Life

Forgive me, young dandelion.

I did not feign disinterest.

My mind has running thoughts

That stole my attention.

You only meant to be a friend.

I was not being callous.

Your seedlings ought to whisk

Them away upon a random wind.

~~~~~~~

Many a door, many a door

Along the complex's corridor –

A symbol meant to welcome –

That's what they're for.

Rows of doors, floor upon floor –

Sometimes a thief they lure.

Nobody asks how you've been –

They just close their door.

~~~~~~~

Were I a rose

I would model graciously –

Oblige those of wise choice

And prickle my enemy;

If just a blade of grass

I would blend in – nonchalant –

And peoplewatch as they pass

With no desire to flaunt.

~~~~~~~

To a stranger who has died -

Money is nontransferable;

That the Egyptians tried -

The kings - they're unconsolable

But I know some things that follow:

A reputation that's admirable;

Fame - too - worth much in gold

As well as a pretty caricature.

Others will take their talents

And I - by history's sieve -

Will take - cheating prognosis -

My poems with me when I leave.

~~~~~~~

Where the children go to play

Is where the summer grass endures

And sunbeams - like a cascade -

Pour down upon their bronze shoulders.

This - the children have learned well:

Butterflies don't really flutter -

Instead - they dance a sky waltz

To the cicadas' fond clamor.

Every breeze is a giant's sigh

That brushes their roseate jowls;

Every cloud - some foam in the sky

Behind which angels may be found.

What they know - they won't divulge

But they know what each new day brings.

Pity them - some drab adults

Who are ignorant of such things!

~~~~~~~

The wind hears many secrets

As he blows at his election.

Only a hearer at best –

He mulls them over and again

But doesn't repeat or think aloud

For there are too many to recount.

The wind also has many lovers –

Appreciating the trees –

Caressing the flowers

And cooling warm cheeks

But preferring to roam –

Blows away to a place unknown.

~~~~~~~

Her voice resonates

Strongly in my delighted ear;

My soul smiles -

As if she'd not died years ago

And been shut away in a wall ...

~~~~~~~

A swirl of amaretto

Revolves in my coffee -

Like a galaxy -

Shimmering and slow.

Dawn is utterly quiet;

Moon beams - thin and long -

Cleave to the flooring

Each protracted moment.

~~~~~~~

Should malachite bemoan

The diamond's luster

When the diamond could

Envy malachite's color?

Does the pearl cite

A greater metamorphosis

Than that of hematite

Though both be lustrous?

~~~~~~~

Success is a strange definition:

Larger in the mind of an onlooker –

Smaller in the hands of a heritor –

In truth – without a measurement.

It can be exaggerated like a rubber band.

It can be dragged through the mud –

Rescued – cleaned and whitened up.

It can be far to sight or close at hand –

Pleasant to the eye on a resumé –

On a statement or ring like a melody

To the hearer of such rhapsody

Or with a shrug – be explained away.

~~~~~~~

Unseen pathways ahead are full

Of switchbacks and great ruts.

Should you get a foot entangled -

I can help you regain your steps.

None of the routes are easy;

There's no formidable plan.

I only know forward is the way

So I will follow behind.

Today is not new nor bright;

It hides a lot of middle ground.

I am the friend in your life

That brings some peace of mind.

Yet death is deep and mysterious;

It's the Last Great Unknown.

That's what'll end our shared fates

And on we must walk alone.

~~~~~~~

Catch joy when you can

Like a butterfly twirling away

And keep near the heart.

If not, joy will escape your grip too

And fly by somebody else's head.

~~~~~~~

TRIOLET #2

Where have all the gentlemen gone?

Worldly thoughts have led them astray –

Desiring neither love nor brawn.

Where? Have all the gentlemen gone?

Tho' my days are short and nights are long –

I hold my breath, take note and pray:

Where have all the gentlemen gone?

Worldly thoughts have led them astray.

~~~~~~~

I'm envious of the clouds

That float happily in the sun –

Changing into colorful shrouds –

Lumping from many into one.

Their most compatible friend –

The wind, admits

They beautify the high heaven.

Nebulosity permits

Travel without a passport.

They slip away on a whim

For a day's length or more

And return a denizen.

