MY FATHER
bent over in casual obedience
muddled hands claw at the red clay;
the old man grey and balding
the stub of a cigar clenched tightly in the center of his mouth,
looks intently at the hole in the ground
on either side his knees support a massive frame,
a young dogwood sits by his side like his old dog used to;
perplexed, he digs the hole deeper then
gently places the young tree inside...
fallen leaves are gathered and placed
in the hole around the bundled roots then
dirt is added and the process is repeated until the cavity filled;
upright the dogwood stands in front of its new master;
a pleased look appears on the old man's tilted face
as he lights his cigar and a puff of smoke
rises towards a sunset sky.
October 29, 1985
grey morning dawn greets and treats us to a sunless, foggy day,
street light glow and car lights tow their passengers through,
up and down we turn our minds to the day...
a ten o'clock break with coffee and cake releases us free to play,
a noon tune sounds and we race to the place where the
specials are fast paced and we carry our trays to the can,
we press hard on... all issues are done and we drag ourselves
to the lot across the way where are vehicles stay,
we bank right away, cause Friday's payday and dress for an evening downtown,
the friends that we meet all mix it quite neat casting doubts on a weekend alone,
we toil all our life with minimal strife and retire at the dock of the bay,
our children are grown and occasionally call home,
bringing babies and boxes this noon...
we look back and muse, feeling somewhat confused
at our lives and all we've been through,
we think back a few... could we start life anew...
if only... I wonder... with you?
October 28, 1985
our present quietly slips into the past,
into a prevailing world of occasional memories,
poems filed in secret help captive for a password, hold the future,
in huddled silence, we sit just with our thoughts
an intimate release of suppressed emotions
flow into our cold bodies warming us
and we betray our own warmth transmitting
a single desire of sensuality;
for a long time we have been together
have peered into each other's souls
witnessing each other's truths with
their subtle illusions and differences,
conveying an intensity so immense we
become each other's passion and our
essence is engraved on our partner's life force,
an energy field that resists life's corrosive influences;
we are Xerox copies... exact duplicates
perfect silhouettes against a pale blue sky.
October 24, 1985
tossed down the streets like a penny against a concrete wall,
I wander past vacant lots, past decaying silence,
into the city's once alive and pulsating heart;
old timers remain wondering in slumped serenity,
how they have outlived their influence;
vines draped over empty buildings
belong to the new house of Usher;
familiar habits remain...
tobacco stains mark the company store
railroad tracks dead end into a crumpled pile of bricks;
slow men working and traffic signs
twisted around like lovers are
the perpetual hosts for bird now whose
chirping pierces the air like a siren... an eerie sound
juxtaposed against a mute isolation;
the eyes and the ears of the world am I
and their silent currents of time
homespun and natural...
the harbinger of life's continuance.
October 22, 1985
ALWAYS OURS
to one another as if what we
experienced years ago created
a mystical bond or some new
instinct... a possession from
which neither can escape;
we talk, making love with our thoughts
we smile, making love with our eyes
we hold back the desire to touch...
to hold... to press together...
taking back what we've forgotten
but what will always be ours.
October 18, 1985
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