Along Peachstone Shoals
Morgan horses have seized the first light -
of the spring morning
Wild Turkeys call in unison , scratch -
hurriedly along wild rose , bramble berry -
camouflage
A stoic Whitetail Buck crosses the shallows ,
disappears into hardwood spring shelter
Fog steadily burns along the holler as red winged -
blackbirds gather for the noon feast o'er purple clover
passageways , tinted with silver-gray ballooning -
spiderlings , moistened by the warm breath of the -
promising new day harvest
Farm tractors scurry county roads in route to -
awaiting plowland , Longhorn cattle vie for the sunny
hillside ..

Calico gloomy rail yards
Steel vessels whine , brakeman -
locking cars against Winter sky backdrops
Painted horseman bound for Augusta -
tonight , through Conyers , Rutledge and
Union Point
Eastbound dedication passing rural
depots , breaking the twilight silence -
for many a mile , lighting each crossing -
as it slowly rumbles down the meandering line ...

Lake flies lighting reflective glass
Olive eyes focused on the blue earth
Training the purple wild flower fields -
of western Chattahoochee river country
Whirling , advancing , rock patterned shoals ,
river dancer hideaways , painted turtle middles
Mud cats , rock bass and sundry panfish skim -
the shallows harnessed in Georgia granite , indigenous
red , white clay banks , clear running waters and every
colored flower imaginable
Dandelion seedlings and dragonflies hurry downstream , lit
by the afternoon Lamp of the Almighty
Pipers of every pitch occupy every inch of the surrounding
heavens with emotional song
Ever watchful Crows burst into joyful laughter with each
Smallmouth topwater explosion
Herons work the rock island summits , Blue Jays station the crags
as the pace quickens to the Gulf , curious livestock command the bluffs
South as cascading waters grow ...

To be privy to the language of
the trees , akin to the honey laced
backcountry , awash in the curative
morning dew
Knowledge of every young drop of rain ,
every newborn seedling ..
Master of the woodland trigonometry ,
songbird musicology
Raptor shadow figures circling 'neath
nimbus billowing blankets , technicolor
grasses , earthen molasses

Where are my mind crafted inventions
My cure to **** the triggers , stop the white noise
Spinning thoughts , anger blocking the poets -
peripheral vision , angry dogs at the foot of the bed
Words that add color to black and white -
landscapes , a lake of images for a
child in his fifties , nailed to the weathered -
pier by his own disability
My back to the hard crowd
Naked and ashamed
Faced with the killing night
Unwavering noise that only -
I can hear
One bullet .. Sound or fear ?

Tonight I'm an A minor with a touch of chorus
A piece of blues contoured with the reverb call of -
the devil , wah pedal contortion at the seventeenth
fret of misery ...

Children dash for mother on picture postcard
afternoons
Crossing guards whistle instructions to -
Friday drivers on the move
Friends wave goodbye from the big yellow bus
Dogs act confused over the afternoon rush
Basketball and hopscotch take over the streets ,
soda pop and candy , little league athletes
Friday night football , Saturday mornings at the mall
Movies in the early afternoon , teenagers 'hanging out' at the game room , waiting for their ride home ..
Late night phone calls by the light of the Moon ..

The three o'clock shift empties , fills the parking lot
Factory people heading for cars , some on foot
The war is over , no ennobled cause of freedom  -                                           fought for in the textile mill , no bastion of democracy  on a hill
Shadows facing the ground , economic yellow lights ,
security guards waving goodbye
Headlight illuminated , neighborhood dogs running fence lines
Stopping for milk , beer and bread , hometown newsprint
Watching utilities .. Paying rent ..
Another quiet Dalton evening , gone ..

Beer freed inhibitions
Blue tobacco smoke , half -
price Monday nights
Inebriated , lonely locals venting -
frustrations on aged billiard tables
Southern rock blasting through house -
speakers , music legends come to life for -
a little while , small town cliques
Their table becomes another time brought -
back to life tonight , if only for a few tearful -
hours
Time controls .. Hurts .. Brings needed venting , laughter ..
Reveals shared pain among quick , one night friends in stale bar room surroundings

Cameo -pink splotches lightly touch backcountry roads , lighting pastures , trimming hardwood baselines , forgiving wounded -
spirits on hidden , vine infested shore
Retrieving the cacophony of woodland musical notes
Sharing the harmony and perpetuity of the wind fueled rote
Reaching for pearl complexion atop wisteria -
blue vistas , faint Sunlight incarnations , boundless ,
cloudburst driven streams , foaming western rivers ..

