One Moment

Let something go right today
As right as rain
As sweet and hopeful as a fresh slice of pumpkin pie
Just one thing
Not asking for much
Just one sweet gentle little moment
Savor it
Digest it
Make love to it
An exquisite expression
Lean on it
Hold it
Put it in a pocket
Take it to the bank
Let's have one of those please

Tabak Especial Corona Dulce

There is a moment when smoking a fine, moist cigar, and falling five minutes into the smoke, the stick still new and firm, and a hush falls over the universe, a quiet of immense proportions, bringing with it a wistfulness of gorgeous colors, renewing life and sprinkling reflection.

Permanent

I put you on my arm
Our love peaking
Fat dark outlines
Crimson ink
Your name wrapped in
Barbed wire
Circles and arrows
Exploding hearts
Now, dismissed
Thankfully out of my life
But bicep remains enamored

Who Walks Who

My dog tells me he wants to go for a walk
With pleading, inquisitive eyes
Let's go
He sits squarely at my feet, patient
Ever ready
Watching if I put shoes on
For him

A Hair Cut

Which hair to trim
At a haircut
The one peaking over an ear?
The shiny white one betraying age?
The one grieving, bending away from the others?
Take them all up
A solution elegant in simplicity
But unfair for those behaving

Tempted by Trappings

Pope Francis
Appears to be humble
But alone
In his sacred Vatican apartment
He binges on Doritos
And looks at forbidden websites
He caresses his cross
Unadorned with gold and jewels
Reconsiders his piety
Tempted by trappings
And his lust for simplicity

Differences

He said:
The difference between you and me
Is like the difference between an rabbit and hare
As if there is a difference
I'm not splitting hairs
Does it really matter?
Is it worth arguing the point?
Now our differences are greater
Thanks for that

Turtle

The turtle tips his nose above the water
Sniffs for danger
Opens eyes
Paddles to the edge of the creek
Looks for tired flies
Wonders if cold days are done
Thinks about his girlfriend

Rhyme

Poems that rhyme don't come easily to me.  They don't come to me, period.  Such creations seem forced, more like exercises than art, relics from an era that never really existed.  Instead, phrases and thoughts cascade, presenting themselves as frozen moments, tiny sculptures waiting to be discovered, shared, thrown down steps to shatter.

Adam and Eve

Some say
We become our parents
Grow into them
Inhabit their bodies
Say the same things
Act similar
That we marry our parents
Find a spouse that fits with what we know
As if that's what we want
As if that's a good thing
As if it's unavoidable
Repeated back through time
So that's who Adam and Eve were

Finding Grace

If there is a gentler way out of this
Let me find it
Allow me to discover grace
Compassion for them, me, those I barely know
Let it not be so oblique
Simplicity is out there somewhere
I know it is
Pray for that
But, oh, how fulfilling it would be to
Fight back
To say, what a prick!
To be wide eyed with thunder and rage and violent intensity
Provide a schoolyard lesson
Say all the clever things
To take immense satisfaction in
Doing the wrong thing
And be left smaller for it
It's out there somewhere
I know it is
Let me find it
In all its beauty

Broken Cracker

He breaks the cracker in half
Fits the pieces together again
Carefully
Ensuring they match
Applying enough pressure to conceal the seam
Holding it like a sacrifice for inspection
Where's the line?
It's a good one
The cracker looks whole, perfect
Edges are inspected for evidence
We smile
Eyes sparkle
A moment of love exchanged

Astonishment

The old man finds himself at the end of his life and lands upon astonishment.  So this is what it's like.  He figures out what all the fuss has been about, where the puzzle pieces go, how the mistakes he made were the right ones all along. Listen to me, he says, will you just listen to me for a second?  He has a conversation with himself and feels good about it, then he closes his eyes and thinks about what he'll do tomorrow.

Portrait

A portrait must stand in a corner of your attic
Shrouded
Growing dusty, dark
A plump face peering from the canvas
Skin roiling with boils
Oozing, blistered
Emitting a putrid odor
Echoing inane laughter
Its doppelganger oblivious of inflicted pain
And high opinion

Sting

The scorpion stings the frog because it's his nature, but that doesn't change things for the frog who feels the poison seize his limbs, sinking, bubbles escaping its mouth as drowning commences.  The frog asks why but barely hears the scorpion's lament as the current carries them down, careening into rocks and submerged branches that welcome them to eternity.

Elevator Shoes

Four-foot man wears elevator shoes
Now he's four-foot-two and feels tall
On top if the world
His self-esteem bursting
Look at me, he thinks
Notice how I can nearly breathe the same air as you
Am I not virile now?

Falling

Everything falls
Apples, meteors, hearts
They break at stems, orbits, staleness
Charting trajectories of chaos and blood
Landing, they crash and splash
Echoing through time and heartache
Like frogs upon untethered water lilies
Quiet, and you can hear it
The sound of things falling apart

Howl

Someone once said that our lives turn on an axis of endless repeating cycles, duplicate periods of time that fold in among each other, singing familiar themes, overtures that hint at specific action, so there is no longer surprise, only the same things happening over and over and over again until they melt into the sun and encourage us to break the mold and howl at unseen planets.

Strangers

We once had friends
Now we have Friends
We used to like each other
Now we're urged to Like
Thumbs up
Or abandon Friends by
Unfriending
People we don't know ask to be our Friend
They blur into a single mass of
Strangers

Men in Red

Each man in red wonders if he will be chosen
I'm worthy, they think, looking in the mirror at age
I can wear the ring
But they know this is false
Aware of their standing
Envious of those with profile
Who among them hasn't done the bad deed, anyway?
And who will tell?
So they fold their hands and hold their beads
Kiss the cross
Consider how their vote will elevate them closer to god