Anywhere

I guide my glassed 

envelope along the weaving

asphalt and see the crowns of

a million trees.

 

I recall the chittering

of a bird and a

small, furry rustle

amid the silent forest.

 

When the leaves go screaming 

off branches and lightning

strobes the windows,

I am sheltered in you.

 

As I stand with my 

toes in the sand,

the salt air 

waving my hair,

 

shushing breakers

settle my heart beat;

I am alone 

with you.

 

When the wind yowls and

the rollers pound, 

they thunder in my veins,

and I drink in your strength.

 

Anywhere, with you, is home.

 

 

 

Fall Equinox, 2018

Smoky Mountain Memories

In the early quiet a cloud passes through,
enwraps the ridge, and grays away all but the nearby forest.
The tree trunks blackened by dampness
bar the white boundary of my one-acre universe.

Planks of the porch sigh beneath my bare feet.
Cool dampness paints my cheek,
and my chest rises unbidden as my lungs
swell to drink in the fresh moist air.

A memory, a fragrance,
of biscuits baked with raw buttermilk
and salt pork sizzled on a wood fired stove
meanders through my mind.

The smells of ancient cabin stir wistful thoughts
of a life like a lollipop, both hard and sweet,
salted with sweat, scoured by tears;

-the breath of the cow,
-the squish of the milk in the bottom of the pail,
-the nicker of the horse,
-the rattle of corn in his feed trough,
-the aroma of the leather traces
-and clinking of plow chains,
-the breath of new turned earth,

each bathed by the stream’s gurgle and crush.

Only birdsong says the sun floats over the rim of the earth
as the silvering mist encloses everything
in a moment where the pain is almost forgotten
and simple sweetness lingers on memory’s tongue.

 

Winter Bared Trees

nude, winter bare trees,
bole darkened with damp,
sinuous limbs silvery in sunlight
arch, twist in the chill air
twig fingers ache to cradle doming blue.

 
structure disrobed for all eyes to devour,
some frowzy haired maidens, frizzled with tiny sprigs,
others with massive trunks unfurling, stately, sedate,
branches stretching, streaming into sky,
languorous naked ladies, bare breasted and serene.

 

winter, 2015

Palette

Driving before sunrise
on drippy mornings,
pewter pavements glow with a patina
of brass and carmine.
Shiny lane stripes lace the leaden asphalt.

In showers, the windshield is
a screen of ruby beads,
headlights carve streets with silver swords,
taillights and stop signals flick, flash.
The satin luster flushes amber and emerald.

In downpours, electric waves of
color spatter between
black wiper strokes, and the
patent leather streets flow
gold, scarlet, and lime.

Get up or stay up,
drive and drink in
the wonders of the wetness!

 
Years in the making
Visible November, 2015