Boiled peanuts , caviar for us southern gentlemen , cooked all night , lightly salted ! Sold at the side of the road by friendly farmers , thick accented entrepreneurs quick to tell a joke or relay a bit of gossip ! Cool mornings , colorful hardwood leaves and the aroma of these epicurean delights are as familiar as Magnolia blossoms , sorghum syrup and homegrown peaches in the Summertime !

If I place it under my chin it might ruin the beautiful stippled ceiling Father paid so much to have put in , against my temple could quite possibly destroy the gorgeous wallpaper here in the den . Putting it in my mouth would almost guarantee maximum spread in just about any room in this haunted house ..These walls are as confused as I , beautiful artwork and photographs mingled with dark secrets within . Joy and abject terror blended together like off white walls and walnut stained wood baseboard and trim ..Two one of a kind lamps , family Bible , pure white doilies crocheted by Mother on every table ..Pine flooring and wormy Chestnut kitchen cabinets will prevent the inevitable this morning !

Staring into the wood floor , straight through to the grain , connecting point of reference , the image of happiness , far removed from turmoil , a family under siege ! Concoct a scene from anywhere , summon my imagination , release it into overdrive , to the Moon , Mars , walk a dangerous mountain pass , sure footed , leading men into the unknown , from sun blistering snow capped mountain peaks to the surety of the valleys below ! Concentrate on a fixed position , ride out the storm ..Think about my grandmothers gentle hands , rubbing the back of a frightened youngster , assuring all would be well ! Filling my nose with dirt to divert my attentive anguish , scraping fingernails across my young legs , until they bled ..Hiding in the basement till the all clear was given , the beast having returned to the bedroom !

I scored thirty two points playing basketball while you were drunk ! I'm sure your only infatuation was more 120 proof poison !  I was merely a teenage punk ! Money spent on food , clothing , medicine plus other useless junk when alcohol was the Golden Bull , a tonic to obliterate the duties of a father , something you never could get enough of , a liquid that took precedence over every other item in your view of the world ! You bled the checkbook dry every week , slaughtered the spirit of your children over something to drink ! Rocking in your chair , grandkids treating you like a God , you ran your own children into the ground ! Alcohol is a weakness , not a sickness , who could reach for a wolf then wonder why they've been bitten ?

High Noon , granted another day , a poem comes to mind in reference to my beloved Hill Country once again ! Black coffee with all the plans for Sunday scribbled on the back of Saturdays grocery list ! Vegetable seedlings look very much alive from my vantage point , our crows nest  , the kitchen window ! Occasional visitors can smell fresh vegetables from the top of our garden beds but can't seem to reach them . Cotton-tail rabbits  in the front yard , birdhouse built this Spring , a flurry of activity this morning !  Mother and Father bluebirds , make a "good living" from their perch overlooking the garden , welcome sunlight is finally beginning to peek through the clouds after a late morning shower ! Drowning out the sound of ceiling fans and the clock on the wall with music this hour ! The hours are also numbered for potato bread and blackberry jelly on the kitchen counter ! Thrive on morning routine here in my protected area of the world .. Answering machine takes away the fear of having to answer the land line for some ridiculous reason ! The good Lord made the hand written letter , the Devil invented the telephone ! Another fantasia has put other thoughts on the back burner ,  screaming to be put on paper or recorded in the not so distant future ! Creativity and depression are symbiotic to one another , paper screams for time signatures , first , second and third verses ! The healing gift of songbirds in the trees dueling the albatross diving to its death at sea ! An ocean of memories driven into a rock filled shoreline , oblivious to their ultimate demise ! Blind , reaching for a lover , only to find she's befriended another . A hard , confident look down a familiar passage married with the fear of avalanche on two precarious sides !

How many trees does it take to print the power bills your required to pay , so the flood lights positioned about your front yard can highlight the fancy bird bath combination fountain you had installed ,  a monument to show your neighbors what an environmentalist you truly are ?
How much water is required to sport green grass in the summertime , a perfectly manicured lawn , edged , trimmed , fertilized each month like clockwork , shunning the fellow for growing a garden of fresh vegetables because his backyard is an " eyesore " unlike everyone else ?
How many deer heads mounted on a wall justify your self described account of manhood , one for each season , culling the herd , in the name of sport when it's obviously just a thirst for blood ! A thousand dollar rifle , two hundred dollar suit , flashlight , hunting knife , hundred dollar boots ?

