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 ....

You will find me in the petrichor of June
Look for a hummingbird at the window
Listen for the arousal of chimes in the springtide -
air
Pay attention to every autumn sunrise
The call of dove in the dew kissed October
morn
Sunlight reflecting across Decembers frosted plowland
The return of robins in March

I cherish the ever changing music -
of familiar streams , the vivid palate of -
colors in Hill Country scenes
The warble of the robins in March ,
The clamor of rock bass in the evening -
marsh
The veracity of springtide bees
The burgeoning blossoms of plum ,
honeysuckle and peach tree
I relish the well worn trails leading to shady dales ,
The whitewash pit , the gravel byway and -
the split rail fence
The song of locust in the midday broomsage
A chorus of wren , sparrow and bluebird -
along the hardtop shoulders
The greeting of yardbirds at the -
homestead border ...

A powder blue epiphany of -
cumulus figurines , dancing conifers -
and copious sun-showers
Roadsides teeming with daffodil ,
dogwood and wildflower
Burnt orange dusk , southbound -
waterbirds , violet vallies and -
silvered hillsides
Noble oaks brimmed with -
vociferous crows , jays and -
blackbirds
Wind driven brown grass disappearing -
into the western horizon
Village bells
Distant afternoon fires
Roosters calling for the day to close
The clang of Angus and Brahma coming home
Stars mingling with earthen shadow ...

The living room clock pounds like -
the framers hammer
The wood floor becomes an unintelligible -
ghost
The nostrils of a rail engine sojourner begin -
to shriek and moan , Alabama breezes rattle -
the chimes , the one o'clock tolling of the
town bell , the cries of the whippers , the thrush -
and the barn owl
Laden , eighteen wheelers thunder down the -
rural roads
Black and tans implore the Planters moon to -
'move along' , every crawling creature engaged-
in buzzing 'night song
June bugs tapping the windows , keeping -
time in the early morning crescendo ....

There is nothing more beautiful than -
a confidant worker in the midst of his -
or her labors ...

a dogwood to rest my weary head
a blue sky to ease my troubled mind ...

They're practicing democracy .. Bravissimo !

The humming of the cast ,
the plop of the bobber
Boyhood daydreams of -
landing a whopper
The cork begins to dance then -
it quickly goes under
The game between angler -
and fish has begun
A flash of the quarry as the
rod bends over double , maybe a bass ,
a perch or a 'channelcat' enticed
to strike from deep down in the -
pond bottom rubble
Give the fish two feet then -
pull back three , heaving left to right in the-
midmorning heat
A final tug at lands end ,
"I've banked a crappie" , proclaims -
a proud young man
A krill filled with every type -
of fish the pond had to offer
Thoughts of bream , coleslaw -
and hush puppies for supper ...

-

The morning fires of Ola have resumed
Leaves are whisked across rested -
pastures and workable fields
The bells of Hereford and Charolais announce the -
sunrise meal
The lick is filled , the trough watered ,
the herd counted , the busy day plotted
Orpingtons pick cracked corn , barley and
grit
The first firing of the tractor , the beagles -
leading the farmers rowdy contraption in -
hopes of a stirred rabbit or a covey of game birds
Ola's country air is thick with new- day diesel ,
fresh harrowed field and wild onion , thickened
with pine an fresh hewn hardwood ...

Along the white sugar river bend
Dew kissed fields of clover set ablaze -
in midmorning sunshine
July arbors teeming with concord grape ,
scuppernong and muscadine
Whitewashed farmsteads , aromatic ploughlands ,
red clay shoulders girdling country byways
The cackle of curious guineas , of bay hounds and
gray geese
The clap of breeze driven mirrored cattle-
ponds
The splash of shellcracker , bluegill , yellowbellies
and bull frogs
Land of a million daylight colors  
Woodland groves sprinkled in piedmont -
blues , in golden stippled brushstrokes across antebellum -
oak and majestic pines ...

Twas essential to see her in wintertide -
misery in order to appreciate the abundant daffodils -
of spring , the cardinal ever watchful over -
her fledgelings , the gaiety , pomp and circumstance -
of damsel flies , the mockingbird flautist and -
the peckerwood drumming
The morning laughter of Bear creek
The multicolored blades of March that -
stair step the Mill Falls
Morning dove woo their lovers , whitetails -
in repose , in the backdrop of misty , hardwood -
cover
Her poetic omnipotence in touch with my -
innermost being
Ever watchful as the cardinal
Breath exposed
Pious
Forever thankful

A man suffers no greater calamity than when his tongue is found to be wired separately from the command of his brain* ...

