September has kissed
Summer good-bye with cool winds
and rain in the night

glorious dawn
spreading golden light on all
Earth's verdant drama

It just doesn't get easier
It gets harder
To stop the habit
that harms

When it started
and how long
don't matter
when the habit is harm


Unable to confront
the world
crazy, cold and cruel
we harm our lovely lives

he holds his head up
after a bob
the baby at his chest
on the couch
legs stretched out straight
baby lying flat downwards
no TV on No one else around

and we caught him
taking a cat nap

the stay at home dad
with one in the bed and one
in his arms

thwarted,
by words spoken  
frustrated
from exhaustion
******
in penance
pained
by foolishness.
condemned
by a wild mouth
blaming others.

bending and reaching
in the sunshine and fresh air
she hangs up the clothes

cooking apples
wafting up the stairs
so intoxicating you want to die
now that you've smelled
the sweetest thing in life

checking in to see who cares
how high do I climb
to get upstairs?

who's got the hearts
the likes, the glory
sounds like the ol FB story

good morning darling
the earth's turned around again
and we are still here

I move the pen
let it bleed
pinch out more life
yes - this is hemo-
camouflaged in black
camouflaged in black

falls on the page,
tumbles, rolls across
the eyeballs
and the gray matter is eased
of unwanted and unknown images
emptying
created out of black and
my ready hand
still steady
still steady

Cramming the words and letters
across this barren wasted papyrus
ancient scroll
for pharaohs and scholars

3 ringed and blue lined
receiving the unwanted, unwarranted
the wood block of
uncontrolled mind

Insistent
the blood
that rushes from heart to
feet and up again to brain
out my restless hand
camouflaged in black
camouflaged in black

Onto the desert
onto the Waste Land of Elliot
briny tavern of James Joyce
and black coffee pots of Thomas Wolf

Bleeding, in need of a tourniquet
medical attention
or at best psychosomatic drugs
control this outflow
stop the nonsense
it serves no purpose

bleeding out your sanity
proving you have lost it.
uncontrolled and deranged
wandering  running from
the bogey man
the bogey man

Who comes out of the dark cellar
quite near your little bed
with its pink flowered coverlet.

and the blood leaks out the
end of this instrument of
Terror
In the shadow of Stephen King
I make my stand
only poets get to say
things people can't grasp
The rest do graphic violence
camouflaged in black
camouflaged in black
their blood too
camouflaged in black.

The Peace of Wild Things
BY WENDELL BERRY
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

It glowed gold
not orange or yellow
It was gold I say!
When I lifted the blind
there it was
from behind those distant hills.
Gift of the morning
and I welcomed it.

The warped cutting board
the stinking drains
not enough soap,
nor medicine.
Never enough
Gratitude a long way off
Then this gift changed
a complaining heart.


Out there I am queen
Out there I can breath
Unsullied by housework
and balancing accounts
cheated of playfulness
and human contact.
This gift of the morning
this  ribbon of gold.

It was glorious, quite a show
All from a kitchen window
Turning round to make some tea
And what came next I did not see
A quick gray thief smudged out the hues
And banished the morning news

I'll stand here at the sink
And have my tea
and sip and think
and let the sun shine
on my hands
and cups and plates and pots and pans
and what a lovely place to be
and thankful that it's all for me

And let the wind come in the door
and through the window
to dry the floor
and when I've hung the clothes outside
I'll sit and wait to take a ride
To share the sunshine's gift to me
That I am happy
as happy can be

relentless August
thank goodness for Maple boughs
and venetian blinds

this heart of mine won't give up
won't stop beatin' even when i'm sleepin'

this heart of mine won't stop hurtin'
so i keep writin' that's for certain

this heart of mine I got from Mom
cry at the drop of a hat, and i'm glad of that

this heart of mine gets confused
it gets tired and sings the blues

this heart of mine knows no bounds
when i'm dead and gone the beat goes on

I needed something profound
and you showed me a sunken ship
the depths of which I had never known
but that is so like you
shining other people's lights
for me to see the way

"How does this work?"
she asked with some agitation.
"I'm fond of so many,
following with expectation.
But eighty poets,
how do I keep up?
I've already filled
twice my tea cup.
Does it take all day?
Do I need to pray?
To get the energy to say,
'Heart it, love it,  
can't get enough of it.'
How will I ever find the time
To read even seventy nine?"

Where is that cup of tea
When the world whizzes by
and the bills need paying
and dinner made
and the baby hugged?