Jonquil rain bar approach , delta method
time beau stargazer in earnest
Fine line arcadian pest derecho , pinpoint
waiver unit substitution Jericho
Albamarle sinister unit torrid recuser perpetuity
cisco propulsion Easter wig nam propulsion
Archangel rock deliver jetsam
Harold ****** sonic shift mercury wind bag space
candidate turquoise nine beam analyzer Sinbad nine
Winder ground archer nine sound pet neighbor tyrant
dime loser terrier loose figment stroller ten nimbus

I open my blinds for a bit o' moonshine ..
If a 'Peeping Tom' meanders through
our bushes sneaking a peek at night ,
his criminal eyes could quite possibly lock on to
a fifty three year old , portly , farmer tanned
Old Buck wearing absolutely nothing , holding
his favorite coffee cup ..
My case study in Criminology .. ****** Prevention 101 ..

Religion is mans '*******' after a hard
week of deceit , bigotry , infidelity and denial ..

A wind driven paradigm shift in consciousness
Substituting bees for taxing people , birds for airplanes
Trees for worldly hope , blue sky for avenues of pained thought
Grass , a welcoming neighbor ..  Sun , a warm lover

The intense , creative nature of the planet
**** sapiens are merely a forgotten message in the ocean sand erased by high tide
As we freely partake of her offerings she will most likely ignore us
If we continually damage Mother Earths window -
to the heavens she will drown us

Like flint sparked pine straw in the month
of July
The confluence of cascading streams at
Spring storms epilogue
A course of brilliant sunshine at the break
in the clouds

Dazed , slumber mode
Late hour aggravation
Defective diode , electrical -
brain imbalance , television overload
Book weary , legal philosophy -
theory , fly swatter Republican
county prosecutors
Night cars bound for work
Greasing the soul eating machines -
of our Corporate government
Press conference Lead Monster wannabe
students of Plato
Cookie cutter American PlayDoh

Tuesday is a 'Whisper shower' away
A night without fearsome lightning nor blustery winds
The entrancing song of tickled chimes from front porch swings
Harmonious pitter -patter of evening rains
The steady trickle of copper , gutter drains
Sweet , melodic call of Barn Owls o'er darkened fields
Gentle drops of healing water from Cottonwood , Magnolia and Crape Myrtle trees , splendiferous offerings courtesy of cumulonimbus progeny , eventide hail of Spring Killdeer , Mockingbird and Whippoorwill harmony

Georgia cities feeding off the interstate artery
Engorged , soulless urban ticks lacking credible -
reason and justification for their ever expanding existence
Does the state need another QuikTrip
A Home Depot every 15 miles
Another Walmart small town ******

Hallowed hill birdlife from my bedroom window
My bold , fellow agnostics working hard -
on the ' Sabbath ' like any other day
Warblers and Finches with no time for play
Red headed Woodpeckers tapping away
Orpingtons , Dominiques and New Hampshires -
leading a busy parade
Bathing Geese , scratching Hens , Crows in the corn
An Egret rides the wind while a Robin feeds her young
Bluebirds on the hunt , Thrashers on the run
Jays nabbing Figs in the scorching midday Sun

The aleatory bridge of our love ,
a perfect note connecting the song -
within our hearts
The musical phrase of Sandpipers -
on lonely beachheads
The call of thunder , the intonation -
of the Angelic Host
Mercurial , agape instrumentation -
of dawns forest floor
Waterbird cadence , enlightened by the
apricot Sun
Crashing wave , carving stone , forever unexplored
Improvisational
Overwhelming .. Love ..

I'm listening to ' Jackie Blue ' by the Ozark Mountain
Daredevils and gazing into the stormy night
Smiling , enthralled with every note
Creativity on high ....

A laborer bagging paper in the courtyard ,
smoking mangled cigarettes kept in -
a sock
Flags crack like whips in the Fall breeze
Disoriented black birds fill town trees
Breath has become visible on hurried -
townsfolk
Cars in angled row line the pharmacy ,
barber shop and the only downtown restaurant
Idle chatter , ringing of silverware , the  -
drawer slamming against the cash register
Waitress calling orders to a fry cook ,
children working gum ball machines
Middle class Americans in flannel shirts -
and blue jeans
Paying Friday tabs , barely getting by ..

