A white oak crowned in gold
Fragments of blue , tuscany sun and
woodland coal
The chill of October searching for exposed skin
Wind whispered nightfall , a shower of
young stars and hickory mannequins , crackling
leaves , wind racked tin and tinkling chimes ,
the creak of the 'vane', owls in flight
Burning leaves , moonlight captivation ,
the taste of dead ripe persimmons , ghostly-                   antebellum mansions
A bustling Family Dollar , a corner gas station ,
a stray along the tracks , a Ford F-150 with a double
gun rack
Bud Lite for rednecks and Slim-Fast for **** heads
Soco for alkies , wine coolers for purebreds
An empty park , a swing without a rider ,
a waitress takes a break in front of her empty diner* ...

Speak , preach , sing o'er the valley
O' tabitha hardwoods
With stately pines reaching for the heavens ,
Cast thy likeness across the placid waters , beside -                                           wire-grass boulevards , along the morning                                                             ploughland , 'neath red maple carpets , sycamore
narrow and Appalachian hillside* ...

The mound is disturbed
The ants are perturbed
They're off to re-establish -
familiar trails , hopefully , dutifully and without fail
Biological robots that fumble an mumble , gripe and grumble
Chemical cues of hunger and -
order
They stop for breakfast to mingle -
and loiter
Rebuilding the castle brick after brick
Bound for the forest stick upon stick ...

Her skin appeared prematurely wrinkled with
anguish filling her face
She dragged a menthol cigarette , staring into space
Her teeth were decayed , a cheap radio played
She tapped her pinky finger to Travis Tritt
She wore a Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt , she openly
railed against Obama and the "clandestine government"
Her friends were truckers , pensioners and the
local jobless
She was chatty with the boiled peanut man ,
her friend on the cell phone , anyone willing to
strike up a conversation* ...

A legal pad with copious notes , dates
and chicken scratch
A room filled with diplomas ,
whatnots and balderdash
Here I sit in 2017
The minds boil has become inflamed
The second child declared insane
Clutching white flesh in the midst -
of the fall
Blank stares , nervous ticks and quite abnormal
Silly grins and childish games
The afternoon thespian now fully engaged
Tugging at his lip , wiping his brow ,
rolling brown eyes , wearing a frown
A punctual ghost to pander my folly
A toast to the woe begotten , the disillusioned -
and the melancholy* ..

A swizzle at dusk , a Wild Turkey rush  , the crunch of frozen grass , the songbird hush , the Sun setting fast in the 'Bama blush
Oaks racked in the throes -
of numbing Winter
Morbid , gray day dreamscapes
The call to dinner

An Atlanta stove ,
Where coffee warms
A brass nutcracker , a bucket of pecans
Windows drizzled , the house would whistle
Columbus grits and country ham
Buttermilk biscuits with peach jam* ...

A lover , a mother , a friend
A teacher , a healer of skinned knees ,
stubbed toes and wounded hearts
She was a royal blue ceiling that replaced the -
chalky morn
Tea roses surrounded in thorn
Days filled with laughter under -
the August sun
Her children's muse
I wept alone for Linda when I heard the news* ...

Night is a black and white movie
with an ever so subtle moonbeam
An orb-weaver to occupy my
thought
A curious bird with a midnight
song
The tapping of a rocker begging
for lyrics
Two a.m. airplanes , nostrils
engulfed in wisteria
Dew shining 'neath street lamps
A crying Epiphone through a
Vox amp

Whippoorwills and high flying airplanes
Church bells and eastbound trains
Cattle moving throughout the night
Killdeer songs in the morning light
A Postman waves while making his round
A buck at the hedgerow , a diesel plow
Shimmering fields , dancing oaks
Burning hickory , field smoke
Black coffee , a stack o' wheats
Frosted windows and strick-o-lean* ...

Which plant forfeits life so that I might cross -
a field of green
What burgeoning particle of creation was -
destroyed by the innocent wave of a killing hand
The violent vacuum of a single breath
A teardrop
A kiss goodbye* ...

A morning ****** passed
Acorns crashed into asphalt
Grass swayed south ,
November sun quietly falling down
Paint by number scenes
Stoic evergreens , white gravel roads
Inquisitive sparrows to follow me home*...

