Facing a Crisis
1 December 2021

Not always advice a best answer.

Devil princess dances with panthers.
Living outside all man-mapped bound.
Rhythm of nature shapes her soft sound.

Love leaves old pain lost in the wake.
Manage your life for your life's sake.
Road risky will certain ride truth.

A loving soul need bide it's own way.
Soft, hard shoulders edging your day.
Only time travelled, answers love’s call.

Holding to show how fate truly run.
Way ahead clearing, silvered sun.
Traveling truth will crisis be won.

Deja Vue
25 November 2021

I have been here when I was young.
Dead bears, wolves howling, wooden stairs, wooden legs.

Nights alone.

At my heels slavering death.
Gasping, failing breath.
Trembling, remembering their eyes.

Falling into the abyss.
This time will I awake?

20 November 2021

Free of pain.
How do you know you exist?
Arthritic old sits daily twisted,
Grey eyes struggle, tears misted.
Lost a friend or mother?
Money, job, sister, brother?
Respect, youth, your truth?
The great questions of life and death,
Answered in last quivered breath.

Each day I awake for the sun.
Listen,  last song she sung.
Wonder stars filling night sky.
Where will I go when I die?
Cry as wars fill the earth,
Heroes finding their worth.
Feeling that child in my arms.
Loving you, kissing you warm.

Pain lies hidden each day,
Holding the answer at bay.
How long can I stay,
Loving you?

Tides
16  November 2021.

Bless our morning sun.
Waves sweeping my shore.
Rhythms of you.

Oct 10 2021

Why take summertime?
Winter I will give to you,
Stormy Weather.

Watch her crying.
Her dream dying.
Life twisting her dry.

Always standing alone,
Strangers filling her home.
Hungry hands fondled her *******,
Taking her owned she had left.

No where to go, only frost.
All treasures long lost.
No one to listen her cost.
Empty, her bucket tossed.

Each day was the same.
No hugs, only pain.
No promise let her live.
Born only to give.

Beyond
8 October 2021

Old memories, images of other times.
Move them in your dreams to a new life.
Reality in a place beyond possible today.

Future, past, combined in spaces of infinite care.
Old transforming to your new.
Living beyond our imagination.

Lost, or finding your way home?

3 October 2021

Time Fall. Hold, recover old memories, primal loves.
Pine needles, maple syrup, red wines, velvet leather gloves.
Noon canoe paddled, sudden ****** splash, spilling your smudged glass.
Damp firewood logs leaning a rusted axe, mushroom patios, dandelion blossom, holding back the last day's tasks.
Twigs and leaves curling smoke, blurring tired eyes, staining last year's denim worn clothes.
Saline thoughts wet, layering corners of times, people past.

A broken cottage window screen will wait another year,
Glass green shatter, under that old deck, held fine malt beer.
Righteous melancholy lays bare, naked, true north centered.
Cold wind bides future flakes, mixed sun, frost, winter's bite.

Gentle hands we held, love sweatered, lain in heaped marker,
Walking that country road, looking for family stone date etched, shiver alone.
Reminded in sepia photo, leather album of hot home-made Friday's bread, **** lemon butter.
Sudden scents we once marked, raise again ancestral homes.

Biding grey-rose tinted sky, last hour of today, we head to our stoop.
Warm cider sits on edge, steam rising into this fading night.
Pause, feet, ankles, in the lake, ice needles loop our toes.
Then, a stalwart bluebird alights the cedar stump cornering the forest edge.
Nostalgia sits beside him, feels right. Morrow's fledge.

2 October 2021

You came from the dark side, stilled alive.
Disorderly, drunk, broken, with child.
This was not who I knew,  you cried.
This was not what I knew, crazy, wild.

You are my guardian, with the magic #'s.
Why would my dreams reshape, plunder?
Wolves, and demons bring their thunger,
Running I tried to help you, you went under.

Bad dreams stay when I am awake.
Good things happen through who you were.
Swim afire through that flaming lake.
Play, bad dreams when I am awake.