****** snowflakes , each diminutive blessing unique in its own way , millions bound together , Winters panoramic contemplation of the world before me ! Born into the grave like man , animal and plant . Is the snowflake a living entity , or as dirt crumbled in a child's hand ? Gliding through the air with a predetermined plan ? Reflecting exertion of Dawn to disintegrate their multitudes , ultimate testament of strength in numbers , collective well being of the population as a whole ..Water in the quiescent stage , waiting to muster , fertilize and nourish a grateful Earth ..A pawn of the Suns fiery command !

I waited half the day for you . You appeared , glanced at me , sat with your friends ? The laughter was at my expense ! I knew it was the end ! You sent an emissary to announce our breakup . What about last night ? We talked on the phone for hours like we would be together forever ! Not one chance to make up ? Holding a bouquet , taken from Moms garden . Queen Elizabeth roses , very lovely blooms indeed . What did I do to deserve this ? Cut flowers , two drinks sitting in a booth built for two by myself ! Natures way of preparing you for a sometimes rough road ahead . The first time I recall the whole world snickering in my face ! The last quarter mile of the walk home was in pouring rain ! A warm Summer shower , with a unique sweet smell . Steam was rising off the roadway , thunder in the distance ! I was never the same after those brutal hours . The restaurant has been demolished  , now a wooded lot . I can still describe every little crack and crevice , color , and every item on the menu however . Loves first trial by fire ! First time participant in the game of shame , I will take that evening to my grave !

My Eight Pathways to the Light , at war with better judgment ! For in the sewer , blood is up to the manhole cover !  The constable with a body camera , a machine gun set to automatic , firing into the tall grass , hollow points seeking the invisible dissident ! Your a suspect , the cities most wanted man , convicted by the press , prima facie evidence now for a volley of bullets , gunned down on a city street ! Reduced to fly ridden meat . Larvae flee to be reborn ! Fluid . Hosed off the boulevard , a tributary seeking an underground river beneath a violent city !

Poetry is hanging your buttocks over the edge . Screaming " No ! " when the timid whisper yes . Taking high praise with a grain of salt , forcing the mute to utter their first words ! Calling out societies robots , branded cattle , pieces on corporate game boards ! Testifying , exposing the serpent beneath the rock , marching under fire to **** these people off ! You have the great gift of poetry , wear it upon thy sleeve !  Draw scribe from scabbard as a mighty sword , swift , sharp and without forbearance ! Smear dirt into your open wounds derived from conflict , mingled with the blood of the oppressed , the chastised on the field of battle !

The maniac , manic depressive walking city streets , world inverted , diving head first into the blue separation where night verses day , darkness at war with the light of the world . Gray day inversions , deprivations , tainted perception , misconception and miscalculations .. Bright eyes remit their focus ! The child loses his way . Incapacitated . Confused . Yet intent , focused on the garden of good and bad , temptation , righteousness ! Sexuality . Lasciviousness . Piety surrounded by Lucifers minions ! Crocodiles await the migration of wildebeest , rainbow trout tread turbid water for their afternoon meal , mourning dove to field of millet ! Bewildered sweet spirit reduced to crying in supplication , misunderstood , longing for the path by the light ! Traversing mean streets like the rat , the security of a structure to one side , on a high state of alert ! Pawn of the citizenry , cardboard empire and the bottom feeders . Catfish pawning for dung , corruption amidst the sea of inequity . Images flying point blank , a thousand miles an hour ! Shoot him dead ! Continue killing him long after his last breath . Send him back to the blue , where Angels await !

You'll find your God(s)  lying in ***** soaked camouflage pants and a black wool sweater next to his or her grocery cart . On the corner of a busy downtown intersection waving at the cars ! Their panhandling at the liquor store for loose change .. Standing at the off ramp of the expressway holding a sign that says " Need Food ! " They're the people talking to themselves as you try your best to look away ! Maybe inside a cardboard mansion in the shadow of the state capitol building ..Freely associating with their disciples on a city park bench . Waiting any day to be crucified by a disinterested government !

