Tying My Noose

awkward pause
as the question floats
hangs
guest of the gallows
sentenced for self-disclosure
revelations that can't be swallowed

Life as a Boomerang

languishing in men's flannel
oversized and soft
like a fabric hug
touching memories of years ago
rescuing forgotten shirts
liberated from my parents' closet
two decades past fashionable
and a few years early for retro
I am forever out of my time
living as a boomerang
cast out and looping back
but never matching the world

Behind Closed Eyes

crick in my neck
sleeping under the weight
of all my thoughts
never quite settling in
always jostling each other
rambunctious or just twitchy
they tap in my ears
and tickle my nose
like children kept silent
barely contained energy
on the verge of explosion
making my dreams dance
fleetly traversing the terrain
around the world and back
behind closed eyes
so that I wake with sore soles
and a crick in my neck

Cross-Breeding

cultivated persona
not false, but polished
shinier than I feel inside
with poise practiced in mirrors
and under hothouse lights

Lottery of the Heart

her platitudes held like a sieve
diaphanous against the light of truth
and still he poured his faith into her
deaf, dumb, and forever blind
wagering his future on her smile
regardless the odds and exclusions

Pony Revisited

swept up with hasty hands
confining the errant tendrils
pulled back for utility
and yet deliciously transformative
early autumn wind tickling
creeping along my neck
until I feel twelve again
exploding puddles under foot

Day Unwound

adrenalin replacing lethargy in my veins
prodded by inane arguments
running circles of vague logic
until both sides are bored, not tired
though the night slips away
secret and swift like a criminal
until I ask why we fight
and it breaks the spiral
instead frozen in my tracks
no good answers, no answers at all
only yawns nolonger held at bay
and murmurs endearing
as the line cuts off

Over the Hill and Through the Dale

my life is a blessing
I shall not whine
I lie down on Simmons Beautyrest
and stroll where the river once flooded
I refuel with coffee
and respect my fellow man
even when I have better information
yea, though I walk
through this life you have given
I shall fear no downhill slopes
for my family is with me
they mock my old age
and cherish me
I set the table for dinner
to showcase my grilling creations
you grant my head its remaining hairs
surely this is not the end of my journey
for next is the hill of grand-parentage
in which I shall rejoice forever




(Happy 60th Papa!  You're an oldie, but a goodie.)

Once Upon His Childhood Gone

carrying all the memories
crushed under this one-sided past
so that I can't watch in silence
but can't unburden my tongue
instead building new connections
vaguely reminiscent I hope
when his arms embrace
different feel though the same smile

Swallowing Secrets

nibble then gnaw
my lips the betrayer
destined for punishment
meted out with mindless fervor
until raw with contrition
never to pass tales again

The Amazing Adventures of Proton Girl

when I was young I had magic
not abracadabra with a puff of smoke
or a coin behind the ear
but a touch of healing power
we would joke, my friends and I
a forehead kiss would cure the ache
my promise of futures brighter
would come to pass with zeal

forgotten gifts of long ago
echo back with new incarnation
manifesting as faith but more
like a comic book creation
consuming sadness and regret
subsistence of the negative
toward transfiguration sought
creating light from shadow

Arsenic and New Lace

his pessimistic words
a slow poison, seeping into thoughts
so that I couldn't meet his gaze
frightened of dark eyes
clouding over like the sky above
instead twirling eyelet fabric
anxious hands wishing to change
so that my promise held weight
not just warm air off his shoulders

Crank It Up

statistically speaking
like you can assign a number
when emotions are involved
tricking the brain
amplifying to 180 decibels
where thoughts die
and the heart vibrates

Book of John

of light and life
allusions not illusory
does he write
spinning chronology tops
unrelenting in oppositions
nor riddle but rhyme
and laying down to take up
the motions of deliverance

Garden to Door Delivery

hours slip past
a stream through my tired toes
momentary drop
turning ripe with age
juicy and succulent
after starved for the contact
not avoidance
only drifting circles
clockwise and counter
we meet in movement

Reference Material

he called me on my abstractions
broad statements without qualifiers
because the generalities hold no ire
only the specifics twinge
and yet I narrowed
against wobbly judgement
needing the clarity
just as much as he

Build Your Castle

searching for the comfort
a magic moment
that could cure her ills
or just dull the pain
because it descended in waves
crashing the shores around her
eating the foundation
in jagged gulps
leaving her perched on sifting sand

Parley My Thoughts

elevator conversations
traveling but not arriving
so that I don't understand
your mouth moves
and I see the words
even if they carry no weight
vibrationless
until we're talking with no air
vacuum of repartee

Venn Unions

circles colliding
overlapping my worlds
in a disconcerting melting pot
where my splintered faces
start to paint a whole
portrait of the woman
flawed and soaring
in one breath
as though I could be all things
and you would understand

Virgo

pure intentions if not acts
the justice scales held firm
under weight of multi facts
desire to serve the term

not blushing maid as was thought
though not for center stage
instead of firm selfdom wrought
whatever place or age

Precious 140

bite size nuggets of your life
perfectly syllabled
with shorthand of the 21st
replacing a conversation
with this homogenized chatter
glib and seeming clever
or dropping facts
talk for talk's sake
saying everything of your world
and telling nothing of you

The Me of Transitions

sun giving a breathtaking show
unobserved I travel adjacent
appreciation dodging interest
until I glance above
catching my eye
but not the known
with its chocolate depth
this was honey sweet
shallow as a teardrop
lit by the setting rays
the me of transitions

Another Dollar

blocky and stunted

day moving like stacking stones

walls of consequence

A Sigh is Just a Sigh

less than love
but more than nothing
a stalemate of sorts
with the bounds of history
and future impossible
yet it draws
weakly and with sorrow
for what might have been
because she said it true
"you gave that up"
even if it wasn't mine to give

Midnight Attack

silken darkness
cracked with sudden light
slicing from ceiling to floor
jagged wounds that presently close
witness to the savage attack
I travel along
insulated in my rubber-soled cage
led and followed

X-Ray Vision

she saw right through me
as no one else had
summarizing the situation
just five words that I wouldn't say
couldn't say
who else to understand
but another who knew the loss
cutting more deeply
still severed from a past
phantom limb of life
whose ache never ends

The Eyes Have It

she threw the words like daggers
and he blinked
two, three, four, ten times
dumbfounded at the attack
until realization settled
balanced heavily on his shoulders
and he fled
trailing sorrow in his wake
that lapped at her ankles
reminding of lazy Sundays
and down on one knee
before she made him blink
when his eyes were wide and guileless
and saw only her
in all her sanity or not
level gaze ever
until she blinked
three, four, eleven
jump starting the stalled heart
in his blind wake

Midnight Pumpkin Time

delaying the inevitable
I shuffle my feet
the appearance of movement
without actually leaving
waiting for the sign
the internal twinge
that says the night is over
talking in circles
until the tug
along my spine
like a rubberband
pulling me to the car seat
with nerves and allowances

The Better Part

a decade
or only the better part
twining a mic cord
and tapping my thigh
eyes watering over lyrics
the nervous ticks that descend
as the music floats higher
now turning a page
like closing a book
on a chapter ended by others
the rug pulled
and I'm knees first
for the better part

Aunt To Be

selfish excitement simmers
not even below the surface
above and spilling over
into left and right conversation
aware of the ridiculous grin
plastered and painted
like a permanent fixture
the new architecture
practicing the quick release
for when her arms reach
and by heart rebels