Threadbare in the calculus of love ...
Hopeful as the evening salvo of -
thunder and sun shower
Infant streams that writhe for some-
faraway ocean ..

If this stein could talk
A bevy of tales t'would ne'er-
balk
Pouring like a cold beer in the dog-days
of August
A hot , black coffee in Novembers frost ...
Gluhwein with a cinnamon stick
Cornbread and milk for a -
hard working hick
Holding Cherokee roses
Green onions tickling our noses
Cool water from an old fashioned well
Remembering March's 'yellow bells' ...

Guitars were made for rainy days
To casually strum and pass the time away
Guitars were created for the crack of dawn
Music scored for the stream to carry her burden -
in song
Guitars were made in the night
To pen ditties in the morning light
Wooden instruments striking a chord at -
high noon
Songs of the melodious wind and the-
****** moon ....

I can be found in Port Woods
Where her pond is revealed in -
the burning fog
Where miracles are witnessed with-
each artistic rendition
Engulfed in the truest religion ..

Hot biscuits
Sorghum syrup
Brass kettles
Frosted glass
Burning oak
The timing of a rocker -
with a fan above is perfect
Guitars stand ready
A ukelele lays on call
The autoharp , ready and willing
Sunshine wins the battle of night-
and day
Bluebirds and dragonflies in some -
whimsical foray ..
A 'steel horse' bound for points south ..

I whistled a jig while hoofing a pea gravel trail , in earshot of a tail fin on still waters ,
the chirp of a wren traveling the -
morning forest
Pinecones stair stepping the bough
Patient dove held fast neath tympanic thunderheads
Morning cardinals dressed in red
Seedlings flurried to their cool clay berth  
Ballads of sylvan mirth and Mother Earth
A katydid saws a fiddle
A tickled toad taps time
Maw Heron renders a figure eight
The ' honkers 'are headed home like they're -
running late ..

Her instrument was a secret violated
A clean "paper cut " with the perfect edge
Barefoot on the minds ledge
Exhausted with rage
Entertained by a constable -
dying to clock out
The State containing the -
game of pity in a rout
Watched by a hundred or more
Welcome to the Federal Stage
Her potions have engaged
My thoughts have become a rogue -
wave
Tomorrow will be a maze
Grazing for normalcy
Tactical , covert , quick -
diplomacy ...

The painted rock will return to the pool
Through virile eddy and greenstone
In the heat of June , along the autumn smoke -
of November
In the face of winter and -
the torrent , new birth of spring
A jealous sea shall forever beckon
A tempting wind will violently stir the
shoregrass of summer to no end ..

Water has her own unique melody
A driver commands the tire
The wheel attempts to tame the road
Colorless autos split the air
The trees whistle
Flowerbeds sway
Leaves reveal the invisible ghost
Becoming one .. Rise and sash shay ...
Mother Natures explosions become an -
unwanted guest
Windows are beacons
Signals at the will of the wind
Silver angels overhead
A column of chariots
Red dots
Yellow pulses
Drug fueled schemes
Demonic scenes
Recurring dreams ....

a medium of wooded blackness
a trembling finger to artfully record depressive ways
a timid mouse negotiates a manmade maze
why do the gods relax on rainy days ...

To hell with the common bug
Shedding it's skin
Born anew with the gift of the past
Infatuated with the moon , window screen and whispering country roads
Forever young
You're a six legged prophet ..

Touristy , seafaring dreamers hobble -
in churning foam
Gulls circle a lonely Hill Country gnome
Sharing his Fritos
In search of a silver dollar
Struck out this salty aired morning
He's settled for a shell or two ...

And the award for the most awards will go to the
previously awarded award winner for award winning work
in garnering numerous awards as recognized by the awarders ...

I missed a society where cyborgs walked the city streets
Half human , half animal slaves laboring at their masters feet
I missed Valdosta becoming a jewel by the sea
Pieces of New Orleans occasionally washing up on the
beach
We tapped , we whistled an made ourselves known
Our superiors landed , captured and farmed us then left for -
their galactic home
I missed the raindrops sizzling on melted roads
A neglected portion of the population sentenced to
forever roam
I missed kudzu devouring the small towns
The stench of once mighty rivers
A succession of killing arrows from Earths -
angered quiver ...

A joint operation was conducted this evening by French Paratroopers , Mexican Military Police and Columbian Anti-Terrorist Units on an unspecified target near the Mexican/U.S. border .. It is believed that the strike was an attempt to free refugees held captive by the U.S. Border Patrol ..This is breaking news !

dove coo on cue
a bullfrog alerts
a cattle pond of the rising -
moon
brown scrub dancers on
whippoorwill nights
brittle autumn broom sage
silver sylvan Picasso's

Raindrops are music on gray -
days
Satan practicing a wicked arpeggio
Hour after hour the tune plays
The wind howls with a mind to -
stack demonic notes
A wicked instrument mastered
by rote
Triplet after triplet
Eighth bend , quarter bend
Unisons , octaves , unbridled screeching
Eerie
Beelzebub's slant on musical theory ...

