Opening the booty box

I've dug through

the gold and the gems

for the true treasure

something to surrender

for the heaviness of it

is too much to carry

and the gods forbid 

to have and to hold

rather to have is

to be so bold 

in the eyes of the gods

for none of it is ours

all of it will fade

and flow back to origin

to the true ownership

that only inner divinity

can attempt to understand

Twister moon

flesh burns in

the afternoon sun

to meet the cool

blue moon later

in a stormy night

the sirens may

call out three 

or even four times

while spectators in

the neighborhood gaze

upward to the flashes

but we have already

smelled the rain

and felt the thunder

in our souls

it's time to let

the wind blow through

and take all our

expectations with it

 

Overstayed welcome

a barren bed lays

in the middle 

of a potato row

rabbit feet have

beaten it down

for comfort

for protection

while drizzle

tickles the foliage

only clouds float

overhead for now

so astute ears lay

down to rest

in a nestle of fur

among potato leaves

Egyptian burdens

the stains and scars

they are ours

to wear

yet we have

worn them out

and our coats

are new and spotted

just as a fawn

napping in dappled

shade and long grass

we have carried

these irons too long

and it is time

to walk into the fire

so the metal may melt

and we can rise

from the ashes that remain

 

A nightfall float

let evening settle

let it fall around

your shoulders

let the gentle hands

of the day give way

and the shadow of

night tuck you in

let your worries

flutter into the dark

the burdens you

have carried today

undress them from

your body and close

your eyes to them all

let this moment at

the edge of wake

and the edge of sleep

hold you in its arms

and simply carry you

into your flight of rest

Fiery Blue Moon

the lovers, the twins

as May passes through

the blue moon situated

in arching Sagittarius

into a new June

a new bloom when

iris and peonies

give way to lilies

a jump through the hoop

a passing through portal

where small gentle ways

start the momentum

to growing ravenous waves

and lovers pass the torch

to the chariot and Helios glory

 

Yogurt drifts

breakfast eaten

and all that remains

an abstract painting

of drifting clouds

or raging ocean waves

the remnants of white

yogurt leaves on the

blue plastic compartment

in the lunch box

a friend gifted to you

because you had asked

for a bento box 

for your birthday one year

yet the words on top

are reassuring:

Dream big!

Solar solace

seeking sleep

in the shining rays

a lullaby sings

in the sunny days

its notes they

fly about to and fro

collecting on

the power line scale

the breeze pulls

maple hands in the sky

reaching out

for solar solace

the chariot

drives on in the fire

as dreams rise

in Summer's warm desire

 

Hold on

we can run

through those fields

the ones that

stretch off into 

the eternal sunsets

we can chase

those moments

into the night skies

where the stars

flicker to the rhythm

of the fireflies

in those fields 

we ran through

we can hold on

to each quiet word

spoken in our eyes

and pen a poem

no heart could tell

but each sunrise

could sing of

we can sleep on it

there's no rush

to our next step

no need to force

any more words

we can hold on

Our plate

I'm not reaching

for the stars

I know their story

in all its glory

resides here

within

I know that when

something shifts

in me

it shifts in you

our footsteps

are at one with 

the mirror we

dance upon

an eight legged

arachnid can't

keep up with us

and it's enough

to know we

have already won

to feast in revelry

to have drunk and ate

our fill of each other

only to find there's

never enough

 

Memorial afternoon

painted ladies

dance on golden stages

while lions roar

in green blades

fleur de lis

silky cascades set 

sweet perfume clouds

assail in the breeze

dapper fellows

dressed in red flutter

to perch to peer

to pause and flee

fuzzy jumper

stalking flies sipping

on sweaty skin

bold with silks

timid angelica

stands bold and tall

yet withholds 

its nosegay still

cries and barks

fill the air like cotton

crowded below

yet sol sails solo

Tempest rest

I smell you 

in the rain

your breath

is the steam

rising from the soil

still hot from the afternoon sun

it whispers my name

in between lightning strikes

and rolling thunder

the constant tap

of the falling raindrops

on my skin

is your heartbeat

syncing with my own

the wind flows through me

I am the tree

you are my storm

 

Wet what

whether in weathered

rain or ocean deep

or standing against

the river water rush

it drips, it drowns

it pulls it all away

it pressurizes in

its silent dark depths

and flows through all

the inner streams

it is the glass

calling for a sip

it is the fog that

blurs reality's sight

it is the ice that bites

and the steam that stings

it is the stirring in

the sky that inspires

children to see things

other than what they are

it is the vast sea that 

keeps people apart only

to incite them to

take the journey across

it is the tapping 

on the windows

or the tears from the

windows of the soul

Nice trip?

