Time Strings

down from the heavens it falls without gracefulness

sparsely at first, soon like a waterfall it pours down,

hiding ourselves in cabins and caves

huddling together against the chill

comforting those younger than us, 

teaching them the ways of the wheel

spinning the strings of time, it does,

testing the fate of the tellers whose prognostications

maybe result in nothing more than a false rumor,

a tale woven by fools, spun by those in doubt,

pushing forth a false narrative of power;

the wheel turns for everyone

all creatures great and small

only a few are fortunate to wear the weave

made of the truth of the correct foretelling,

many futures are woven - a few will unfold,

we have no knowledge of the source

who set all life into motion or began the

the first turn of the wheel - yet so it began...

and now the heavens drop water down on us

left to wonder if this omen be good or evil.

May 2, 2025

Not Just Darkness

flashes of light flow through the mind

lightning pierces the body

frozen rain falls on the graves of the dead

we bury and move one as this is

what our ancestors taught us to do,

we believed in their truth

we believed in their ways

even though they made no sense to us,

origins of life from the source it came

out of the skies like thunder

we obeyed the rules and the laws

until they too made no sense.

children of the light faced the

elders of the darkness, stealing their

justice and hiding their rules in the

cradles of the new dawn...

the beginning of new enlightenment

of our long-forsaken salvation,

promised but never delivered,

taken from them but never surrendered.

May 1, 2025

Outside Spring

KWA...  KWA...   KWA...  kwa...   kwa...  kwa...
sounds of some kind of bird and my sight
others try to imitate, longer but not the same
perched in a tree in front of me
other trees on either side
filled with noisy birds a well
silence broken - silence disturbed
new growth from a Crepe Mrytle
cut down last fall...
humming cars moving sides
distant barking, mixed with howls
pleasant morning exposures
for a country boy - formerly the city,
fours meters of grass in front of me
mowed two days again needs trimming
rain expected almost every day
too wet to mow this early...
neighbors hidden by leafy tree limbs
on my flanks and sixes seen...
no one knows the true meaning of Christmas
in the summertime,,,  does it matter?
hanging limbs need cutting
too high for the grab and pull,
coffee is getting cold but there is a cure;
too much to notice in one sitting
knowing it will not go away
humbled by it beauty, amazed by its persistence,
mornings outside before the sun brings humidity
are the days winter prepares us for
except in the city - the reason for leaving.

April 30, 2025

Under a Faded Red Umbrella

a hollow metal pole sits in front of me
a glass table around it on which my
laptop has been placed, along with
my pale red metal coffee cup...
cool breezes move the leaves of trees
whose limbs scurry silver squirrels,
a well fed brown rabbit jumps from
one side of the yard to the other,
passing my position without the
slightest apprehension as it does
every morning, I sit out here...
a large faded red umbrella is raised
to block out the sun, under which I sit,
since spring adorned us with its presence,
morning coffee better outside than in,
listening to the squawking of birds
and the passing of cars on the four lane,
my chair is comfortable for a while
about as long as my laptop's battery,
then inside I will go for a welcomed
breakfast of grits and honey and maybe
a vege sausage or two and a refill...
until then, I massage my arthritic knee
casting my eyes out into nature and
the over-abundance of pleasure she
provides me by being out here, a 
willing participant in her daily laughter.

April 29, 2025

Lost and Found

 

Black is the color of my mind

Red is the color of its thoughts

No longer are they separate

No longer are they divorced

Faces in the shadows seen

A nose and two eyes

Or a mouth and beard

Front legs of an animal

maybe the hind quarters of a deer,

Trees and limbs brushed up

against each other in a storm,

perhaps a wheel or time string

connecting what we hold dear,

mockingbirds taunt the living

as well as the dead - no respect

have they ever been given

nor have they offered either,

depths of despair filter through

our subconsciousness like the rain

falls through the skies

leaving nothing in it wake except

those who want to be found.

April 28, 2025

Daisey Lover

daisy's highlight the blue

or vice versa

no one really knows for sure,

those who like one or

prefer the other...

it matters not to some bot to

to others it is grounds

for deal breaking...

we know no other way this

day or another as we

are lovers of one but not

the other...  as was the case

for my birth mother...

she was a daisy lover from

the very beginning

from the getgo as we say...

there was no other way,

not today nor tomorrow,

daises engraved on her tombstone

and on her obituary

for all to read and see and

understand she was a daisy lover

no other flower ever for her.

April 27, 2025

The Unknown

 

everyday

    every hour

        every minute

we encounter that which 

is unknown to us,

that which has not been seen,

or witnessed

participated in or

observed...

we are not the enemy

but we are strangers 

to the unknown...

we understand not what

we cannot see...

yet, we experience throughout life

in unforgiving ways,

mannerism don't lie or betray

conflicting doubts

do not explain...

we fly into trees like birds

we have been there before,

seen and delivered

the promise given to us,

we are creatures our inner souls

beckoning to be saved

from constant turmoil and

so many misunderstandings.

April 26, 2025

Green Leaves Outside My Window

 

green leaves outside my window

brown branches peek through

a blue sky behind, more imagined than seen,

small forests of trees separate

separates house and homes

from mindless invasions by those

who understand not why we are here,

reporters scurry for their stories

the latest scoop to promote their careers,

no one cares for the victims since

they are always in the wrong place

and coincidences favor the prepared,

we undermine ourselves unknowingly

believing in our courage and determination

rarely ever giving rise to hindsight

forcing us to perhaps apologize...

we are the people of a creator whose

guidance is no longer present,

we have learned nothing from the past

except we have not yet been caught.

April 25, 2025

Loneliness Chills

misty mornings reflections

tears slide down the lenses

eyes narrowly focused

chills burn through the layers

kayaks pierce the pond silently,

pink skies bring more

a sailors tale come true,

solitude hides in the cold

in lands no one wants to 

venture into more than once,

we are shaken by its mysteries

enamored by its beauty

smothered by its loneliness,

photos do no justice.

April 24, 2025

Always Too Late

conspicuously,

we walk these lands

as did those before us,

boldly,

we built our fortunes

as if no one else 

around us mattered,

gradually,

we taught others what

had been taught to us,

unusually,

we blew smoke into the sky

to warn others of us,

ironically,

we shared our lands with

those who hated us,

tearfully,

we remembered all that

we needed to forget,

faithfully,

we lowered our bodies

in graves, made for us

by our children.

April 23, 2025