30 September 2021

Nothing stirred, nothing shaken.
Skylight held stars in weighted grasp.
On the back of quiet trees eaves,
Stilled in an oasis moon cast.

A black cat lay on board fenced sleeping.
White sound wind longer opened the night.
A neighborhood pond mirrored as glinting,
Empty windows on a dying world.

Perhaps the end had long ago begun.
A banjo lay in the corner hall unstrung.
Two broken Skelton tennis raquets,
Sat statuettes on marble brackets.

All that moved was a mote of dust,
Leaving the trail of century aged rust.
Who would come to page this whole?
Life unwashed, once holding  fervored souls.

Bad is Bad. (Haiku)
28 September 2021.

Bad is Bad.
Wasting too much talk.
Bad is bad.

Are we guilty?
26 September 2021

Walking alone an immigrant boy,
Noticed two apples, wanted a toy.
Poor and hungry , he followed the road.
In the gutter saw one fat old toad.
Behind the farm fence, a mangy horse.
It was not cared for, also hungry of course.
The boy’s  eyes sparkled, chance for good deed.
That poor wasted animal was given a feed.
Next door the colt bolted, fell down, and died.
Choked on the seeds, never could cry.

The Rich Baron started to dance.
Sure no apples fell from his ranch.
Passed the boy in the market by chance.
Thought him strange, bulge in his pants.
Saw he was hungry, walked on his own.
Would never take such a child home.

Judge he said “My poor pony is dead”.
“This young lad stole my apple so red”.
“I lost money, nothing comes free”
“Took that  apple from my tall tree”.
Told the boy quiet “Fell on the road”
“Almost squashed that fat old toad”.
Too young to be held there in jail,
His parents found guilty, no money for bail.
Thought this an interesting tale.

Quality of Life
24 September 2021

Quality of life.
Some like peace, some conflict
I like the choice.

Hope

24 September 2021



I wish you joy, new days to thrive on earth.

Love’s richest purse, styled in tender verse.
Life free of pain, happiness profound,

Sun matched treasure patch, I have found.

Moon, southern breeze,  charmed morning free. 

Gentle skies, greenest leaf, high on every tree.

Past tests were set uphill, sweated every day.


Search hours spent, ungentle sway.

Others felt your smile of angel salve,

For them, lives grateful had.

You were levered promise, tomorrow's ever gift,

Ode of poetry song, spirit slow, swift.



Karma dressed others less than we,

Others broke, lost and toked for calmer seas.

Memory, hard times, failed to sail alee.

No sweet honey, sour cease to please.


I wish bold hours, trouble to the past,
Lifelong comforts, you deserve at last.

No wants left me drown.  Wept, I found you.

Whole, kind, soul filled. Sweet and true.

Struggle never leaves, you bequeath your strength,

Amazed, grateful wonder, fate still bent,

To spend my life, new with you.
Heaven hope's scent.

2 September 2021

Vivacity hit,
Right in my gut today.
Too late, couldn't wait.

19  September 2021

Trees are turning to red, orange, yellow, light green,
A rainbow of colors celebrating the full lives of time.
A bluebird stilling, edges along the cedar of the deck,
While a V of geese break through the sounds of morning.
Cooler weather now starts the day with the taste of dew,
Dripping on the edges of hedges and slimming leaves.
I hear your quiet voice humming a reminder of our celebrations.
Our love coming tomorrow, the sweetest time of morning.

Age
25 July 2021

Age, the weights of time waiting,
Heavier than air pressing reality to the gates,
Time brings the unnatural, disease of diseases.
When there are few easing of eases.

17 September 2021

11111

His numbers sadly spun
“I wanted 2”, he said.
“I wanted only one”.
He spun till he was dead.

Today’s Life
16 September 2021

Today filled pictures, coloured ads,
Table talks take place, on pads.
Family now lives in ether.
Two thumb account of love and weather.

Values change from what you do,
Contribution to needs of others.
Rather follow purchase covered.
Moment to moment for yet another.