A deluge rendering fuel unpalatable , depressions carved in stone that trap much needed rainwater on the mountaintop . Men deploy natures gift of mimicry indeed ! Disguised as wolves amongst brethren , a dwindling pasture filled with sheep . Beholden to Shepard , encircled by a code of conduct , contained , commanded ...Inquisitive livestock possessed with the other side of the fence ! Dependent upon their leaders during the short , cold days of Winter , seeking liberty from self described oppression in the latter days of Spring . Gather shoulder to shoulder at Natures urn ! Continually imbibe despite their thirst having been quenched .. Intent to cull the mountainside of every blade of grass before weighing heavy against their boundaries , seeking new pasture ! Relentless yet defenseless , capricious , forbade of reason !

Waiting for an audience , practicing every move , critique every nuance , critical eye contact with animal counterparts . Your display of affection is most disheartening , the only reason for you presence ? So politically correct friends can feast their eyes upon a " shelter dog " . A rite of passage like your tie dyed t-shirt , sandals and voter registration ! Claim to be  a PETA activist but your only a charade , a most dangerous psychopath walking from cage to cage ! Who stands before me ? You appear delusional as well ! In two days I'll be sentenced to the backyard , shackled to a tree ! Living off of rainwater and sporadic feedings ! Crying for release , tortured with fleas .. I have found the one ! Any guess on how I can tell ? You've the unmistakable look of loneliness coupled with the scent of depression .. An aroma within your gradient most vivid and easily detected ! The same odor within my cage , surrounding this wounded animal ! You and I will remain side by side , play off each others affections , render great joy to one another and form a bond that will last forever !

In brown eyes , flame beckons oxygen from all directions , the vacuum filled by shrieking winds ! Soil receiving the dead , corruption intermingled with Earths biochemistry , perpetual change , continuity , rebirth ! Blistering days , sun shower in the heat of day , thirsting for cool waters , quenched by the marriage of fire and ice , high above naked lovers ! Rapture ! Hope of the flowers that bloom in Spring .. Honeybees spread the chemical cues of life eternal , abundant and constant . In brown eyes on a cool Winters day !

Pawpaw would rock by the fireplace in his favorite rocker ! The occasional whiff of Oak firewood and Borkum Riff pipe tobacco , I was hanging on to every word ! A narrative about a little boy in 1925 . Standing by his chair , as proud as I could be ! He'd look straight into your eyes without even flinching , the smell of Old Spice aftershave and Kentucky Bourbon . A shot glass with a gold rim ..A pocket watch his Father passed on to him ..Stories of a little fella from the south side of Atlanta relayed to a captive audience of one ! A starstruck grandson with a cup of hot chocolate , cap pistol , belt , holster , pajamas and house shoes ! Astonished with tales of Buffalo Bill ! Sergeant York and Wild Bill Hickok* !

Abiel Cotton , with two mules and a wagon , worked his way across the villages late yesterday evening ! A noted blacksmith , carpenter and planter looking to patch a roof , sharpen a knife or plow a garden ! Ringing a bell from time to time , alerting the public of his presence in town !  By the light of the moon , traveling home , to the Monastery in Conyers , a good five miles ! You might catch him in the fields sometimes late at night or see him tolling the farm bell in the early morning light ! Old man Cotton will be back tonight , running his route like clockwork , you can count on it ! Busy Mister Cotton will soon reappear even though he's been dead for over fifty years !

Contemplating self immolation at a movie theater , somewhere in America , how many shots will take out the maximum amount of targets , children unknowingly face their mortality at a popular location . Placed a call with God , on a cellular phone , need clarification on what constitutes abomination before his high court ? He's busy with affairs of his own , so here's a message for you all with my gun ...Totality minus reason ! Woke up at three a.m. . Deaths invoice begs , at what price liberty ? Malevolent ,  homegrown terror , ostensibly the lesser of two evils , killing future Nobel Laureates or a promising young Doctor that solved the cure for cancer , sadly at peace , face down ..Ringing .. Message from Mom , distressed , on a cellular phone , are you busy with affairs of your own ? When are you coming home ?

