Rainy Day To-Do List

Perch high in your favorite
tree on the perfect branch
Observe the receding lightning’s
final flashes.
Eavesdrop on a robin’s conversation.
Clap Along with the thunder
Go ahead and leave a few bare
footprints in the soft earth.
Ponder the low hanging clouds.
Sing with the birds.
And then…
Disappear inside with the first
rays of sunshine.

Sunny Day To-Do List**

Take a moment
and listen in on a yellow grasshopper’s gossip
through the towering blades of grass.
Let the sun kiss your cheeks
till they are pink
and let the warm breeze gently soothe
your rouged face.
Wonder what the ants are up to.
Watch while a leaf falls down.
Compare the sky to a
calm,
blue
ocean
And dare not disturb it with a sound.

Don't look at me like that.
Don't look at me at all,
In fact.
For petty wishes fall down.
Into water that I stand in,
all around.
My shoes are wet and torn.
My feet cold and numb,
so forlorn.
While I stand in your gaze.
Cold and hot and ruthless,
It never strays.

And the rain still falls.
My jean jacket soaked,
But standing tall.
I look up with defiant eyes.
And you meet them,
Smiling wide.
The battle still rages on.
I grow more numb,
Standing strong.

You hope to lead me.
By bending my will,
My lifetree.
Yet you don't understand.
See this seed right here,
In my hand?

I will plant a new one.

One to shade me,
from the blazing hot sun.
One to shield me,
from the rain and flood run,
One to deafen me,
when you loose your silver tongue.

One to teach me,
To escape your endless gaze,
and my own scrutiny.

Thoughts are deadly
Thinking of you is like clawing at the raw insides of my cheeks
Heat rising thought the layers of my skin
And licking my throat
Hot coffee I down
Assuming it'll drown my brain
But it only adds to the passion
The ice cold that envelopes my heart
Placing a stamp in the opposite corner
Of the pre-assigned box
Mailing a pumping heart through post
An unconventional love letter
A cigarette burning
The glowing stub tracing images on my arms
Unintentional tattoos
Salty cheeks
Playing cards reflected in diamond tears
I play my heart across the
Green velvet table
Unintentional paper cuts
Bed sheets full of blood ink
Poetry and love songs scratched from dark dreams
By rusty fingers and mascara
Bruised knees creak as they bend
Facing in opposite directions
Ankles kissing through unstable skates
Shaking hands braid damp hair
Bitten pens bleed ink down my throat
By now my blood must run with ink
My own beating drum my best work
Cracks through time
And whispers through space
Only tempt me to trace the freckles on your legs
I use empty bottles of wine for mirrors
Apply my third coat of blood red lipstick
I used to think the moon followed me
I used to think if I shone a flashlight I could climb up
And I was scared someone would turn off my staircase
My bones shattering like the weakest diamonds
Dilated pupils paired with a racing pulse
My love song beating
Tapping my fingers on the coffee table.
Morse code screaming I love yous.

We made plans in college
We'd graduate, then teach
But, a phone call from the doctor
put those plans out of reach

I remember sitting quietly
As I heard the old man say
"You're going to have a baby"
I guess Life Gets In The Way

Life Gets in The Way my dear
Life Gets in The Way
We'll put our plans on hold my dear
Until another day
Don't worry, things will all work out
No matter what folks say
We just have to face the fact my dear
That Life Gets In The Way

You quit to raise our children
We had two, one on the way
It's funny just what happens
When Life Gets in The Way

I remember that fall morning
The news the doctor had to say
It still hurts me to remember
When Life Gets In The Way

Life Gets in The Way my dear
Life Gets in The Way
We'll put our plans on hold my dear
Until another day
Don't worry, things will all work out
No matter what folks say
We just have to face the fact my dear
That Life Gets In The Way


Time has passed, there's grandkids now
Like you, they love the beach
Kelsey, Michael's  youngest
Wants to grow up and to teach

I wish that you could see them
As they run around and play
But, Cancer took you from me
Because Life Got in The Way

I think of you, your smile
And how you'd look at me and say
We will once more be together
Unless...Life Gets In The Way

Life Gets in The Way my dear
Life Gets in The Way
We'll put our plans on hold my dear
Until another day
Don't worry, things will all work out
No matter what folks say
We just have to face the fact my dear
That Life Gets In The Way

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.