Impasse

the night will swallow you up

muted sounds will reverberate

in your soul as your body takes

in the dark you will drown in

gentle light of stars once known

will hold you as you pass away

not even the moon has risen

to show you a fond farewell

the frozen night will have to do

its hollow canvas your shroud

to bed you in your quiet grave

you needn't anymore than this

to fall into the unknown now

for soon, so very soon after

what's known will be gone

as you close your eyes and

Chinese lanterns

in the evening
of summer
under August moons
revelries of those
unseen chase
through the grass
and the unseen
become present
by the light of
Chinese lanterns
the tiny lights
are carried off
into forest depths
to pass under
fern fronds and
over lawns of moss
to the ring of
ivory toadstools
illuminated by
the light of
Chinese lanterns
mystery begins
the dance with
magic and wonder
cuts in now and
then through the
peeping eyes
of quiet children
as they sit and
watch the revelries
of those unseen
who become present
by the light of
Chinese lanterns

Siding with sunflowers

from my car I watched a woman

walk her dog this morning

through an overgrown field

and she came to the edge

purposefully like a bee

driven to the towering sunflower.

her dog wanted to venture further

and tugged at the leash

but she tarried at the giant.

on the radio played

some disturbing composition

from the early 20th century

so apropos for the botanical

Hitchcock horror playing out

in front of my eyes.

the woman grabbed the giant

by the throat and bent one

of the slender arms down

to the level of her wicked eyes.

she then started to tug at the branch

to pluck the flower from its stem

and struggled in keeping her dog

from bounding fourth while

she sought her floral plunder.

using a key as a makeshift blade

she tore through the stem.

I thought to myself how she

would like it if someone was to

bend her over and saw off her

genitalia with a makeshift blade.

after severing the flower

she sauntered back through

the overgrown field with her mutt.

"I hope it's full of ants!"

I muttered through gritted teeth.

Hun's hymn

the call out in the dark

haunting songs of a loon

these he dances by
the vacant heart of Hun

he is only emboldened

by the light of the moon

this he dances in

the vacant heart of Hun

for fearful cries at night

one will hear very soon

these he thirsts for

the vacant heart of Hun

as twilight steals the day

and midnight is his noon

the dawn he dreads

the vacant heart of Hun

Lovely skin

lovely skin,
my shadows
to lurk in
and under.
to be the
breath last
taken
the moment
before.
a regurgitation
of mistakes.
the broken
record played
even after
the last day
spent in hell.
the assumption.
the herding
of humans
into dark and damp
without their
clothes,
that lovely skin
that keeps
their hope alive.
to hope they
may differ.
they may be
separate and
unique.
the lovely skin
without that
strips them bare
to bleed into
the pool
they all swam in
and knew of before
their lovely skin.

In August

I can only be there

and hold him

and caress his hand

and listen

to his loss

to know his grief

and who is missing

and why he's missed

I can only know

how he's touched his life

and so many others

how he shone when

he was present

how he was always ready

to help anyone and everyone

and how he wished

he had his help now

even for just a minute or two

to hold him

and caress his hand

and listen

Hibiscus and gravy

you didn't stay long

folding your scarlet napkin

and tossing it to the ground

the lunch was short

but worth every sip

I drank of you

Cloud drift

some man stared down at me

as I watched him pucker his lips

he turned his eyes to

focus on the end of his nose

and transformed his

face into a baboon's

as he faded into the ethereal

another man's face came to be

right to next to him

with muted features

but didn't stay long

a giant baby chick

began slowly sailing by

and in the distance

a cat peeked around

the corner and wore

a dragon smile

I don't think the chick

knew about the cat

when they both

swirled back into the ocean

they were created from

Kim don ick

the toddlers have guns

loaded guns

everyone look away

we wouldn't

want to upset them

as one of them might

pull the trigger

Ode to ya'll

idleness, the chair

I uneasily sit in

time, the bottomless

glass I sip from

boredom, the friend

I wrote to advise that

I can't keep our prior commitment

words, the bowl

of chips I snack on

poetry, the spicy salsa

I dip from, yes double dip from

365 days, the vodka

to loosen my lips

to pour out my soul