For a Reason

shallow graves
harvested in rows
on either side
of backroads
lead to the clearing
that houses the
buried thoughts
never acknowledged,
never read twice
never considered
as if they were
aborted babies
tossed in the trash
for pickup on 
recycle Thursdays.
shallow graves washed
over by rain and snow,
heat and cold,
cultivated by farmers
for tobacco...
fertilized and fed 
on even days
weeded and pruned
on odd ones...
and not once did the
neighbors complain.

December 17, 2025

Resilience

moments bleed into
minutes
hours
days...
weeks bleed into
months
years
decades...
life begins as it ends,
alone
but with family,
learning
growing
living
as we slowly die,
returning
to what once was
now no more,
grappling with
why
what
where...
no destiny seen
no future experienced
no reason to 
pursue what is not,
and then...
along comes spring
we bask in the
warmth of light.

December 16, 2025

Friendly No Longer Say

separation
mind and soul
distance foreseen
early on - truth
around campfires told
inside spirits dwell,
protagonist
goes awry...
duty calls seldom
gates are fastened
mouths closed,
loyal to the end
is shared at
meal's end...
fitting are we today,
tomorrow and the
next - hopefully
joined by family
when friends think
for themselves,
odd man out
ladies too
no discrimination
here in this shoe,
save the memories
passed along
one by one,
in line standing
available are
no seats here or
anywhere these days
since the cold
swept out warmth
and belonging 
brought the dogs.

December 15, 2025

Before Consciousness

 

eyes of darkness lived

before the dawn,

before time's beginning

before we were who we are.

eyes of darkness observed

life's creation, witnessing

its explosive growth and 

its formation of all

that lies before us.

eyes of darkness peered

into the future, admiring our

subsequent consciousness

as if it were a rare spectacle

of life - a sentient being

capable of regression

and divestiture of thought

when survival was appropriate

and death imminent.

eyes of darkness, possessing

too much insight were

forever banished to the other

side of the consciousness

they had inadvertently created.

December 14, 2025

Transformation

 

the walk is brief between

land and sea,

we begin at noon or there abouts

to set us free,

 into a new world we

do not know or

may never be witness to,

we journey nonetheless...

a land of new beginnings

new desires and hopes,

opportunities will be presented

never seen before...

all we have to do is

find the portal - the connection

between the two,

one step follows the other

one movement forward

precise, clear and clean...

no one ahead - no one follows

it is our alone to achieve

or vanish in the mist trying.

December 13, 2025

Spring's Blue Skies

window shades pulled halfway down
venetian blinds not really Italian,
glass manufactured in France
home built by Mexicans,
multinational views peer out
looking for rain slow to arrive,
cold air flows through the valley
s temporary place to live,
seasons define characters and
clothes make the man or woman,
juniors watch from cribs sucking
sucking on Venezuela bottles,
neighbors record on cell phones
what's not seen behind curtains,
Cuban sugar cane substitute bananas
monkeys swing on bars while
eating upside down - glorious are
the ones who believe in themselves,
inside, we are warmer than before
waiting for a warmer climate
and the blue skies of springtime.

December 12, 2025

Under the Walnut Tree

empty walnut shells hold
all global truth, whether
real or imagined...
seen or unseen...
practiced or not practiced...
as if life hold the keys
to where it was before;
before all the nations
traded honor for power,
decadence for humanity
freedom for imprisonment,
we founded a new world
far enough from the old
to be special and precious,
alas...  it was not... and
life rotten away on
the god's vines,
souring the grapes
until all that we once knew
was contained in the
shell of a walnut,
cast down to us by our
fearless ancestors who
knew not what they had done
nor the doors they opened
nor the minds changed
because interpretation was
left for the masses to decide,
giving up that which gave
them that right the day
before it all went away
and all that was left
buried by squirrels their
favorite walnut tree.

December

Thought Walks

down through the ages 

my rabid thoughts tumble,
rabbit holes all of them
chasing the dream that
never was or will be...
saved experiences lay
at mental foothills 
waiting the harvest,
springtime festivities
lamented and foregone,
like a judicial review
never performed or a
war never fought...
crimes against nature
is what we do - an
accelerated view of the
life we were forced into
like African slaves or
poor folks out of loan.
distilled memories 
surround us as would
sidewalks surround a city
giving its residents the
needed space to grow
into some predictable
and plausibly deniable.

December 11, 2025

Life Just Lost

darkness prevails
light fades away
fears worsen
evil stalks evil
we are absent
those who believe
or once did...
when the crown
was worn and
laws were obeyed,
not broken as
they are today,
allowing goodness
to hide in corners
of the darkness
where shadows hide
and demons guard
the roads in and out
like Roman soldiers
did before the dawn.
crawlers creep
with death clinging
to them, scents from
hell, it is said...
where no one sees
no one hears
no one senses the
life they just lost.

December 10, 2025

The Tenement House

kitchen smells slowly meander
throughout the rooms
feeling their way along,
riding heat currents upwards
towards the other floors,
inside the other rooms
carrying scents of breakfast
to the tenants of the house,
whose day began before
light broke through windows,
exposing their views and
points of interests while
dressing for work or 
their love making, ignored
by daily preparations...
an unwavering desire to be
first at the table...
first for the stove warmth
for the hot food and
pleasant conversations
before the cruelty begins.

December 8, 2025