To some the idea of wading into the water to catch a smelly fish is not alluring at all. What you fail to realize is that there are many lessons that you can learn from the endeavor. At first I learned to be silent, when my grand dad showed me how not to scare the fish. Then I learned patients as my dad taught me how to wait for the fish to come to you. Then I learned to appreciate find details, when I learned to make my own fly bait. From there I learned determination, because there are some fish that just do not want to be caught. Then I came to understand struggle, because the act of fishing is a struggle between the fisherman and his quarry. Finally, I learned wisdom, because you must adapt to the environment as nature is not always cooperative when want to catch a fish.

I heard you singing
oh what a melody
awakening me
to cool clearness
to a fresh nearness
and peaceful resonance
with the preciousness
of Earth.

Contrast the days of anger
creeping and seeping into me
in such stupid little things
as an unscrewable top
a ***** fork dropped
a page that wouldn't turn
a candle I couldn't burn
talking barking heads
fomenting darkness
and dread.

Last night I saw your sympathy and sadness
as I poured out my madness
into the bowl of your heart
threads in me torn apart
dangling jangling my nerves
and knotting my stomach
but there you sat calmly listening
your eyes glistening
full of understanding and love

oh what grace
what a delicate lace
woven of affection  
through you
from above
to cure my affliction
to settle me
into my soul
into that sacred soil
where heaven is sprouting
right there below my doubting.

And so this morning
from the tendrils of my sleeping
I heard singing
the larks and love
God and Earth are bringing
and dancing behind my eyes

until they opened
and beheld
an ever burgeoning
ever startling
spring.

I went outside
I saw the stars gazing
I saw the lights glowing
I saw my muddy path
and jumped and hoped and jumped
Avoided getting *****

I went to the airport
'What should I do?'
I asked myself when i was at the airport
Walked to the other corner
Stared at the people
Then walked
After that I decided to go home

I walked my way to the exit
I mean to the parking lot
I stopped breathing
when I saw you
a stranger
with nice hair
brown eyes
pale face
and a-little-to-pale lips
We stared at each other for a long time
but not enough time to fall in love

Awkward?
Yes. Of course.
Then what should I do?
because we attracted to each other
and nothing we could do
so we kept walking
in different directions

Hoping one of us had ***** to say hi.

Well too bad, I don't have any.

Dear stranger at the airport
If God gives us second chance
Will we recognize each other?
Will we say hi to each other?
Will we
fall in love? Eh?

Somehow it wasn’t right to cry
for someone who
no one knew—for years
though everyone knew about Lil
She was the crazy burden
of an orphaned family
whose memories rearrange the winter shadows

“Are we dressed right?
Are our faces adequately sad?”

They loved the skinny, happy kid
Loved—the ones who loved her
knew her from “The Old Neighborhood”

Two sisters approach the body
echoed in black and navy
holding each other’s hand
They look down at her—
They look her over
They overlook—“The Old Neighborhood”
of the Lillian they had hoped for—
took care of as a child....

And in the din of last respects
a comment from an older gentleman—

“The Goldrick girls were all such lookers”

So I was her niece
and not from “The Old Neighborhood”
I have memories of my own....

I was rich when Lil brought play money
from Misquamicut
She brought whelks and slipper shells too
My ear cupped close
I first heard the sea

Not as beautiful as I expected
nor as beautiful as I would know
She gave them with love—without telling
where and when that I would go....

Her hands were always cool and sweaty
Always trembling
Always a cigarette
and an argument in the background

From the height of three
and hugging knees
I see her face against the ceiling’s
white—with panic

Her eyes are never with me
I know someone is with her

“The Goldrick girls were all such lookers....”

Beleaguered beauty
Frail, with stiff grace
she glances sideways
Checking for my safety?

“Our names too close! Confused too often!”

I was to know her horror— as I know her sea

...Her laughter, too late for the conversation
a smoky hysteria
that will not share with her eyes
She stumbles backward through her childhood
as if she has mislaid something

She wants to go roller skating
with her sister, eight months pregnant
besieged by diapers
with stew on the back burner

...And Lil wants to go back...
to a time at the Rialto
to the *****’s boogie

to the edge—before
The Depression declared WAR—

on someone who
no one knew
for years!

And is it okay yet?
...to let her sea out of me!

It burns so!

The lighthouse stands tall
A warning for all
It shines so bright
It's precious beacon of light

Guiding the wary back to shore
Many voyages gone before
All safely now return
As long as oil in lantern burn

Soft cone through the night
Giving life preserving sight
Like a gentle outstretched hand
Leading sailors back to land

Oh holy spirit of my God
With still voice you gently ****
Bringing those who wayward roam
Leading the lost back to home

So let the light of the spirit shine
And touch this wayward heart of mine
May I heed the warning sign
And be guided home in time

i must give you a full physical exam
to fully grasp my prognosis and plan
of treatment for you... dont be afraid
i feel confident, no need to debate
i can satisfy
and gratify
your pre-dic-ament
in the richest succulent

as a specialist, to some degree
my healing hands work expertly
but to receive full and complete treatment
you must partake my honey rather frequent
for a better plan of action
i require a full body transfusion
a chemical mixture of center fuses
a delicate blending of our juices
this may require several procedures
over time it provides many features
healing properties of your most vital *****
however worth it, even if, it cost a fortune
to this a can guarantee success
but first you must fully undress

i work with energy transference
your help required for successful convergence
of the best possible results
between two consenting adults

bartering is certainly a viable option
for your long term medical condition
providing equal services for each other
helps maintain balance to one another