The wind is offering riddles this warm October morning ,  are we not like plants , distant cousins nourished from sun above , soil below , rays of light , tied down to a minuscule piece of ground , awaiting our ultimate fate , transpiration . Returned to the clouds ? Renewed . Establishing roots in the place we call home , bathed in sunlight and hopeful for tomorrow ..

Going through a matriarchs memories this morning . Family Bible , insurance papers , photo albums and trinkets ! Final affairs , funeral arrangements ,  prepared prior to her passing ..Sharing stories with siblings . The kind you've heard a thousand times that still bring a smile and a laugh ! This morning , no different , except for a brief spell of tears , a few hugs ,  smiles then back to the business at hand ..Mom's affairs and her Estate were quickly settled without argument nor trite , petty differences ! Household items , photographs , artwork and dishes were split three ways in accordance with Moms wishes ..The only thing left was towels , rags , clothing and shoes , sheets and blankets ! I opened the closet door , Lo and behold , taken aback , Moms pink robe hung in plain view on the center rack ! My brother replied , " May I have that ? I remember tugging on it when I was a child . " Sister declared , " Please , can it come home with me ? I will treasure it , you may see it anytime you like ! " I shed many a tear on this garment , somehow it means more to me than anything I could possibly inherit be it wine glass , silver set , gold ring or fancy dish .. After a few minutes of deliberation a deal was struck ! The robe was to be interred with Mother , along with a note from her children , one for each pocket ..A message from a little 'fella tugging on Moms robe for an extra Pop- **** . One from a little girl read to sleep by a loving parent . One from a little toddler needing a warm hug during stormy weather . And one extra note from all three , placed in Mothers hand , longing for the day when all four were back together again !

A harsh Winter day , sweating copper , shoring ditches , sporting long johns and ***** coveralls , thankfully returning home to hot coffee and a chair in the kitchen ! Glance at a seashell on the window sill from Daytona Beach , recalling beautiful blue Summer days with Brown Pelicans , white seagulls and salt water taffy ! Ships on her horizon , children laughing with frisbees and sweet Summer memories ! What beautiful token from that magnificent coastland tempers a thick skinned , calloused workers train of thought such as mine this very evening ?

I will not be remembered as the leader of a mighty Army or drum major in a marching band ! Nor recognized by all of mankind for my scientific acumen , climbing Kilimanjaro or exploring the depths of the oceans ! My eulogy would not describe a man of great intellect such as the architect , lawyer or engineer ! Let my tombstone reflect upon the days of a Father , musician , poet and dreamer , that passed away with curiosity , not sadness .. A sometimes troubled man , with a love for the Arts , sunsets and the animal kingdom with a firm grasp of cherished , life long Southern traditions and moral principles* ...

Farm house windows have been boarded up , dilapidated outbuildings , abandoned water well , farm tractor , implements rusted over . Kudzu has blanketed the garden spot , farm bell lies on the ground , silo in need of paint , repairs ..Clover dominates a fertile pasture , once home for many abundant harvest ! Corn , soy bean and sorghum , sweet potato and collards .. Oak trees , well over a hundred years old with twenty years of unchecked leaf debris beneath them . Apple , pear and peach trees are barren .. A once sturdy white picket fence now unkempt  , frail with rusted barbed wire and nails .. The afternoon train still comes through each afternoon . I can imagine that very train taking the harvest produced by this old farm to market . Macon , Augusta or Albany ? A planter is taking a break beneath a Pecan tree with a bucket of cold well water and a ladle , plug of tobacco , and a daydream or two ! The afternoon train delivers the news of the world , a Farmers almanac , Sears and Roebuck catalogue , corn cake for the rabbit dogs , hog feed from a mill in Columbus , thread and quilt patches for Mother . Off it goes , cloud of steam rising above the mighty engine  , the whistle echoing across cotton fields for many a mile ! The link between city and farm , before electricity , telegraph or telephone . The old Georgia my great grandparents knew . Fruitful Summer harvest , painfully cold Winters laboring , scratching out a meager living and at times barely surviving ! I can still hear the crack of leather , braying of mule , firewood being stacked , horses , cattle and the rooster breaking the silence of night , sunrise announcing the new day to a hard working family plus every hamlet along the way ! .