Red bird neighbor , -
wind whispered lullabies
Sienna crayon sunshine
Portugal blue skies
Crystal wire grass
Matching wine glass
October star , swallowed by turquoise ocean
Gulf breath , invisible devotion
Impressions , collections
Connections* ...

Red wine seals the cracks ,
opens the door
levels the field
good smoke brings the growling to an end
canned potato chips nourish the body
and the young soul
lipstick smeared cigarette butts ,
slim fast cans , powder cut on an
album sleeve , counting this ,
counting that
someones ***** , his majesties
**** toy
a 45 record skipping
a lizards tongue shoved into his mouth
probing , violating , poisoning
white wine fills the moat
overspills , rushes into the basement ,
flushing the vermin from nooks and
crannies
nostrils packed with feces
ignored , ridiculed , used  ... This butterfly amongst the ravens
This polliwog mingling with the frogs

Cold beer fills a chilled mug
The crackle of tobacco , the creak
of a rocker , the croon of crickets ,
Alabamas distant thunder* ...

Deer run in brown grass , water bugs strike
the porch light , cars hum along the distant highway ,
cicadas foretell the shroud of night ...

Clocks become amplified , ceiling fans -
tickle door chimes
Drab curtains brush plastered walls , dry
corn fields trill , crackle and moan

The final slurp of Michelob as -
someones trash crawls down a forgotten country road ...

Pitiful October sunbeam
Warm nutmeg concoctions
Visible morning tide breath , cherry cheekbones ,
gas lamps , golden leaves o'er cobblestone
Silvered gardens , blue eyes hold pine grove
reflections , knitted scarves , Fair- day candy apple
obsessions
Magenta Dusk , harvest time orb , funnel cake
wisp in the fleeting , western Sun
Barkers , musicians , cider and ale
The windy pull of nights clutter , the Autumn wail

Gray smears ,  borne of tears upon fresh painted blackness ,
collecting on sideburns and hairlines                                            Melancholy images of time in naked , telling
permanence
Red flowers in acrid rain , eyes that fade to pink reflections
in muttered backgrounds , mute attempts for help
wasted , blue day barbarians that lie in wait , behind false images
of green an gold , silver with yellow meeting amber in vain
Pain receiving color
Odor fighting turbulence
Cool air upon wrinkled , quickened skin* ...

A trillion lights in the midnight sky minus one never to be truthfully discovered nor acknowledged ...

I sifted the dross of humanity
and stumbled upon gold
Upon white linen scarf , auburn tresses and
silken dress
Upon porcelain wonderment and starstruck shadows
against a waxing moon address
O'er the blue lake , the crystal wave
As egret and loon do quietly confess  
Mouth culled before the afternoon rains
At rest amongst broomsage , wire grass and willow
The song of curt warbler
The rumble of charcoal pillows
Shards of sunlight under evenings duress
The plight of evening shorebirds that seek the western light
The call of smitten doves , sylvan songs in the coming night* ...

To burst through the blue cats eye
From the surety of Earth at my feet
The Pleiades and I will meet
Laughing at gravity bound-
sheep
Traipsing asteroid streets
Calling a comet my own
A crater on Mars could be my home
Jupiters agrarian lovers
Fed by the red stars above
Waving bye to the blue marble
To forever explore
To feed galactic wonder forevermore* ...

Stark crow chortle
Through umber forest sprinkled with golden portals
Within blackberry rows -
To touch creations morning glow
To meld open grass with a waning moon
To discern tears from rain
Addiction , dominion from pain
Wrapped in blue blankets
In honeysuckle crown
Oakdale maidens , Port Lake dancers
Pine straw slowly drowns
Where life and death abound
Where a thousand songbirds mingle
with a thousand woodland , Summer sounds* ...

Hallelujah , chipper fledglings
Bold showers , random blessings
Barefooted , o'er wetted summer carpets
For silver eyes that patrol countryside miracles
Sweet , scented blooms
A trace of empirical , welcome sunshine this afternoon
Hallelujah , hallelujah* ..

