Louis Armstrong …
a class by himself
Not Dixie or Jazz
but much deeper felt

Growing better with age
his music enthralls
If fourteen or forty
his melodies call

Both Ella and Ray
are seated out front
As Satchmo delivers
when others exeunt

Timelessly treasured
he’d broken the mold
Of what sound can measure
—and a smile can hold

(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)

When I was a boy
this spring house was there
Open and running
with memories to share

When I was a boy
it sat in the field
Above rising water
indentured to yield


When I was a boy
its door opened wide
To capture my fantasy
dreams there to hide

No longer a boy
now buried and hidden  
My hopes and my wishes
—forever unbidden

(Converse Estate: December, 2023)

Chasing the
stoke
waves growing larger

Weekend
warriors
still on the beach

Destiny
calling
mortality daring

Odds
go to hell
above twenty feet

The spray
to the
heavens

Dropping
into
the thunder

Darkness
envelops
one prayer to beseech

The sound
of a
monster

The
howl
of its fury

But nowhere
on earth
—would I rather be

(California Surf: December, 2023)

**** the nor’easter
hold the wheel steady
Waves from the Kraken
over the bow
Darkness ahead
charts plot the demon
Into the fury
—doubling down

(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)

Looking out
he took that step
intrepid
and risked it all

Faith to act
as his belay
one last piton
in the wall

Descent set free
in motion
a true heart
to guide him down

For love of life
and moments gone
belief once lost
—refound

(The New Room: December, 2023)

The closer we get
to the end
The bigger God
becomes
And the farther away
—he seems

(The New Room: December, 2023)

Living in the present
living in the future
One conflates the other
betrothing joy and hope
Moments breed contentment
from wishes left unclaimed
Tomorrow rules your nightly dreams
— and all today holds dear

(The New Room: December, 2023)