Our Special Night

out from under they come

or from behind, underneath,

from mountain cave

from abandoned skies,

all points in between,

witches, wizards, sorcerers

dressed in black with robes

flowing mysteriously behind them,

like a comet's tail... or perhaps

a troll or even a ghoul

who knows - it's the hallo eve

when magic seeps out of cracks

in the imagination and fantasy

become reality momentarily,

carved faces on pumpkins

cornstalk monsters painted red,

a maze of possibilities surrounding

and enshrouding movement

of a very curious nature...

stories told over campfires

remembered long as a child,

creepy crawling things hanging

down from tree branches,

walking through neighbor's yards,

tricking more than treating

perpetrated on those who were

not much fun...  warned against 

parents who favored moderation,

graveyards avoided in the dim light

of a harvest moon, yet we enjoyed

our romping while they lasted

overlooking internal frightful fears.

October 25, 2025

American Righteousness

fathers mourn for their sons

mothers for their daughters

grandparents for their children

children for the elderly...

we are a mournful nation

when it comes to our own,

but not so much for others

whose lives are troubled from

the very moment of their birth,

we sit on our righteous thoughts

on Sundays, hoping our God

will please us with wealth and

good health...  when nary a

stray though runs through our

minds about the Africans or

Indians, Pakistani, or Asians.

our God just takes care of us,

some other god will take care

of them, we perceive when we

sit down to Thanksgiving dinner,

mentally naked and aloof when

it comes to the lives of others.

October 25, 2025

Exposures Hidden

glare on the windows - reflections too
sunshine fille the space - window wall
dull green leaves - decaying trees
fences no longer seen - hidden exposures
glimmers of hope lay on grassless soil
a decades old battle ensures forthwith,
corroded wires wrap around bark
tree trunks groan throughout the year,
strange comments, baseless in nature
spin out from neighbor's voices who
understand less than is perceived...
worms inch their way along the ground
with no particular destination in mind,
glad to be alive and moving before
winter covers the ground with frost,
mothers send their daughter out for wood
fathers and sons spent time cutting,
hounds curl up under the front porch
their tails barely moving, disturbing
not the air circulating around them,
Koi hide on the pond's bottom mud
away from all sounds and light, 
waiting for bullfrogs to let them know
when it's safe to move upwards...
a cold sunroom remains vacated for
days on end - splits not working well
keeps all passengers inside the home
until destiny tells spring to warm.

October 24, 2025

A Non-linear Path

along the narrow path I stroll

as walking is far too fast a pace,

on one side is manic influence

on the other is the depression,

balanced are they never close

mornings seem to favor the highs

while evenings favor the lows

but never do the equalized where

there is a gentle gliding of it all;

holidays are never seen as joyous

birthdays enter the cavity of despair

despite how strong my teeth are

there is always crunching and grinding

as if the top and bottom challenge

each other's right to belong there...

no diagnosis has been performed

yet my mother and daughter both

were touched in a similar way as I,

my path zigzags up and down,

hills and valleys, it creeps upon me

twists and turns, the unexpected

is my friends and then my enemy,

life boasts of accomplishments and

failures but my path disallows and

disavows any such resolution...  or,

any associated friendship derived,

leaving a hollow emptiness inside.

October 21, 2025

False Memories of Other's Dreams

haunted by the false memories
of someone else's dreams, my
body floats on a cloud in a 
distant solar system of space,
oval planets with triangular stars,
half-moons that flicker pink
when passing the starboard side,
planet turned upside down making
newspaper reading difficult and
movies that start at the end and
play towards the beginning...
meals served without plates,
cooked on stovetops mounted
on sides of curved walls...  an
outpouring of uncertainty greets
everyone who enters the space
since no one leaves unless they
have been placed dead in a box.
shoes on our hands and gloves
on our feet, we spend days in
caves with spiders and nights
hanging from trees like bananas.
mysteries uncorked like bottles
full of air instead of wine, lay on
the table for spin the bottle games
and no one cares how they look
as long as the bottle never stops...
rhythms remain aloof - fog horns
blast out the cadence of time that,
running neither forward nor back
but perpendicular to it all, creating
holes that gave me false memories
experiencing someone else's dreams.