All Hallows Eve for a child was pop corn ***** , hot apple cider by the bonfire ! Roasting marshmallows , trick or treating , listening to tall tales on cool October evenings ! Caramel apples , pumpkin seeds roasted in the oven , hay rides , county fairs and ***** houses ! Hide an seek in Granny's cornfield , spin the bottle , blind man's bluff !  One potato two potato , tag in the yard , red light green light , blowing bubbles and kick ball !

Forever paint the same old dog red and call it a brand new monkey ..

' Tis I ,  Beelzebub ! Hanging me ***** to dry ! ******* my name on a rock , on all fours , cackling as the raven , giggling like a hyena ..Come to set on Randolph's shoulder briefly , take his pen if you will , consolidate his anger for the evening ! Curse his guarding Angel , just as I laid waste to Armenian soldiers , Chinese diplomats and American leaders ! Childhood rhymes , medicated prose , a coiled cobra disguised as a rose ! The warm memories  and feelings from childhood , a confused toddler smacked , wetting his pants ! Your candy dropped from filthy little hands , scattered , riddled with fire ants ! I'm not the slingshot received for being a good boy ! Call me the rock that killed the songbird ! I'm every bad thought flashed before the hopeless insomniac , a capsized ship filled with goodness and light ! Your sarcastic muse , stopped by for a spell , to caste demonic thought across the wishing well !

A tiny brick farmhouse , on a winding dirt road . Brake lights . Geese announce a visitor ! Frozen grass crunching beneath the postman's boots ..Advertisement , gas bill plus a precious postcard ! Weathered hands turn aged , yellowed pages to file another memento . Class pictures and cut flowers pressed between gilded sheets bring warm memories .

The 21st Century ,where policemen routinely empty their clips , somewhere a toddler , famished and thankful for an entree consisting of potato chips ..Another thirty second story on the eleven o'clock news ..Teenager killed over his tennis shoes .. Sometimes I feel like Jesus is afraid to come back..Vishnu has dropped down on one knee and wept ...Every race on a war footing , quick to attack ! Justice is nothing more than an act , funded by billionaires , the dead are stars , the supporting  cast say the same things , read off a standard script , lawyers stand behind tearful people looking angry , like a bad actor straight out of central casting ! Tight lipped one day , unable to shut it off the next ..Oblivious to the real desires expressed by his clients , fifteen minutes in the bright lights ! A familiar scene that plays out almost every night .....

Honey bear worked his way up the ladder ...I was his "hole" ..The final resting place for trash and thoughts better left alone .An alternative to ******* one might say ....A dart board to practice on at the end of a "hard day ."  A trophy attached to his right arm stored in a briefcase like pencils and paper . A deflective device for use in corporate mandatory appearances ! A Certificate of Achievement hung over the fireplace ! There was a gardener , pool man , pest control tech and me ! The ******* ! A ***** paid to mingle with the girls at Starbucks , hand out hymn books on Sunday mornings at ten o'clock ...Xanax , Ambien and Vistaril . I've taken all the artificial mood enhancers , anxiety and depression pills ... Eight a.m. ****** Mary's , Gin on the rocks at high noon ! A smile on my face with a spare in my purse , American made ,  miserable alcoholic live- in Nurse !

Art is a child slinging paint off a brush on canvas ! Happy faces colored with chalk on the driveway ! Water color sunflowers on a bedroom wall , hearts and flowers wrote with an innocent finger in dust on a car hood ! Playing with their food , thinking about tomorrow , borrowing Dads pocket knife , carving first relationships into a Sweetgum Tree ! Get well cards written with crayons ! A sunny scene drawn by a precious little dreamer on a frosted window !

I would make an attempt at reaching Hell one morning , I shall return with an omen or some type of sign . Search for the infamous Lake of Fire , the Prince of Darkness himself or demons flying about ! The Sulphuric Abyss of Christian fable , Kingdom of Hades as told by the ancients ! A gold piece placed in mouth to pay the oarsman , skipped across the River Styx without fear of retribution ! I dare any demon to replicate the horror of Vietnam or Afghanistan , Iwo Jima , Gettysburg or **** of Nanking ! Walk in the shoes of the Veteran that witnessed Omaha , Utah and Normandy Beach ! The Underworld is not for physical torment nor payment for Earthly sin ! Hell is the black hole of space , swallowing souls , returned to mans past , reliving the atrocity of war forever and a day !

