riding in a 'doodle-bug'
happy & free
off to the hillside to see what we-
can see
the tail of the Milky Way brings awe
-& glee ..
coming home in a 'doodle-bug ,' -
sleepy & free with --
stardust , moonbeams & tinsel dreams ..

My little Georgia place
Where sun & pine embrace ..
Where the windblown grass borders-
lakes of pure glass ..
Where the morning dew emboldens-
the sylvan view ..
Home of the Wilson's , the Carlisle's-
and the Kuhn's ..
Home of magenta skylines & harvest-
moons ..
Where tacit cattle work summer fields..
Where piedmont farmers toil for their yield ..

Her name was _.
A 'Queen Elizabeth I' wannabe wearing denim -
jeans with a Humble Pie t-shirt ...
A burgeoning ******* who ruled the cul-de-sac with -
long flowing hair , cobalt blue eyes and backseat tricks ..                  
She barely recognized the losers ,
a club I reluctantly commanded ..
Her Knights were the "adults" , the -
"cig" smokers , the acid rockers and the
May Jane enchanted ..
Alas , love in '78 could be hit or miss ,                                                        
those ignorant uninformed romeos awaiting the revelations of a petri dish ..

A rainy day brain bursting -
at imaginations spillway ..
For I envisioned antebellum visitors in period
vehicles nodding their approval here -
at the prickly close of day ..
Brown sugar November shrubbery
crackled in the scorn of winter-ways ..
Lead , case hardened steel , black powder-
and the corruption of the dead ..
Widows , orphans and city blocks afire
Put your religion & its army on my shelf
whilst I **** upon the fires of the liars and their wealth ..
Awakened in the midst of a cavalry charge ..
Thunder . Screams , stealth and brutality ..
Death celebrated with fried catfish , potato salad-
and baked beans ..
The laughter of children has replaced the cries of pain..
Chillbain lifted with the onset of warm July rain ..

I've one 'battle tested' , authentic friend ..
My shadow ..

In a black and white world I see --
her as a rainbow divided into -
a million hues ..
My midnight ballerina traipsing-
my wonted nightfall with starlight hope-
and taut , beloved , choreographed moves ...

A whiff of wild onion ..
The sting of skin to metal ..
Crystal ploughland ,
mechanical mules , RC Cola-
thermometers & diesel perfume ..
Clanging cattle gates , Carolina-
sky , dissonant disc seeking grease ,
a chaw or two o' Levi if you please ...

The crackle of autumn leaves ,
golden forest canopies , apple cider dreams-
and cinnamon sticks drawing stick figures-
on frosted windows ..
Brush strokes of moonshine spinning-
nightfall portraits into life..
Cold glass portals of magic and desire ..

There's pine clinging to the breeze ,
The scrabble and babble of "easties"-
in the trees ..
A chorus of windbound ravens ..
All Hail ! The security of my warm winter haven ...
A frozen bell
A cockleshell
Two milk cans
Wind racked pie pans
A Farmers Almanac ,
a glass-top table half full-
of nick-knacks , this and-
thats , whatever and 'what on
earth's , the accoutrements of the blessed aged-
and the soon to be interred .. A once mighty sunflower scratches-
the porch screen ...
Thus , my steadfast , collective account of rural daydreams ..

Brown cinnamon glow ,                                                                ­                
our hillside boisterous doe , telegraphs her moves by-
the early , jovial winter moon ..
Down tractor road , beside-
Zachary Creek , blend into the shadow ,
alert , curious and meek ..
Our favored evening dame
Slender and sleek
Strike a pose milady ..
Stoic and sweet ...

Mid-morning aphrodisiacs
Captured in a paper sack
Prickly , briarwood coffers-
crackle in a sea of purple dreams ..
A curious maze of pure amazement
Dove in sweet refrains ..
Sing to laborious hours ...
Yodel the praises of God Almighty
The choirs of Heaven tremble-
tall canopies ..
Pine straw carpets
Tingling sunrays ..
Noontide relief and absolution ..
Fluent songbirds with tasteful elocution ..

