Dark Spaces

Dark spaces linger in memory

You sat up after being pleased

I laid back for you

We closed our eyes

as the light was swallowed

in the dark

Who were we then

What did they need

What was never enough

falling

brown yellow orange

falling 

            falling

softly

Willing

I see faces

I hear their words

I remember what I've forgot

Other lives

Other days

Still here

Still alive

Still willing

How do you measure distance?

By feet, kilometers, or miles?

Or do years make more sense

to see the passing moments again?

What is today

Today is now

Does it need

to be anything

but itself?

Lifelong

This ongoing habit

has never let go

So many

mornings

afternoons

nights

So many

moments of 

peace

worry

darkness

and light

It takes my hand

Guides it

Sieve

Don't begin with artifice

Tell me something real

The pain in your wrist

Your belly full of tea

The empty cup

The silence of the room

Thoughts that do not come

Your mind a sieve

until a pebble 

comes to rest

Summer Rain

Rain falling in darkness

A flash through the trees

A distant rumbling

Trembling

Transmission

All these words

merely drops

of thought

from one life

to another,

in another time,

in another place,

in another world.

Consumption

I must hold a small space 

for myself

if I am to see you 

past tomorrow

Does water dream

when it has frozen?

What must it be like

to change form

endlessly 

through countless

eons of existence

I close my eyes in bed

and wait for night

to consume wholly

once more

Small Reminders

I give myself small reminders

to unclench my jaw

to stretch my fingers

move my legs

listen closely

look for small details

hold her hand

kiss her while she sleeps

tell everyone

I love them

These days

are only now

and that's 

all life will ever be

Hooves

You marvel 

at something 

as mundane

as time

Listening

to the rain

to the wind

to the leaves

Have you 

ever heard

the sound

of a deer

stepping

through

forest?

Feeder

Sit and wait for your guests 

They flutter in on wings

of different shades

They twitter about 

and leave when

they've had their fill

If only all guests 

were so well behaved

Why do you

wait and wait

to do that

which is 

your salvation?

Antonyms for Salvation

Ocean waves inhaling

exhaling 

                a field of roiling darkness

Sitting in warmth of our company

Relief and joy

Mutual salvation

Taste of flowers 

on our tongues

In the mirrors

lights approach

and halt

Clarification

The page is laughing and so am I

Raise a glass and give a toast

Are we not amused

Are we not paying attention

Open your words

Says your lips

Utter utterance

Leave no doubt

Rivers

You can't go back

It isn't the same

The river changed

The waters are new

Moment to moment

are you not the water

Meaning?

What's the point 

of the question?

There's no answer

Make up and decide

what makes sense 

* Beep *

No one is watching 

No one is home

Please leave a message

at the tone

Molting

This is fine

This is normal

This is how everyone feels

How long can this go on

Has it always been so

Are we such anxious creatures

    we can't handle the world remade

        in our own image

Now you sit in the screen glow

as I do

            unsure of anything

sure that everything

is aching and growing

into something

                         we cannot

yet define

Acts of Translation

I am listening for the ghosts.

Their sighs fill the spaces 

of the moments of our lives.

Listen in order to hear.

What does your heart say?

What is the meaning 

taken from this interpretation?

Does translation only 

approximate the meaning?

Oh

Yes

it has always been

Yes 

know you know

what you always

felt

Ashen World

From a distance it nears

Falling in silence 

Quiet breath overpowers

Snow at this time of year

I touch the softness

resting upon the ground

It does not melt

Mixed Messages

What is it?

Are you waiting 

to read the tea leaves?

Can you not read 

the lines in your palms?

What are the trees telling you 

in the movements

of their bare branches?

This is the sign.

The Gods favor you.

You know what the ancients said 

about those the Gods favored.

We mourn our youth unknowingly.

over the hills

fire or dawn

growing close

Who Will Take me Home

If I can still myself

will I find the peace

that's eluded me

Can I sleep and

wake up rested 

without a worry

This gift given without 

desire is the only one

that matters to me

I close my fists

and grasp the water

to come up empty again

Are these words enough

It shouldn't matter 

if it's all I have

Will the wind carry you

or will time take you home

Where and When

Open the door and look inside.

Are they still sleeping?

Are you still dreaming?

Where have I seen this before?

I do not recognize the call

coming through the trees

Who are they looking for

Will they hear this

ears perk at

the sound of 

a breaking twig

danger

or nothing

Bright light breaking through the curtains

Such good fortune to be here once more

We will try again 

That much I know to be true

The Search

You who were lost

is seeking

Searching the nights

and days

for the wordless form

within

Lost and Found

what is this memory

breaching the surface

of the present 

a face 

an evening

a place

two people lost

desperately

trying to be found

Summer is here

in all but name.

Warmth behind

the curtain.

Sunlight

upon the house.

Beyond Time

Dreams passed down across generations

persisting beyond a mere lifetime

Gazing to the skies

Such unoriginal creatures

Dreaming of a world beyond heaven

Waves of green rustling

in the May morning.

Where is the robin going?

The Now

First

there was the word

Then

there was the action

Finally 

there was now

Creation

How lonely

were the gods

that the needed

to create us?

This Life

The minutes

The hours

The days

The nights

The weeks

The months

The seasons

The years

Be patient

Be impatient

Know when

to be one

or the other

Lingering cold breath

Your waiting is not in vain 

Buds will be in bloom 

Wake

What happened

What broke

between then and now

How does a heart break

How does a soul mend

How far is a mind stretched

It's been a long time

since he broke your heart

since he broke your life

since everything broke

since almost everyone left

We are self-centered creatures

getting on with our days-

lives and memories

lost in our wake

Spring

Just before dawn

I heard their voices

singing before fluttering

away to other branches

Beaming sun

streaming through 

my window

Green buds

readying

for life

First Thought

Dreams have departed

at dawn's light

First thought-

is this it?

or is it this?

No, it must

be this.

White Ocean

A white ocean

spreading silently 

over the forest

Hoof prints reveal 

The unseen 

visible 

Every Step

every step moves me forward

to a non-existent destination

move move move

I keep moving

until at last

I stop

by the minute

Traveling 

by the minute

into the future

This moment

becomes ash

carried by wind

 With you I have the world. 

 Transition from reality.

The Rhythm

We move together through the days and nights

reaching the realm of sleep to renew ourselves

Morning comes again and we begin anew the 

routine of our daily lives to make ends meet

Finding meaning can be a struggle for many

We find it and change our minds and find it 

There is truth in the rhythm of the seasons

There is truth in the days and the nights

There is truth in the routine of our days

Wisdom and Courtesy

 We are all sitting around at the end of the day,

Or the start of morning, getting older, hopefully wiser,

And musing upon days past and those to come. 

 

Sunrise reveals all hidden by the night.

Light can only fall upon the soul that allows it.

I have pried myself upon on the altar of my mistakes.

 

My youth was too ignorant and prideful.

Even now, I wonder if I have truly learned anything.

I hold on to what I must and discard the rest.

 

I don’t blame you for letting me go.

Please allow me the same courtesy.

 

 

darkness has fallen

trees rooted firmly in place

no thaw until spring