A spellbound audience of one ! Improvisation , effortlessly playing across the surface tension ,  the most beautiful dance a figure skater every performed pales in comparison! Her choreography , calculated movements and sheer determination ! A brief performance , off again to another location , with brilliant locomotion , intricate zig zags , figure eights , interpretive whorls ! Nature created firefly to light night skies , dragonflies to mesmerize !  She was born of creative , splendid imagination and love of all things beautiful , like a musicians perfect score or creative thought penned , scribed upon tranquil water ! A diary
without a conclusion , continuous chapter in a familiar book over quiet stream , eddy and babbling brook !

Quiet evening on the porch . Explosions in the distance , the  soldiers are getting small , incoming ! Attention subjugated from intense light to the west ! It's storming in Alabama tonight ! I'm sure it is ! The insects , mesmerized by porch light , are growing in numbers , catapulted East by violent winds , the prequel to our own battle with Thor and his army ! An entire Division , preceded by artillery , wave after wave ! Refugees have flooded the screen in rear combat operations tonight , confused , terrified faces are flashing before my very eyes ! Sergeants are screaming commands on both sides of the road as the skirmish recedes !  Rain ... Puddles .. At six a.m. as the fog begins to lift , siren of whippoorwills , ambulances rush forward to gather the dead , the toy soldiers have bled all they can ..Their really just plastic anyway ! Play things , hallucinations , flashbacks , whatever word conjures , terminates repetitive mind games , conflict witnessed many years ago , committed to endless replay , delivered by a Summer storm from Alabama last night !

On belay ? Scaling tall mountains and perilous outcrops , into the valley floor ! Great highs , perilous lows ! At mercy of wind  , rope , D-ring and intuition ! Slippery , moss covered stones , sudden changes in weather ! Possibility of cuts  , sprains and broken bones ! High above the blessings of terra firma at ropes end ! Looking out across the Earth from unique perspectives ! Far removed from mechanical , mundane , monotonous lives of the " Army ants" below , chart the course , pick the place , set the pace ! Belay on ! Cried out from below ! On your own , in control !

A daily tradition , toasted pumpernickel bread and black coffee ...
From my favorite view , looking South across the front yard , on a Maple rocker . My rightful place I wonder ? What gifts will today bring ? What role will I play and when ? Time is precious one day , painful the next ! Mornings filled with peace , contentment . Afternoons with fear , resentment ..Clocks are quite loud when alone ! My chair vibrates across the wooden floor , echoing down the hallway . A picturesque morning , Pileated woodpecker , familiar call of Bobwhite Quail . Looking for me ? I'm unable to meet anyone today ! The child is afraid to come out and play .. Maybe tomorrow or the next ! Sometime this Fall if able , Thanksgiving , Christmas or wait until Spring ! I never know what the next day might bring ! Pull venetian blinds closed , finish my cup of coffee , commit my morning to prose , music and song ? What does it take to belong ?

Bear Creek who did you happen to meet upstream-? A doe with her fawn , stopping by for a morning drink ?  Grandaddy 'possum calling it quits , off to get fifty winks ! My oh my , if your fish could talk ! The things that they see from dawn till dusk ! Garden spiders spinning complicated webs , silver blue Herons standing perfectly still ..Bullfrogs singing at the waters edge , soft shelled turtles rising up for air ! Crayfish bedding in her muddy banks . Butterflies , mud puppies and channel cats ! Goodbye sweet water , flow peacefully home . Through tall Georgia pines , sleepy southern towns ! Sparkle the imagination of all you meet , meandering quietly to the sea !!

Spending good money on theater tickets for a fright when the six o'clock news plays for free each night ? Pay top dollar for " Spring water " bottled in plastic choking the oceans ? Sugar free sodas are nothing more than a cumulative poison just like all the others ! Marijuana is taboo , but fast food is cool ? Twenty years for selling it ! Perfectly fine to feed your kids rat poison with a toy stuck in it ! Pay no attention to a refreshing drink that cleans the terminals on car batteries ? Processed flour with roach droppings in it ? Antibiotics , genetically modified produce , earthquakes in Oklahoma from fracking ! Leveling trees in metro Atlanta to build substandard housing !

