rain
my heart’s caught in a cold front
bad weather’s bringing pain
warm winds may return
perhaps so clear blue skies
but my heart will ever yearn
t’see that sunburst in your eyes
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rising effortlessly high
t’ward clouds of pearl white
clearing every hurdle
landing sure and light
steed of goddess magic
possessed of purest heart
endurance that’s olympic
ride’s steady from the start
I gallop her freely reined
letting soar the sterling soul
her spirit not restrained
the joy of freedom is the goal
arching gracefully through the air
jumping an indigo sky mare
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it’s suspended in flight
aloft on the westerly breeze
billowing up
then wafting down the cliff
I’m mesmerized
stretching before me
undulating azure blue
falling away
over earth’s edge
into forever
unfurling below
a white ribbon of sand
fragile
pristine
a breath between eternal sea
and towering rock facades
flanking left and right
in sweeping panorama
Indian Beach
the Oregon Coast
in all it’s majesty
this is my summer perch
since first I discovered it
thirty years ago
now it offers me brief refuge
from the COVID pandemic
sweeping the world
my thoughts are adrift
just then
the breeze freshens
disrupts my reverie
tosses my hair
buffers my chest
I shudder
bracing against vertigo
swept up in a feeling
oh to be un-tethered
weightless
no longer earthbound
like that Osprey
my eyes close
my soul lifts
takes wing
soars skyward
I’m flying!
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I can not believe the wonders I see
wee sprites join the dance — then fairies — then elves
this enchanted vale awhirl below me
mythical spirits enjoying themselves
dare I go down there and join in the fun
my mind is spinning – of course I must dare
so down the mountainside quickly I run
then burst through the trees – but nothing is there
how can this be they were just here – but wait
could this perhaps be that mushroom I ate
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early songbirds will know spring’s breeze
crocus will know the embrace of bees
my heart’s bursting with bliss
for I know love’s ecstasy
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I was reading an article about the troubling amount of child abuse going on behind the closed doors of isolated quarantine. I wanted to share this I’d written. I had a very difficult childhood, in an extremely chaotic and upsetting home environment, dominated by an extremely manic, paranoid-schizophrenic, racist grandmother. Life was disrupted daily by her bizarre ravings, which continued from my childhood until her death in my high school years. Her daughter refused to institutionalize her. We just tried to hide her away, and when she’d get out — my adoptive father, and later I as well, apologized to the neighbors, the police, and the FBI for her insane backyard and telephone ramblings. We’d clean up the messes she’d make around tge neighborhood. She would chase any friends who tried to visit me away with brooms and mops, cursing horrendously while doing so. We lived a strange, isolated life because of her. I just escaped into fantasy. I survived and overcame this madness. I introduce you to my imaginary childhood friend that got me through it all. His name was Big Bob. In the heart of a terrified young boy, he was more than real…
the amazing man of magic
the hero of the weak
defender of the helpless
my always gentle friend
when the footsteps in the hall
woke me in the night
I would feel you tug my hand
and under we would go
through the secret passage
you kept beneath my bed
to the waiting viking ships
and off to fight the dragons
in the land of snow and castles
carved from clear blue ice
in flowing robes of fur
we struck with swords of gold
you were very brave
in the face of fear
I knew you would appear
never laughing at my tears
when the grating metal rasp
of door latch in the dark
would bolt me from my sleep
you would have the horses ready
we would thunder off to dry gulch
to wrangle up our posse
save the townfolk from the bad guys
and return when all was calm
you were very swift
in a snap you would arrive
in time to get me out alive
helping me survive
below the ocean we would dive
in your crystal submarine
down to the coral world
marveling at the creatures
we would leave the sub
to swim among the wonders
to dart and spin and float
far from pain and worry
you were very smart
my midnight flight arranger
you knew to rocket us from danger
far from any evil stranger
we would soar to venus
in your special silver starship
or to some other distant planet
and do battle with space monsters
and when they all were slain
we would fly the milky way
circle round the bright star clusters
thankful to be weightless
no matter how afraid
I knew that you would find me
knew you’d never judge me
I knew how much you loved me
knew you’d have me back by day break
with the dark night far behind us
and the warmth of welcomed morning
would once again embrace us
the midnight footsteps now are quiet
the ships and rockets sailed away
no more trouble comes to dry gulch
the crystal sub so long in dry dock
my final adventure now unfolds
it’s time I go this one alone
you have traveled on ahead
all nightmares brought to stead
I’m not sure I ever thanked you
perhaps took your love for granted
without you I’d never made it
you are emblazoned ever in my heart
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lips lush as cognac
open softly to kisses
urgently linger
the taste of your kiss on my lips
I passed through security
turned and fixed on your gaze
praying it was not the last time
I’d look into your beautiful eyes
I wandered dazed down the ramp
to the jet that would take me
to the fury of hell
I locked your face of love
deep in my heart
That cherished image
proved my grasp on sanity
through two years of horror
through the sting of separation
the bitter taste of war
the foul stench of death
I return this day
facing reality at 30,000 feet
the salt of sadness on my cheeks
bitter on my lips
not of my making
but I feel the guilt of war
I’m frightened to see
to touch you again
but I burn to do so
I’ve been waiting so long
so different now
my hands angry with bloodshed
innocence is lost
I fear a kiss
from my killer’s mouth
will forever defile
your precious lips
lush as sweet cognac
that day we parted.
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Oh what joy, to be un-tethered, no longer earthbound, taking flight and soaring skyward! The freedom of feathered wing over hollow bone, riding the thermals, climbing ever upward, gliding and circling effortlessly. I feel the warmth of the sun, as I drift through the heavens, free as the enveloping breeze — such bliss!
Suddenly I dive earthward, wings tucked, rocketing down toward the crystal blue of a crisp mountain lake. My enhanced vision pierces the clear surface of the water, penetrating all the way to the bottom. Spotting my target, I sail out over the lake, racing purposefully, a talon’s reach above the wind-blown chopwater.
In the next moment, I connect. With a slight tilt in my wings, I soar skyward once more, my prize secure in my powerful grasp. I lift toward the top of a massive conifer, towering at water’s edge. Reaching the peak, my wings at full extension, I flap them gracefully backward, pulling against momentum, and softly land. Home — the victorious hunter!
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https://youtu.be/PnnTy97dG38
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