those thoughts 

tripped and fell

and were lost

to the cracks

in the sidewalk

to that world

where ants dig

out after down

pours of rain

where weed

seeds gather

and create a

micro climate

amid scorching

suns in July

those thoughts

can only be 

found again 

through use of

a screwdriver

and patience

 

Idling

the value of nothing

is priceless

yet doing nothing

is something

allowing what

will be is silencing

the will in

the great emptiness

of choosing

not to choose

it's surrendering the will

to the one who gave it

everything and anything

will always find nothing

for there is inertia in

both stillness and movement

and the void will not

last long

Trusting the process

I can feel it

every time

I'm reminded

that all of it

isn't just a

figment of

some dream

that all the

signals and

all the little

crumbs that

someone has

left along the

trail are true

they are all

guidance on

my path to you

 

Other than just now

somewhere in the outer

orbit the stardust glimmers

somehow inside you that

same stardust glimmers

sometime that stardust

will return to the outer orbit

somewhere in the peripheral

the light shines brightest

somehow the brightest light

comes from within you

sometime you will learn

to let that light shine out

somewhere just out of reach 

the sweetest music plays

somehow the sweetest music

resounds from within you

sometime everyone will hear

the sweetest music from you

somewhere, somehow

sometime other than just now

is the moment that has

been waiting forever for you

Tarot ho!

buried at the bottom

of the grave isn't

the body of her husband

but the widow weeps still

deep within the earth

rests a ship within

a glass bottle sealed

in wax sealed in soil

crystal sings from glass

that encases the sails

as three cards are pulled

hermit, magician, fool

the crystal cracks as

earth rises and winds blow

and from the sea is seen

a smile from a not so strange stranger

 

What does it spell

a green light glimmers

off bronze glazed skin

in a pool of gold stones

and blue colored gems

Mushika lays at the feet

of an elephant divine

who's flanked by tarot

and a spent cone of pine

the scales hold the cusp

of bull and twins energy

weighing the gravity

of true destiny's synergy

under the upcoming moon

in the blue archer's time

will the ship finally sail

to a dime and another dime

20/20

these two eyes

one sees from the soul

the other's vision

comes from the mind

they cross when 

they disagree with 

what's in sight

a true deliberation

of the meaning 

of any interaction

with the external world

they roll when

they are chasing after

whatever they think

may be important 

to self preservation

they wink when

they want the other

to miss something

the one wants to focus on

and they cry when

they agree 

 

Comforting thoughts

comfort can entrap

maybe not meaning to

seemingly not meaning to

but inevitably doing so

and comfort can become

way too comfortable

it can outgrow its purpose

and no longer provide ease

it's that perfect pillow

that allows the neck relaxation

to where you sleep

a little too well and

your neck gets a crook

because you didn't toss

and you sure didn't turn

that is comfort past its prime

comfort that has spoiled

or comfort that has spoiled you

from forgetting how to grow

blessed is the idiom of

just don't get too comfortable

don't want to drown in throw pillows

when your ship has already set sail

T-storm

same in essence

the tiny sparks

seen in the dark

when static shines

in fabric friction

the great energy

that rolls in sound

and flashes light

when the turning

of the earth rock

pulls at the ocean

levitating in the air

and the same spark

illuminates the sky

to behold what flows

through everything

in grandest display

a show of bolts and

music of the gods

 

In the numerical ocean

nine is the mirror

mine is the nearer

to your breath

holding the two mirrors

your birth is given

the moment I hold 

nearly as dear as

a time of two dimes

and if all this was true

I'd somehow make it through

and give into you

for you to count 

the fingers on my month

that's half of your own

and offer up to you

my crown and my throne

Mid-May distractions

those thoughts of

liliums replacing alliums

means someone may be

middle aged that is

if that someone lives

to be the ripe old age

of ninety, nine, a good

year it was to complete

high school and live

a surreal moment when

congratulations met

graduations, a time

of year for towns to

get wiped off the map

and more than a whirlwind

meets schedules for 

grandparents and estranged

relatives, it's all relative

but merely a distraction

 

Your sun sign

you are that circle

that peers through 

the drifting clouds

angry with thunder

you are that orb that

warms my flesh when

the chilling wind

blows through me

you have left your

mark upon my chest

in mid winter visits

and evening routine

you have slumbered

within my heart and

I have found a home

within your own

you will never be

alone through life

for our souls are in

ever conversation

you will always have

my offerings of peace

of joy, pleasure, strength

but most of all, love

Heads up

just above my head

hovers a swarm of gnats

notes bouncing up and

down a music scale

unheard by these ears

further out from these

little songbirds flutter

through arms of trees

and maple seeds are

flung by the breeze

propelling through air

to find their retreat

higher yet the raptor

surveying as it sails

through the gray waves

of the mirrored ocean

and my arms reach out

to wish the rise above

or the fall from earth

into whatever exists

far beyond any of this

 

