Free
Verse
The Picture
you asked me to
go to the party with you
after we were seated you changed your mind
you didn't want to be there with me
you made it my fault until I finally said
I'm leaving now
that old picture of not fitting in lit up again
the photo is now ashes
so is trust
bedtime
story
there was a
crack in the overturned cup
all the sunlight slipped away
bum bye the stars came twinkling in
at last a half moon appeared in the darkened dome...
Untitled
Mercury's Retrograde
sorting through some old boxes
one is marked treasures
I know what it is, I stall
I unpack and sort through two more
have a cup of coffee
finally it's just me and that box
a dirty T-shirt, it smells like you
a half pack of menthol cigarettes
your pillow
how could I be so reluctant to open one small box
the contents, all that I have left of you
are in no way the measure of what we shared
or what we planned to share
I'll never understand why all our photos were stolen
I can let go of all this now, I found the gift wrap
I made a pretty package, ribbons and bows
I filled the flask with tequila, cut some limes
we had a fire pit at the beach we called ours
the sun is about to set as I light the fire
I pour shots, yours I drizzle over the gift wrap
I gently dropped the box into the flames and watched it whoosh
then I drank my shot, I toasted you and me and God
37th Street
Laundromat
Girl, are
those sandals Jimmy Choo's?
mmm hmmm came the reply with sass
how'd you do dat?
I tole' you, when I said I want those
my man tole' me, “go sell your ass”
thought he make me feel small
as she strutted on her four inch platforms
“now I be tall”.
I'm not folding laundry, Excuse me!
I'm workin' Craig's list,
gotta' take this call!
Oh, Johnny
Love
Summer of the
eighth grade...
you lived around the corner from me
so many evenings we all hung out on the lawn
watching the sunsets and maybe later, falling stars
make a wish you said, I had such a crush on you
I wished and I wished
one evening walking home from the pool
you said let's cut through the school yard
and across Blackie's place
that meant going through the school Rose Garden
worse yet, Blackie's place was a truck garden
dusty rows just plowed ,what was he thinking?
But, we were holding hands
with some reluctance I said OK.
as we tiptoed through the roses,
he cut a lovely pink cabbage rose for me
we stepped into Blackie's field
come on, he said excitedly
laughing and skipping through the dirt
there in the moonlight was the tractor.
“I been workin' for Blackie this summer,
and thinking about you”. Johnny was fifteen.
He climbed up on the tractor
pulling me up alongside him
there we were sitting side by side
on that big green John Deere
“It's a full moon tonight, no falling stars”
He put his arm around me and kissed me
I kissed him back.
How innocent we were then
A rose and a first kiss
by the light of the moon on a John Deere tractor
Oh, Johnny, it must have been love
Quench this
Thirst
God, where did you
go?
God, Goddess, All That Is,
where are you?
I keep hearing these whispers about
Divine Ordination, Divine plan
I gotta' ask.
Is that what you really had planned for me?
I've been working my butt off for years
holding a “straight” job, working
in the corporate world
'til I could retire
all the while, for 40 years, I worked for you too.
Kept my word—did
what you asked.
If this whole Heart's Desire thing
and the manifestation thereof
is part of your plan
for my greater good and Happiness
where is the phone call, the visit
something I can wrap my arms around?
Forty years Big Guy, even your son quit at thirty-three years
Do I get brownie points for hangin' in there?
You know my Heart's truest desire
I ain't getting any younger here
Have I burnt off enough karma?
I've been on this trek for near on seventy years
where is the oasis? I just want that big tall drink of water
Quench this thirst!
Mercury
Retrograde
Mercury is
retrograde
there's rioting,
somewhere on the planet
water flows clearly, babbling and splashing
peace abounds in the garden, flowers abloom
and I, the Bliss Ninny, sit on the roof
with a glass of Red Velvet wine in hand
laughing with the Cosmos
Muse, can
you help me?
I don't
seem to be able
to sort this all out
Heart full of juice
angst
laughter
tears, what-if's
wonder
peace
and adventures
I see all the pictures
but the words are hiding
I'm Not
Really Tough
Just been out
here
ahead of the hurricane
nailing down my own roof
for so long
creating shelter from the rain
shade from the sun
my own peace of mind
never noticed any volunteers
had a boy and a dog to look after
boy helped a lot, he's grown now
I'm pretty much in this mess by myself
so I forget to be a girl, not that I don't love being a
woman
and all the frou frou stuff
I just don't always know how to ask
and life's too short for all the curtsying and fluttering
so God when I say I could use a little help
I mean Now
and Thank You
Frolic
The
undamming project is nearly done
once again the pond has water
pond bottom sighs as life begins anew
aquatic critters awakening
seabirds frolic
