darkened eyes
read
Illuminating
Words
absorb well woven
  language  
into deeply  recessed
caverns
flashlight of  knowledge
soothes  a weary heart.

constantly rehashed
long thread spun out
every chance
chokes
Over
And  
Over
Again
rewind button
never sticks
tape
never breaks
lassoed memories
drug in kicking
and screaming
allegations  
insinuations
half-truths
blows the lid off  
feigned civility
while anger
simmers savagely
under
pursed lips

flavored air
escapes
under the back  door crack
Anticipation hangs
over the pool
in waves
dog cries  
pierce the morning calm.

Easy Bake Oven
I lack
cannot make cake
in my bedroom
I Promise
not to bake
my Barbies
Mom

for a
a dead man
who
can't buy wine

a timeshare
in Florida

finance
a mortgage

go back
to school

use a senior discount
for an age he never  
reached

oddly enough
it seems
his state
of
non physicality
impedes
his  purchase
capabilites

fatally

Chickens
clucking
white
feathered
pantaloons
Cute
I don't want to eat you
cute chickens
in crisp pantaloons
Not hungry
Drumsticks
Wings
Two ******* please
Cole slaw
Biscuits and honey
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Confused
I don't want to eat you
Chickens
clucking
white
feathered
pantaloons
Cute
I don't want to eat you
Popeyes,Lee’s, KFC-
Are your chickens this pretty?

My garden gnomes
continue to groan
as weeds
climb up
their hineys

Storm savaged fronds
still flower
tucked away
for another day’s  
punk  spiked  blooms
hide inside
a deftly
French braided core.

every waking thought
fueled by
juicy   strawberries
not from distant lands
stalked by native asparagus
signs on empty spots
indicate to our dismay
the farmer’s market  
Gone away
for this week
dejected  we head home
desires  unmet
with crumpled  canvas totes
in  unhappy hands.

pollute
every inch of window space
no room for shadows
moon glow a no show
pull my eyelids tight
yank the plastic shades
as far as they’ll go
to lay down my fears
for the night.

Love’s
last taste  
drained from my every cell
time to recharge the batteries
It seems

by those  beats
sweep me
right into a groove
Anywhere from sad to glad
as long I can feel
them pulsing
through the floor
I think I am
going to be
Alright.

Dare I inhale
Too deeply
Lest it’s
Thrown away
No explanation
Needed
My essence
Diluted by
Fury’s swift
Releasing
Freedom
To haunt hearts
Imprisoned
By
Sorrow's
Jagged
Edges

beaming all over
some other girl
what’s she got
that I don’t
you sneaky cheat
no matter how hard
you try to keep those golden fingers
just above those  lazy low flung
gray clouds
you can’t keep  hiding
from me
c’mon back
pretty please
don’t make me beg  
for just  a few spare  
minutes  of your  time
in  space.

behind  every  rock
around every  corner  
any breath
that  lustrous blue   sky
the last color I see
this crumb of cheese
parked on my tongue
could be the last
the last flavor
I taste
It waits for me  
Knowing
I have no where to hide

Hidden away
From prying eyes
Rooms with a view
Prime real estate
Tropic locale
Lake front property
Mature landscaping
Well lit
24-hour guard
Comfy digs
Classic interiors
Shady when needed
Sunny in its heart
Ideally suited
For family life
Or just hanging
With friends
See agent lizard
For details
To start your life
In Paradise

No more pickled
beets
miracle whip
smoked oysters
squeeze cheese
needed
he’s not here
to
eat it.

ripples
elegantly shielded
every room
it ever graced
from the sun’s starkest rays
bedrooms
to living room
every place
Love ever lived
and shade was  desired.

