~my sons’ guitars~
~play through me in waves~
~they are my life quest~
~our music~
~making more of me than I am~
~feels pretty damned good~
~just for a minute~
~seems like everything is okay~
~then I come back to earth~
~take a quick look around~
~ah hell it ain’t~
~Haunting Me~
~thinkin’ ‘bout endings
~about going away
~unanswered questions
~they are promises broken
~they are lies left unspoken
~they are haunting me
~down in the city
~‘round a fire left burning
~flames of society
~maybe hands in a prayer
~maybe blood of the slayer
~maybe haunting me~
~round in the chamber~
~a far random target~
~bullets come tumbling~
~surely messengers running~
~surely vengeance forthcoming~~surely haunting me~
~death on a thimble~
~we been taking it easy~
~any way we can get it~
~on a fast road to nowhere~
~on a death horse we go there~
~on a haunting me~
~lady~
~you are~
~a vision of Sunday~
~a river of falling~
~a chant in the evening~
~a dry well of wanting~
~the church of my haunting~
~church of my haunting~
~church of my haunting me~
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~singing in the loft~
~balcony~
~feathers dripping dew~
~& doo on you~
~wings fluttering~
~talons grasping~
~a circling retreat~
~dive of vengeance~
~masters of survival~
~reptilian spore~
~lizard wings wizard~
~tongue in beak cawing~
~dripping aeon~
~a limbing gasp~
~egg fertilization~
~Birds I View~
~whomever hears a choir~
~must needs long for noel~
~just so... those inclined toward~
~the voices of birds~
~listen for spring~
~as one might any day sing~
~yet exalt in the clamor~
~of rich pitch soprano~
~& tenor rising~
~on alto bass legs to soar~
~all ways speak an air of wing~
~there were five this morning~
~whose dark coat raven~
~one more bearer await the pall~
~together badger the hawk~
~make a meal of its prey
~caw, caw, caw the hunter~
~they strut in magnificent jest~
~whose eyes four hundred years~
~they live each & longer even~
~unimpressed by fate~
~scavengers & better for it~
~such are the birds I view~
~gray tongues wagging lament~
~threatening at once to land~
~that the sky would fall~
~to bury its stick pins~
~ebon cloak named night~
~these bits of blue/black~
~lift the mantle & fear not~
~that gone unexplained~
~its quick reason~
~a dark eye bead~
~such are the birds' eye view~
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Birds I View was published in Newsletter Inago
~the salt was flat~
~our shadows long~
~he is forever~
~& taller than me~
~An Other~
{Father Song}
~standing the shore~
~arm around my son~
~the Pacific Ocean~
~California~
~licking our boots~
~a long way from Colorado~
~his sister~
~my daughter~
~thousands of miles away~
~just there in Hawaii~
~heart of earth~
~ocean of blood~
~veins of universe~
~a sweet instrument~
~life~
~is it music~
~the tide reminded me~
~its incessant roar~
~falling~
~growing~
~becoming~
~of a power so much~
~stronger than myself~
~impossible to get my arms around~
~yet a reach I was impelled~
~to breathe for~
~to live for~
~to die for~
~feet wet~
~blood pumping~
~ecstatic~
~howling~
~a nuance of knowledge~
~water sea~
~river rivulet~
~it is as my children to me~
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~he is fallen hard~
~my dearest brother~
~tomorrow I follow the trail~
~of our Cherokee blood~
~from this place~
~California~
~to rejoin him~
~lend my spirit to his healing~
~1400 miles~
~to our Colorado~
~speak a word if you will~
~in his favor~
~& mine~
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~My Heaven }Etude)~
~my heaven is escape me~
~my heaven is escape me~
~my heaven is escape me, brother~
~my heaven is a woman~
~my heaven is a suckling child~~another man’s shame~
~another man’s glory~
~ye-ah~
~my heaven ‘e been gone for a while~
{go out laughing}
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~is a dream the night when sleep won’t come~
~the day after the day after~nightmare existence~
~shadow candle flame~drifted off with a pen in my vein~
~awoke needles in my eyes~blood is a hard master~
~Flame~
~pushing words away~
~lest they eat my sleep~
~become the only part of me~
~devour those golden hours~
~which amount to the rest of me~
~yes away with dreams and all that seems~
~possessed to make an end of me~
~anesthesia is an art~
