Nothing to do in a cloudburst
with the exception of watching new rivers control the avenues
Whirlpools choking storm drains ,
town squares becoming bayous
Colorful umbrellas in every direction
Townspeople quicken their pace , seeking protection
Big trucks sending puddles airborne ,
fastidious Pigeons bathing in the Summer
storm
Would give a blue nickel to join in
on the fun , a needed break from the August Sun* ...

A blue opening in the world as the rain was ending , gregarious Pigeons scramble atop store front perches in the drying western wind
Tired pedestrians labor wetted city sidewalks , late morning
silhouettes appear against post World War II row settlements
Saturday clerks prepare street displays , elderly couples window
shop for bargains with disdain , people and Freight trains trudge along , in route to unknown places* ....

Lonely Falcon at the golden rim of twilight , camouflaged against a Sycamore , looking left then right ..
Are you going home tonight or have you settled for
our backyard old friend ?
In search of a meal at Dusk or seeking solace at days end ?

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 .............

Roasted peanuts and 'red painted rockers'
invite good conversation and needed laughter

Just as water is called to the impatient -
shore the cycle of Kings and 'The Governed'
shall play out forever more* ...

The Lantern of Jehovah advanced o'er -
the frosted hillside
A million diamond blades of -
grass sprang to life
Brume filled the creek valley
For a moment I went from skeptic -
to ardent believer , enemy to ally
Ravens retreated from their nighttime -
post , the new morn filled with the -
autumnal ghost
Whispers of November grew clearer
I panned a crown of deep blue -
with overwhelming greed
Worshipping the newborn earth with great -
urgency and need* ..

Beer will cause a fool to bray amongst his kin like a "Jack ***"..
Hard liquor will alert the entire town of his alter-ego !

Homemade peach ice cream fresh from Gardner's Grove was a sneak peak into heaven for a seven year old boy ...

Disengage my molecular structure . Hold within suspended animation conveyance , fed within laser , fire it on course to Messler 31 ..Transformed into light , signal collected by planet not unlike ours , feeding alien race with my very soul via photosynthesis , warming the environment  , performing feats impossible to do on Earth .. My glowing apparition , reflected back to home planet , picked up through telescopic lens , Genesis II , first contact ,  shot through  prism , revealing colors never seen , hues that defy scientific logic as we currently know it .. With healing properties , answering long sought after questions on life , extraterrestrials and the Universe !

A white pickup truck chasing a brown sedan
Silver birds , one after the other once again
A corporate 'Cat' chasing the prize goose for a window view
Cops and robbers on the tube , the morning news *******
session , the evening robot spew
The internet truth , the newspaper gobbledegook , the
song with the same hook , the heroes , the Nero's ,
the high numbered and the zeros* ...

Generation X , sold out by a New World Order , fathers lost their pension to Reganomics , Baby Boomers took 911 , shot holes in the Constitution , killing proletariat , old as the strata on the canyon walls , welcome to the Holocene Epoch and ***** deals , wasted lives and politics that **** ! Change is the same barracuda caught all over again , don't defend your castle with my final drop of blood while your singing America the Beautiful on the Washington Mall , put out your hand , try to break my fall , with eyes shut , typing in coordinates on a 'Smart Bomb', or flying a drone over the castle wall !

My persona would be red clay along the river shoreline .  My hair , the green grass infused field . My body is akin to tall Pines , Mountain Chestnut , awe inspiring Oak and Pecan Trees..
The salt of my physical being , the child of histories shed tears anchored within the very blood that flows through my circuitry .
Her waters are my soul revealed , Appalachia begat a grateful son of Georgia that seeks the shoreline .. Called across the surface of the sea to the waiting arms of my Creator .. Sky blue eyes on watch forever* .

Magnolia , honeysuckle and Cherokee roses-
hide the aroma of gun powder & mace ...
Yet , wisteria tinged with the odor of burning-
structures leaves an undeniable taste ..
The cheers for her professional sports teams housed-
in grandiose stadiums drowns out gunfire -
in poverty ravaged neighborhoods ...
Airliners bound for Atlanta sail high above -
the call for justice , equality & mercy                                                  
At the behest of the Almighty a lonely cropper took his last , hard breath beside an Ellijay apple tree , a laborer in Valdosta , a mechanic -in Albany
Their physicality cracked from years -                                                    
of pain and toil neath the unforgiving Georgia-
sun , councilors , legislatures & sheriffs woefully resist modernity in the midst of public desperation ..
Deaf ears to small town minority halls of worship begging tolerance , -
brotherhood & civility
Behind her facade of beauty , pecan orchards & peach trees-
lies the ****** robe of humanity
Unsung heroes vying for shared liberty....

Where the earth and sky become one  ..Along the banded fusion of physical constraint
Indigo blues transformed into burnt orange
The tail of the galaxy commands this mountain-
sky , celestial offerings fall over Alabama-
in the shaded oeuvre of "The Apportioner " on this night ..
Meandering streams etch Cherokee hillsides ,
early evening fires conceal the nearby forested seas
The Crescent Moons luminosity glistens her summits northbound , released-
into the frigid voids of angered scope
Mans vista looms cold , blind and silent , nocturnal fauna return
to their Appalachian precipice to guard these ancient
storytellers ..