Pearls
Crystals
Precious stones
or even just
paste pretenders
   threaded through
polished perfection
sunlight kept hostage
mirrored moon glow
tiny shiny planets draw
foreign bodies into orbits
while blinking stars
frame infinity
on fragile human canvas
spilling faceted
rainbows
upon even  dullest of
days

Modest beauties
whose creamily dabbed
orange, pink
and
yellow blossoms
despite tender care
rendered
died this spring
a speckled lizard
lurks inside
their empty talavera ***
next to the cheap blue
sun umbrella
that blows over
with every breeze.

Who shows up
no matter when
to help
anyone in need
precariously perched
clementines
are a danger
she clearly
foresees
this  noble hound
lies dreamily by
spotty snout
twitching
mesmerized by
sweet citrus treats
aching for deliverance

I use to read mysteries
with such  glee
Nancy Drew always
found the clues  
whodunits
wrapped up
in x amount of pages
with wailing police sirens
hauling
some miscreant off
just before that  last page is turned
whereas my story’s end
is still
Nowhere
in plain sight.

I use to know  
is long gone
dripped off
the blade ‘s
first stroke
blood stains
never  washed
away
just covered
with  steel.

1.Downpour

Rain submerges
every patch of back yard
greedy drains divert
suburban rivers towards
concrete paths
barely skirting
pool and pond
another layer of paint
washes off stunned gnomes.


2. A Mini Vacation

from the blazing sun
allows the chaste tree
to push out it’s long overdue
blooms with a view.


3. Cloud Cover

Gray drizzles through my day
letting only the flowers
lap up
hidden sunshine.

no longer relevant
noisily devoured  
by a gaping hole
stuffed to capacity
then shoveled
into a bin
marked for permanent exile
an anonymous
paper trail
that use to lead
to my life.

to languish
without a care
like a spot–bellied hound  
under a potted tangerine tree
solitary fruit
still ripening
        dangles
in the mellowed October sun.

Fragrant melon thunks
as mallet
rips
through rind
exposing sweet smashed flesh



Ceiling high dishes
teeter perilously
while soap suds froth
on the tv screen


Dust no better
stirred up
than lying down


Copper helmet
atop bookshelf
stands guard
keeps books
in order


Fragrant
brewing java
fills senses with
boundless joy


Bacteria breeds
in crevices
separation of socks and briefs
essential

Showy pink wildflowers
invade
Easter kitsch crammed yards,
not one ditch is spared
from their gossamer petals

Half-moon pops out of cadet blue sky's pocket
no stars yet tonight

Neighbor's worn white chimney
looms above
six foot cedar fence
laden with returning fuchsia Bougainvilleas

Overgrown Bird of Paradise stretches
wind slashed leaves
in desperate hopes of letting
light into its heart

Mosaic stepping stones
mark a vivid trail
to so many plants
whose names I do not know
that continue to bloom and grow

Caribbean blue metal lizard scampers
across garage wall
as nearby pensive garden goddess
gently cradles dead blossoms
in cupped palms

A lone Blue Jay glides over
the pollen dressed
pool surface
toward willowy flowers
in terracotta pots
that are busy sending
fragrant messages
to my patch of suburban serenity.

jab at the moon
frame the shot
under
a perfectly manicured
golf course.

for crispy  ridged
sandwiches
that use to be
a special treat
after a brisk winter
walk on the beach
or a rainy spring day
visit from Dad
maybe nobody
wanted  to lift a ***
after a long week
a crumpled scrap of paper
just beginning to fade
bookmarks those
long eaten delicacies.

Secret wish

stands hidden
in
cliché riddled
green patch
this neon bird

mocks

red capped
garden dwellers

serenely seated
bookish girl

half-dead fern

leans towards
hot pink beacon

salvation bent

crescent moon
casts
feathery palm shadows
with curved arms
against the
bamboo fence

lifting
earthbound desires

skyward.

Grief rides with me  
wherever I go,
whether I walk
around the house
in my jammies,
read a poem
to a group
of strangers,
or watch a flower bud
burst open-
each breath knows
what use to be
will not come back.

still binds me  
to your love
frayed  
but never
completely
torn