Moss filled centurions don golden jackets
Raindrop prisms , shuttle rhythms  ...
Brook melodies , a dragonflies pitch ..
A perfect fourth , a perfect fifth ..
A jays morning arpeggios ..
A bullfrogs sforzando , a herons-
adagio , meticulous crickets posing with bows held-
high , a murders cackling cantabile in praise of a cloudless-
sky , katydids stand at attention along the-
forested path by the light ..
Evergreen whirligigs begin to shower the -
earth to the symphony of the waltz , the -
wildflower and the newfound birth ...

hardwoods reduced to naked indignation -                                        
blackbirds voice their mathematical equations
field smoke bound for the dusken diamonds of autumn ..
dove mourn the close of day ..
the crackling corn ..
Septembers hay ..
a locomotive bound for Montgomery ..
ash enroute to the moon ..

I think l'll find a bluejay -
a loud vociferous jay -
standing her ground , sure-
and proud ..
Alert , unabashedly pious -
and lyrically meticulous ..
Voracious for truth , golden throated with frank religiosity and unbridled animosity in silencing the powers that be ..
Bound for eternity ...
In her honor I have named her-
Miss O'Connor ...

Just remember that humanity is a 'bump-
in the road' to 'manmade , insentient cyborgs' controlling-
the earth someday..

a skeleton key to the coffers of-
the pineywood panacea ..
a granite stone skipped across-
cool creek water ..
to whitetails concurring with-
the morning fires of October ..
to mechanical leviathans sojourned-
in prickly winter ..
to brown sugar fields in frosted glitter ..
for an audience of blackbirds in naked-
hardwoods , the crashing cymbals of Enumclaw-
across Chattahoochee river bottoms , the
tapestry of purple flowers in rested ploughland ,
to ancient peoples born , stood , tested and long since -                    
passed..

it's not a tear, child ,
merely a drop of rain ,
a gift to nullify humanities pain ,
an elixir from heaven above ,
a concurrence of musical tones-
from 'the almighty'
an unsealed trove of afternoon love ...

A lone troubadour in some forgotten bar ,                                            
Paints the silence with a weathered guitar
Maracas made of ice cubes in tall drink glasses
The clatter of billiards , the call for waiters
Neon lights shower chipped tabletops
Chatter , laughter & poetic lies
Salty margarita tops , old world steins
A young writer recording his thoughts -
in between sets  
Tales of stale beer
A love grown dour
The plight of the wordsmith
The powers that be & the killing rent ..
The perfect gig & the strangling government ...

These Brogans have walked many trails ,
carved the red clay , tracked through the summer-
hay , laid impressions on many a shore ,
climbed barbed wire , kicked tractor tires
stomped out backyard fires , walked the property
line , ten years service with ne'er a shine .

These blessed overalls have staved the cold on frosty
morns
Many a pocket filled to the brim , Goody powders ,
nails and screws , guitar picks & Red Man chew ,
fence pliers , shotgun shells , a #2 hook and a catfish bell ....

I loved you on a Monday ..
With florid first impressions , wicked pheromones &
Long Island Teas ..

I declared your hand on a Tuesday with
flowered arches , summer moons &
Champagne ..

I stood onguard in your defense ..
Toiled in the name of our firstborn ..
Hands that bore the shape of the shovel ..
August dog days , November chill-bain ...

Tedious miscalculations
Unprepared peeps fighting-
the Winter rath of February & March ..

A fool loved you a long time ago
Bereft of honesty , destruction that lies-
beneath the surface , cold water & bitter-
herbs ...

clairvoyant beings in the cattails
lake dancers , gray morn jackets
the breath of God
new day fog
sylvan tinsel &
surface rhythms ....

We're downy feathers thrown into a turbulent wind
We land where we land , good or bad by -
the laws of chance and happenstance ....

Twould be incumbent upon you to frequently test whether your 'friendships' are true or if you're merely a rung on their ladder to success  ....

