(for Patty)


25 years on

but a

moment,


the bonding

and nurturing

of two hearts

as one,


the fitting

and casting

of two

pieces of

clay

in God's

hands,


to form

the perfect

union of

heaven

and earth

in our

souls.


and the

words

"my wife"


I speak in

reverence,

and in

God's ears

I whisper

every night.


"I am not

worthy

to lie by

your side,


or dream

for a

moment

in your

loving eyes..


but I trust

in God's

plan he

will make

me a better

man ..

because one

moment

under the

morning star


he gave

me you.

The clown would’ve been beaten up and down
a long time ago, if he didn't know
how to force scowls into smiles,
bafflement and battles into laughs
like startled bells and baby rattles.

Who would he be now, if he didn't know
how to play the jester, how to stitch
his words together
like the mouth of a snitch
or a quilt of dodo feathers?

He learned it from pain: how to be a joker,
how to act the fool.
Does it count, still, as stand-up comedy
if he's just crying on a stool?

(for Patty)

Falling into
your eyes.

the deepest
pool of
autumn
honey
brown.

that I
have
ever tasted.

hard to
catch my
breath.

your heart
running
wild
inside
my chest.

the morning
light reminds
me that
time'
like
love
has it's
own universal
place.

between your
smile
and mine.

and the
rest
of our
lives
together.

nothing can
ever
take
me away
from this
place.

all my
mornings
are promised
to you.

and all
of my
Godly
prayers
begin and
end with
you felt
deep.

in the
places
where no one
else
can go.

where dreams
are the
every
day moments
we live.

My train of thought fell off the tracks.
I burned that bridge before I even got to it.