The kids frolicked in the steam of hot summer streets
Rainbows appeared in the western sky
Rain cooled Main Street , a Tennessee breeze
removed raw heat , rushing downspouts and gutters
before welcome eyes
Tree frogs sang songs of dusk
'Stormwater' fell from oaks in perfect time
Crickets began to chime
Sailing stick boats by moonlight
A cardinal burst into song in the young night
A young dove sang a hopeful tune
Cicadas bid praise for unpredictable June ....

I believe in the tower bells
They strike the hour without fail
They echo through hill country sunny dales
Through pecan arbors and woodland trails
On moonlit avenues
O'er the lakeside bayous
To the chorus of a thousand blackbirds
Through nightfalls wind chatter , twist and turns

A May Evening ...

Thank you for three wonderful years .. For the bluest blues , for fiery reds and spellbinding yellows .. For brisk , cheerful winter days and brilliant summers .. For beautiful brown eyes I look forward to each morn .. For lighting my world like springtime sun .. I love you more than ever Kitten ! ❤️

Beyond the blue lies the nightmare
Below green grass awaits their corruption
With well rehearsed navigation ,
salmon vie for the upstream
Lantern flies longing to make their
mark in June sky
So the depressed do bide their time

If I knew death as a close friend
I would walk into gunfire
I would dive the greatest ocean depth without trepidation
Stand fearless before the night
Offer my flesh as a living sacrifice
before my enemies
I would graciously step into eternity
without entreaty before 'kings'

The windswept crackle of Jehovahs machinery
Honey sweet greenery with trolling titmouse
sentries , white contrails drawn onto blue canopy and
brown leaf melodies
Woodpecker percussionist tap the song of dusk
Songs of the rusty red clover valley
and golden sagebrush
Psalms of cardinal chatter and brown thrasher cackle
Bronze raptors circling sun -streaked hillsides flushed
in crepe myrtle , yellowbell and azalea
Where the purveyors of creation live , thrive and belong*...

Song Filled Hour ...


Magenta archangel
Answer this prayer with lantern fly
light , barn owl night call and whippoorwill
chantey
Sing to me ....

Song Filled Hour ....

for hummingbirds dine upon
fragrant vessels as dragonflies
fly haphazardly above
cattle ponds are filled with dancers
upon her surface
spring winds usher in the afternoon sun
leaves are returning to the cool earth
as young couples fall in love
brown hedgerows are filled with young flowers
gardens swell to dark green in summer showers* ...

Spread over warm shortbread ,
a drizzle with molasses and cornbread
On a fresh baked apple , a dabble on a **** ,
a spoonful over your corn on the cob
Hoecakes , pancakes , johnnycakes and
hushpuppies
A crawfish boil , a 'smidge in the stew , *** liquor , fresh hominy in the fridge ,
drop biscuits , catfish breading and Columbus
grits
Grandmother's frosting with a -
Mason Jar
The Old Red Rooster sleeps in PawPaw's car
Barn Owl hoot 'n holler
Two York's in the afternoon wallow
Blackberry muffins on the rack
An afternoon stitch on Uncle Joe's back
Three legged pup in a red clay ditch
Mother whipping okra with a hickory switch* .....

Magenta clover fairways
Southbound airplanes
Forest green cover shading -
old lovers
Crows speak of the return to summer
with cobalt canopies , jasmine perfume ,
the afternoon call of orioles , crying doves , whitetail
mothers , late night shooting stars and morning dew crystalline cover*...

In the traffic of God's ocean
Commanded by the undertow
Enveloped in colors previously unknown
Working the bottom as if tethered to land ,
awaiting redemptions sure hand* .....

Wisteria perfumes the morning vale as piedmont sunshine accentuates oak grove dales                                                            ­                                         The knell of dawn church bells travel while azalea , hibiscus an begonia color a town square guarded by black granite warriors*...

Flavors of blackberry ,
of muscadine and persimmon ,
of brine collecting at the trunk of
tall oaks
Flesh salted in wild abandon
Lovers feasting upon air ,
upon one another along the
marsh , the shrieks of conclusion
borne of March
Naked receiver , child of April
Call o'er cattail , sawgrass and -
Savannah dancer* ..

