loving without strings
living it with all your heart
demands inner strength
you cannot and should never
blame your love for not caring
they are them and you are you
sometimes what feels forever
is not in the cards we play
the queen of hearts gone missing
though you were sure you held her
so shuffle the deck again
pick up your hand and play it
someday you may win

richer than Midas
with her touch, everything
was transformed to love

paying life's toll
its' joys and its' pains
a pilgrimage

i want it to snow
so we can make a snowman
with a big big smile

wishing all of you
a joyful magic christmas
bright and delicious
full of love and compassion
and giving and receiving
with blithe merry hearts

see the child witiin
we were all innocent once
have some compassion

tiny bright window
alone beneath the starry
radio ruckus

recently
but i don't know how
i lost you

i dreamed a vortex
a rotating Shangri-la
full of light and life
all lush and green and blooming
it opened up beside me
and looking down in rapture
I smiled, then leapt right in

oh i love you
there is not any part of me
that disagrees

prairie dogs scatter
high above the golden field
a hawk soars alone

again and again
close in my arms again
i need to love you

you, laughing again
caressing my beard, touching
and all that that means

The fecund summer
Seethes with songs and raucous hues
And winter be dammed

cuddling as night falls
venus on the horizon
celestial love

xenophobia
the politics of stupid
where hate and fear rule

gulls with crows fly high
cicadas rasp deafening
wasps and flying ants
forage over the parched ground
neath blue sky and ragged clouds
among the twisted oak trees
that dot the parched field of gold
by the sea by the graveyard
on the point on the foreshore
in the heat in the west wind
i walk staring out to sea
breathing the salty air
dreaming and alone

The clink and clatter
Of oyster shells neath my feet
Gulls shrieking above
Waves pounding and hissing back
With salt tinged breezes
I tramped along the shoreline
Till the sun dropped down
And quenched neath the horizon
Then phosphorescence
Shimmering, lively and cold
Edged the briny surf
I stopped and turned to the deep
Wishing you were there with me

cooked up spaghetti
and meatballs for my dinner
took it to the couch
no candlelight and wine
nor smiles and conversation
the meal was delicious but
i was not hungry

Orange candlelight
A silhouette flickering
Hesitant, unsure
Where will your feet find purchase
On a night so black
With no moonlight to guide you
On the pathway to her heart

wading through tide pools
full of green anemones
******* at my toes

i thread the needle
an ant among fellow ants
on the hot pavement
between the glinting towers
traffic and voices collide
as the sun burns relentless
and green turns to red again
castaway on a curb now
i watch a crippled pigeon
tapping morse code as it limps
a jagged circle round me
the light turns to green and i
am an ant again

Exotic realms lure
Adventurers and tourists
With their rare beauty
And their splendorous visions
Who once home again
And strolling their neighborhood
Are blind to the magic there

I apologize
for all the damage I did
innocent and not

don't be afraid
everything is a risk
in this wild sweet life
there is no hiding from fate
take the risk to live life free
and follow your heart and go
out into the universe
on the pathway of your passion
but please always remember
you are surrounded by risk
so hands up and surrender
and get on with it

rock said to the tree
I will never let you fall
but the rock was sly

cedar wood and fire
sweat and aromatic heat
ladles spilled on rocks
heated through unto the core
then getting up and leaving
and rolling naked in the snow
with a painful ecstasy
followed by relaxation
a deep sense of well being
and very pink skin

Sometimes i wander
head down hands in my pockets
through the cold wet autumn wind
to where the sea meets the land
then sit upon a worn log
on the ragged pebbled strand
and listen to the waves pound
and hiss all along the shore
alone there with seals and gulls
i think and dream and ponder
my memories a midden
full of triumphs and failures
growing behind me

vaults, crypts and tombstones
marble, sandstone and granite
broken and cracked cement graves
golden stubble surrounding
beneath dark oak and pine trees
waving wildly in the wind
a small child runs through afraid
of hands reaching from their pits
to pull him into the dark
crows perching above taunt him
pushing him to run harder
till he reaches the safety
of his grandfather

Texting with my daughter
I wrote, "please tell my grandson
That I love him very much."
Shortly after she replied
That Evan had rejoined, "that's right!"

beware of extremes
do not try to be a saint
be human instead
respect others and your self
give love when and where you can
and help when and where you can
without an expectation
be yourself and be open
to other ideas and views
You will be happy