Briar vines merely scratched the itch for more ,
porcelain fingers tattooed wine red
Morning rays become possessed , muting -
early day laughter and fervent desires
Humid air thickened with pine , wild grass ,
-fertile humus , clay and wisteria
Stirring the brown locust , bluebird , thrasher ,
Guinea wasp , blue skink , toad and cottontail
Three ripe berries in the jar , one for the forager ,
one for the eve , one for the morrow
Traipsing gravel byways to the music of the rattling corn , ****** broomsage and the iron harrow
A whitewashed homestead wrapped in oak ,
mulberry , sycamore and crape myrtle ,
Songbirds of every shape and melodious -
occupation , alert geese crying from the -
hedgerows , waves of sorghum dancing in the -
shaded meadows ...

The butchers guard-dog , out of compelling curiosity , has tasted the meat that it defends ...

The artists sleep naked in open fields ,
chilled by the rains of spring
They walk carefully without cover through -
the cloudburst of summer , forging -
swollen streams to the beat of their -
internal drummer
The writer braves the pang of November -
showers , documenting his or her travails -
with each passing hour
Just as the winter snow shall melt and collect , -
forming pools of quiet reflection ,
the creator will continue their quiet struggle -
with forethought and materialistic abnegation ....
Amen ....
Amen .....

Have you ever coughed hard and seen 'stars '
The 'stars' are your immortal relatives waiting -
for you to join them ....

Musical scores tend to form patterns -
and are quite logical
The time between each note is the separation -
point between rudimentary composer and genius ....

The modern day physician would never -
thumb through a medical manual from 1788 with regard -
to the treatment of his or her patient ...
Todays tradesman constantly schools himself -
in the mechanics of his chosen profession ....
Thus , the U.S. Constitution is in dire need -
of critical thought and copious correction ...

copy this poem and
throw it out the car window
may it justify the street sweepers -
existence  
may it clean the ears or wipe the *** -
of the less fortunate
maybe folded twice and used as a -
coaster or pick at the teeth of the -
clinically gluttonous
set it afire and let it warm someones -
bones
turn it into an airplane and flick it into-
a windstorm
may it scrape the dog **** from designer -
shoes
serve the purpose of its master in whatever
way he or she may choose .....

My inner organisms would be wise -
to worship the god Randolph , for I -
control the power of life and death in their universe* ...

Strumming a guitar with -
my ceiling fan brother
He's one hell of a drummer
Keeps time like no other
A few crickets are now added to the -
mix
Nocturnal musicians just like me ,
lovers of jazz getting their kicks
Feet tapping time stirs my coffee ,
the diddy goes where it needs to be
Perfectly timed shots of firewater -
ties up this midnight arrangement
Buzzing , smiling , creative and free* ....

I stumbled across a rock on the lake trail
It waited five hundred years to catch me -
off guard
The forest was busy with life and death
A laughing raven sensed my loneliness
The heirs to grasses which once fed -
the American bison brushed against -
my trousers
Hope eternal caught my eye in the form -
of late winter flowers
Conifers fought the invisible wind
Air filling a vacuum , rushing to fill -
a void in every direction
Theoretical madness , constant confusion
Every unique image forever lost* ....

Cherubs morph into morning -
songbirds
Black angus return to low country -
fields in thunderous herds
In the midst of gray , laden February
clouds the 'Morning Star' bows before -
Ra
Ravens scamper through the treetops
Ra paints the woodlands , the valley , the
'creekdale' and the tin rooftops
Melodic springs doth awaken ...                                                              ­     Submissive curt winter bows before the springtide maiden

Smiling fourth estate goons prosper and sing from -
the very tree of corruption they chastise , portraying themselves as historians , the put upon and defenders of liberty* ..

A pall of construction yellow and tarnished silver overwhelms -
forest green , wetted , life giving potential
She's forever the lady , forever a student of
charm , forever grace in harms way
A curtsey before the leviathans longing-
to destroy her* ...

Under the waxing moon
Where safety is secured in -
the throes of madness
Where ambiguous , vocal figurines annotate abject sadness* ...


* Reversus de pit ignis Ad .. .. Amen: alleluja habitabo in medio populi mei misericors deus in misericordia* ..

I can't wait to find out who's right* ...

Blessed is this monument where -
the woe begotten mechanisms of -
capitalism and caste democracy -
gather
May their gods deliver and protect-
them
May their labors ne'er be forgotten
May their frozen , weathered and
calloused hands find solace
I pray that their zeal for family and -
financial security is forever accomplished* ..

Poetry is the keyhole between the -
body politic and wanton government* ...