Familiar dreams

getting an answer

for a question

never asked

is being in a dream

you remember

did I walk into

the corridors of

your psyche last night

is that where I was

when I killed the wolf

that had jumped the fence

or did you walk into

my hall of reflections

with the writhing alligators

being handed to the woman 

behind the desk

I'm not really sure anymore

who's responsible

for any of the thoughts

or any of the dreams

as you are always in them

and where you are

I long to linger

Green Lynx

tiny green spider

a tickle on 

my shoulder

somehow you

tagged along

I picked you up

from who knows

where

to wear as a pin

momentarily

for you have

places to go

and tinier bugs

to eat

no question

on how

no judgement

on who

just a wish

of safe travels

into the air

on silk paths

 

Blow hard

loose windows knock

on windy days

doors slam shut

on those same days

things are thrown

furniture is knocked over

on windy days

dead branches fall and

ash is blown from chimneys

on windy days

faded flowers disappear

and roots are stimulated

on windy days

dusty air is cleared

dandelion seeds travel far

and whispers fly to the stars

on windy days

Looking out the kitchen window

this connection

the tether between us

it shifts my soul

it is a furnace

burning within me

refining my being

because of this

because of us

I can no longer

belittle myself for

I wouldn't just be

belittling myself

you have shown me

my worth and beauty

by showing me your own

I feel you when

I touch my face

and my face is held

within your hands

so gentle and calm

 

Take off

jumping off this cliff

I was sure I'd fall

because that's what happens

I was confident 

you would catch me

because that's what happens

but I had forgotten

I had wings

because that's what happens

when you're told

you will fall if you jump

Time out

so many words

lost to the moment

a flock of birds

that have scattered

into the sky

when the frustration

fumes into the ether

around dusk dancing

with twigs donning new leaves

that is where the words leave

in a sigh

in a deep breath

all those words collecting

behind that mental dam

to cause a pause and retreat

to a moment to lose words

 

There when you're not there

you're in the numbers

on the clock

your whispers dance

upon my shoulder

when I'm kneeling

in the garden

you caress my face

in the breeze

when I have the window

down cruising through town

your arm is around me

while I watch my

favorite French movie

your hands are on my hips

while I'm at the stove

cooking a spinach omelet

for breakfast

your hand is warm on my chest

as I turn on my side

in bed and fall asleep

Once more

perhaps white butterflies

come back as seagulls

or better yet the small

fluffy clouds that take

shape as other things

and shift their shapes

until they disappear

it's just the same as

the perpetual march

of the flora fountain

diminishing daffodils

bow out to iris glory

for them to yield to

heavy lily perfumes

for all blooming beauty 

to yield only to even more

within the heart of

the divine and eternal

 

Son of Sun

to hold the sun

in this skin

as it reminds

us where we've come

from akin to sun

those past ones

that still burn

within our neurons

the firelight

in ancient nights

that bowed out

to new kings to

take new thrones

and reign in

these days of glory

The third of you

I followed

gladly I followed

your footsteps

through the streets

the alleys dimmed

by building shadows

and labyrinthine paths

I held in my heart

the past images

of you in a striped shirt

while we danced

at the fair

or when you looked

simply looked at me

from across the room

and I was yours

but this time

when we emerged 

into a courtyard

where the building facades

were married with vegetation

and we came to a pause

at a door and a line

to wait for entry

I felt a whimper in my chest

as you were two steps

ahead of me

but you looked back to me

held out your hand

motioned for me

and the world was heaven

as you took my hand

 

Sir Gallivant

the journeys, I know

are supposed to simply be

just that, journeys

adventures out and about

to construct that energy

those paths before us

as an ant may go out to scout

but I have it in me

to always take the dress rehearsals

so seriously

and invest it all in the moment

in the chance I want to take

and rise to look destiny

directly in the eyes

but only find sighs

and the lack of

the not yet

and reminded the journey

is the focus for now

Pastoral

green among

the golden grass remains

both goose and gosling

weave through willow

water's edge

paddling in the puddle

under the barking blackbirds

striped red with wings

off further follows

cattle calls and calves

running with young joy

the early energy 

that's spent so soon

and is overly observed

by standing smooth stones

through the years

 

What hides in grass

in the light

and shadow

at the foot 

of the spruce

a rabbit hops

between the two 

worlds to nibble

on the green grass

unknowing what

its fodder may

have been donned

with by the very ones

who cause the rabbits

to run from this

very moment as

they ride through

the scene on assailant

lawn mowers

Released

here I felt

all was lost

here my hope

all was gone

until you gave 

me the keys

to my prison 

here I thought

twas all or nothing

here I feared

the ship had sailed

until you turned

the key in the lock

of my prison cell

 