A lone , Water Oak wonder in golden armor
Sentry of the night , of uncertain shadow
The guardian of the gate , donned in-
bucolic regal linens
Living Testament to the power of Earth ,
securing the wildwood sacraments
Platform of the evening songster , transitional buoy of red morning starlight ..

Turning natures lyrics to prose
My loves to fruition , simple soft questions-
to hardened truth
Ancient forest to majestic actuality , hidden meaning to reality
Gasping , winter exhalation becoming
the voice of reason
Old departed friends come to call on red carpet hallways  , where logic is calculated with simple arithmetic
The rambling of philosophic writing halted with a well placed period

Salty boiled peanuts , hot black coffee
and Aristotle ..

I ran to awaiting hillside , crushing-
grass and microscopic fauna beneath naked feet
Killed for a beautiful view
'Twould be better to report on such-
miracles from indoors
Was a jaunt through green scenery a homicidal-
memory
To safely assume the Red hawk is circling for his next meal
Fish are feeding at topwater , trees are dying , toppling over
Creeks are rushing to river , Bluebirds attending their nestlings
Warm winds grinding rocks ever so slowly , a red Fox is at rest
Is the end a step higher , have the random killed received a great reward
How high the trees minus the pang of death to halt their reach
How odd the beach with no shell to teach
To curse the cold of January with no knowledge of June
Life equals discovery , equals eternal motion

A Green Anole has got it going on
Enjoying the afternoon sun and bothering-
no one
Blending with the grass trying hard not
to be discovered
Little green lizard , we've a lot in common !

Sorghum syrup , sold just off the National-
highway
Boiled peanuts , pecan divinity
Period pickups , gas fired grills and turkey cookers
Busy , rugged maple rockers , curious roadside onlookers
Store clerk dragging a Salem , orange vested
hunters with a fresh deer ****
Restaurant trailers with hot dog , cheeseburger-
entrees , malt shakes and fried dill pickles
Big rigs on break in cracked asphalt , brown grass-
jungles
Dusk , closing down a rural exit ramp
A tiny town barely on the map ...

God missed the Holocaust , what makes you think
he's watching over the job interview tomorrow
Atomic bombs dropped over Japan while he was off
On paid leave while Stalin purged Russia
In conference while children starve
People freeze on streets
Bleed needlessly
I'm looking for help and to tell you the
truth his track record is a bit mediocre to me

Lightning , stars and muscadine wine
Counting 'Angels Fire ' by increasing moonlight
Rain cooled midnight , lonely , solo whippoorwills ,
fresh cut hayfields
Coyote calls , crying for the morn
Nervous new acquaintances , be of free will
and let your love soar ...

We draw the sustenance of light ,
nourished via the prism of summer
rainbows and sienna dusk
Escorted along life's curt , underlit marquee-
with intermittent reflections of hope ,
renewal and rebirth fostered by the opening rays
of dawn
Treading the decorated bottom country
Connected with sundry , polestar orientation
Drawn into magnetic , scrupulous religiosity

Honeysuckle carrier churning the spring-                                              
river caladium
Easterly shear delight beyond Dresden blue visage
Windy dream mermaid sea , Brown Pelican motion
Harper Chickadees stirring Pineapple sage-
banks of thought
Tempered , smitten , physical piedmont devotion
Pisciform schooners roaming wits damask ocean

It would be perfectly proper for the poet to welcome 'Death' with a curious smile for its instant revelations and numerous , profound musings ..

Grandmother has returned to earth in a sunbeam
Swaddling her children in the cold night
Drying young tears with thoughtful light
Enthralling her kin with the pageantry of
devotion
Turning the uncertainty of rough sea into
placid , stable berylline ocean ..