The drone of a fan
turned off creates a silence
for the barking dog.

how does one follow a poet?
the morning tea/coffee/***** in hand
pepsi too if you're young and GRAND

setting down at desk/table or floor
settling in to your favorite nook
PC laptop or notebook

you go home to see who's up
you read and read
and never give up

there's sadnes, anger
and heartbreak galore
laughter and so much more

wisdom and something
that gives you pause
wows uhuhs and applause

you find your favorites
and undiscovered gems
poets all true to the end

the craft is your own
the voyage to find
just who it is controlling your mind

I can't sit anymore
wet eyes eventually

I really have to stop
My heart grows and grows

I'm sure this will lead somewhere
Like an open highway... skyway

A hidden garden
A secret knowing place

I couldn't possibly
Find the answer here

Or could I?

They told me I'm responsible
and I should act "this way"
to get out of hell
and all my debts repay

All the tears and self reproach
all the stars I cannot reach
never comes close
no matter what I preach

When I sing and do my thing
quantifying my belief
free of shoulds and dogma too
then are moments of relief

Monsters' howling
echoe through the canyon
Taking prey with abandon
Leaving a wake of poison

The roaring fades
then they return
for one of us
we hide in the houses
we crouch in the bushes
eyes wide with terror
the roaring shakes our chests
and paralyzes our minds

Dead bodies float in the river
surrounded by psychedelic rainbow blood.

I rode my bike
It's not a trike
Like it's heavy as steel
But one thing I can say
That may save the day
It's turquoise and pink
Which make people think
NICE BIKE!

this heart of mine won't give up
won't stop beatin' even when i'm sleepin'

this heart of mine won't stop hurtin'
so i keep writin' that's for certain

this heart of mine I got from Mom
cry at the drop of a hat, and i'm glad of that

this heart of mine gets confused
it gets tired and sings the blues

this heart of mine knows no bounds
when i'm dead and gone the beat goes on

one lone barking dog
competes with  a few crickets
using microphones

phil roberts
BABY, LIKE CRAZY

As I lie here
With eyes closed softly
I think deeply of you
And I inhale stars
The scent of twinkling light
So fresh and alive
Sparkling gentle inside me
And I want to write this feeling
So tentatively
As it must be
Like writing words on bubbles
Delicate and precious
Begging them not to disappear
Like dreams in the morning

two lone peonies
big pink floppy tousled heads
enough for this nose

I got an ache in my heart
It just won't mend
It tortures my mind
Almost round the bend

Fear and loneliness
My only diet
Trapped by tentacles
Vocal chords quiet

A moonlit night
Cold and clear
Run til I drop
My heart I must hear

If you wrote me a line
If you sang me a song
If you gave me hope
My heart would be strong

These things we think
and then write
are how we get it out
..so continue......
"get it out...let it out"
we hear you.
I want to be heard.

I was born onto this sphere
alive and lonely,
embraced by the sun
and sheltered by the moon.
Burned by the sun,
abandoned by the moon.
One of many lights


Sometimes I don't know
where I am going
but I know where I have been.
How I cried or laughed or swore.
And if I don't let it out
Words will appear on me
like a tattoo.

Covering every inch
the more I have to say
the words will grow smaller
and smaller
to make room for more.
Until I am all black
Drowned in ink.

I won't hide my light
Slashing at the page
Pounding the keys
This all makes sense,
it has to make sense
Someone will hear.
I'm listening.

What is this thing I do
With paper, stamps and glue?
A chip off Grandfather's clock
Gathering up the loose ends
Other people's sweat and art
This is What I Like! This is What I Like!

What is this thing I do
With sounds and coo?
Breathing out the gift
Reaching for a riff
Unearthing Hera's spit
This is What I like! This is What i Like!

What is this thing I do
With dirt and ***** and hose?
Waiting, watching, praying
For something to grow
Talking with the moon
This is What I Like! This is What I Like!

hands upon the door
to the cell phone store
I had an awful sore
in my heart and core

something I'm mad at
before the phone shat
something like ****
that some cat spat

so I rant at the gal
even her pal
and the guy Al
who give's a hal?

"The phone's inferior
Where's your superior?
I'll rip him a new interior!
You're all about exterior."

"Look at me when I speak.
or are you too weak?
Talking while you tweet
Look at me when you speak"

what's with this culture?
digital gone vulture
your phone like a suture
trying to mend the future

"Sorry if I got all hot.
Diplomatic I am not.
Had to rant and shout
get the dysfunction out."

"Your phone hurt my ear
The speaker on too near.
On this much I am clear
Your phone hurt my ear."

Went outside and pulled some weeds
then inside to fix my needs
a cup of tea a piece of bread
doesn't take much to fix my head

in my pj's the whole time
searching for the air so fine
I saw a man with his cans
walking to redemption land


I hid my self behind the tree
and turned again to look and see
in my mind I saved his soul
“your luck will turn if you play my role”

"food to eat a roof overhead
and when you need a comfy bed"
“no thanks” he said. “I know your game.
and to me it's all quite lame."