The southern belle , her spicy drawl , gift of gab and traditions .....
Gentle ways with a soft look , master of culinary skills , jams , mint teas and cobblers , prowess in garden , she is truly a magnolia with the scent of gardenia blossom .....

We have freely received the Earths bounty and her many blessings bestowed upon Mother Georgia ! Thankful for meandering rivers , cascading waterfalls , Lake Lanier , Oconee , Allatoona and West Point ! Breath taking Appalachian mountains , sunflower swept valleys , picturesque Atlantic coast ! The Summer breeze of June , songbirds of Spring and the myriad color of leaves in October ! Mountain apples , cotton , peanuts , sweet potatoes , Vidalia onions ! From the vibrant Atlanta skyline , cities of Columbus and Savannah to the sleepy villages of Franklin and Bostwick ! Church bells announce the Dawn in quiet mountain hamlets , seagulls searching the shores of Tybee Island , farm tractors turn the fields in Tifton , Spanish moss swaying in the breeze in Valdosta !

I dwell inside the coppered forest confusion
Among straight evergreens pining for blue windows ,
in the illusion of being the only man on earth , in the
union of sycamore and birch ..
May contrails be arrows shot from appeased gods ,
may cirrus clouds take the shape of horses in battle from
the very stables of Olympus
The chatter of the raven and melancholy dove , mercurial
raptors announcing their presence from high above
Accept a brother shunned , a native son bridled in despair
Wearing battles upon both arms , seething in emotive turmoil
Bearing tokens of love for every fish , mammal and serpent
The warmth of July in Chinook winter winds , the crisp air
of Autumn for the dog days of August , a crown of azaleas
with Cherokee roses in the Appalachian snowfall amidst the Indian forest  
May flocks of pelicans continually grace her windswept , turquoise shores
May the voices of bobwhite quail address her plains forevermore* ...

A trip to Franklin , my childhood home , West Point Lake on Sunday afternoon , awe inspiring view indeed , where Chattahoochee marries reservoir.... On the night we find ourselves apart , continue in my name on Earth , focus on the beautiful life we've shared , our dreams and our love for one another...I'll be waiting on this very shore ........

Harlequin cover carried on warm zephyrs north
through febrile piedmont leviathans ..
Furious March sediments that choke . Debilitate ..
Frustrate and discolor ...

A nightingale craves the early moon
Just as petulant March portends wintertide's -
turbulent doom
Robins solo in April's twilight hush
So what will my life become , devoid of her -
tender touch* ...

I cordially invite ya'll to sit a spell on the front porch sometime , eat a plum or two with a cup of black coffee and 'talk shop' for a little while ...

My grade school Principal would take a reconfigured boat paddle
and 'grill a young man's bacon' when needed ! I most assuredly earned
every lick I ever received ..

Ambergris -of-honeysuckle--first cut of Summer hay ,- , petrified sap of Georgian pine , she is the epitome of love , salvation , weathered maturity and love enduring ,from a grateful recipient , knowledge of plow ,tilling of landscape, herb and berry ,  and bountiful , left thirsting for  counsel and the blessing of forefather , yea with a mighty countenance indeed !!!!

The light of Nirvana manifest at the first glint of creativity , the glow in the writers heart praised at the Gates of Heaven , their records etched in pink marble within the Heavenly Foyer for all eternity .
The journal of the ancients , scribed with fire , cast in bronze tablet , adored by Angelic host ..
Works of praise engraved from the template of the Most High , eyes of fire in the darkest of night ..
Carmine in nomine ipsius gloriari !

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 ....

Today I'm the former roadside attraction
Rusting , paint peeling , rat inhabited pig
sty of a man
A birdhouse with halls that echo , waiting -
for the 'horns of Jericho'
Tall , out of control growth blotting out -
my reflection
Wrinkled , weathered cracked infrastructure ,
shaken , sold cheap , melting into the earth -
forgotten , once prospering station* ..

Stand beside the gulf waters facing the west as our daystar -
displays its twilight address
Bear witness to the first glimmer of sunshine as the maelstrom of -
March thunderstorms are fading , as rainbows begin their parade
Walk hill country terraces as the morning fog lifts ,
tis a woman's brushstroke indeed interpreting Heaven itself* ..

Fight , fight writers , poets and playwrights , manipulate and fool the gaze of government with all thy might , extending a daisy with the left hand while smacking common sense into their bureaucratic mindset with a swift 'right'* ...

Discovering a true lifelong friend is emotional capital well spent !

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 !

Just as a good coat of paint will hide the sins of the Carpenter , a shut mouth will prove to be a blessing to all within potential earshot thereof !

I'll joke about tobacco and pull your leg over
liquor but we've got well water that'll trip
your trigger* ...

