October bonfires for Autumn lesser pyromaniacs ,
with Oak , Hickory and Fall leaves , ashes floating
in the Black Moon night , they ride into star clusters
then fade out of sight
Locked in flames allure , counseled by fire , glowing
embers , hypnotic flickering light , running nightfall shadows o'er the hardwood lines  
Gardenia perfume , warm coats , our uncloaked breath mingling with sweet smoke , cricket songs , hand-made skewers with
bratwurst and marshmallows
Trading stories , relearning one another ,
growing stronger , warmer , drawn into the wavering glow , crackling
tinder , white ash flurry , kindling eventide mellow* ..

A loving , weathered face in the morning clouds , faithful companion to my Summer occupations , a drink of cool spring water in the late afternoon hour , a studious Indigo Bunting chirping praise from the Sunflowers* ...

Hot buttered biscuits , homemade strawberry jam
Cool November mornings I've felt through a pane of glass
The beaches of Nova Scotia to the lighthouse on Tybee Island
Mother ocean , she pulls at my feet as the tide draws away
Good morning Savannah dancer* .....

Free access abated , vanguard of livestock , implements , man-made
and curt delivering instant justice to all ages , separating foolhardy  and the wise .... I've chewed an smoked tobacco , chased hens , brought snakes into the house and threw crabapples into the pig pen but the punishment for said offenses will never compare to the reprimand I received when I peed on the electric fence !

We trespass insanity with great stealth  
at the close of day , jot bits of our self -
described tangled webbing to disclose later in prose ,
commit our imaginations to tap on the door
of the 'magnum unknown'
A goblet of red , a whiff of Borkum Riff , a
Moonlit tint producing a curious script
We're improvisational thespians surrounded by
our peers , Fire Ants on a forgotten marshmallow ,
a can of beer left in a hot trunk in Florida ready to
explode , a wind rattled Hound Dog trying to get home

Serenity in disguise .. A gaggle of geese gently slice the surface as thick fog plays into mornings hand .  Cattails , Reeds and fallen timber deflect each waves crescendo .. Childhood memories of cane poles and tin cans , river rocks skipped across mirrored waters ...

I've worn the bejeweled crown of a string doll prince worked with innumerable ploys and tricks .
Suffered the false admiration of the disingenuous , robbed blind by great thespians ..
Left my heart to fend for itself among insatiable howling packs of wolves ..
Offered my soul as a stepping stone for ungrateful friends with self centered inclinations and selective memories.
Knowingly trained my replacement without thought of vindication , counseled many fair weather associates in their moment of frailty who have long since forgotten my name and disavow any such deliberations.
I've repaired plumbing , installed HVAC systems , troubleshooted DIY malfeasance and performed every kind of home repair one could ever dream for free on behalf of family members that wouldn't **** on my burning corpse without charging me a fee !

She is the first warmth of the new day as morning dew envelopes my exposed , quickened skin
A curious glance toward blue ambiance shelving mustering
prose to the God given natural holiday
Wildflower fragrant recovery , echoes of worked Earth , White Hereford
relaying the Dawn call to order
The business of man , plant and animal unfurled
Days of songbird early cacophony brought to steady relief
across pearl homesteads , cattle trails and country lanes

Petunias ,begonias and mother- in -laws tongue ,hang in green baskets along her walls , screened in from mosquitoes and creatures of the night , hot tea and sugar cookies , bathed in moonlight , Nana is singing a hymn to herself while I listen to an owl in the distance , the crackle of the rocking chair , cicadas sounding in Water Oaks canopy , both hands around my cup, 'tis time for reflection .............

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* ..

Green velvety moss blankets sharp edged stones ,
your feminine fancy awaits on the opposite shore with silken legs
befitting a supermodel in Paris .. A Van Gogh brushed smile ,
the eyes of a fawn , waterfall locks of hair baiting your deadly advance
across the crocodile ridden waters , like a wildebeest you splash and trounce the neck high , raging gauntlet , fighting for every breath of air
as you nervously reach the shore , graciously pulled from the river rapids by 'her lover' , the biggest man you've ever laid two eyes on ...

