In a tender moment I looked on your face
That pageant surrounding your creative mind
I looked down so deep at the soul in your eyes
Then measured our chances with a few stolen glances

Another long look into your mirror
Left me wondering what you might see
The trials and endeavors, the nows and whenevers
Are pleasant reminders of what we might be

We’re caught in the whirl of a magnetic grip
Time rolls away as it dashes our fate
The spring and the winter, the summer and fall
Are naught but the seasons we live in our dreams

Content with the motion of this little dance
We step off the edge and into the abyss
Time looses meaning as we tumble on in
Our passion is bleeding as we sway in the breeze

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood*

Spring is here
The awaking commences
Marching green explodes into life
Buds transform into leaves on the trees
Flowers explode across the timeless stage
There’s just enough time to plant what we need
Sprinkles rain down on this hallowed ground
Sprouts run up from the roots to play
The sun tickles life from the wind and the rain
Across the field the purchase is made
Grazing is easy on the tundra in Spring
We’re lost in the movement of wings on the breeze
Content with the dance that our reason believes
We settle our thoughts with the buzzing of bees
And capture the moments we’re so glad to receive

The moment is tiny yet grand in scope.
It’s all that we have but riddled with hope.
The point of the arrow is sharp and true,
Threading its way through the expanding view.

It’s the only time we’ve ever had,
The only thing we we can hang on to.
Building our space around each new moment,
Time is woven into magical dreams.
With nothing left but the threads that we weave,
The tapestry unfolds for us to believe.

The grand design
That hill that we climb
All tempests shared
To be compared
The walls that we breach
And thoughts that we teach
Are lessons learned
And passions burned
Our little world
Revolves around
While time spins away
And knocks us on down
We’ve almost read
To the very last page
Changing the score
Is not how it’s played
Absent that path
We reach for the stars
And dance in the moonlight
With all that we are

How is it
that I can’t see your face?
I love you so but
where are you now?
How did we get so far away?
The music we made
still rings in my ears.
The laughter
has drifted away is seems.
Just echoes are left
of the dreams that we made.

Today, I found an old friend
on Facebook.
Or rather,
he found me.
It’s kind of amazing
that he found me at all.
How in the world did
this world get so small.

30 years
can take their toll.
It’s a passing memory
at it’s very best.
We had our mutual friends back then
but that’s looking back to so long ago.
It seems like an instant where we’re apt to pretend
but the world has been turning around since then.

We said our hellos and our how-do-you-dos.
Things clicked into place
and we caught up on news.
It was short but so sweet,
those moments we spent.
I’m looking for more
in the days up ahead.

“Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real, and you're just a reflection of him?” – Bill Watterson

Lost in a moment of cast reflection
Stepping back and seeing the picture
A solemn face reaches out to greet me
I stare back in awe of this simple vision
The river has risen above the steeple
The backwater splashes all over my feet
I look for you now in the old tinted glass
You’re not really there but neither am I
We haunt each other in the timeless mirror
And deliver a glance as we take our chance
It’s about living freely, to that I attest
It’s nothing but a change we had to accept

Tossed into battle
I break with the pack
The world flows around me
But I’ll never look back
Drenched in the moment
I sip at the wine
Caught in a whirlwind
Don’t know what I’ll find
Blessed with a mission
I go with the flow
There is no tomorrow
So today is my chance
I’ve paid at the door
To dance one more dance as
My time moves along
And I sing this short song

Good night to you
There’s little to say
I strike at the clock
Just to get away

Time has no meaning
I’m sorry to say
The moments they pass
And take me away

I drift on the dreams
That I find in my path
I measure each moment
Just to find my place

There’s nothing to hide
And far less to fear
Being right here
I look deep inside

Branches of a tree
Reach into the deep blue sky
Birds alight then fly

There is splendor in the lush green grass
Flowers bend lightly in a gentle wind
Wild strawberries dance in the spacious field
Grazing is easy in the early spring
Lost in the moment, the church bells chime
Sounding the hours, they ring and rhyme
A profound happy music cuts through the air
It’s soft on the ears and easy on the soul
Carried by the breeze, it makes us whole

A subtle breeze both gentle and clean
Wafts across the chimney peaks
A sweet wet mist fills the humid air
Sporadic clouds grow in stately fair
Little drizzles in blue sky and sun
This casual dance is all the fun
I'm a dancing fool, you can be too
We can play that game
Just swimming in the rain

*“I want to know, have you ever seen the rain comin’ down on a sunny day?” –  Creedence Clearwater Revival

Sort it all out and give it away
Never let loose of the games we play
Shivering cold, the pattern is closed
Entwined in the memories we left far behind

Damaged goods were never that good
Tell me a lie, I’ll wish you good riddance
Sell me a cow and I’ll give you some milk
Tell me a tale and I’ll weave it for you

Never forget the places we’ve seen
Let me forgive what you really mean
Cost me a nickel to buy a pickle
I ate it in one bite

There is nothing I tell that can’t go well
Also nothing I see that can’t be believed
This doesn’t make me a sear you know
It’s just something I had to say

Blithering idiot, I call her by name
Paying our dues with a bucket of snails
Are you really going to let that tainted score fly
And control what you dream forever more?