Beer bellied Romeos stepping up to the ****** trough so their three inch piece of manhood can stand up , wives in line two picking up Xanax for the month to remove all memory of Studs ****** inclination ..Morbidly obese people jamming garbage into their buggies with a case of Diet Coke on top to avoid excess sugar ? Suits with their cell phones pressed against their ears , getting the Tuesday night grocery list sorted out , wishing they could be anywhere else but here ! Fifteen cash registers , three open , twenty people waiting their turn....A bank conveniently located here to get the cash , to buy the trash , that makes you ill , got to get " the pills " from the friendly pharmacist running the drug mill here in Grocery We Got it All Heaven for cattle , looking like their in line to be branded people like you and I , checking off a list , loading our metal wagons , in our own little world , bombarded by marketing ne'er do wells , stacking high dollar items where a child looks directly at them ! Every **** item in the store is apparently discounted ! Save ! Save ! Save is printed everywhere ! Nobody's being saved here for sure !..Later ..

Red winged blackbirds gather by the hundreds , like a few honest men and women , running for public office . Most blackbirds have someplace to be , far removed from publicity ..Incumbent Vultures pick up rotted flesh beneath them , fly in circles , pinpoint their next meal .!..Blackbirds focus on their survival , flying quickly South to avoid potential hardship ...Rarely do the two come together , Vultures voraciously feed , scoff at the Winter ! .Blackbirds leave droppings as they retreat ...Vultures defecate where they feed !..Scream selfishly picking a carcass ...Leaving nothing but bones and gristle ! Are blackbirds and vultures birds of a feather ? Does the sighting of one portend arrival of the other ? Beware , be mindful of the blackbirds of Fall , for the Vultures have a mind to consume them all !

Day dreaming , eye on a songbird , hand in a laying box , maybe an egg or two ?  Grab a king snake , run away spooked , flogged by a Rooster , pinched by a Goose ! Stopped at the pole barn to get myself together ! The Bluebird tried to warn me but I just wouldn't listen !

Carve this heroine from black polished Obsidian , begat by fire , tempered with beauty , charm .. Place her figure high above for all to see !. On a base of red Verona marble , defining strength and honor ! Surround this monument with honeysuckle and gardenia alongside a bench made of granite so that the weary may rest beneath her , cloaked in the reflected light of liberty and abiding love for country ! On watch for all eternity .....

Beware ye lovers , take heed upon this rocky path , walking hand in hand with humorous , indifferent attitude toward a contentious , imperious fool , transformed into defeated man ! Be mindful albeit leery of love ! Keep it ambiguous as physical attraction and the stars above ! Fresh warm staves grow cold , stale then mold . A heart too often turned callous in the blink of an eye ! Abandoned ex lovers with no place to call home ..Walk along this very river tonight . Alone ..Broken .. Cold ...

High heels clicking down the avenue-, women check their reflection in shop windows ....Men comb their hair in the rear view mirror ....Traffic lights reflect off wet city streets ..Traffic cop directing cars with whistle chirps . Occasional car horn , big rigs releasing air brakes ...Orderly metronomic movement .. The quiet morning migration of human beings moving with a precision .. Suburbia emptied into the big city like clockwork , by subway and bus , truck , automobile ...Shop owners tidy up their piece of America this cool October morning , sweeping sidewalks , yawning , coffee in one hand , feather duster in the other , looking over swollen streets , engine exhaust , steam from manhole covers rising into a partly cloudy morning sky...Autumn in the big city , replays itself throughout Mother Columbia this a.m. !

Lying on a squeaky single mattress . Security light from outside , shining in a guest bedroom . No real view . Insomnia .. Good morning anxiety ! Walk lightly across wood flooring .. My four a.m. decision ....Micro-wave a cold cup of coffee from last night ... A bowl of Raisin Bran...Get the day started ...