~~~~~~~

How vast is the distance -

So I thought - between cradle

And what was the final ascent

To a plateau good and whole.

What fine opportunities

My wrinkles record as loss -

Hmm ... if only said itinerary

Were sooner traversed.

~~~~~~~

Kentia palms catch a breeze

And sway gently in their rows;

This verdant sanctuary

Comforts me like the psalms.

I amble slowly between them -

My head tapped by the fronds.

I feel the warmth of the sun;

The fresh air fills my lungs.

A kintsugi pot rests on pebbles -

Beautiful but defiant.

Gold sealed up the fissures -

Reminding me of who I am.

~~~~~~~

Olden knowledge should smolder

As smoke rising from an ember -

Universal but not common -

Peculiar but not forgotten.

Tell me of those days of yore -

Of circumstances transpired -

So I can repeat on my lips

That which slumbers in silence.

~~~~~~~

Would you meet me sometime

At the space in between

The corner of reckless schism

And the street of broken dreams?

I just covet a good word or two

So long as we break silence –

And I will collect an echo

Then leave and recommence.

~~~~~~~

Jesus stole him from me;

A cleft of my heart went

With my beloved to grand company.

Shock distracted the void –

Grief befriended melancholy

And I tagged along, I admit.

Anger pulled – whispered of mortality –

I regroup my senses

But still, it finds me.

Thank God, forgiveness was created

For also this exigency.

~~~~~~~

Poverty is expensive

To those already poor -

Costing their time, wages

And spirit, yet they live

A hopeful porter

In their villages -

Subject to elitism.

I, for one, never

Received an invitation.

~~~~~~~

Tarry with me tonight -

My dear firelight!

Your precious warmth be

My solitary company.

It's my plush blanket

Wrapping me in heat.

Not all is well;

Darkness cast its spell.

Luxurious light -

Do stay tonight!

~~~~~~~

Weeds as tall as children

Partially hide the dusty windows.

A long silence hangs

Where once promise echoed.

Broken glass fills the street –

Glittering like emeralds

To some – to a majority –

Proving their travails.

~~~~~~~

Some people – unpopular in stature –

Slip away into death unnoticed

Softer than a falling feather

That little earns a second glance

But the good deeds of their lives

Grow – recount a love that's long

And with increasing strength – strive

To tell of hope that spans a marathon.

Others are taken with a shout

Heard far across the air waves –

Ushered by those in the crowd

To a biography and grand raves

And some die amid great efforts –

Succumbing to an evil deed –

And leave a hole as big as their hearts –

Hindsight is the mystery.

Still others leave unknown;

Their time becomes a strange gap

That hides behind a name

Clinging to a simple lithograph.

~~~~~~~

Bees labor not in vain

For their task is plain.

Listen - how they hum

Around the myoporum.

Purple buds then show forth

Declaring their handiwork.

~~~~~~~

A nice prescription of sleep

I took when the day proved awry

And found myself when I blinked

In a dreamscape of its own kind.

I could hardly believe it

But I saw a meadow without end;

I stopped my crying to think

Of where the tiller went.

I saw in hues that'd never been;

The sky emoted rest.

That place - known only to me -

Brought me there at behest

And of time? What did it mean

To the birds above the field?

To the excitable bee

Nourished by a fallen tear?

Suddenly - I startled -

And sitting up in my bed -

Felt my wound's sharpness dulled

Almost like it'd never happened.

~~~~~~~

My friend once sighed

That he watches planes fly by

And wonders where they're going.

The world's tempo beats on.

I, too, prefer to stop along

The way and watch a small thing.

I congratulate the weed

That grew from a wayside seed

And survives in the sidewalk's crack.

I notice when raindrops descend

That the roads shine iridescent

Then dry again to a flat black.

I observe a bird's funny walk –

Watching its head bob and cock –

Such a comedian!

I sit aside the freeway by the river

To watch busy cars drive there –

So calm I am.

~~~~~~~

I have nothing to offer

Except this small heart of mine.

You come with laughter.