The grass has temporarily affected my awareness
The memories remain , they walk into
colors of blue and green ,
red and white
Soon to be washed in sobriety
Black as the winter night*...

People are like paint chips
Art quietly fading away
Collecting along the bottom
of earths temporary canvass
Devoid of recognition* ....

Wren , heron and robin wailed                                                                            Cold , clear waters swirled o'er
black glass boulders                                                         ­                                                       Her river song was endless as
thrill seekers walked the tall , treelined shoulders ,
as the blue eyes of God watched from above

The crying sky with heavy afternoon crystal
drops of heartache tickling
sweetgrass mingled with newfound sunshine
With piedmont wine forming perfect pools ,
ushering streams to awaiting seas
A place to bathe for romantics like me
A home for springtide antics ,
for polka dot bullfrogs , singing daisies ,
red grass blankets and apple tree sergeants
Windemere spiderlings , crooning wood larks ,
hereford dancers crossing purple clover parks* ..

The conversations are light , informal
an good natured
The chat remains ensconced by death however
No clever remarks could ever thwart the end
The unknown , the proverbial 'waiting just around the
bend' old friend Death
A gathering of well dressed family , laughter ,
recollections , children running , tears ,
a chat with the Pastor , sometimes even a few clandestine beers
We sign the book , offer choice words ,
stare at our watches then silently depart -
when we learn what time the interment starts
Juggling life , work and death
We become 'old hat' with death
Till we take in our own final breath* ....

I drew a heavy hit of fruity sweetness
trapped in a familiar spicy bouquet
Trolled guitar strings in search of
something ear worthy
Marveled at the outdoors with
full knowledge of my place within her
taut boundaries
Drew another hit for old friends
Then another for no reason at all

Red roses train in the shadow of a summer rain
Through red clay trails
Along white fence rails
Into Magnolia arbors
Across manicured fields of glistening marble* ..

For the forgotten and the sold
The ***** , societies lepers , the commanded
Refugee and combatant
Slaughtered in the name of -
words , the Kurds , the Armenians ,
American Indian an Syrian
Chocolate bunnies , HUMVEE's , dinner
at Nana's , tied to a tree , saturating
fire into encampments , jelly beans
Death courtesy of Jew , Christian , Muslim , Hindu ,
Agnostic
Mother of all bombs
Two million warriors on call* ..

Bumblebee 'quidditch'
Dragonfly tag
Mockingbird rags
Crow glee and mirth , winged seeds racing to the golden-
earth
Spearmint , honeysuckle bouquet on a picture -
perfect April day* ...

Sweet evening dove
Are you in touch with your mortality ,
are you at peace with deaths totality , do you
harbor ill will toward the western sun falling down ,
do you understand sadness as you sing so blue and profound   Your a lovely , lonesome lady on a bell tower in a sleepy town
You bring a smile with shared pain as you make your evening rounds , a reflective lullaby blocking every twilight sound ...

At the intersection of beauty and power , where water falls a thousand miles an hour
Where crescendos of cymbal and songbird meet-
along wooded lanes
A swain before her bare charms  
Bewitched in her thunder* ..

I paused to settle down for a moment , to face the incoming breeze , to briefly rest ..  As it began to swirl about me retrospection scrolled through my weary mind , thoughts of the March runaway and his life left behind ...The vociferous purveyor of forgiveness mute and dazed ..To drift across bittersweet periods , to fearfully walk in the tracks of insecurity and the minds malaise ...
Let youth represent Spring , may the child play in the bounty of April and May ..
Recall springtide as the poet , born of creativity , yellow butterflies and red roses ... June befit the Bride  , the month of love and laughter , the awe inspiring song of Turtle Dove , the Crows whimsical banter , the Mockingbird and the morning Fig ..
Attain the language writ upon the midday firmament , the voice of turbulent rivers .. The answer beheld , expressed over Sunflower field and Blueridge Mountain .. Forever ..

No cry for help as your slowly pulled to the red ground ,
as your fate is publicly pronounced
None but the wind and raven utter a sound* .....

O Orion ,
shoot an arrow across-
the night
Send my wish into midnight flight
Into starlit scenes , across bucolic , moonlit dreams* ...