Indigo ceilings that shroud juniper and shamrock greens ,
Quiet country roads engrave fields of sorghum and hay , a bejeweled rolling piedmont in full Autumn splendor .. Orange sunsets embrace migrating waterfowl performing life melodies , Bobwhite quail and Killdeer profess the close of day ..

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 ...........

The game of hurt and apologize has no foreseeable end
Political , corporate , media manipulators will continue to maim and **** while begging forgiveness until all their detractors are dead

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 ! .

My bold peridot grassland jewel ...Wrapped in a golden band of Allegheny sunlight , covered in Montana blue dreams .....
I see her bold outlines , the face of Obsidian mingled within White Pine , suspended in lavender horizons , sailing eastward to sea ..

Solitary puppeteers working
their angles , scripting heartfelt
psalms , revealing their dark past
with chilling vocals , accompanied
by simple , twangy , acoustic guitars
Touching the lives of ordinary -
folks struggling to get by
Riding into town with the morning Sun
Moving on by the light of the Moon
An open , honest , country balladeer
The 'Working Mans icon ' called home
on a plain old day in April ..

To stair step the terraced fields of my youth ...
Privy to foraging Bobwhite quail and feeding Dove ,
Trails revisiting fields of millet , peanut and sorghum ,
dug wells and rugged , white washed cowsheds ..
Shamrock fields meeting the dusky , azure afternoon ..
The brisk shadow of redundant porch fans , overwhelmed by July's onslaught .. The welcome relief at dusk  , courtesy of sweet tea and 'brittle'
..

Georgia Winter with icy rain , bone chilling breeze , sweeping hayfield , light of day returning , brushing distant storm clouds ,  same field that my great-grandfather worked , recovering , renewing , reborn ... Red , pink and golden hues , from West to East , tolling of metal and hammer from farmhouse , Canadian Geese having received their cue , in flight , South , to their annual resting place ...A time of rest and rebuilding , planning and giving thanks ...This is November ...

Shelley Baker , how have you been
My first crush at the tender age of ten
I still see your Brownie uniform
at a distant busstop
When we first sat together my jaw dropped
I watched you giggle with your girlfriends
in the lunch room , knowing full well that our
romance was through
Trees in the old neighborhood still bear
R , W , S and B , chalk on Orly Terrace has long
since disappeared
Two bluebirds reminded me of our tumultuous
two days , sharing candy , simple ways* ..

A stunning blue illusion with India yellow , crescent Moon , most assuredly the view from the Pyrenees in Spain , or possibly the beaches of Cancun  
The 'Evening star' reflects her glory from snow covered Alps back
to enchanted celestial friends , but tonight it's back to factory boots , safety glasses and ear plugs , eyeing the clock for fifteen minute breaks , moving plate
steel down the line on concrete 'killing floors' for that Friday paycheck

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 !

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

What does it take for a quick fix ? A photo opportunity , pictures of you in the public mix ? Front page headline ! Standing by a storm sewer like Hernando DeSoto ,  exploring a wild expanse of territory ! Are you General Pershing ? Leading the " Doughboys " into battle on the western front or the new Panama Canal in west central Georgia ! It just so happens that I could possibly be the fourth cousin removed of our benevolent Mayor , an admission certain to generate a call to action , genetic predisposition to selfishly imbibe , supplicate ulterior motives , altruistic behaviors , uniformity of life in general ! Organisms in the battle of propagation , securing the ranks for future generations ! Each step plotted , precious energy allotted , risk reward calculations , minimal expenditures create maximum benefit , the secret to longevity , the Fountain of Youth , trapped in a culvert , water seeks its own level , 'tis a fact your honor ! For as waste trapped within cell walls , you to shall pass , your biochemical makeup will one day rain upon this Earth , trapped in a ditch in Chattahoochee Hills , with an indifferent public official oblivious to your plight , trying to complete life's cycle with all your might !

