Learning to heal beneath blue ceilings
Persuaded by the windsong -
of August , by the miracle of whispering lea
On musical shores
Beside the red clay hillside
A gravel stone for every star-
in the evening sky ...

Randy was a fog lamp at high noon
Giving it his all in broad daylight
Alerting the public to no avail
Labeled a fool
Providing safe passage for the-
pedestrians that stepped over him-
in his hour of need
That's what bright lights tend to do it seems ...

Intrigued by the grain on a -
hardwood floor
Counting knots and connections
Ceiling reflections
The rumble of naked feet
Musical precision and random thought
The ocean surrenders with thundering -
breakers at the killing shore
Contemplating familiar doors
Fixated on a pane of glass
The odor from a bag of trash
A friend from 1990
Chariots thunder overhead
A blur in the funnel of anxiety ...

Gunshots split the silence over some forgotten ghetto as the bottle rockets explode over Palmetto
Sparklers dance in the night just as -
a Veteran gives up the fight
The sound of a cannon roars as fireworks -
illuminate abandoned streets , cracked sidewalks -
an abandoned stores
The air is filled with the aroma of hot dogs , hamburgers -
and beer
Townsfolk cheer as each projectile showers the -
sky
The sound of automatic rifle fire from the left and the -
right
The false echoes of battle o'er a small town
The cry of another American gunned down ...

to partake of the nectar along every-
flowering vine
to bathe in pools of August wine after sweet-
summer showers
to bask in sunlights midday power
to charm lovers neath oak canopies
to dine amongst the sassafras root , the
honeysuckle and the blackberry ...

Greenscapes , lavender flowers , -
thoughts of love and morning doves , bluejays sing praise to the sun above
Farm bells announce the dawn
The light of day , the hand of God -
caresses summer studded lawns
A tap on a hollow tree
Gardenia in the breeze
A shady respite
Fledglings call from silver-
maple nest
Crows toil in open fields
Black knights harvest , store -
and protect their yield ...

Minuscule oceans signal
The sun plays on the run
The equality of night , music of-
confused songbirds an brushing pine
Evening teardrops collect their prize
Damming the lame as well as the chastised
Whirlpools , swift green spirals
Charming the aware , the compliant ,
the mesmerized and the medicated , a
breathless survivor