On a black reliable swing 'neath the noble Firs-
on a blue blossom morning
Sparrows bound in the sunblind-
of Sweet gum giants
Crows barn dance , craving-
seed and **** new grassy delights
Bluebird performers guard their settlement-
atop the Boxelders with a touch of class ,
Mockingbirds work their piece of forest with a bit of sass
Feisty Mother cardinals squabble-
with Jays in the golden dale
Heartsmitten ancillary sunlight pulling-
earths flowers to awaiting sky
Sweet spring breath of Georgia clearing-
my troubled mind

Old , hollowed-out freight cars going north-
have their own distinct sound
These late night trains barreling through-
Palmetto can be heard for many a mile
You can hear those big empty boxes dancing-
on the track without a load to weigh 'em
down
I can recognize full railcars headed south to New-
Orleans in the early pre-dawn hour ..

Fiery Sun virga o'er flaxen cover
The wishful phoneme of rain-
has come over without a sound
Crusted , fragmented farm shares ,
storm ditches turned to stone
The choking dust of August collects ,
covering homesteads in barren misery-
and stunted harvest
Hopes for the chilled rain of November
in the Dog Days of Summer have long
since gone

Dahlia toned Angels minister
unto the passing hours
Inquisitive whitetails work the
canebreak , crossing Bear Creek into arable
pastures  
A Banty rooster silhouette calls the
close of day

Over the terra umbra belt of the western plowlands
Fog intense esplanades separate-
vital pasture from albedo creekside
Diesel motors varnish the misty sunlight-
divide
Hereford cattle demand the cucumber green
lowlands
Morgan hillsides carry eastbound into
the coming day

The Sycamores have fallen for the songbirds-
but they refuse to recognize
Gallivanting each hour from Live Oak to Sugar Pine , chasing the wind
Taking their show to every tree in the warm
theater of May
It's rather sad at times on melancholy days

Maytime romance under the vernal lamp
of creation
Wrapped with invisible arms
Under the spell of sylvan charms
Appeasing lanes embellished-
with pink Begonia and baby-blue -eyes
Catalpa trees blushing in the marmalade sky
Strawberry thoughts , young lessons-
from green pinecones
Brandy freshwater branches fill river neighbor-
saplings
Nuthatch mothers sing of the day in sunflower gardens

Foolishly reaching into a rabbit box hurried for supper could
quite possibly turn you into a feral cats dinner !

Night solitude bodes converging pressures , arising to burr and flying flame
The 'Keepers of Wrath' momentarily call the Homeric -
Oaks to attention
A fleeting , midnight memory come to pass
The train bound for Montgomery resumes it's-
journey south , over dale .. Then gone ..
Timekeepers will ring to the morning at
five bells
Scrambled , exhaustive drollery to the sound
of distant thunder

Chitter , chatter chirrup
Three birds of a feather
A friendly chummy posy -
in perfect morning tide pleasure
Trilling , thrilling , touring Thrush's in the noon palmettos
Chiming sweet refrains in the -
broomcorn meadow
Musky , dusky weary
Gold songsters in a bush
A huckleberry trio in the-
nighttime hush

Clover honey sunshine o'er Sassafras rivers
Proud Martins sing for notoriety , full bloom-
white sugar , shivers in the afternoon pasture
Our last Raven of the hard day season
Roaster , stained glass color kinda holidays -
liquid Kildare clover valleys , euphoric July nightshades

Wedgwood blue , ethereal body of    
my Spring temptress  .. Sacred byways of her southern lacustrine dweller
Mourning dove wail , Muscovy duck banter
Shore cherubs prattle in the cattails , zephyrs filled-
with lake whispers
Smooth stones skipped over the kelpies
looking glass
Invisible helpers slay the lunatic bastardization
of day

When the day is a flickering bulb .. Doldrum afternoons , uninvited hindsight
The enemy continuously cruises by in different vehicles
Telephones are coiled serpents , televisions-
attempt to monitor my every move
My dark , hidden existence ..Tenth power magnification
Eating raisins , hoping for rain to justify-
my lack of worldly participation
Reading Melville and Grotius with waning passion
Secretly bored with silly public games

Traipsing corridors of stone  
A smidgen of the real me waiting
to be discovered
Rustic region thimbles of fortuity ,
peaceful harbor answering riddles ,
solving mysteries ..

Braying marsh hounds of the trembling earth
Thickened pools of black reserve -
retained by copper red blushing , post painterly-
abstracted horizons
The boisterous quagmire dims with-
the passing of Heavens Lamp
Agitated waterbirds swarm to available-
lucidity
Waning apprehension ensues ...