Call me the crow that caught his -
reflection
Tapping the glass with heightening -
aggression
Warning a newcomer to flee at once
'Tis a curious blackbird with the face -
of a dunce ..

Who's hiding neath black pine borders
Whispering tales into the wind throughout -
the beechnut forest
Crossing Novembers broom sage
Will fickle weather entice Hill Country's
chilling rains
Will Rico don the coat of ice and snow
The smoke of home fires travel South --
and swirl to escape the field hollers
The rack of wintertide from naked treetop to
a cold , unforgiving stream below ...

Hats off to the purveyors of midnight hash browns and the -
morning waffle
Anoint this hamburger with mustard and ketchup
Three cheers to cackling waitresses , loud jukeboxes -
and busy chefs weaving magic with silver spatulas
A place where coffee cups ne'er run dry
Where her patrons are greeted with Sugar  , Darlin or -
Cutie pie
Wipe thy feet before entering this culinary church
For thou hast entered the tabernacle of the patty melt
Flowing with sweet tea , hot sauce and southern belles ...

If I were a bee what a good bee I would be
From apple blossom to honeysuckle
From petunia to plum tree

If I were a bee what a good bee I would be
From peanut butter sandwich to sweet iced tea
Enjoying the company of the trippers , backpackers and -
picnickers
The honey , the syrup and the *** liquor

If I were a bee what a curious bee I would be
Flying high above a green mountain scene
I see bears , a buck and a sleepy red fox
A maple , an elm and loblolly tree tops .....

The Gulf is calling her kinsfolk home
The images of shorebirds against the Sailor's -
Sun
Drifting sands along white , sugar dunes
Behold , the ocean commands a battle fatigued -
shore , the Bride of June at Heavens Door
The shimmering , signaling pulses of her golden
ring
The approval of the gulls , pipers and pelicans -
from o'er head this miraculous evening
Songbirds of every shape and hue
Sparkling ocean avenues .....

This old oak protected me from the rain
Her July foliage hid me from anguish -
and pain
She allowed my pocket knife and I to record a first -
love on her rippled trunk
A spinning tire swing provided many hours --
of cool October fun ...

Footprints harden in the Georgia heat
Feet cooled in clear running streams
Locust stair stepping the blistering fields
A break beneath wild plum trees
A sample of their sweet yield

Yardbirds , guineas and geese
A field of wiregrass
A stop at the well for a cool drink

An imaginary 'crow nest' from the top
of a crabapple leviathan

Bronze tillermen
Aromatic clods flung high into the air
Layers blindly following the mechanical
mule , dove straddle barbed wire fencerows
Noonday Sun laying heavy , smothering bare
ploughland
Agony neath the bitter blue ..

If I could invert the world to -
walk the boulevard of stars
Touring streets of crystal
Avenues of pure light
Lasers exploding into rainbows
Ancestral orbs pirouetting against -
the astral night
O , to be held in the gravity of -
love ...

To catch my reflection in the afternoon light
The hunt for bullfrog , crawdaddy and catfish -
on rain cooled twilights
Soaring herons
From pileated perches Zachary's tree frogs mourn
Maestro cricket and katydid harmonies -
along familiar field roads
Fog enveloped dales
Blackberry trails
Evening wind song
White pine , sweet gum and persimmon
borders
Barn owl , hound dog curiosity
A border storm in white fanged -
ferocity...

Mister Sunshine shades his eyes and -
peers into the trees
A runaway pecan is ambling down the -
street
Two stray lottery tickets are performing -
weather inspired interpretive dance
Chipmunks break for the other side of the road-
as they get the chance
Wind racked tin roofs and chimes test the boundaries of -
musical theory
A white leghorn calls the day to close across his plat -
of piedmont greenery

Hallelujah Tree Tappers
Songsters of the morn
Signal the warbler , the jay and
the thrasher of the coming dawn

Good day curious crow
Surveying the wetted green fields
of soy and June corn
Alert the valley that a new day -
is born
Hallelujah !

Rain and street rejoice
Mist is born
She kisses every window , windshield and
door
Human shadows return to dwell 'neath street
lanterns
The whistle of the constable , the music of the
downspout
Asphalt becomes amber
Paparuda runs throughout the foothills
Ministering the parched
Filling the cistern , the branch and the riverbed
Western winds cool the naked , the sinner ,
the pious and the fabric of the nightwatchman ...

A King for a spell on silken -
sheets
Up early to greet the commoners -
on dead end streets
Off to the loo in -
a whirling dream ,
only to awaken as a
worker bee ,
relieving himself behind
an oak tree
A midnight sip of champagne ?
Yet these digits no nothing but -
frequent callous and pain
Rocks need to be moved from here to there
Ditches to be dug
Cleaning chimneys , shoveling dung
Smoke filled air , city schemes
Poor Old sleepless me .....