"for I heard you praying last  night
by your alter quite bright
trying to make it all alright
here I am and quite a sight"

"but at least I do not hide
or hurry to go back inside
my path is one you see as shame
but I am here to play the game"

"from what you see you turn and hide
but wanting to be at my side
to save me from my destiny
which is to have you look at me."

R k  When we are angry and tell someone to go to hell, we forget that we go there with them.
Maybe not the same day....

chasing down those clouds
in penetrating light
rode to the bridge

sun had set
pink and gold patterns
on the river

The man at the water plant
leaning on the railing
glanced down the river.

above the silhouetted hills
below the salmon gilded clouds
a patch of blue

no longer blue
but the color of the turquiose ring
on my bike tires

Her hand rested slight
Upon the book she'd found
Her bag across her shoulder
She was waiting for the sound
Of the door alarm at the B & N

I mean after all it was
Fifty nine volumes
On how to build a bomb
Found none to soon  
On a shelf at the B & N

Abandoned by her lover
After too many fights
That was five years ago
A lot of lonely nights
Casing the B & N

Screaming out loud
At rush hour on the train
Was not an option
Nor was *******
Snorted at the B & N


Finally people milling round
She quietly lifted the solution
To her ravaged heart
All fifty nine on revolution
S
    l
        i
           p
              p
                 e
                    d
Into her bag at the B & N



Head down and weighted down
She walked to the exit
Waiting for someone
No one to prevent it
Except security at the B & N

At last the perfect patsy
Alarm rang, the man froze
And our spurned lover
To the opportunity arose
Ran out of the B & N

Ran to the parking lot
Her VW bug
Opened the door
Threw in what she'd lugged
59 looted at the B & N

Key from the drink holder
In her shaking hand
er  rhrh  rhrh vah-room
Such a brazen plan
Perpetrated at the B & N

Her eyes glowed wicked
With rage and revenge
Someone would pay
All would attend
This crime hatched at the B & N

The deed was done
She clung to the wheel
The accelerator floored           
The tires squealed
Away, away from the B & N

when the words in my head made no sense
and every axiom turned on it's head

I was crying

when the ears you listened with were tender
and  when at last spoke your wisdom

my tears had ebbed

but we made a plan and we went to the party
and when we came back we worked liked clockwork

and we were on fire

simple things together to straighten our world
like pitch and stack and recycle

we were on fire

we did what we had to do because we knew
that we could get through it together

then we laughed

My head is on the pillow
Heart echoes in my ear
I pull my warming arms
out from neath the  covers


Searching for a familiar arm
a familiar leg
I pull it under
My warm fuzzy friend
hold it to my *****
Now restlessness will end

Somewhere the sun is shining
And the birds are singing
and the flowers are growing
And after the rain there's
a Rainbow.

Somewhere all the wars end
And the soldiers come home
And the wounds all heal
And the music plays
And everyone dances

Somewhere the children laugh
And run and giggle
And pick up rocks and
blow dandelion fluff
into the blue and white sky

Somewhere all the parents are kind
and the teachers praise
and the rulers protect
and the saviors are ourselves
and well...............we're happier.

injured a spider
trying to get it outside
begged its forgiveness

Spring
green and full.
Hawthornes
lovely in thorniness of pink blossoms.
Not to be out done
Dogwoods
lift their faces to the sky.

striped sky
floating breeze
March winds
play with Spring again
Comes ravishing,
leaves her spent
An on-off relationship.

My garden's a mess
never at it's best
although things grow
they grow oh so slow.

I've mended the soil
and put in my toil
there are bees all around
and I've watered the ground.

I've rousted the insect
slugs, earwigs and miscreants
I planted in June
and prayed to the moon.

Morning glories abound
they twine all around
the squash and the shovel
that leans on my hovel.

I lounge in my chair
drink beer and stare
at the bees in their feats
Spearmint their treat.

Maybe next year, I dream
it will all be serene
right now no blue ribbon
I'd only be fibbin'.

The harvest no boast
but will raise a toast
to the bees and glories
in this garden story.

they come every day now
robbers of life
seeping slowly into my mind
tampering with my scaffolding

fight them and they leave
unannounced they come again
in harmless words of friends
taken the wrong way

Breaking, I fill the waste basket
with tissues that held my sobs
worthless life and worthless
thoughts, killing confidence

shut them out with electronic devices
ignore them with food and *****
and temporary visits to friends
But they never really leave

these damning voices
knowing  every history
covering the light within
showing other shining examples