When that 'Crabapple' rolled down the mountain the coonhounds ran like stuck pigs ! Guys that talked tough an red-neck men got religion faster than a 'red tail' buzzing a chicken pen !
This crikker-croaker was the meanest buzzard that Georgia clay ever invented ! He hunted razorbacks barehanded an bear with a hickory switch , the self proclaimed meanest son-of-a ***** in the whole shooting match , self righteous raw meat eatin' , grain alcohol drinking bush-whacker you've ever witnessed ....

Insect soloist of enormous color brushstroke
the given day
Cobalt- silver windows laced with
mountains of billowing steam , coveys
of timid Quail spark an afternoon of vivid dreams
A whisper of hope to awaiting ear , the
saccharin flavor of love filling warm air
The living day of Wren , Sparrow and Chickadee
The very hour of Live Oak , Sugar Pine and Mulberry
Fertile , vivacious stream beds on course for Gulf waters
Rainbow infused land of Cherokee Fathers* ...

There's a saga in every direction
Stories to be told , a lesson languishing -
o'er tilled countryside and dirt road
Smokehouses , immaculate small towns
Sorghum presses , Pecan groves , Loblolly Crowns
May Robin carols , topwater Bream slice the surface of
brook fed glass ponds  , Whippoorwill's , Pileated Knights worshipping the given Dawn

Luscious Spring is wonderful avian theater ... The cameo appearance of Bradford Pear ,  a fragrant , beneficial Chestnut Tree of April ..

Melodious springtime , 'Creations Opus stage ..'
Voluminous , arthropod soloist , capering
the riparian rivers , break the searing afternoons ,
sing to me , the cool blessing of night ...

I defy any musician to write a score more beautiful-
than the laughter of a child ....

Thrasher in the plum tree
Who ya hidin' from
Chirpin' in the canopy
Bold as the sun
A chirp to the Old Crow
A whistle for Bobwhite Quail
A bow and a wink for a Yellow
Swallowtail* ...

Oconee's throwing reflections at Dusk
Heavenly Monarch orange fields with -
Dove and Wood Duck silhouettes
Autumn , cool dreamscapes christened by -
the Evening Star , shadow boat anglers and -
lamp lit docks
The smoky breath of lakeside cabins
Intrinsic , moonlight interpretations -
over the piedmont treetops
The clap of olive turbid water against her granite -
embankments , voices echo over watery nighttime
level , schools of shad decorate and skim the surface
Carolina blue bows to ebony star filled October night
Dark plains teeming with starlight imagination

Sorghum Fall , October blue windfelt opera
of curious Winter tapping November's hardwood door
Days of colorful wishes falling to Earth
They meet in oakwood harbors , perform
in the crystal sunrise ballet , pie pans
ring in crabapple arbors , withered corn songs
crackle exquisitely , they echo o'er hayfield terrace ,
red , brown and golden forest
Hillandale , windballad allegories , butterscotch fields
suing for frosted cover
Warm cabin firewood symphonies , cider and cinnamon
Hereford morning bawl , early wren catcalls
Oak chair and fescue pillow* ....

