It's getting dark early again. The
street lamps are on by dinner.
Soon the memory of piles of
leaves, the smell of Fall and
the call to jump in the whispering

auburn heaps of my youth
would jolt me.

I am old now and fat.  The
ritual of Autumn's call to
the dark evenings that were
an invitation to the holidays,
is a calling cocktail.

The rains drained the ashes
into the sidewalk gutters.  The
hopscotch grid fades as day
light melts and I lose the
game.

Games are like drifts of scents
across the light post's shadow.
They are the ephemeral
recipes of my New York
youth. I walk to the edges
of the grass reading the
folded paper fortunes that

told me I would marry Jack
someday. I didn't. I threw
the lined prediction in the
leaves, scuffed my brown
shoes on the sidewalk

never dreaming that real
life would crinkle like the
ruled paper forgeries.



Caroline Shank

Living in the shadow of Babel
Where nothing makes any sense
Confusion set in because of man's sin
Bringing with it certain death

We've built for ourselves a tower
Of media and government
Our innocence we've deflowered
Not holding to God's promise kept

Lost compassion and understanding
Arguments on either side
Tongues let loose spouting so-called truth
Last to realize it all could be lies

We look at each other dumbfounded
Wondering how this could go on
All the while over time we've allowed it
And now we are dry to the bone

All this in the shadow of Babel
Where the tower swings as it sways
It almost would be laughable
If we hadn't given our souls away

Living in Babel today...

how many tears must be shed
to baptize our parting

do I not cling
tightly enough
while the clock
ticks away life

are the marks left
on your skin
when I cannot release you
gone too soon

must the bruises
in our flesh
be as deep
as those in our hearts

shall I shatter my bones
and yours
in our last embrace

tear at our bodies
till we bleed out

give to the torch
the remains

so the ruin
of our outer selves
will reflect
that which lies hidden
within

In my fervor,
I decided That I
can't live With or
Without you,
Because the Night
is too much,
it draws me in-
the craving and
the sin,
it drives me crazy,
This Pride in
the Name of Love.
I must go Where the
Streets Have No Name
I willWalk On in the
Beautiful Day,
but you will always be
My Sweetest Thing.
My One angel.
Our love has always
been *The Unforgettable
Fire.

-


we are all imaged by those
who would see us at our best

along with the paint that
inevitably chips away
in yearly frosts
and summer
droughts

because we will remain
—as always—
the easel upon which
God was inspired to
draw us...



s jones
Feb 2022



.

I'm blinded by your kindness.
Science doesn't do it for me.
I know that you know God,
by the way you treat
your fellow man.
Baby, you're a Saint.