Red
Fuchsia
Purple
Cobalt
Green
Amber
White

Like stars
Low to the ground

Luminous orb
Under pygmy palm

Tiny Frog
Riding rainbow lit lily pad

Rhine maiden spotlighted

On small rock pond

Reflecting

Pagoda lanterns
On glass bar

Mirrored in pool

Seated reading girl
Nestled near tiny mimosa tree
Shimmering butterfly flutters by

Crackled globe
Casts speckled glow
Towards gnomes seated below

Peeking out through
Bushy philodendrons
Faux mosaic lamps

Cloudy days
Leave dark marks
Empty holes

Longing for lost luster

Look at me
but not too close
you'll see lines
you'll see my pain
you'll see I was loved
you'll see my fear
you'll see my coffee drinking habits
when I smile in your direction
Look at me
but not too close
you'll see I loved someone
you'll see I lost someone
you'll see my broken heart
Look at me
but not too close
I am aging while we speak
so are you
but I've got the head start
Look at me
but not too close
and see my laughter
bubbling up
from deep inside
and here's hoping I don't snort !

Your voice
has gone
still in my head
leaving me
to wonder
where you went
and who
gave you
permission
to slip away
so silently .

Griddle sermons

Would you like
some philosophy
with those fried eggs ?

Free advice
cascades like rivers
of fresh juice
greasy story tongs
lift crackling sausages
upon serving plates
dressed with buttered toast
jam-packed with
social commentary
a side order
of cautionary tales
dished out hot
regales
patiently gleaming forks
awaiting their reason
for being

What’s that burning smell?

Someone asks

breakfast sizzles onward
undeterred
arrival time –
indefinite.

rockers invited me
to set a spell
those hypnotic hummingbirds
buzz around
the sugar water feeder
right outside the window
by the wooden stairs
summer grass and rampant flowers
entice
the toddlers driving
electric cars
older kids
talking to each other
no cell reception here
adults loiter around the red barn
memories shared
stronger beverages in hand
it was almost like  
any other family get together
Except
pizza boxes and pain
stacked the kitchen
while  the walls
displayed your conspicuous
absence
as
  we'd laid you to rest
with a 21 gun salute
just yesterday

Rummage
through Christmas decorations
headed for the garage

forced  order  
onto random bits  and bobs
a long forgotten bag
yields a wrapped bar
of motel soap
at the very bottom
who's very existence
spins me in a split second
backwards
to  all those days and nights
of our tragedy

How did I ever survive this thing?
Have I yet?

it offers  me no real answers

just continues
to look crisply unused

and wildly
out of place

slip away
and I remember
even less
of you
my life has
  melted into
tomorrows
you’ll never see

Three Perfect Roses

On one stem

grace a
discarded
blue champagne bottle

Are you pink?
Or are you purple?

I guess I
really don’t care
to

classify

the exact color
of your beauty

you make me
think
just  long  enough

as your delicate fragrance

  climbs

into my senses .

swirly twirls
roll rough shod
over
dead yards
half naked trees
shake what mamma nature
gave them
orphaned leaves
cling desperately
to
  lifeline branches
frustrated
by   frenzied spasms
stripped down  to  the last
vibrant vestiges
of  Autumn's
woefully weakened
grasp
as winter's stealthy
approach
is  announced

it seems
you somehow slithered  away  
from an earthbound
judgement day

make no mistake
very soon
I Will Finally Know Your Name  


Two decades of
investigations  surrounded
that fatal altercation

What did you feel
as you stabbed
    him
repeatedly
and then just
walked away

Do regrets hound you
in the middle of the night

I can only hope
the devil  lies in wait
for your final days

somehow
you slithered  away  
from an earthbound
judgment day

My heart scans
for a familiar face
through throngs
of strangers
as they scatter
pell mell
around me
eager shoppers
casing brightly lit
  sale stuffed store fronts
while seduced
by the siren song of fresh coffee  
coupled  with
sticky sweet  cinnamon buns
suddenly
the bitter fact
swallows  me
whole again
you no longer reside
anywhere
outside
of  my dreams

sturdy suitcases
filled with anticipation
escape
horizon bound
vibrating wings
slice through days
as clock hands capture
slippery sweet memories
hope rides up the mountain
curves through vineyards
and down nurtured valleys
rivers
still harbor liquefied pain
good-bye hangs on the landscape
a spirit- lit lantern
guides weary travelers
home.

They ran past me
at breakneck speed
to capture
those  
last minute
trinkets
of love
I never cared
much for anyway
until  I no longer  
had them
to look
forward
to