Morning view

of fish and fire

that escape from

glasses of water

to dance upon

desktops in sunlight

early in the day

where crows dance

atop the power poles

to the rhythm of robins

who watch a traffic river

so set on destination

flow to and fro

so very far below

still creeps the light

through filtered blind

so fish and fire

can make a daring escape

from the glass of water

Streamlined

we are walking

beside a stream

the water trickles

over the smooth

stones in its path

little pools form

where the stones

encircle pebbles

and golden sand

tiny fish swim

about with and

against the current

while dragonflies

float on leaves

that surrendered

to the liquid flow

we are passing by

the serenity of this

constant movement

that pauses for no

one and nothing

and just as gravity

pulls upon each

clear drop of water

so it pulls on us

at either bank of

this eternal stream

until it's determined

which gravity will

overtake the other

 

A harvest yet unknown

the ticking numbers

have come to a trickle

while Winter still fights

to stay relevant 

half way though Spring

views of fallow ground

leave a silent numbness

within the soul while

anticipation burns

for hot humid Summer

this lingering between

tests the tenacity of will

and tempts the defeat

from deep within

while time marches on

yet the promise waiting

down the road in Autumn

is more than enough mindset

to endure the chill

and float in time's river

The farewell

I let myself go

last night

I said a farewell

to this one

and my dreams

cut the cord

somewhere in my

ethereal body

blood was pooling

from within

and the physician

at my side

made me aware that

I hadn't long

I looked around at

my life

at all the things in

my house

at the sun in the trees 

along the street

at the eyes of those

I loved

and the river of grief

poured out

as the ego within

let go

 

Release

in minute yellow fields

the sun is reflected

in tiny tufts of petals

where flora flatters

the solar sentiment

where bees visit to

make it possible

for each tiny sun

to explode into a

supernova of itself

to scatter the seed

to release the future

upon it's unknown self

to drift far off and away

from anything known

to remember the lost

to find what is new

and to trust the wind

Someday

there's no rush

the thumping 

between our hearts

is slow

but steady

we both stare

at the same sunsets

and spend eternities

in their fleeting minutes

we both look

in the mirror

and watch our bodies

react to the knowing

somehow shifting

with the wind

that aligns 

grains of sands

in the Sahara

there's no need

to vanquish the time

that is the distance

between us

we both hear

the echoes of each other

laughing with friends

and our whispers

we utter into the night

there's no race

to what is already ours

 

Gated community

I asked to 

enter your dreams

and for you

to open the gate

and you delivered

though I walked

through the valley

of slot machines

the significance of it 

being a dime machine

I won at was not lost on me

but the true win

was returning to our room

where I waited

and when you walked

through the door

and your eyes met mine

I didn't hold back

then the gate slammed shut

Cloud drifts

if a cloud chooses

to shed a piece

of itself

then a piece of it

drifted downward

in a motion slow and soft

floating through sunlight

and the fingertips of the trees

where spider silks glisten

lifting my hand to catch it

it elusively flowed through

my two inner fingers

not just once but twice

and descended towards

the freshly cut grass

to nestle between the blades

 

May view

the cool breeze

didn't break through

the solar embrace

while heavy clouds

drifted overhead

the sun filtered

by mulberry branches

returned to gaze

upon a hungry cottontail

grazing upon rampion leaves

and dandelion blossoms

but the bunny must have

longed for greener pastures

and passed through 

the gape at the foot of the gate

lit by the evening sun

18

you are the greatest

distraction in my life

you are the dancing

of the sunlight between

the boards of the fence

you are the movement

just out of view

at the corner of my eye

you are the star

that surrenders and

hurls itself though

the endless night sky

you are the touch

upon my bare skin

from an unseen source

you are the whisper

passing my shoulder

in an empty room

you are the greatest

chance I could ever take

and equally the chance

I never want to miss

 

Yellow rail

movement flows

under harebell leaves

a tiny rarity

pops out at the end

of the overgrown foliage

feathers dressed in

a young fawn's fur

with the sharpest

brightest yellow beak

carried on oversized

clawed feet to easily

grasp any tedious spot

it finds in a marshy home

it pauses with a smirk

to nod an acknowledgment

of the happiness

right around the corner

Lune en scorpion

the scorpion dances

in the midnight sky

holding her glowing

face in its sharp tail

glowing petals fall

from her pale hand

shining scattered in

the celestial bowl

the scorpion holds

within its sharp claws

the fire of the future

burning in its grasp

fleur flames lay down

a path for the lovers

while grains of stars

make a bed for the sage