Embarrassed
I only whisper lullabies nowWhisper when the night is stilland only dream of softnessand arms that you’ll not fillI turn when tears befall me nowAs I know you need me toAnd temper cheer, and sighs as...
View ArticleLast Night
Last night I dreamed we spoke of deathAnd decided you would stay awhileYou asked me to come Which I rarely did I know“Maybe not such a good idea” I confessBut you hadn’t plastered those “do not...
View ArticleAfter the Magnolias
And after the magnoliasWhat?you had craved them - remember?had beseeched the season to bring themhad adored the young plum buds - making plans - When winter had died – though it seemed it never...
View ArticleRemembering Well
While fluttering about one afternoonbetween tasks and distractions -more distractions if truth be knownI found myself flipping through an old photo album -as I’m likely to do when I should be doing...
View ArticleTree
Today at 7:08 PMWhen you were two you toddled behind a fat oak treeand I held my breath until I could see you againyou should be proudI didn't scream or faint or tell you that the tree was badI thought...
View ArticleLightness
I could use a few thingsA few things to spiff things upI could use some color and some solidnessI could use – in fact - some heft - and some hardnessBut you never knowNot in the mood to lose- not in...
View ArticleMist
Outside the mist sits heavy over the old farmhouseand the reds and greens just barely poke throughand the heaviness is goodI would like to be buried with those colors - with the ravished wood too.Down...
View ArticleTightrope
I’m on a tightropeAnd it’s OKAs long as nothing movesStraight and cleanIt’s OKI’m on a tightropeIt’s OK with no breezeCheck the weatherHold on - don’t moveI’m on a tightropePlease – shhh – not a...
View ArticleMost of All
Year after year you learn to endure what was unendurable The others who didn’t heal youThe calling that you didn’t or wouldn’t or couldn’t answerYou learn that there are couldn’ts There are things you...
View ArticleThree Sisters at Their Father's Funeral
The dogwood fell anyway, like snowOn the day your father diedRain glazed the pavement where you gatheredTo consoleTo be consoled…The same rain that had greeted you last weekTo usher in the early spring...
View ArticleWaiting
You’re coming home tomorrow nightAfter an awful weekendWell – not awful – but not goodI was angry – and held my breath for hoursBut you’re coming homeMy house is a messAnd I’ve been eating too muchAnd...
View ArticleTulips by a Mailbox
About this time each springThe forsythias blossom like magicAnd daffodils line the paths Like a golden carpetAnd yet what mattersAre a scattered tulip or soBy an old tattered mailboxAround its base,...
View ArticleRewards
I like to think it’s about choices I’ve madeThat I've said yes to what should be yesAnd recoiled from the forbidden – I’d like to tell you that I ran around the blockOr paid all my billsThat I held my...
View ArticleBack Then
Back then I would walk round and round the blockCracking tar bubbles between my toesCracking tar bubbles between my toesHolding back the sunJust another roundOne more trip aroundBefore the world comes...
View ArticleMasterpiece in Blue
By the second day of kindergarten I knew I was no Monet or O’Keeffe - or even Victoria Callaghan - who sat across from me in Mrs. Steinberg’s class.After painstakingly sketching a tree one morning...
View ArticleWhat You Learn on the Front Steps
On the front steps you learn that thewetness in the air glazes your skinThat the breeze holds just enough coolness to get youThough the eveningYou learn that the grimy kid from 7th gradeHas learned how...
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Breaker Boys
This is just to tell youthat these daysthe first thing your mom would doIs put a gate at the top of the stairs -that you started out clean -and children crythat sometimes when you ask for thingsanswers...
View ArticleSpeaking of Magnolias
I’m not going to mention the magnolias this yearYou've grown weary of themAnd I've been wonderingIf you’re bored or sadOnly a season ago – or so it seemsthey were magnificent, weren't they?And why the...
View ArticleRunning
Just after the tumescence of perfect love recedesYou locate your disappointmentsWhich were there all alongIt could be a motherLover, or childBut you made the mistakeOf the ages -of baskingIn touch - In...
View ArticleBurning
Tonight the only chill is a welcome oneAnd the sun burns blood - red over the horizon -You lose it though, around the bend, over and overAs if it’s too much to ask for one clear viewAnd you swerve and...
View ArticleSpider
A spider, fat and gray,Was making her home in my stairwell.Before I could snarl or roll my eyes -Her slender legs caught my attentionRhythmically she wrapped and wrapped her preyHer tender arms bending...
View ArticleRunning Away
Running away isn’t hard to do Your just declare your endless loveFor where you are and sigh And heave a heavy breath or two And when you’re almost out the door Be sure to purse your lips just so In a...
View ArticleDawn Moon
Just before dawn on this vacant shoreI have come for the gift of a leftover moonLast night we cheered and exaltedand held our cameras reverentlyand pointed to our children,and back up again.Toward this...
View ArticleMail Boy
The boy who delivers the mail to the secretaries in the town schoolswears a generic black polo -with a generic bear logo over hissoft thin chest.Not like the pretty town boys with their Vineyard Vines...
View ArticleAt The Train Station
On the blue cupped plastic chair in the waiting room of the Amtrak station I confirm the differences between myselfand the ravished locals.A large wobbly woman with a drenched tattered skirt pushes her...
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