To lay my head upon the tawny cover of softwood pines once more
as I pry the manifest question of youthful travail and insecurity ,
to garner the earthen tier beside natures vested , rippling waters ..
Churning runnels lending delicate directions , whirlpool portrayals that countersink their matriarchal beginnings , only to gradually disappear ....
To wander the carpeted trail with arbitrary resolve , free of pious
intimidations .. Fixated with superb creativity  .. With the eyes of an eagle .. Determined . Pithiest .. Invincible ..
As heat obscures the blacktop ahead , the shade of home is but a dot in the humid distance , tar laced Georgia roads in the month of August are quite dangerous to young , bare feet ...
Sorghum fields , hog wire boundaries , darkening skies ..The unbounded Sun dragging each step , briar patches line the road shoulder , painful reminders of lonely boots foolishly left unkept ...
Fire ant mounds hide in tall grass , Cow Killers forage alone in Summer swelter , brown scorpions , cottonmouths and the list goes on virtually
forever during Dog Days , legends of wounds refusing to heal , double headed rattlers and rabid foxes , Longhorn bulls turning wild , growing bloodthirsty , hunting down unwary farm hands .. Men turned lunatic
from tainted moonshine , waiting at the wood line for clumsy boys and girls , well water made septic from lack of rain .. Bobcats running in packs for any food easily obtained , including boys that refused to listen
to mother , leaving their cowboy boots when warned not to do so ... This will be the last time I'm caught barefooted , all alone , left to my own wit and minds reserve , Mom and Dad can be sure of it !

Blessed are the young for their innocence and wonderment , for bright eyes and cheerful smiles ! Little ladies in training with tea sets , dolls and easy bake ovens . Young boys with frogs in their pockets , baseball caps , ***** from head to toe ! For their first day at school and precious artwork posted on the refrigerator door ! Hayrides and trick or treat , Cub Scout and Brownie field trips , bicycles , bonfires , marshmallows and Hershey bars ! Christmas songs , snowmen and sleigh rides ! Flying kites in March , warm April mornings , Summer vacations in June and July ! A prayer for the children tonight , tucked away in warm beds , safe , filled with imagination , joyous for their first peeks of sunshine at Dawn ! Saturday morning Pop Tarts and Nestles Quik , Bugs Bunny , Spiderman and the Banana Splits !

Shining vistas quelled by encroaching -
onyx pall
Rain filled mementos of a confused May
Sky blue wild flowers decorating red loam -
banks , a lonely Heron stands watch o'er -
storm filled , uncertain dominion ranks
Brown leaves become sailboats on laden creeks
Matted pastures , thunders raucous laughter
Rainy songs 'neath umbrella hardwood trees ,
mud puddle looking glass , Box turtle paradise
Twinkling brush , continuous wildlife theater in kudzu terrariums Salamanders , snails and musical tree frogs preside over the misty afternoon stage

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 ?

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 ...

Torch recognized fear from a hundred yards
The first inkling of panic would make him charge
I can still see him chasing my Dad across the grassy avenue
Mean old Torch is now a bucket of glue* ...

Tension at a turn
Tension at the graded curve
At the waters surface , inside
a minuscule world , at the first hello
and the final goodbye , at the flowers
sunlit birth , at the glorious final flight from earth
Crying for more , crying with good reason
Crying for recognition , crying for peace and evolution
Secret society and secret handshakes , secret recipes
for secret cakes , secret love and secret hideaways
Secret gardens , secret mistakes* ..

Mimosa elders obscure the pink Azalea hillsides , timid Catbirds performing at behest of daybreak , vociferous followers of humid June traipse glistening Canola fields , swirling secrets of country brooks revealed in man-made clearings , Robin mothers boast of endearing Summer
privilege , of  Jasmine , Sugar Pine , Cattail tranquil late morning backdrops with whispering Hill Country breezes* ......

Rainwater is pooling on Panola Mountain tonight , plants are rooting
atop her granite escarpments , Bucks are foraging across the lowlands ,
a crescent Moon will become visible as the storm moves Eastward ....
Couples will fall in love tomorrow across the lawn , family reunions and carefree children will run and laugh in the park ... Herons forage to the cacophony of bullfrogs , insects , whippoorwills and owls .. Alexander Lake on this night mirrors a million stars , turtle doves will sound the call to morning , turkey hens will echo across her plentiful moors ...

