Winter Hour

Where are the deer at this hour in winter?

Where do they go for warmth?

Do they feel this cold as we do?

They have not all disappeared.

I wish to know but I must settle

for in complete knowledge

at least for know

We are not meant

to know all. 

For You and Danny

I sent you a message

You called me right away

I didn't expect

to hear your voice so soon

You asked if it was intuition

or if I had heard the news

I said intuition

You told me your brother

died last night in hospital

That all of you were 

by his side as he transitioned

Tears, disbelief, relief

all gave way to one another

and back again

You said he had been ill

He had been worsening

I could say nothing

He was only in his fifties

He was young

You are mourning

the loss of a future

You told your children

and they cried too

Your daughter said

it was a sad Friday

and you said yes it was

I'm writing this 

the morning after

our conversation

in the dark just before 

the sunrise 

A million more things

I could say 

But I told you

I love you

and you said it back

and 

Para Mi Esposa

Yes I love you

How long we have loved

and endured

What is a lifetime

Still the noise of this world 

Guide your heart to a place of rest

Let silence overtake you

Strings Singing

I hear the bowing of the cello

as strings sing 

Waves crest and trough 

through my heart

Does happiness take work

When I listen it comes

When I close my eyes

I see it before me

Are you breathing

Don't hold your breathe

Don't clench that jaw

Listen listen listen

over and over 

as much as needed

Listen listen listen

What is time and distance

with memory alive

to bridge the gaps 

between us

Hooves

It has been snowing overnight

I've woken late

The night yet lingers

Are there hoof prints in the snow?

Somewhere 

Somewhere

Cello

What dream is this

to wake to a cello

playing Bach 

in the forest

How strange

This is no dream

Fingers moving

over the neck

Bow angling

back and forth

What patience

What mastery

You have wished

to learn to master

What secret dream

There is yet time

A Friend

What has changed over these many years?

Many things, if not everything.

This desire, so stubborn, so bullheaded,

yet remains.

To sit here, to ponder, to wonder,

to watch the branches of the trees,

and dream of others places, 

other people, and other times. 

To find the words as they venture forth

and give them form and life.

Or is it the other way around?

Tea Leaf Fortune Teller

Steam is escaping the kettle.

The cup waits in anticipation.

The tea is indifferent.

Life is changing states.

What comes next

is entirely predictable.

Un Autre An

we are still here

walking the path

looking everywhere

feeling everything

breathing

are you

Dance With Me

I can't dance and 

it shouldn't matter

If the rhythm has 

gotten your heart

move with it 

across the floor

Feel yourself

alive 

This You

You grow older

You remember things

You forget things

Your childhood hangs onto you

Your childhood feeds your present

Your childhood shapes your future

You grow older

You change the story

You change yourself

You forgot your conception

You forgot your birth

You know you are here

You remember

You wonder

You wonder

I'm listening to the words of a dying man

He lived enough to know the truth we avoid

Voice of a prophet but he never preached

Raising his voice to song I listen

Can I heed his warnings

To Be

All the love in the world is here 

You contain everything you ever wanted

How can this be so

There doesn't have to be a reason

No logic needs to exist

for something to merely be

Accept this as truth

Bask in your newfound knowledge

The Writer

This old habit 

standing by my side

Faithful old friend

How many people

have we been

How many more

will we become

An answer will be

some other day

Start of December

Waking to a cold Fall morning

The Sun still rests

Do the deer sleep?

Do their ears perk 

at the slightest sound? 

What is the silence

sitting between us?

Shall we give it a name?

What is dawn

What is beyond the horizon

The sky rests heavy

You wake and wonder

Through Everything

You are still here

Through everything

How strong you are

How loved you are

Why do you forget 

such simple things?

Don't let worry 

carry away the future

You are creating it now

You are still here

Through everything 

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