Private talks wired everywhere,
No quiet chat by grandpa’s chair.
Patriarchs have lost their joss,
Good old days torn and tossed.

Basics now the fastest car,
Golfing course and making par.
Fishing rods high on hooks.
Computer shelves all the books.

Like the highway bypassing town,
Personal touch on vacant ground.
An old man stands on heaven’s door.
Who can know what will his score.

Tuesday
13 September 2021

Tiw’s day solo anon
The time seconds to dawn.
Heart thirsts love song.

Quietly stir the bed of stars.
Skies open on many wars.
Child broken by youth,
Little soothes me.

Calm is sparse, unreachable.
Harsh too feasible.
Time to reach the well,
Cast coin for voten’s spell.

14 September 2021

When things don't make any sense anymore,
Scream!
Don't sweat the noise.
Not one is listening.

Bittersweet
13 September 2021

Awake from a dream, aching.
Deep memories lingering.
Nugget of sweet bitter, mouth fingered.
Sweetest flavour.
Impossible savour.
Passion spokes, pierce, broken.
Young, too ready, token.
Precious moment’s perfection,
Painful reflection.
How do I speak phantom glass?
How do I leave your past?
Old photo back wall, kissed again!
Kissed again!!
Wish I had kept it all.
Wish I could let it fall.

12 September 2021

When you are a mountain, no hill to climb.
When you are a mountain, stars mill your time.
When you are a river, water clear falls.
When you are a child, you hear my call.

11 September 2021

THOSE you loved would hurt you.
THOUGH you loved them, not forgive them.

THAT you would hurt one you loved.
THEY would not forgive you.

THOSE you loved,  loved you.
THAT you did not know everyone who loved you.

THAT when you thought you didn't have enough strength, you could do more.
THOSE who loved you, found a way to care for you.

THOUGH you were not loved enough, you were loved more than you thought.
THAT love you gave, came back doubled.

THAT love caused trouble.
THAT love troubled you.

THOSE you loved would not be here..
THAT you would have so little time.


THERE would be SO little time.

Compassion
10 September 2021.

Lying broken on a old farm road,
A gray eyed beagle licked her hand.

They cried their tears to the tires.

Poetry  (Haiku)

10 Sept 2021

A new suit.
Wrap me in soft linen.
I feel naked.

The Illusions of who I am

9 September 2021

Father, husband, neighbour.
Manager, debtor, son whose favoured.
Every day a different flavour. .

Patient, uncle, old granddad.
Devil, angel, senile, mad.
Friend, lover, high school grad.

Pilot, mechanic, pianist, realist.
Poet, dreamer, schemer, meaner.
Each day there is a trend,
No end to how I’m bent.

I belong to you, decide.
I have no need to hide.

09 September 2021

This morning trees speak of fall coming.
Leaves are changing in the sun and tilt south.
A grey squirrel sitting saucily on the highest twig,
Looks for more tasty nuggets, some already amouth.

Cooler winds now ripple my still fresh blossoms,
Pink in basket, soon to be stirred with frost.
A noisy flock of geese overhead heading like flotsam,
Calling unsettled direction, all loudly following the lost.

Many will return in the spring to continue their lives.
Buds will break through into early rising light of new days.
So many will be reborn, and thrive.
My fall is coming. I feel the flame. I am ablaze.

Love Conditional
4 September 2021

Because I am your father,
Or your lover, two.
Your marriage partner.
A friend who's always true.
The child who is my daughter,
The man who is my son.
The shelter that I rest in.
The titles I have won.
Sacrifices well taken,
The wives I married due,
I loved every one.

The father working hardy,
The host of that last party,
The mother in the sun.
Puppies in a manger,
Kind hand of a stranger,
Clowns out making fun.

Love without condition,
Least likely to be found.
Whatever my rendition,
You are on solid ground.
No end, the river that I run.

Baseball
1 Sept 2021.

From one base to another,
We seek to win.
Like a ball game. Luck and skill,
Decide one above the cover.
Who gets the thrill.
  
Hard as I try to play.
It is still a game, not life.