A jet plane headed Southwest ,  flying to New Orleans this evening , leaving a contrail high in the sky , almost out of sight , headed to Bourbon Street , Jackson Square , the Mississippi River , to get a cold beer , plate of oysters ,watch a blues band , then to Cafe Du Monde for a beignet , hot cup of coffee ! Watch the barges floating by on the river walk , headed to the Gulf of Mexico tonight !  A jazz quartet is playing up ahead ! Crescent City , mother of the blues , alive with rock , cajun , classical , country . Beautiful women , dancing , laughter and some of the best food you could ever imagine ! Another warm steamy night in The Big Easy ! ..

My Zebco 33 is part of my family
you see , on many a troubled day this
precision piece of machinery has helped
to foster great clarity , encouraged playful
lakeside banter , put many a panfish or two
in the creel as well
This old reel has ne'er skipped a beat in
thirty plus years , a faithful friend , riverbank
companion , an American workhorse in the blue
collar tradition , the 'go to friend' of a grateful fisherman* ...

My red and rolling eighteen horsepower
think tank has been the catalyst to many a
welcome thought , spurring many a good
decision
A much needed , twice a week , two hour
break from the scatter- brained everyday
illogical world ...

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 !

***** handprints on the refrigerator door , muddy footprints on the kitchen floor ! Crayons and baby bottles under couch cushions , ***** diapers and grass stains on Sunday dresses and shirts ! My toddlers are grown up with kids of their own , and all the spills and stains are just memories now .. It's funny how the little things are the most precious now , things that were a big deal then now forgotten with time !  I can still hear them running up the stairs screaming with their shoes soaked from the rain , an I'd do anything in this world to have them back again !!

You will find me by your side when friends become emotionally expensive and stray ..
Forever recall my eyes cast in your direction from the moment you awake till the close of day ..
You will receive the warmth of the hearth on a cool Winters morn ..
The courtesy befitting a Queen , the respect duly accorded the Gods ..
Everlasting encouragement for all your hopes and dreams , a palette for your endearing artistic soul , the promise of infinite care and love , safe harbor from capricious storm .
A determined , audacious lantern to benefit the midnight hour ...
An island surrounded by churning waters , cradled by endearing receptive arms ..

Tonight all my heroes lay dying , musicians of great fame and notoriety , songbirds removed from the spotlight on Friday nights , radiant Sun's and reluctant poets , troubled minds hid behind happy faces .
The only streetlight in town where all the " bugs " of society gather around to hear their shared pain committed to song , get high on something without breaking the law ..Watch their private dance moves performed in public , hear a guitar ,  infectious drum beat or piano solo . Their disease made known on a public address system , a two hour reprieve from the everyday machine ..

Trellis of honeysuckle seeking it's boundary in late Spring , I too , yet unfulfilled , without her guiding hand , winds from the four corners of Earth , patchwork sails that lay abandoned !
Clocks grow loud without sweet laughter , wood floors lead to empty rooms and closets , whispering shells reflect many shadows , infinite , room by room , in desperate soliloquy ..
A dominant look , I recognize these ****** features , committed to my destruction , **** of maritime canon , shell shocked commander , nay ,
the patronization of his embittered crew , a capsized vessel , lost at sea with malfeasants safe ashore ?  Blue ocean confluence with fresh water , sand ! Able ****** ! Log her impedance at the hazardous delta !
Five harrowing days , meandering south into harms way . From home port to a turbid , troubled sea !
Bring me the head of Cupid , the ******* child of loneliness !
A sacrifice of all that rumor insurrection , mutiny ! Your names are stricken from the book of life , Heaven shall witness thy ploy , with payment of hellfire and damnation ! Bring me the head of her leader , Hell hath inquired of him this very moment !

the full Moon winks , gives the thumbs up ,
the stars cross their fingers and wish good luck ..
the kind Oaks sway , hoping for the best ,
a katydid plays a diddy about the day we met ..
a steady pulse of rhythm courtesy of a musical Bullfrog
a fastidious , tuxedo wearing cricket pulls out his violin ,
plays a beautiful Italian love song ...