Reach Out

We don’t touch

much

anymore

Whose fault is that

Do you feel the same ache

same pain that saps my

strength and leaves a

stain on my heart

Are there things in the spring

birdies singing

peepers peeping

days lengthening

that make you shake

quake with longing

Let’s wipe the salt from

our wounds and

reach out

again

Definition of Home

I wear my high school camp

sweatshirt – the purple one

with a frayed neck, mulit-colored

paint smears

then pair it up with red

cut-off sweatpants –

slip my feet into fuzzy

slippers with most of

the fuzz worn away and

no one laughs

Hold Tight

Beyond Hope
Beyond Hope

I did not sign up for

this experiment

this test of daring-do

it goes against my timid

nature

the laws of nature

should not be taunted

flaunted, flung

into the void

I am the human

element in a dream

experiment holding back

the empty promises

of dawn

Blue Cat

image

She’s he’s left me here

All by myself

No thought of me

Food on a shelf

One lousy toy

A Christmas elf

TV turned off

Just for herself

Said she’d be back

Don’t trouble oneself

I won’t be here

All by myself

Life In My Hand

a firefly caught

I look at him

what have I got

the light is dim

here in the shade

it comes and goes

but in the glade

the sunlight flows

I told him lies

his light still shone

but if he dies

can I atone

returned to lawn

he’s quickly gone

Insomnia

photo by Toni Frissell
photo by Toni Frissell

something kept me up

all night

body still but mind

churning, burning

caffeinated thoughts chasing

each other like children on

a playground

tag you’re it

I wait for waves of slumber

to drown the bustling mind

tomorrow I’ll try warm

milk and a bedtime story

My Shoes

image

You may walk a while in my shoes

Nifty white sneakers

Cherry red heels stud-

ded with carats

Tall boots gussied up with chains

Go ahead

Walk a while in my shoes and

you’ll always be late

You’ll walk outside, in the

rain, wind, boiling sun

You’ll follow the weedy path

But if you don my favorite

straw hat you will

not think my thoughts