Vigor
30 August 2021

You welcome vigor and energy in our love making.
In the deepest moments of life we find peace and meaning.
Those times endure in memory of a lifetime well taken.
Comfort from the passion of life short lived, unseaming.

In your touch, your kiss, your loving, I am revived.
So grateful to be with you, I feel so alive.
You have awakened me again, welcomed me.
The vigor of your seas, I gratefully seize.
I will ride your wave, until the sun fades,
Until the winds of life, freeze.

Zen Of A Perfect Man
29 August 2021

The perfect man does nothing perfectly.

My Bucket List (My Renewal)
29 August 2021

Time for review.
I find I can reprioritize as past,
Substitute, renew, those satisfied.
Continuing those most relevant.
'
Most of the past, largely complete, not yet finished, ongoing.
Is anything ever truly done?

Continuing.
Making a good living, getting an education.
Raising a family, being true to former commitments.
Promising less, attempting more.
Finding partners, friends in love and trust.

A+
Reducing the burden, I am on others.
Being unconditionally thankful.

AA+
Inspiring myself with the beauty and miracle of life.
Ignoring my pain, forgiving my mistakes.
Accepting changes, losses, and failures of age.
Accepting all others as they struggle to be their own.

AAA+
Becoming the man I admire, my Dad.
Striving for the impossible being possible.








.

25 August 2021

And so he looks,
As if holy book,
At his own,
A truth looking for home.
All he found,
Around and around,
A man on his knees.
Always trying to ease,
Aggravations of life.
Accentuated strife,
Addled man with his knife.
Alone as could be.
Aeons in need.
Along edges he freed,
Always no seed,
Aeons indeed.
Awaiting since youth,
As if there was truth.
Alas he roams,
Amidst his poems.

Your Dreams
24 August 2022

I slept. hand on your breast,
Bare ***** pressing your back.
Your dreams filled my night.

24 August 2021

Anticipation.
Precipice of Desire.
Good and bad in doubt.

25 August 2021

Perfection is personal

24 August 2021

Waiting is the hardest,
Where do I wait startled?
Can we know what could be won or lost?
Can we know what will be the cost?
I long waited for you.
Now you, my life is at risk, you are my life.
Flowers or music hardly tell the tale.
You are my freedom from pains of life.
You are that awesome gift fate has tossed.
Waiting is precious time we have lost.
Yes, we have to take the cost.
Waiting is hard.


Yes we have to take the cost.
Waiting is the hardest.

23 August 2021

There is a tombstone,
Written “I too once was there.”  
"How do I get back? "

(Still have my coat and bags)

23 August 2021

Days of summer heated, change to a darkening crisper fall.
Life hardens, coils, preparing for the resting-rusting, of winter.
Uncertain. a chick-a-dee flutters nearby, astride berry-laden branches.
Winter snows, will soon burden it's call.

One lone black squirrel, stands squatting on it's edge.
Nose buried in an oddly brown fur tail, it's own.
Remnants of scaled snake skin, hold drops of this morning's rain.
A few old dry brown twigs, hang broken, thorny-brown leafed hedges.

Hints of dampness twist in the mild winds from the south,
Truth of illusion marks a yellow, uneven, fading, distant, horizon.
Somewhere, a tenor beagle howls, mournfully, to emptiness.
Young girls, moving together, striate their celebrations of youth.

There is an ache in my hips and neck this morning.
Heart wane filled, wistful.
Melancholy of dog days on unhealed roads twisting,
Memory of times, long past, fistfuls,
I never can restart, mourning.

I stand beside that long open road, neverland of lost dreams.
Fruit-bare search for meaning. Nature's transitions and streams.

20 August 2021

We crossed paths on that dating site.
Lunch on the road set the GPS.
You were just right, no less.
All dots on the map matched.
Our love story hatched.
Travel passed all the tests.
You know the rest.
Haven’t had any since!

20 August 2021

Unappreciated your strength,
So many missed who you were.
Few would take that journey,
None could survive.

