Someone left me a *** of marigolds

on my white porch floor

Afraid to pick them up

I left them near the door

The paper boy knocked them over

dirt spilled out on the wood

The mailman stepped in the dirt

and smeared it as he should

I righted the *** and saw it was dry

then left it in the afternoon sun

and the vermilion sky

Days went by and the preacher called

He asked about the plant

I shrugged my shoulders and took

his pamphlets fast

No one ever told me where those

marigolds came from

I assumed it was the devil

as he was the only one

Who knew I killed my husband

and I would go to jail

A trial would condemn me

they would hang me

by a nail

If you receive such a ***

know your time has come

Leave the marigolds where

they are to die

Giving you time to just go on.....

Oh! restless soul you sail on salty breezes

rest on rocky shores

Speak to me?

Let me know you hear my voice



A waft of licorice stirs my memory

Childhood stands tall

like a tin soldier

Is that where you are?



In the incestuous wasteland

of a child's bedroom

I lost you

Lost you to shame



I search diligently for you

as you float

among gravestones

and dance with the ghosts



I seek you in the dark

in the light

in the church and the street

I cry out for you



Sadly, like a child

with the dim recall of a

lost ice cream cone

melting in the gutter...

Lamp light glows through drops of resin

Trapped life in heavy honey

Honey  that flowed from ancient trees


Your pale finger touches the smooth

surface of soft stone


Eons of treasure in cased in sap;

into our brief tomorrows

you wear these  fragil jewels...



The drops of resin like you

preserved forever in a beautiful

magic from the past...Rarefied