The gray blanket of Autumn , every tree , blade of grass and bird in their rightful place ! Every unique musical score brought forth by the Western breeze . Each drop of morning rain , a solitary reminder of hope , rebirth , renewal and continuity . Dusk . A gentle touch from a loving hand , singing a child to sleep with familiar ballad . The quiet woodland on a cool November morning , speaking volumes to artist , lover and poet !

Shake the globe of awe inspiring Spring
You'll find me beside the Apple orchards ,
feeding the Wrens , welcoming every young
seedling , walking the morning rails , tolling
the bluebell valley floor with bare feet , offering
courtesy and a smile to all I meet ..

Just remember that humanity is a 'bump-
in the road' to 'manmade , insentient cyborgs' controlling-
the earth someday..

Prithee tranquility , peace and sweet uninterrupted sleep ....

Dear salient Moon , how was twilight over Asia
Across the bazaars of Istanbul , the mountains -
of Pakistan , the midnight Sahara , the fishing -
villages of Portugal
Speak of the mighty Atlantic with crashing -
waves , the Isle of Bermuda , the tranquil -
Bahamas , the shores of Newfoundland , the hills
of Scotland
Sir Luna must be quite bored with Hill Country , I would surmise ,
after all he has witnessed on the good Earth tonight

Flurries of call and response , electric guitar notes
travel over these Oak floors , escaping through an open window
bound for a star , my grandson could quite possibly receive
the songs coda from an extraterrestrial musician yet unknown
I pray for alien language to be music , I've so much to tell ,
, so much hurt to describe , so much passion and understanding
stored in my souls living well
If we could communicate love through a fretboard vocabulary
I would wail

This pill will correct a speed shutter mind , with this pill I will without a doubt lose precious time
With this pill the shaking will cease
With this pill my creativity will flee
With this pill the hallucinations may come to call
Because of this pill I might one day decide to end it all* ..

Spoilt wind driven veronica , castigated in blistering Summer swelter . Blue lace in harried July repose , a thundershowers grace upon a parched , grateful basin .
Streams collect on the valley floor , seeking their terminus ..
The clap of thunder addresses the meadow , seemingly forever into the darkened landscape ...
Tree frogs proclaim their appreciation , field crickets and cicadas sing familiar ballads ..
A shy Moon reoccupies its rightful purview , wood ducks return to their evening quarters .. Sleep well Mourning Dove , rest in peace Appalachian hillside ..

I witnessed a crimson star , hurtling southbound to Florida ,
it lit up the Eastern sky , quickly faded , a brief yet momentous
occasion to all fortunate spectators addressing the uncomplicated night ...
I answered with a tale of the Big Dipper watering the chariot horses of Orion , Sagittarius shot his arrow just for me at twilight , Venus gently covers sleepy Earth in her silken black shroud , crystal dreams quietly
settle over timid countryside , sleep for now precious dreamer , let sleep abound ...

The ice cold chocolate milkshake and the longstanding dichotomy of poet philosopher , musician and painter
Socrates would make a point as to it's rightful owner , questioning whether or not it was even a cold , sweet drink
Dylan would make it the focal point of a tune about a small town eatery
Picasso would paint a story of deliciousness mired in loneliness
Randolph would pick it up with both hands and gulp it down

My body is fast asleep yet my mind refuses to dim, as I conjure rhyme and riddle , reason , then cloak shared pain at will  !! I roll in the bed ,wake every hour and pray that the dreams will stop ....Up at 5:30 with pen in hand ,to jot down the anguish all over again !

Midnight insomniac gibberish ..
House as quiet as a church mouse ..
Cheap Wal-mart clock ticking like -
'Big Ben in London town .'
Two refrigerators and a basement freezer-
making more noise than Piccadilly Circus
Old brick houses and Oak flooring make
one heck of a ruckus !
If I ever went to England I'll be ****** if I'd
ever put up with this much hocus- pocus* !

Life , love and friendship are all about timing .

Draw the warmth off of every person you should meet , each and every soul , hold a seashell to your ear and listen to the ocean , blow a kiss to the past and present , make a wish , flurry dandelion seedlings across a green field .. I pray for you to receive great imagination , my dear child , love with all your heart, be thankful as you lie in bed each night , dream of adventure and tall tales , puppy dogs and honeybees , sand dollars at the beach , exploring high mountains , climbing Chestnut Trees* ...

Atlanta has about as much business being in the State of Georgia than a RC Cola and a pecan log do on the streets of Morocco*....

Nights encroachment is changing the face of town ,
an orange star phasing out ,
the borough is closing down
The elderly are content from front porches
the children called to dinner ,
bicycles , baseball bats and chalk are left
on the ground ,
the sound of buses and semis , the last train
headed south
Artificial light slowly filtering out
She's slowly , methodically , shutting down

Goodnight Selene .. Time for a cup of oatmeal , coconut sugar and a buttered biscuit .. A good book , a cold pillow and fifty winks !