I , Frank Wilson , would be lawyer , represent myself in this attack upon my honor ! For I am a studious , God fearing man ! I bow before no Judge , Lawyer or Constable ! Your court dwells beneath moral turpitude , a jury of my peers will soon know the truth !
I do not recognize that woman and child , I'll not pay the stipend your foreman has read out loud ! Your verdict means little in my hardened eyes , one that I refuse to recognize !
Bailiff ! Send for the State Patrol , summon the officer before this Court ! Take this man directly to jail ! I want him in Reidsville by five p.m. !

Stupid questions require curt answers .. Engage truth , commit thy rage upon rice paper , delicate unlike publican , thespian , braying *** like
painfully obvious , politically charged shadow puppets against a lighted stage !
Unable to fly high enough alongside a chosen group of your peers ?
Perfectly reasonable to light upon placid waters , disappear ..
A pack of coyotes , seeking fifteen minutes in the sun ?
Remain fastidious and occupied with your own backyard !
A wayward mouth that fosters hate and destruction ?
Remove thy tongue , let it locate a new owner !
Adorned with all manner of material wealth , sneering at the plight of others ? Step in the cold , dark woods with howl of bobcat , naked and afraid , relearn thy place amongst your brothers !!

Brother , can you help me with Mother ? I know your busy solving riddles for a Fortune 500 company with an office at home , a phone that won't stop ringing ,  that's why you never call ! You'll find me in the telephone directory by my full name , should memory fail you can call Aunt Florida at the flower store , we live on the second floor , she'll tap on the ceiling alerting me , I'll run as fast as I can to pick up the line , talk about old times .. If you should find yourself free , can you remember the caretaker at the cemetery where Daddy was laid to rest , his number escapes me today , Mother and I are such a mess , up at five , breakfast at six , Good Morning America , Live with Kelly and Michael , The Price is Right at ten ! Our dying monotonous days , counting out pills , ten o'clock , two and four ! The front window was broken , repaired with a beach towel and duct tape , furnace in need of repairs , the oven works quite well in a pinch , heating the den , drying wet tennis shoes , eating those delicious canned biscuits , the same ones we loved as kids ! Mother , I fear will not last one more week , one foot in the grave , refusing to eat .. If you stop by your parking will be free , there's an alley behind the store , you can park in front of the dumpster on Saturdays ! Look along the fence .. My vegetable garden is still doing fine .. Three plants each . One for us , one for the deer and one for our family and friends ..Goodbye .

In a beautiful brown cardigan clutching each rocker arm , whispering a hymn to herself , smiling as Earths canvas , painted by Persimmon , Sweetgum , Oak in rapid escape before her . First sunlight upon brown blade .. A matriarchs recollections , good will and nurture released just as the leaves before her ...Red for uncompromising , passionate love . Brown for a tender touch . Yellow for honor regardless of duress ! Green for Harvest , family and tending garden .. Well planned rows , tilled , harrowed a year and one day , situated seedlings devoid of ****  , rock or encumbrance followed by Fall harvest . On a Winter day I watched a Maple leaf fall from the canopy , lighting upon her grave , assuring me that love will remain the same , seeking frosted moor , ethereal , soaring , within reach , ready to be called upon ! . Eternal ...

October evening in Rabun County , frosty mountain air flows into her valleys ...Screech owls announce the rising Moon , while crickets and tree frogs strike up a tune ... Rainbow and brown trout abound in her waters , black bear common throughout the forest ..White tailed deer feed in pasture land at dusk , shadow of dove , brown bat , wild turkey and wood duck  ...At midnight every star of the season can be seen , at daybreak , morning sun upon Moccasin Creek ...........

Bootleggers on Sunday evening  ,  a little pink house on Kelleytown Road !  Waiting by the cattle gate , taking money  , calling back to the house via radio ! Waving customers through , one by one , driving by the shack without braking once , trunk wide open , in goes the whiskey , slammed shut , out the back gate , and off they went !  Sheriff Donald didn't seem to have a clue , alcohol sales on late Sunday afternoons ? For forty odd years this house became a legend , Councilmen , Deputies and Mayors knew of it's existence ! Cars from distant counties all over the state , flying up dirt roads leaving dust in their wake ! It was surely without doubt , the entire county convinced that the Sheriff drew a months salary on Sunday evenings !