I have a past much maligned.

You come with true stories

And many talkative siblings.

I have few good memories

But a face that's serene.

Interesting things about the world

I remember very well.

If it's not a bother

I will teach instead of tell.

~~~~~~~

Weary day surrenders to night;

She wears a pleasant countenance.

Echoes of traffic hush the strife

Of a long day; a moment of silence

Makes still even the Holy Ghost

As the cobalt of the sky fades.

A moth makes love to the lamppost

Knowing the warmth of its rays.

Come darkness, come tomorrow.

Will they bring the nice thoughts I've thought?

Yea, my heart is not shallow

But guides in a way my eyes cannot.

~~~~~~~

As empty as the future

So is a soaked page

Whose ink has run off.

I hope to be the author;

A new and boundless decade

Awaits my pen's touch.

~~~~~~~

Low dust clouds bristled

In the sky but I did not see;

A lone grackle whistled

A warning I did not perceive.

The world would not cease turning

In its cruel mockery.

I sat upon a rock, faltering –

Because of things that wouldn't be.

Only distraction can persuade –

Only sleep can steal

Such sadness that pervades

And hot tears that swell

But hotter yet came a wind

That brushed my fingers

As would one consoling

And dried my tears.

~~~~~~~

Tell me something more –

Something about yourself

I've never heard before

Lazily. It'll help

Pass an afternoon

As hot as this

For August is afoot

And I get restless.

If whatever I learn

Stirs my heart up –

Dances in my brain

Or makes me blush –

I can mull it over

And spite terrible August.

Then I'll consider

My day accomplished.

~~~~~~~

Death, to me, is a stranger;

I know not his whereabouts.

I've seen him but haven't heard –

I know of him but we've not met.

He spoke at length with my elder

And convinced him to go.

I got to say good-bye before

He left, but of Death, I don't know.

He seems so popular among

Celebrities – distant and queer.

With the sickly, too, he throngs –

Too important to come here

Although once, without persistence –

Death did rap upon my door.

I was busy – I did not answer

So he left a calling card.

~~~~~~~

Like the Sphinx

Igor lies regally

With eyes closed off

To the world.

He finds his zen

And feels the breeze

But knows not how much

He is revered.

~~~~~~~

A profusion of great heat

Rose up and oppressed my mind.

So few were signs of retreat

It stifled an alarm seldom heard.

Philosophy says the mind

And body are two different entities

And it's not meant with scorn

But Invincibility disagrees.

~~~~~~~

An inhospitable truth I have

To carry throughout my life

That must stay buried in my heart –

What a terrible truth!

It dances on my tongue

When I feel somebody knows.

On the scale of history – it nags;

On a bone – it gnaws.

It's the shadow that follows

My genetic path incurably.

It will follow me into death

And be the Ghost beside me.

~~~~~~~

My spirit cannot be bridled

For it is as wild as fire -

As innocent as a child

And in secrecy, has desires.

My body cannot contain it -

No, because of how strong I am -

All that my spirit resonates

Could fill an entire room.

I may die and not be missed;

Lest people forget with one accord

That I left behind good remnants -

I will come and haunt that void.

~~~~~~~

Heaven must be a library –

An acquaintance in boredom said –

With many open levels that are airy

And plush carpet on which to tread

With sliding ladders on the aisles –

Coffee on tap and a poofy chaise

On which to read the gilded titles

And infinite time to waste.

I replied I'd love to meet her there

To help explore the nooks and crannies

And she promised me she'd share –

To my surprise, spaces such as these.

That way, every now and then –

She could break from reading

And come find the alcove I'm in

To see how I'm doing.

~~~~~~~

There was never a stiller night

Before that seemed so brim with spite

Whose heavy fingers pressed my window

Which forked a tongue of lightning glow

That spoke at length with my state of blight.

Spider webs for clarity of thought

Snakes that hissed silently and were fraught

With hatred, were each my companion

Each rivaling to have dominion

But neither one respected my lot

And burning within those surly clouds

Was the stench of fear as a shroud

That surrendered not a word nor clue

As to what I must or mustn't do

To quell the voice within and without.