~to which I might at once lay claim~
~a shallow grave divided~
~I might just lie between~
~some token awareness~
~consciousness~
~which came first~
~the egg or the bean~
~blackout describes the best-held dreams~
~I lit a candle to threaten the stars~
~but nobody’s laughing in this wayward place~
~would someone put out the light~
~stop this ringing in my ears~
~I am not afraid of the night~
~but see what is done in the light of day~
~no don’t take my candle away~
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~Eyes O’ Wonder/Line of Sight~~these eyes have watched~
~the spring grass blowing~
~they have tossed~
~& turned the clouds of afternoon~
~into images of~
~summer on the way~
~we are passing~
~we are going~
~& the zephyr it is blowing~
~it is gentle~
~in the evening~
~these eyes have closed~
~with worry under lashes~
~they have spilled~
~their tears when laughing~
~there is nothing they can’t see~
~nothing we can’t do~
~when we’re ready~
~when we’re going~
~we are lying in the grass~
~we are angels on the ground~
~when we fall down laughing~
~these eyes have opened~
~they have wondered~
~the horizon~
~loved the eyes beside them~
~they have winked into the dawn~
~closed themselves away~
~found a path across the room~
~& gone walking~
~through the blowing blades of grass~
~to the only one they knew~
~would come to find them~
Hudson Review published February 2009
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~The Butterfly Poet~
~it finally arrived~
~that day words wouldn’t come~
~the empty feeling refused to go~
~she tore her hand~
~from the glove of her mind~
~watched her imagination~
~those minute remnants left~
~dribble onto her notebook~
~a blot pattern blood ink~
~she wrote an ode to the butterfly:~
~whose wings of earth~
~& feet of sky~
~an invitation to glory~
~the likes of which I~
~see sun through each~
~a fluttering~
~land~
~beautiful~
~mute~
~you are so much &~
~expect so little~
~you are at peace while I~
~envy you heaven~
~that fair bit of sky~
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~Esplanade~~there’s an angry carpenter building~
~a table without any legs~
~a mother teaching her children~
~to fetch, sit up & beg~
~the dogs of night make a prayer~
~for the lady without any hands~
~as she applauds the one-legged preacher~
~who left his parts in old Viet Nam~
~the little drug angel darlings~
~stare into the guns of the raid~
~& the children under the table~
~bless their hearts... Esplanade~
~you will never know where I’m going~
~until your feet taste paths I have been~
~a tear & a cup overflowing~
~sins of the lost captain’s men~
~I wonder if I might find purchase~
~a brick or a ring in the wall~
~a coffin to hang on forever~
~to hear the great sparrow’s call~
~there’s a chorus of blind singing patriots~
~flying a song without wings~
~they may lose their direction~
~they will never forget how to sing~
~she is an opening flower~
~a path for the living parade~
~lay down in her soft bed of roses~
~to bleed... ah sweet Esplanade~
~may be the gods do not see them~
~may be the gods’ eyes are blind~
~there is no end to their praying~
~for surely the gods must be kind~
~& they hide away from the madman~
~who tells them they are betrayed~
~he waits for the full moon to take him~
~then he howls, howls... Esplanade~
~dead poets speak through their silence~
~they whisper “return nevermore”~
~a child looks in the mirror~
~wonders, ‘why the hell was I born~
~some one has slain all its warriors~
~tortured the king of its soul~
~mother and father are preying~
~in the bar room for pots of its gold~
~life is the constant reminder~
~death, the warrior who waits~
~fate owns the face in the mirror~
~the key to the lock on its gate~
~so have you noticed her freedom~
~the laughter behind all her lies~
~where chaos & order go dancing~
~& only chaos survives~
~I walked the shores of her oceans~
~soft & cold & afraid~
~followed the paths of her creatures~
~cross her vast expanse... Esplanade~
~I have tasted the breath of her seasons~
~her bitter root & sweet wine~
~& though I know she is wounded~
~I seek her like something divine~
~as I approach her wound I am kissing~
~the blood drops her suffering made~
~my feet caressing her footsteps~
~my lips whisper... “Sweet Esplanade”~
~she lays her pain out before me~
