make a  great pillow
for
tired dog butts.

Impending fury
clings
to closed eyelids
palpable loss
a sable brush
dunked in dread
blackens every inch
of familiar landscape
what if’s
eat through
the static blue horizon
making a meal
of unborn dreams
slaked only by
hastily grabbed
history
ragged spirits
haul hope
on well- worn tar
safe haven
still pages away

after dark
had fallen

I stood
in the backyard

the majestic palms
playing
to wind chimes

solar lights
cascading   rainbows
along the water’s surface
  
Life teemed
in the silken underbelly
of the purple  night sky

someday

I will miss
this piece
of unfinished paradise.

is that where
you went
I ask aloud
because I’ve lost
track of you somehow
one evening
smack dab in the center
of a  ring of clouds
was a gaping blue  hole
it’s as likely
as any  place
for you to be.

You don’t populate
my dreams
so much anymore
I castigate myself
for this  
abysimal lack
of your presence  
but every night  
my dreams  take me
somewhere
you aren’t  .

in the valley
feel no need
to scale any peaks
just easy-peasy
lay  low  
let the long silken rays
drape  my weary soul
in glowing golden glory.

of moments
I dare to  call my life
  linear mortal that
I am ,
still spending way too much time
suspended in
          yesterday
when today is not totally unfurled.

I  planted hope
by the bathroom window
last year
yellow soundless  bells
were doomed to fail
with no
drainage holes
they drowned
in rustic pots
leaving the  jasmine
to claim their sun.

I don't miss you
so much anymore
still
things aren’t really right
sometimes I think
they never will be
these new parameters
scam me  
into a feeling of success
I can make this work
not there yet
just slightly cracked
and the fix -it glue
is stuck to my finger
instead of my wound

about something else
it wandered off
on a tangential excursion
backpack fully loaded
before I knew it
the cows
had come home
and the gate
was closed.

of melancholy
ride  roughshod
over  hastily mended   bridges

Texas early night sky

nightstands
like deserted islands
next to rumpled bed

fake hibiscus in bloom
clipped onto curtains

favorite lip glosses
cradled in basket
on vanity sink

sparkly bead earrings  
displayed   in
see-through pockets
on stuffed closet door

silken blouse draped
on spare chair
awaiting an outing

candy wind  hibiscus
sways in the breeze
a playground for lizards

my face
when I realize
you are looking at me
handsome man

this  Hell
of a  life lived
not so long ago
in the boxing
of articles
you may still need
some day
the cycle  will repeat  
as the dust is forming
today
is nearly yesterday.

Shoots through  
the confinement
of its cedar fence
offers a peak
at a neighbor’s  
slice of life.

The  dark corners
of my nights
undulate  into days
swallow  me whole
even the starkest rays
won’t light my path
nestled
between
my pillows
a creature
  born of  fear
coupled with
unvarnished reality  
preys upon
my sleeping form
to pop  
out of my mouth
Hellbent and
voracious
for my
bleeding soul.

You won’t be
Him
You will be
You
with my attentions  riveted
to the curve of your smile
and the  glint in your eyes
and  love smeared across your face
like  freshly made  plum jelly

I comfort myself
with the knowledge
that you
always felt
the intensity
of my love
   but
as evening calls
uncertainty
rushes   in
   to
steal the moonlight .

Two years have passed since your last appearance,
way before  we got the camera,  
would’ve been great to catch your  exotic double life .

Your thick green arms reached  towards the blazing Texas sky,
pink  blossom fingertips  fearlessly  faced  the imperial red roses ,
while the yellow blossoms pointed towards a tangle of  overgrown pond grass.

We learned your name,
indulged in your subtle fragrance,
unparalleled by any man- made hand cream and
impatiently waited for the next round of double harvest.

Something  savaged your leaves, leaving you half barren,
forced to separate from  your *** mate, we hoped your widowed side would revive.

You’re back hosting those long lost yellow petals,
lopsidedly holding your own in front of the sprawling purple bougonvillia,
and the brazenly orange hibiscus bush.

A busy gnome now covers the scar,
so only we really know  that you didn’t always loll to the right.

I think you came back just to say goodbye.

this day’s furor
is sinking fast
another day
waits in the wings
without
you in it.

I step into graffiti and strange smells
what if the cable snaps
plunging all my horizons
into instant nothing
I push the button
grumbling
what have I done
to deserve this end
my thoughts wander
as my eyes transfix
on the sudden light
of waiting faces behind opening doors.

You’ve been gone
for so long now
yet every ripple
reels you back in
I feel your dreams
die inside me
all over again

wrappers glisten
in the fluorescent light
electricity hums
a savage tune
of seduction
coins buy nothing
anymore
origami bills
****** down
spat back
no help proffered
from passers by
snack interlude
denied.

into the fray
no safety net
breathless fear
clings
onto slick surface of sanity

Come
and get it
big boy
so ready for pick up
give it the old heave **
it ain't no good
to me
just smellin up
my scenery.

slowly  settles  
over tall brick
cookie cutter houses
cornflower sky
  licks the swirly pink
cotton candy clouds
  leaves
the orange sherbet
horizon
ablaze
This day is all  done
except for  the sleeping .

dying
to know how
you were stolen from
the light of day.

for  a quick jot
it’s in  there somewhere
fumble under
my last vacation’s
embroidered coin purse
bunched up nose  tissues
pink lip liner
yesterday’s crumpled
grocery receipts
a neon yellow memory
  falls out  of my hand
and screams ****** ******
in the middle
of  a quiet  hallway.

Out of a swirl of nonsensical  
scenes jumbled
through my dreamscape
a man with no face
planted a deep kiss
on my lips
his urgency knocked me
out of my sheets
in the middle of the dark
aware only
of that aching gap
  sitting inside me
filled for a moment  
by a shadow man.

Long forgotten stash

of flavor bursts

await my
restless  grasp

sugar jewels
cosseted from
bumpy pavement
elusive bag
emerges unscathed
by layers
of fresh found
knowledge.

Wispy blossoms
against the cerulean sky
voracious for sunlight
even rooted in mud
bodacious buds
surrounded by concrete
will not be subdued
they remain
perfectly poised
for ritual splendor.

Just another family holiday
with extra time to burn
pastel wooden eggs
on scrawny tree branches
pineapple ham breezes
through the dining room
sit down here my loves
but first
crack the wine
bring in the trays
followed closely
by greedy dog eyes
forks clank
glasses clink
chit-chat bubbles
smiles deepen
as dessert
makes its spectacular entrance
the video camera catches
just another day
with extra time to burn

I saw you
taking us that back way
to the mall
waited  for us to finish
on a bench outside
while we rifled through
those objects of our desire
on the way back home
the radio’s playing
the same song
I hear right now
suddenly
you are sitting
right here with me .

Fresh flesh wants out
from under
ragged
itchy  scars
The time ‘s
gotta be just right
can’t just rip off
the dead stuff
don’t want to bleed
anymore
than necessary

Spring 
 into
this half life  
I've dug
and drug
myself through
sweet sunshine
Finally
infuses hope
into
these  stone  
cold
bones

Tall hedges rustle
bullied by icy breezes
beat against the window
  relentless neon Buick sign
pushes the insistent light
of capitalism
through cream lace curtains
after sunset  .

Rain smacks down
on every inch
of the  walkway stones
the grout is cracked
in too many places
to count
jagged edges
rest in well worn grooves
the path still
faithfully leads
faces
to my front door .