Day 45 - Coloring

Happy Valentine's Day with a flowery heart from "Tangled Treasures."

The End and the Beginning

two edges of the trip
fused into an ongoing loop
where nothing truly stops
each event siring the next
a forever domino effect
hitting square in the chest
sometimes knocking the breath
and others starting the heartbeat
with only forward motion
and no fall is ever the end

Grown Up Christmas

a very different Christmas morn
not shuffling socks on stairs
and quietly disassembling the stocking
before parents wake to join the day
instead greeting the dawn lazily
slow burn expectation
gifts still days away, but family in reach
a highway away with lunch plans on
the grown up Christmas

I Give Thanks For

honest gratitude
like a social enigma
in a world of polite thanks
where good manners outweigh vulnerability
because we are a home of independence
and yet no one is truly alone
each is pushed forward by the crowd
though it is forgotten or ignored
so I give thanks to all who lift me up
especially those who right me when I stumble
as I bow my head over the meal
I shall remember that you nourished my life first

Only Treats

in ev'ry face upturning
when greeted at my door
I feel the tug of yearning
always the hope for more

with fangs and crowns of plastic
swathed in rainbow to black
restrained yet present magic
whilst begging for a snack

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.)

Expired Title

the little moniker
(sometimes derogatory
or simply precious done)
is cast off
a year older
soon a mother
of no use anymore



(Happy Birthday to my sister Katie!)

Tending the Seeds

setting the trowel down
dirt still under my nails
I revel in my work
neat lines of green beginnings
new life sprouting up
with a future and purpose

so that it makes me wonder

setting the quill down
ink still under their nails
did they revel in their conviction?
neat lines of traitorous text
new life declared
with a future and purpose

Whether Mukluks or Loafers

three years old I followed in his footsteps

returning with a battered box

he surrendered his treasure to daddy's princess

portal to a new world, watching through the lens

shutter click like a door slamming behind me

another in the long hallway I would travel

first, limbs dangling, held on his arm

then a mile high on his shoulders

hands clasped side-by-side

now two steps ahead, checking behind seldom

but always certain he'll still be there

because even as I lead the way

I'm walking in his footsteps

In Honor

expanse of white tiles
clean and ordered
antithesis of the world
that provided such a sea
of surrendered life
fallen on grounds
neither lush nor shorn
more often unyielding
barren horizons
or wrenching bogs
wasteful and valuable
in the same moment
as over-exposed eyes shut
and darkness falls

No Cost Pente

a touch of flame
that neither singed nor warmed
but perched on his brow
eating the air of dissension
consuming doubt
feeding upon the darkness
that spawns in men's souls
fingers reached into the shadows
until the night receded in fear


(Reference - Acts 2:3-6)

Mother May I

go into the world
shoulders straight
thoughts clear
carry love like a blanket
to always warm my heart
jump the chasm
with your words
winging me higher
yet forever be tethered
to the love which bore me
not simply through birth
but held me aloft
when the ground trembled
and my feet lost their way
Mother may I always?

TGIF

darkness falls this day

pain of unfinished business

more wretched than this

for he knows we aren't prepared

time to learn his lessons true

Ash Wednesday

lids down

my face turned toward the light

toward the heavens

I wait

. . .

"Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes."

. . .

gently on my forehead

east to west

north to south

marked for all to see

. . .

on my knees

tiles chill against my pointed toes

heart heavy

I wait

. . .

(Job 42:6 Today's New International Version)

Valentine Aftermath

I should write a poem of love
unrequited or eternal
tragic, comic, real
a lifetime or just one moment
it should flow from dawn to dusk
then through the night
for love never sleeps
yet pulls from dreams
wisps of prince charming
and fair Juliet
or sly furtive glances
slicing the crowd


I should write a poem of love
maybe next year