Lake Tuesday ..
The hour of the painted shore , wind lashed olive waters
, brother to earth , wind and rain .. What songbird call shall answer the question of the March breeze , which spring buck shall amuse the meandering broom sage .. How the fearful turtle skims just below the sight of my wandering eyes .. The graceful sigh of Loblolly Pines , red tipped lake lovers , for what has day brought the coming night .. Red Shouldered hawk , the hillsides exquisite ****** crying with intricate dance , wary to every changing movement above nutmeg hued trunks that long for their crowning expectations .. The Suns command , showered in benevolent virtues akin to red , blue and gold passageways , lead boldly westbound for the river as churned lake spaces settle into placid afternoon ..
Ghost of the piedmont forest walk these woodland byways , the breath of the Creek Nation give life to such sacred parcels of heaven ..

A voodoo doll and a cup full of pins ...

I would gladly record my emotions onto granite with -
my fingernails if paper was nowhere to be found ..

Turn your demons & lifes unrelenting ******-
into Reeses cups & peppermint sticks
Seize the day licking lips & fingers with-
a 'chocolate face' , a lovely horehound day it is ,
Ride the Pepsi river with a Butterfinger paddle
Dabble in culinary witchcraft , cotton candy fields , a sugar cookie-
shield in the Land of Frosted Flakes & Fiddle Faddle ..
All Hail ! The Three Musketeers & the power they wield !

I want to be in a town renowned for its evening-
crickets , front porch laughter & lightning bugs
For fish fries and shade tree mechanics
For kids playing games beneath streetlights
Friendly constables , helpful neighbors & church-
bells , iron kettle flower pots , walking the rails ,
I need to separate the dirt from the chaff ,
to draw the cool aromatic smoke of dried-
tobacco , the kernel from the cob , earth from-
share , cold babbling water from slippery-
rock , soaked shanter from brow , molasses from-
the wheel , wheat from the stone , the honey forfeiting-
the comb , Spring from Winter , crust from lakeside ,
- kudzu from sweetgum , Scripture from torrid-
novel , music from razorback squeal , **** from shovel -
, decay from iron , turpentine from the tall pine ,
cracked leather from calloused feet

My house is beginning to smell like my grandmother's-
old house ...

Give me brown sugar grass
Sunny afternoon dispositions
Soprano bluejays & country byways
Grandkids , daughters & warm inspirations
River-rock chimneys , hot coffee & loving memories ....

An excuse is failure dressed in a tuxedo ...

I defy any musician to write a score more beautiful-
than the laughter of a child ....

When Earth shuts her pretty blue eyes-
When a flock of geese are heard in the twilight sky
Listen for the night owl , the meadowlark & the-
early morning wren ...
The katydid , the fiddling cricket & the mother hen ..
The clang of the cowbell , pirouetting aromatic field smoke
The foggy holler , a ****** in the tall oaks
The song of her residents , hilltops bedecked in shimmering sunny gold ...
Servile beast of burden master the tug of the yoke ..
The February wind , the three tones of a winters dirge howling like -the faithful in a Pentecostal church ..

If you ever want to teach a young buck discipline-
have him hold a nail with one hand against a maple block while -hammering it with the other ....

a ) Enhance the timbre of one's voice
b ) Report the taste of food to the brain
c )  Ignite unquenchable conflagrations ..

Watching the driveway like all the other days
All clear , nobody on the way ...
A big yard with no kids , no laughter ,-
No how do you do's , no warm friendly chatter
No Christmas turkey , tinsel , hot wine nor -
candy platters ..
Perusing an empty lot as if the Holidays really-
matter ...

A political statement will promptly decay from the moment of its -inception to the hour of its reincarnation ...

A true musicians cause of death should be his instrument ...

