Old Songs and Other Angels
I am quick to confess
my uncertainty in God.
In lieu of proof
I turn to what is seen, and felt.
The Sun lights my way,
Warms my skin,
And provides sustenance
While offering two visible miracles per day.
What better God could be?
What more should be asked of one?
In the absence of another
It is the sun renders a bearable world.
And when needing an Angel from this other God,
Kay, you shone the brightest in His light.
You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy…
It’s Quiet
The covers wear into their inevitable softness
Let the sheers shudder over a crying morning
Fall into a blushing night
There is someone always reaching into the center of the knot
There is a crooked finger
A scratching nail
A freckled chest takes the bullet
How could I do anything but,
O,
And o,
I’m learning swan dives in the key of delusions on high
But there is someone many-limbed, hands outstretched
There is a net of appendages
I watch the sprouting of arms on the heart of patience
Watch the cradle of my body against concrete
Feel the statues buckle
I miss the sound of echoes
See here, how we build a tolerance
And o,
I walk, not run, from the wreckage
But,
How could I do anything without
Staying
I drag knees to sleep inside you
You won’t have to ask
I scrape my way to roll against you
And o,
How could I do anything but,
Lace my bones into your frame
And o,
How I learn to stay
Lonely flower
Take a Dahlia for my eternal love
Feel the same keen singing of the rain
Fall back into the flame of my desire.
Here is a Pansy because I think of you
Twirled in the wave of an autumn night
Light of the morning, the rosy dawn,
Light of my youth, through the dusky morning.
Finally, a Hawthorne because I hope one day you will love me.
a poem for my love
When you write a poem write one for me
My love said as I lay down on the bed
I closed my eyes to see what I could see
And visions of her danced inside my head
She's strong and brave and kind, my darling wife
She smiles and launches ships by accident
I’m blessed to be with her to share my life
A quarter of a century well spent
There’s so much more to her than meets the eye
although the eye is happily well met
She focuses on do and not on try
She understands the equity of sweat
I’m proud to be the man to hold her hand
And by my wedded bride I’ll always stand
Infatuated
Blossom, seeds planted a decade ago,
Growth and change turned into
a comfortable flow of water
Between my heart and mind,
A box of milk chocolates doesn't matter,
Neither does a balloon ride,
Or a bouquet of roses,
Love transcends man-made things,
Affection is the nail that holds
together a relationship
From the first second,
Your stars held me across our universe,
When I was drifting in the dark aimlessly.
the cure to my existential crisis
you are the breeze
that stirs the lake
of my soul,
stagnant water
crusted with algae
pushed into motion
by the force of you.
the mold that collects
in my corners
is scrubbed away
by your words.
you brush the dust
from my heart
and assure me
of my own existence.
and on the days
when i don't know
who i am
you assure me
that i'm exactly
what i need
to be.
Raindrops
People walking in the rain interrupt the rain drops.
So does everything else that prevents the raindrops from reaching their destination.
Hold your hand out and ask the raindrop a question. Did you want to be loved?
I did that the other day and the raindrop’s reply struck me because I understood what it meant.
I have a purpose and though that purpose is fulfilled each time I become, I also want to be loved.
Dedication to a brilliant composer
Burt Bacharach
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head
https://youtu.be/HsbkPDeC3tI
(written before hearing the sad news of his passing)
Deskmate
you stuck a sticker to your boots --
a little golden star, innocent
and shiny, delicate against
hard leather.
it'll be gone the next time i see you.
but i'm glad i noticed it
on that cloudy day, all of us
silently reading, your star sticker
shimmering up at me;
the sun peeking out
from behind a curtain.