The pinewoods appear to be in -
a frantic search , having no knowledge of -
sky nor earth
Port Lake lies in some reflective dream ,
receiving drops of salvation in sky born -
schemes
Alas , stubborn poet , let loose thy empirical
tethers whilst running naked among men* ...

The fishes worship the sun and the moon
Some leave the surety of water for a quick , clear -
image of their beauty and authority
Others swim unsure , besmirching their
brethren for believing such folly  , sinking
into the depths to escape the majority
Schools of followers forming religious
cliques , casting anger toward the bottom -
dwelling fish
Voracious congregations in a feeding -
frenzy , growing larger , never ending
One day a strange sight did appear
Reverend Grouper calmed the church -
declaring " the angels are here "
They floated to the surface where they were -
quickly netted , the command of the pastor -
was soon regretted
The agnostics and the atheist continue to
'lay low' , timidly swimming from rock to coral to
hole* ....

If scientist could harness the energy
expended over a football game an apply
it to the hunger crisis* ...

Showers peter then die
Fickle robins return from -
green hedgerows
Hill country skies mellow ,
tinged with ocean blue and -
sun ray yellow
Conifers shed tears of happiness
Dove redress wetted plains with -
songs of joy , Alabama currents -
wail o'er cinnamon grasses , bidding -
hail to sparkling canopies and pristine ,
crystalline ploughland* ....

Warriors long for -
an enemy
Innocence swept away in churning -
confusion , ideologies halved by rivers of blood
The corrupted air of the dead mingles with morning mist as vermin dot the festering shoreline
A ****** gathers atop the naked -
hardwoods
The Indian Creek resumes her biological necessities

Which skin color will appeal to -
everyone* ?

The proclivity for midnight mischief --
in canines will ne'er achieve that of mankind* ...

Twilight is tangible inasmuch as -
the thrush , the owl and the whippoorwill -
touch my laden soul
Warm May wind caressing the nape
A springtide moon in brilliant perigee -
casting light upon poetry , song and art ,
teasing , enveloping , delighting sight and
sound* ...

Food lacking taste ,
bland piles of paste
Steaming mounds of dead -
animals and plants served -
on a porcelain platter
Painstakingly hand stitched serviettes , glowing candelabras and chandeliers
A fork for this , a spoon for that
Silver ladles and oak tables
Sharp knives , brass covers ,
spatulas and carafes
A prayer before the vanquished are -
consumed followed by the highly
choreographed dance of the plates
The dinner ballet begins
Utensils clinging , bowls clanging -
Ice cubes striking glass
The music of the feast , the consumption
of the beast
Blood collecting in the corners of -
the mouth
King Protein controls the conflagration -
of gluttony like the conductor leads -
his orchestra
Voracious ramblings
Pining for more and more* ....

Nocturnal , lurid color propagates evil
The moon taps immorality as depraved
lecherous men reveal their contempt for the Almighty
Tonights train howls like Beelzebub -
unleashed , screaming throughout the vestibules of Lust* ...

Old Man Kennedy's ghost haunts these -
hallways just as always
Forever seeking a student without a pass ,
prima facie evidence for a swat on the ***
Though his likeness today is sealed in portrait glass ,
he continually peers into each door window -
to monitor the class
His dress shoes still echo throughout this -
former place of learning
Seeking the naughty with unquenchable yearning* ..

Digging a hole to
create a pond for -
beauty and amusement
Digging a hole to cement
a footing for a museum of -
Randolph's trinkets and -
books
Digging a foxhole to battle
the government
A hole to house my remains
A hole to constrain the flames -
of a pyre filled with treatises of capitalism -
and democracy turned demonic
A hole to conceal firewater and
other 'medicinal tonics'
Digging a hole just to pass the day
A hole growing deeper in every way* ...

Walking a serpentine trail
Golden leaves fall in wind fueled -
simultaneous release , a crag above
the creek offered her lover a choice seat
Skipping flint-stones downstream
The early morning masterpiece was a sweet dream
Bluegill performed underwater ballet -
for an audience of one
Soft shelled turtles clung to frozen -
driftwood in search of new day sun
She is freedom
Free to meander all obstacles in search -
of the heavenly sea
I am her apprentice
Held in dubious physicality

Good evening streetlight
You've been promoted to a star
Your white light shall bathe this -
planetary cul-de-sac come dusk
The asphalt and grassland inhabitants will journey -
from afar , attracted to your beaming , -
mind consuming elegance with eyes -
wide open an mouths ajar
The katydids and crickets will chatter jealously as the -
moths and mayflies endlessly circle
Tree frogs will perform concertos in thy name
Aviator grasshoppers will annotate thy location -
across the great magnetic plane
Your benefactors will sing your praises
Poems and stories will tell of your divine -
energy and grace* ...