Your challenge accelerated,
And you smiled hiding pain.
Legs crossed and open armed,
You struggled again. Undaunted.

Now I have your pain.
You were stronger.

20 August 2021

I can love you more,
I can give you more than need.
Yes. Yes. Yes I can.

Condition
18 August 2021

Lighting strikes tear your world,
Pieces shatter, abyss hurled.
Gut your clothes, naked on edge.  
Careless God back into eternity, darkness.
“Push”  chant shoulder phantoms.
Yet you smile.  No one you grant,
Your peace.

Dying
18 August 2021.

In his father’s eyes,
He saw the future dying.
In her mother’s heart,
She saw the beaten.

Dying
18 August 2021.

In his father’s eyes,
He saw the future dying.

Up in the Attic
18 August 2021

Up in the attic a young boy laid his head.
An old army cot and mattress were his bed.
Cold in the winter, wool blankets were his stead.
Hot in the summer, an old fan buzzed mosquitoes dread. .

Painted wooden steps led up from the front hall.
Downstairs two sisters night time played toys and dolls.
Dinner cooked and boiled on an old wooden stove.
Dad made money with the Eaton’s truck he drove.

Never was much change in that cookie jar.
No nights for sitting long in local bars.
Front steps were broken, loose, and tinted rust.
Trip to school luxury would be a local bus.

Old family doctor had long passed eighty three.
When he came to visit never was a fee.
Cures came from lore and our family history.
Never saw the inside of a pharmacy.

Old dog slept on a torn and tattered rug.
Bed sheets from flour sacks withstood every tug.
Music came from Dad’s old banjelo,
He sang like Bing, every song we know.

Clothes came down the line from friends and family.
Most shoes and boots were found somewhere else for free.
Winter coats with full newspaper stuffed,
Warmed us through the winter’s coldest rough.

Wood stove stone warmed the bed at night.
Coal soaked with kerosine easy Mom to light.
Sometimes that old kettle gave the dog a fright.
Tea stayed in the teapot lid sealed down really tight.

Ice box held the dinner, carrots peas, and spuds.
Breakfast in an oatmeal box came easy with our  morning hug.
Washed our hands and elbows, faces were the test.
Checked each day in classroom for the very best.

Was a privilege when you the blackboard cleaned.
May you shiver when the bad boy strapped and screamed.
Said the good Lord’s prayer start of every day.
National Anthem sang the same old way.

Spelling tests were common, had to do the math.
End of each year we all hoped we’d passed.

Games out in the schoolyard made our bodies strong.
Most had joined the choir and forgot all those songs.
Summer went so quickly, winter stayed too long.
Friends and team mates were where you belonged.

Conkers and alley games always stood close nearby.
Also often bullies tried to make you cry.
Yoyo’s some swung and danced. Tricks that would enchant.
Ball games and soccer ran till all  need
huff and pant.

Were those few who won ‘bout every race.
Girls sat front of class who had the nicest face.
Hero’s of the football field stood big and tall.
Those with highest marks never seemed to fall.

Many years have passed us by, leaving hopes and scars.
Some of those in our class helped us plan on Mars.
Some now only found, parts in brine filled jars.
Youngest memories fade in daylight stars.

Song I write for you.

17 August 2021.

My quiet voice never hides
The power of my love
This song I write for you

The strength of my arms
The iron of my soul
The commitment I hold
Will keep you whole

You’ll know tower of  my love
The power of my heart
The passion we hold every day
My heart never hides
This song I write for you

From mountain to shore
Valley to hill
I sing of our love
With all that I have

Basso to trill
My love thrills
To the wonder of you
This song I write for you

Squirrel and the Rabbit
10 August 2021

Met out in my garden,
Middle of the day.
Squirrel and rabbit,
Seemed to know the way.
Quietly pursuing, appetites in need.
None disturbed the other.
No sign of reckless greed.
Wonders seem to wander,
Past my place and stay.
Humans seem to squander,
Every chance for play.
Why not come today?

16 August 2021

I cannot be you.
If ever possible be,
I would not be me.