Forever

How many years
does it take

for each one of us
to figure out

where we stand
in the spin of the world

our face in the wind
our back to where we came from

our father's words echoing
how to be a man

our mother's love
never ending

and who made them
that way

the essence of them
inside us

forever?



Lost Dog

Lost dog
on the streets of the city

too many humans
with strange eyes

hungry and lonely
he is the same as them

laying down for the night
alone under the dots of stars

city ruins
as far as the dark horizon

licking at his sore paws
then sniffing and listening

a singing in the distance
an aroma of soup bones

and the thrill
of one last lick.


Mountaintops

Way back
beyond the last path
the city a thing of the past

trees grow
tall as the mountaintops
with millions of us

able to talk
with Father God
answering.


Stephen Jarrell Williams can be found on (X) Twitter @papapoet where he sometimes writes and draws and paints and takes photos of the spin of the world.