I was strewn
scattered wide
brooding foreheads of jagged stone
thirsty fragments
unfit for purpose
rugged - broken - lying alone

She - pure water
seeping in sand
dark and deep - unrequited and stilled
Her eternal spring
but a fearful trickle
Her destiny hidden - unfulfilled          

Open earth!
a forested crevice
Shake - Tremble - Set her free
Release her flood
of secret desires
splashing joyfully over me        

I will be
her playful bed
smoothing my edges - providence smiled
I will make her ripple
rushing with laughter
kissing her droplets - wet and wild

Cascading to  
her lyrical rill
we'll sing forever - in our sacred stream
She is my lover
caressingly she runs
once worthless rubble -  She did redeem!

gv   For my lovely wife. Feb.19.2014

the morning sky
performs a hot dance of rain.
ever-growing lime washes away,
white and sour mistaken
by some noses as
aromatics.
a season
of ever-ending frost
absent from windows
and misty
misty
journey
through the rain
without an umbrella.

rain jilts
its luscious sun-lover
behind clouds.
it beheads drops into
the thin morning air
only to be crushed
by the sidewalk.

this excites the worms
who unearth themselves
like fishing-bait zombies.
the worms are then eaten
by the birds who brave
the rain and the slick
sidewalk, once baptized,
now eats their ****.

I step in a puddle
with my rain boots.
there are holes in their
heels, and I feel
my skin start to crinkle.
I think of you
for the first time in sky water
unsubmerged
docked
landed
and lean in
to the liquid veil.

I was still young when my dad told me that my grandmother had Alzeihmer's Disease. I could not fathom how it was possible to forget everything - the people you dearly love, the most breathtaking place in the world where you seek refuge, everything you've learned, and memories you've made along the way.

I could not understand how she could not remember. I wondered how she was feeling. How does it feel like to forget? I wondered if it scared the hell out of her or if she felt a sense of relief in unremembering.

We came to see her. As expected, she did not know who I was - not even my father, his own son, her favorite one among eight. It was painful because after everything, she had forgetten me. I just stood there - unrecognized. I looked at her, agonized. That was the day I learned how heartbreaking it was - to look at the eyes of someone you love and realize that you're just a mere stranger to them.

My grandmother looked away. Her eyes caught my grandfather's eyes. She stared at him. It took her a long time, but she was able to utter his name. She smiled. That was also the day I learned that perhaps your mind can forget, but your heart cannot. Your heart can and will always remember.

then ever comes sudden
you were never expecting
had not a premonition or
second
to prepare study, just like freshman
year of college
when that quiz was sprung on you in
Economics 101
and that party was what you studied last night
and her or his physiology
along with a bit of chemistry
along with humanities
greek things finally
gave a bit of a sigh
when that geek professor
you hated announced
with his bow tie and striped shirt
I have a surprise for all of you
in a sly sort of nasty way
with that way that ate at you
his hand flailing the air like a kite
his breath minty and gay from way up
in the back row of the class, you could smell
of course, you got an E on it but you glared
oh how
you did leaving the classroom that day

Breathe out the bad stuff
The fear anxiety depression
And all the nasty evil thoughts
Breathe in the good stuff
Wisdom and light
From a clear clear sky
No clouds
And inner peace and calm will come
Just as a bubble bursts
All the nasty stuff
will disappear

I found a poem
it was packed away
in a box in an attic is where it lay
dormant in the dark
unable to say
the words he had written
his final day

the attic has light now
he heard the switch click
come to me come to me
hurry! be quick
I've waited for years
for ions to be read
then the sound of turning pages
danced in his head

he awaited the light when he heard paper turning
and the smile of a face would have his heart burning
closer and closer as the pages were freed
then stopped at the title and did not proceed
did not proceed but the eyes he could see
through the thin journal paper the eyes he could see
and the tears ran down cheeks of a child all but 3
Daddy, he said, 'Can you read this for me?'
'Perhaps you can read it some other day
when you're old enough to know just what it might say
Off now my child, we can't be all night
lay down the book and turn off the light

and from that day forward he waited for me
the child to return
to set the words free