The hardened performers tapped time with hammer & rod
They felled trees , greased tremendous machines ,
hand dug ditches , turned wrenches ,
Diesel-fired , rumbling leviathans in alliance with -
pipe laden silver work stallions
The dance of man and his creations
Iron , steel , copper and concrete machinations
Repetitive , coordinated , chisel driven gruff melodies ..
The whine of the hitch , the howl of the winch ,
Rubber crushing gravel as the dance slowly traveled ...

I see that God has serious five o'clock shadow brewing
His evening hair is illogical
A piece of corn between aged , yellowing teeth ..
Hairy ears , wrinkled forehead , ***** neck
Work shirt , t-shirt , sock cap , glasses ,
Goody powders & Marlboros ...

telltale music neath a familiar bridge , hardwoods and evergreens line the river ridge ...
a confidants mystical steps , dancing rocks & steamy breath..
cottontail dancers & trepid , leary does...
bluebird , wren , titmouse & cardinal country guides ..
my sky resembles the bendable , sugary cocoanut-
candy I cherished when I was a boy ...
a coy child can turn twenty acres into the-
home of the wild on this sacred voyage ..
adults pop dreams like tight balloons
they topple homemade scenes & green -
daytime schemes ..
extend your arms ...
let the filling wind take control of your physicality
glide from tree to tree
command the sky with great longing and glee
find yourself sitting on a telephone pole ...
cackle like a morning crow ..
circle the noonday Sun
navigate the meadow , converse with the sprites ,
the fairies and the goodwill ghost below ...

When I try to watch the news my sadness sets in ..When I look across
the yard sometimes in the evening the same thing happens .. I've cried myself to sleep several times over the last two weeks .. When I put a plate of food in front of me I start thinking about dead animals ..
I'm still getting the sensation of falling or being electrocuted .. I'm beginning to see objects at the window once again .. When I listen to music sometimes the sadness is unbearable .. Music is all I have so this is quite painful .. I've 'caught myself ' staring into nothing in whatever room I'm in ... Mary Ellen and I have gone out to eat several times over the last few weeks .. She's caught me ' zoned out' ..
She stared into my eyes an brought me back into the moment ..
I'm beginning to feel like no medicine in the world is going to help me ... I had some pain meds from my gall bladder surgery four weeks ago .. I contemplated taking all of them at once just to see if I could stop the 'machine' ..

The choice of an angry 'Smokey' or a Honey Locust tree would create a vexed farmer at the crossroads indeed .....

When you're in love the weight of the-
world becomes imperceptible ..

If we continue picking the scab of the Earth-
she'll release a defense that will make COVID-19 feel -
like a case of the sniffles ...

A bluebird atop a farm bell patrolled-
his sunnydale ..
Discerning butterfly from cricket-
in the broomsage thicket ..
A chirpy melodious song of love ..
Greetings from Jonah , the thrasher -
& the turtle dove ...
Cardinals advance through the barren-
trees ..
Along the winterberry & the lapping stream ..
Good day from Pi , from the pink sky ..
From the bounty neath hundred year old oaks ..
From February greens to Aprils sunny scenes ..

Gold/Money
Religion                                                   ­                                           
Political aspirations ..
The ****** ..

I profess that we're really hanging upside down
Yearning for the **** of the midnight crystals but -
drawn to the familiar lure ,stability & romance of the Moon
Humanity is a simple , poignant song unheard yet
a poem already read
We could be blissfully aware of our finality instead we walk -              
this earthly miracle consumed by the lost argument of religious totality ...
Yet , we still defend the road of denial -
as the signals keep repeating ..
Popping every cell on the bubble wrap                                              
Eating stale ginger snaps
Tripped traps snap & clap in despair ,
Unstable tables and rickety rocking chairs
A quick smoke in the midnight air
M&M's and cannabis gummies
Tuning 'the six' , rummaging through-
the minds attic , hopefully discerning knowledge from-
static ..

The dissonant rebuttal of Republicans and the lengthy braying-
of a felled ******* strikes a dry , dangerous tune indeed ..

May the deity that paints your sunsets -
improve your outlook towards your fellow-
man ...