Today I feel the taste
of summer’s last kiss
a fond farewell
a sad good-bye
her warm embrace
wears scarlet wings
and rides a retreat
on cool southern breezes
Hand to Hand
Take these thoughts that live within me
hold them to the light
turn them slowly
and pass from hand to hand
how can something so weightless, so airy
feel so heavy?
how can something so pale
hold so much color?
how can such emptiness
fill so much space?
These dreams like painted wishes
brushed on canvas unseen in wakeful hours
why do you haunt me so?
Another Wednesday
All life is liquid
we take it in our hands
only to have it slip through clenched fingers
and fall to earth
like shattered dreams
Some seek truth
and encounter only lies
some look for love
in a stranger's eyes
me, I'm still chasing a fantasy
and finding deception in disguise
A Lock of Hair
I found a lock of hair
cut for me some twenty years hence
hidden in a box that holds the letters of forever more
and the photographs of suspended time
I found a lock of hair
and felt upon my lips
the kiss of departed love
I felt across my cheek
the touch of unseen hands
I found a lock of hair
and felt at once so joyously young
and yet so painfully old
Listen
Listen
can you hear it?
It's not the sound of rain against your windows
nor is it the howling of wind outside your door
it's the beating of my heart
the whisper of my breath
and nothing more
Adam
I don't remember being asked
if this is what I wanted
I was more than happy
alone with my beasts and birds
sleeping late
eating when I wanted
bathing when I wished (or sometimes not at all)
sure, she was kind of fun
a nice distraction to pass the night
but was it really worth the bother
dressing up
brushing teeth
and picking up the place
Then she went and blew it
just when we had it made
a life of leisure down the drain
damn, foolish woman
The rest is her story
Cold Pizza
Love, what is thy name
if not a cold and soggy crust
humbly adorned with plasticine cheese
and the dry, curled slices of rapture past
To hold you, to take you in my hands and mouth
to feel the coolness of night give way to
morning's warmth
oh, such joy
such trembling anticipation
for that luscious first bite
of yesterday's delight
Divide and Conquer -- Ode to an Orange
Allow me to peel you
and gaze upon your naked beauty
consent to the teeth that tear into your succulent slices of
amber perfection
allow me the pleasure
of the sweet, sticky syrup
that hides below that tender, fragile membrane
Indulge me
tease me with your flawlessness...
You have no choice
The Tennessee Moon
In the early hours of the morning
when the darkness sings a wandering tune
my steps are lit by stars above
and the haunting light of the Tennessee moon
Lazy rolls the Holston river
as it makes its way to the Tennessee
lazy too the face up high
that casts its light so solemnly
Dreams come true on such a night
hold them close lest they fade too soon
float your joy on southern breezes
whisper your secrets to the Tennessee moon
Things That Are Not
Things that are not big and shiny
or wrapped in colored paper and tied with strings and ribbons
Things that need no batteries
that have no remote control
Things that have no guarantee
or registration form that requires proof of purchase
No warnings, no age limits, no instructions, no rules
These are the things I will remember
these are the gifts I will always treasure
Does love wait
Does love wait
like a tree that endures the weight of winter
or does it wither and die
like the green summer grasses
as the sun of August
gives way to the snows of December
What worth
can be placed on the promises of yesterday
once freely given
they now lie broken in piles
beside the covenants of youth
that faded with the years
Does love wait
or does it sleep all but forgotten
in silent slumber
like the dormant tree
roots deep within the earth of present
barren branches reach for tomorrow's sky
My Puddle Heart
These days I am pained by beauty. Deep inside, I hurt. Screaming. I
ache for things I cannot have. Knots. Knots inside that twist and tear.
Tear open my chest. Wrench my heart from deep within and leave a hole
that fills. As if a puddle. My puddle heart.