~the soft ragged edge of her truth~
~I lick the scent of her fire~
~with the misguided tongue of my youth~
~the scars are written upon me~
~from sleeping too close to the wound~
~skin so easily broken~
~on this eggshell side of the moon~
~& the tides are breaking forever~
~on a sweet violin never played~
~where only warriors are dancers~
~on the last grass... Esplanade~
~I’m breaking bread with the serpent~
~making love with the mice~
~there’s a game I play with the devil~
~betting against loaded dice~
~& I die at the end of my prayer~
~my face breaks the earth unafraid~
~your heavy stones on my body~
~I whisper... “Sweet Esplanade”~
~I have drunk myself into stupid~
~sung her praises through my whiskey breath~
~for the tender peace of her body~
~the long-suffering pain of her death~
~I keep a piece of her soul in my pocket~
~& I sleep with her every night~
~I hear the wind through the willows~
~& kiss her lips when we fight~
~but a beggar has set her on fire~
~for a ransom that will not be paid~
~a thief has stolen her jewels~
~she suffers it well... Esplanade~
~there is a ghost haunting my castle~
~she cries, I think I know why~
~her heart is ten thousand times broken~
~she tries, they won’t let her die~
~so she crawls in my bed of an evening~
~struggles to keep me awake~
~I find myself reaching for her~
~hungry for the love we could make~
~courage lies under the blanket~
~the windows are dirty inside~
~you cannot see through a mirror~
~just going along for the ride~
~she is all, she is all that exists~
~make myself naked & wade~
~follow her down ‘til eternity passes~
~she is all, she is all... Esplanade~
~all tangled up in my covers~
~afraid of the dark & the day~
~I wait ‘til she comes to hold me~
~& chase my darkness away~
~then I lay at her breast like an infant~
~suckled & cozily warm~
~she covers my seed with the earth of her body~
~to shelter me from the storm~
~I drink her milk & I bite her~
~feeding upon her the same~
~I call her triangular mother~
~& know her by no other name~
~with her blood & milk on my muzzle~
~I cry in the mess I have made~
~she wraps me in flowers & powders my ass~
~she is all, she is all... Esplanade~
~I live in a box in the attic~
~measure my space two by two~
~drag myself out for holiday weekends~
~& photograph pictures with you~
~maybe I’ll take you there with me~
~touch with my hands in the dark~
~which one is which~
~I get so damned confused~
~like a child playing with cards~
~the best of the times I am rolling~
~in fields of flowers & shade~
~watching the children as they start their journey~
~into her heart... Esplanade~
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~Into Black~
~was a time when words did carry~
~notions of love from yours to mine~
~it even saw the lovers marry~
~mine to yours and yours to mine~
~& many a soft glass of wine~
~was spilled and drank inside the walls~
~joyous parties and happy times~
~they touched us, touched us, one and all~
~I heard you hearing, going back~
~I saw you seeing into black~
~into black~
~in quiet repose the mistress fell~
~& yet she did not fall alone~
~the earth shook as she went to hell~
~still I can t find her in my home~
~oh oh, she surely used to come to see~
~& happily drink this tainted wine~
~she knew someday that she would be~
~mine to yours & yours to mine~
~I felt her as she felt the rack~
~she kissed me~
~then turned into black~
~into black~
~I remember how the dying went~
~the howling wind whispering please~
~our life s blood was spilled & spent~
~the times had brought us to our knees~
~when cousins married cousins there~
~from out the bottom of the line~
~I heard the begging in your stare~
~mine to yours & yours to mine~
~I said we burned the bodies and we hid the facts~
~you know we turned them into black - Into black~
~tomorrow’s sun still shines today~
~yesterday’s sun is in your eyes~
~all death’s children have come to play~
~& steal that garden in the sky~
~see they re empty behind the masques~
~shivering coldness in their breath~
~they answer what we’d never ask~
~& laugh themselves from life to death~
~are the soldiers coming back~
~see them, free them, into black~
~Into black~
~see them begging into black~
~into black~
~see them~
~free them~
~into black~
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