Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Off to the casino

With arthritic hip, the aging hipster ambles down the gangplank.
Hat pulled low.  Pants sagging lower.
Spiderweb tattoo dripping from flaccid elbow.
Bleached blonde on arm.  Her scent of rancid perfume and cigarette fills the air.
Will they find luck?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Unmarked banjo, circa 1885

Silent and aching
the ancient banjo reclines in the corner
without strings or tailpiece
neck twisted in homage of prior abuse
of steel strings grafted to untruss'd frame

How long has it been since you last felt the warmth of human touch?
Or the quiver of gently plucked string?
For how long have you been silent,
longing to raise your voice
in joy, or sadness or simple prayer?

A covenant I offer.
A pact between us.
For my part, new strings,
a bridge of maple, tailpiece and resurrection.
For yours, you must sing once again.
Sing of your history. Of the day of your birth
and the hands and ears that have loved you. 
I will listen and learn.
And I too will love.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Red Polka Dot Dress

Red polka dot dress
clinging to your shapely frame
I wonder your name

Eagle on Channel Marker #3

Alone, vigilent, regal, cruel.
Sitting watch over cloudy shore
with piercing gaze and unblinking eye.
What have you seen?  For what deeds are you so proud?
Of our many encounters, only once were you accompanied.
Only once felt the companionship of your kind.
And on that occasion of aerial courtship (more struggle than love)
     were you at peace?
Grasping talons seem a cold facsimile of warm embrace,
     flushing skin, quickening pulse.

Are we so different?
Do you not long for loving contact?
Or wish to witness the flight of the newly fledged?
But sit alone, remorseful for what you know not - staring to sea?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Inspiration

My lungs expand. 
I breathe him in and out.
Commingled but constant.
Indistinguishable though definite.
His presence within and without.
An atom here.  A molecule there.
Though years pass quickly his essence remains.
Circulating through me, and mixing with my own.
And in that sanguine commiseration, whom does he meet?
The child I never knew?
Sons of my sons, yet unborn?
For they too are with me.
They too are within me.

Who Gives this Gift?

Who gives this gift of words that linger past dreams?
Of images that loiter through subconscious thoughts
Overstaying their welcome?
A prank of mind.
Hazy in aspect
Ephemeral
Elemental
Unwanted
Welcome

Saturday, June 12, 2010

CVB

Unsainted.
Flawed.
A deeply lined face bears witness to four decades and more
of never-ending battle with worry.
For what may come.
For what may not come.
Motherhood devoured her at twenty-eight
and though children grow and grandchildren flourish
she remains in its clutches.
And sits alone.
Drinking coffee
smoking cigarettes
and longing for youth.

Vista

Looming ghostly white
Destruction clad in beauty
Sleeping volcano

Lacework in the Morning

The softly rhythmic click of tip on tip
keeps time as steaming mug of coffee cools
while with each row I stop to take a sip
and study where I next must place the jewels
that peek between soft twisted strands of lace
now slowly forming from the loops of black
in lustrous thread where wool and silk embrace.
The charted squares allow me to keep track.
Each row one hundred fifteen stitches long
until I start decreasing at each edge.
My hands combine with thread in time and song
to make the gift I promised by my pledge.
For though they've savage beasts put on display
the zoo needs funds to last from day to day.

Friday, June 11, 2010

11:05

Snoring
Twitching
Half-voicing whimpers and barks
The old dog sleeps in his bed
Dreaming of squirrels
or maybe of cats

Snoring
Twitching
Half-voicing exclamations
The young boy sleeps in his bed
He wakes in his dreams
but not from them

Silent
Racing
My mind wanders over my day
and I dream of sleep

Alien flora

Sprouting from small seed
Tamarind sits on my desk.
How big will it grow?