Today is like a brand new fifty cent stamp
Blue skies and dragonflies neath -
a golden lamp
A chorus of birds
Gardenia filled breezes
Picturesque landscapes to whittle -
and daydream

The first new star flashed waves of blue tonight ,
securing my belief in the afterlife
A grove of ferns lit my imagination
For I became a shipwrecked captain -
that stumbled upon an island nation
Exploring the deep jungle without machete ,
potable water nor compass
Knee deep in mangrove forest
Tropical winds whispered and moaned
A lean-to of fronds became my maritime home
In the presence of a million stars
An army of sand ***** paraded before -
their newfound master from near and afar
Crashing waves lulled a poor sailor to rest
The whispers of Poseidon
A dream about a lookout in the crows nest
Counting orbs in the tail of the Milky Way-
with visions of mermaids , ghost ships and rogue waves

Love is beside the bonfire
Let it be the freedom of -
smoldering desire
Unchained ...
Bound for the heavens
Relentless ...

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

here lies creativity neath -
the sparkling boulders
a mayfly on my right shoulder
a swirl of sand ,
imagination tickled
a mud puppy darts -
timid , swift an fickle
songbirds of every color -
criss cross a living canopy -
of green
a miracle of hues -sight unseen
cobblestone drives , azalea borders
and orange butterflies
pine straw trails , placid water
falling acorns and cottontails
a rumble of Alabama thunder
a living festival of sylvan wonder ...

Cackling Mister Crow
Why do you make sport of me
Making fun of the very hand that feeds
You shop this yard at every morn for-
a free handful of cracked corn , relaxing atop
a public birdbath you've declared to be your very own
Tall pines to bask in the ten o'clock -
sun
Cool grass to hunt , hop , skip -
and run ....

Cackling Old Crow
You son-of-a-gun
Tromping through my garden for -
afternoon fun                                                              ­                                 You're a pirate with wings
A thief that sings
Hiding in a blackberry thicket with -
easy pickings
Standing at the feeder , scaring my chickens ....

Goodnight Mister Crow
Find a tall oak to rest
This farm would not be the same -
without my favorite pest
Do crow's dream I oft wonder
Dreams of airborne pillage and -
plunder

There is no perfume on earth -
that can equal the smell of fresh cut
grass
A June gardenia or morning wisteria
A Cherokee rose or July honeysuckle
rows
There's never been a scent bottled that could equal -
Mothers Tea garden in full summer throttle
No aromatic elixir available could ever-
compete with the 'tickle of the nose' from a -
homegrown tomato
Try to entice this southerner with a fragrance of such monumental -
power that it could pull him away from the lure of magnolia -
flowers
O how I envy the masonry soldier
A permanent sentry at the flower bed entry ...

A bench neath a pin oak
A black tea with an old bloke
A chance to call upon the old -
and the forgotten
A vow , secured with a handshake ,
to meet more often ...

A rickety swing without a rider
A sad rocking horse with no one to try her
A young couple clinging to each -
other
A mother , a father , a sister and a -
brother ...

A vendor selling snow cones
The lonely toiling with their -
cell phones
Gray and white pigeons making -
a living
A timeless love at it's very beginning ...

A toddler blowing bubbles
Every sphere in a windswept -
struggle
Traipsing the grass with colored balloons
Wild and free on a Saturday afternoon ...

I oft-recall the fume o'er -
Port lake
Egrets with the patience -
of Job
Lapping silver waters
Morning sun ever bright and bold
Harper tree frogs , smoky bogs , painted -
turtles on floating logs
Creations blue eyes at her -
surface
Wind dancers falling into -
the red earth , shores bedecked -
in dogwood , cattail , dandelion and
river birch
Brambles , feeder streams , nuthatch
and thrasher
Bluejays sing the praises of aromatic pineywoods -
high above their muscadine mansions
The crackle of gravel as I walk her shady , serpentine -
trails
The patter of wind seduced silver maples
The call and answer of sparrows along -
the barbed wire fence rail

Renewed shades of green
Blackbirds rejoicing among the -
wavering trees
Songs of springtide revival
Performers freed of winters bridle
April wind chimes that tingle to -
and fro
Wild Turkey's that forage the -
pecan row
Churning brooks with thoughts -
of the ocean
The 'fairyfly' dancers in evening devotion ...

-

White catalpa blooms caressed -
my soul
A morning jaunt through cool , knee high 'wiregrass'  -                         bound for Camp Creeks wisteria hollow
A cardinal was a long lost friend
A bluebird mourned of withered love
A mockingbird fervent in the hope -
of tomorrow

My master closet will burst open one day
The evidence of my hardscrabble -
time on earth will finally give way
A family member will turn -
the doorknob after I'm gone
There before their eyes
Bones stacked in groups ,
pile upon pile , twelve hands -
high
Every bone a diary of my -
slow demise ..

White sky and warm air
The greenest of greens
A front porch chair

Contented hens , farm friends
A sweet guitar , a shaded glen filled -
with curious wrens

Sweet tea in my jar
A scolding crow
A traveling mind with -
no place to go

Firefly cotillions between seedling corn -
and the April stars
In the aura of the piedmont eve
By the light of a waxing moon
In the earshot of sylvan songs
'Neath the stalwart,  fragrant magnolias-
and the dogwood avenues
Koweta breezes seasoned with -
gardenia , evergreen and wisteria
Nurtured in the sacraments of fair -
Ono
Forevermore ....