October 21, 2025

Our Watery Mistresses

cold fingers interlace - warm palms
skinny wrists - fat forearms
pointed elbows - tris and bis above
shoulders with missing rotator parts
hand loosely down to the waist.
a protruding belly for a midsection
groin covered in leather shorts,
hairy thighs lead to kneecaps,
calves and ankles are well united,
feet and toes round out the bottom
on top of a wooden deck, they stand
swaying to and fro with the music
of the global ocean they command,
business class leans on first class
the lower levels bear the brunt of rolls,
the sea's mistress is never kind to
strangers who fail to hiss her reputations
booking passage to foreign destinations
they never intended to visit this time.
crowds of onlookers on the dock gather
waving bon voyage to those aboard
understanding the vessel will join
the underwater locker room of those
who tried to make this journey before.

October 21, 2025

Remembering's Again

there was a time that seems
not long ago...  when
life was so kind and gentle,
simple mornings and afternoons
frolicking in the fall leaves,
stomping in spring puddles,
watching tadpoles turn to frogs
playing cowboys and Indians
in the neighbor's yard...
there was a time that seems
not so long ago...  when
a military uniform I wore
bell bottoms and chambray blue
a sailor's cap and beard,
sailing on sea breezes, currents,
and trade winds from the
Aortic to the Caribbean and
back again, leaving family 
and friends oh so far behind...
there was a time that seems
not so long ago...  when
a forty-five-year career passed
by so quickly and retirement
meant no early mornings
nor long trips away from home,
or taking orders from those
who knew the least of all...
there was a time not so long ago
that I could remember more,
fantasize less and put my thoughts
into powerful words...  but those
times have all but disappeared.

October 19, 2025

Archaeological Findings

rain drizzles in the conscious mind
a hole left from previous thoughts,
gently scrubbing the sides
removing the ageless plaque...
cavities that once held eyes are
empty save the invested bugs that
have made it their new habitat,
nostrils filled the ancient smells
convey the ominous signs of aging,
neck muscles protrude, conveying
images of restlessness, sleepless
nights brought about by fright...
menacing dialogues lay on the
ground unmolested for centuries
while crusaders mocked the faith
and hostilities were as rampant
as the drizzling rain that smooths
out distorted facial appearances,
ears bent inward and pointed
reflect the endless cycles of 
listening but not hearing and the
fortuitous battles that ensured
robust memoirs left in its wake.

October 19, 2025

Spring Cleaning in the Fall

from one room to the next we go
with our mops, dust rags, and water
moving tables away from the wall
chests and stands as well must go,
accumulation is what we see
more so with our three felines who
seem to shed hairs constantly...
back and forth, the mop moves
from one hand to the other it glides
soapy water turns dirty the more
we swish and sway - along the walls
and down the halls and into the
corners that seem the worst of all.
books on shelves individually cleaned
then place in plastic bags on a whim,
power cords once black is grey
and must be restored to originality,
picture frames are the worst and
should be called dust collectors instead,
put are put back in their places as
they have nowhere else to go...
two years it took to get us to return here
and now that we have, we wonder
what we might find in the next room.

October 18, 2025

Falling Water

dark outside - light inside
sometimes reversed...  depending
wailing walls and local jails
month over month
a candle burns on windowsills
farmers gamble with crops
death to the future of mankind,
internally we fight for the
rights of the unfortunate who
lost their dignity while
fishing for hope...
faith stands on the corner
under a streetlight
like a nigh walking prostitute
selling tickets for the show,
brownstones stand like sentinels
on both sides like a tunnel
warning of future growth...
tears of fears on faces of children
falling water with grace
sealing our overdue fantasies.

October 17, 2025