Quiet Reflections
She always slept in the chair,
Between the boxes that were full of clothes:
Children’s clothes that she passed down.
Her with her silver-hair and arthritic fingers,
With the scar on her nose that had been broken,
“I was a Helen,” she declared.
It was hard to imagine this old half negro and Cherokee woman,
Being anything other than a gentle and sensitive redeemer,
Of abandoned children in the inner-city.
3.20.2018
Never Mind
Why should we forget the bodies lying in,
Streets, in the classroom, in the hall.
Blood dripping into the cement.
We should not mind those body-bags lying in the corner
Collecting dust year after year.
Should we mind it after all,
This is Vietnam.
No flags are placed over the bodies,
Eventually, they too will be forgotten.
3.20.2018
Remember Me
Long after my body turns to dust,
After the last spring flower bloom over my grave,
And the peacock returns to the mountains.
The words, my words will still live on someone’s bookshelf.
Words are long forgotten in the world.
Sweet Love
The moon is fading my love,
Ending our moments of joy,
It is the daisy that we hate seeing come to life.
Still, we remember our tender bodies engulfed in ecstasy,
Long before the moon faded over the eastern skies,
Among a host of stars reflecting over the pond.
We too still fade into the sunrise.
3.20.2018
Forget Me Not
Do not forget my love for you,
Those roses made of cardboard,
While the sun turned into dust.
And the moon fell into the ocean,
Forget me not my tender heart.
Remember that blanket that held us together,
And those glasses of wine spilling onto the sheets,
Our lips touching as if they were silk.
Forget me not my tender soul.
3.20.2018
Curse
My black skin with my Cherokee mother’s eyes,
Reflects the sadness of generations of crossing the desert.
Living in contempt of life,
We hold onto the strength of our very souls.
3.20.2018
After the Winter Snow
For Larry and Donna
Bliss surrounds a black boy after the snow has fallen
A sign of the human heart has survived
An understanding of life and suffering
Hunger and thirst and desire and hopes
No longer does regret linger within his soul
It was a winter of solitude setting on the pew
Praying for salvation
While the flakes of snow surrounded the outside
Harsh was the winds and still was the life he had
There’s no need to be afraid he thought:
In time there would be a flower that would bloom inside of him
Today was that day.
3/5/2018
Touch Me
Touch me with your soul,
Like the haze of the mountain air,
That surrounds me,
Touch me when I’m young before the pain of life,
Surrounds me,
Wipe away my tears with your calm fingers,
Hold me close to your center,
Place the flowers in my garden.
8/27/2012 11:10 AM
9/6/2012 9:43 AM
The Return
The ride back to the inner-city was not the same,
It was the peacock’s feathers that allowed me to fly,
Flying above the winter winds,
High enough to reach the heavens in the summer breeze
It was never enough to ride the tide of hope with the winter snows,
With it flakes of violence.
8/27/2012 10:57 AM
A Drop of Love
A drop of love
In the shadows
A sip of warmth
No sexual fantasies
Reality a sip
Of kindness
And shadows turn into woodchucks.
9/6/2012 9:45 AM
Yesterday Hopes
Dreaming of the mountains,
In the middle of the night,
Two empty wooden chairs set in the open air,
Amber winds engulf my wonting spirit,
Peacocks coo,
In the middle of the night.
9/6/2012 9:12 AM
Awaking to it All
The freshness of it all:
Mountain air and flowers in the garden,
Blossoming souls arrive from the city,
Chickens, ducks, peacocks, turkeys, and geese,
Gaze around the coop,
I see life open before my tearful eyes.
9/6/2012 9:27 AM
Never the Same
Never the same after visiting the mountains,
Eating moms farm fresh eggs over easy,
Dad feeding the birds,
And it’s my time to renew the essence of my soul.
9/6/2012 9:36 AM
Play It Cool
When the sun climbs between the mountain’s breast,
Just play it cool,
Like jazz bouncing off the rooftops,
Just play it cool,
Smells of fried chicken and collard greens
Pork chops covered with gravy,
Just simple words and simple actions,
The cool breeze settles on the top of the ocean waves,
So just play it so cool.
9/6/2012 12:00 PM
Roof Tops
It was never easy climbing to the top of the building,
Like crabs pulling each other down,
As they reached the top of the pot,
Clawing their way to the top,
Climbing the stairs each rung brings me closer
To the top of the mountain in the inner-city,
Rooftops close to heavens gates
9/6/2012 12:11 PM
Life is Gentle
For Pat
Life is gentle at night with the wind blowing calmly. When you walk the dogs and rest from a long day’s work. Life is so peaceful knowing you are rested and wait for me to come to you. We hold one another. The years have been so precious to us both. It’s always the calming rains that last forever in our relationship. Life is kind and so is our love for one another. Life continues as does my love for you. Life is gentle as is my love for the life we have built together. You are the heart that I found in the time of my sadness. Life is so gentle now that you have found peace.
I want to Write
I want to write about the stars and the moon. To put down on paper what has never been writing before about love and the destiny of the heart. To write words that climb out of the catacomb of the darkness into the wondering light of the stars.
The Visit
The dining room is nice—
Pink wallpapered walls:
But no music playing
Shiny silverware and steak knives:
Beautiful Chinaware and nice designs
A plastic knife and folk:
White soft walls—
Woody Woodpecker laughing;
And a Styrofoam box with a hotdog
Star Night Star Bright
Shooting stars shooting
Shooting guns shooting
Shooting stars shooting stars
Shooting hopes shooting guns shooting
Bodies shooting stars shooting
There’s hope while stars keep shooting past.