Cutting through the waves
Wind blows me so far away
Just another day

Slicing through the breeze
Time stands still for all to hear
The silence begins

Coursing through daylight
Set my sails and my rudder
To the edge of night

The birds they do sing
All the world is listening
A song of great hope

Riding on the tide
The world passes slowly by
Now washed on the waves

Your whispers compel me.
Your magic defends me.
Your grace overwhelms me and
Your heart comprehends me.

Your spirit intrigues me.
Your light shines upon me.
Your presence does sooth me but
Your words do confuse  me.

I’m not really a poet…
I just like to write poetry.

I’ve broken the rules
That I don’t know exist.

I’ve tempted the muse
But I can’t resist
The chance to break down
These words into song.

I sing and I dance
When I get the chance.
I laugh and I cry
But I never know why.

Please don’t compare me
I’m quite very wary
But all that I’ve said
Might be better off read.

Not all that I write
Is even alright.
I just want to say it
And let it go by.

Don’t puncture my words
With needle and thread.
I’m tempted to say it
All over again

Tested by fate, we yearn to see
That mighty chasm we’re taught to believe.
The other side is so far away,
We can’t go around so we might have to stay.
The picture is grand but it stands in our way.
The measure’s unknown, dug down deep in the ground.
We’re found in a moment where the clock breaks down
And spins us around to the end of the day.
This problem requires a giant leap.
The edge of the cliff is mighty steep.
The bottomless pit is an impasse they say
But we might have the key to open the gate.
A simple step into the abyss.
Next thing you know we’re already there.
The chasm is closed as we walk on by.
The time we’ve spent was worth one more try.

Catching up from the other day
Is not as easy as some might say
Can’t get back what we failed to find
If I try, I could lose my mind

I’m on the path that I chose to take
It’s all a result of the chances I found
Pleasant indeed is the song that I sing
My soul settles down and turns me around

Now facing forward into the breeze
Not looking back is the name of the game
Riding the wave is the style of my play
In the hint of a moment, I’ll chart my own way

Into the stormy sky I gaze
Here on the ground I look all around
Tossed in the measure of the sight and the sound
I laugh with the jester to whom I am bound

Spirit comes to me
I’m tempted by her casual flare
Her thoughts spill over my rainbow
And wash away my every care

The scorching sands beneath our feet
Drift slowly by the thoughts we’ve shared
The story’s not completely wrote
Each passage has its special note

We while away the passing hours
The flowers bloom then fade away
Our time was bent beyond compare
The time we spent was meant to share

There is no place I’d rather be
No other muse I want to see
Her message was so very clear
Inside her spell there was no fear

The sands of time, they blow away
The rainbow’s fleeting  glow is gone
Each treasured moment passes by
The time was right, she had to fly

I set down my well traveled backpack
next to the sign which read,

            No Pedestrians,
            No Equestrians,
            No Bicycles or Motor-driven cycles
            Allowed Beyond This Point.

Thus confined,
I stuck out my thumb
in a well-defined gesture
specifically designed
to catch the eye of a
friendly motorist
just passing by.

The traffic was light though
still in quite a frenzy.

Alone and content,
on the side of the road,
I was watching the drivers
as they breezed blindly by.

Each had the potential
to give me a ride.
There on the roadside
I waved them good by.

The man in his Benz
and the lady in her bug,
the banker, the waitress
and an old pickup truck

Each one was equal
as they passed down the trail.
Barely a gesture
or the meeting of eyes.

The time right then was not important to me
but all of the others had somewhere to be.
Getting along from A to Z
was all that mattered to little old me.

Patience is a virtue
for those who wait.
Along came a trucker
with a load on his tail.

He pulled up beside me
and bid me “get in.”
                                  -- So I did.

The engine revved up and we took to the road.
Right past that old sign that kept me confined,
we took up the hum of that asphalt trail
and measured our distance with the passing of miles.

Lost on the road with the corn rushing by
I'm free -- I’M FREE and that is why
I’ll come back again
For one more try.
The lessons I’ve  learned will help me get by.


I hitchhiked thousands of miles in my younger days. The opening stanzas were written on the side of the road nearly 40 years ago.

4/14/17

Looking into the portal
A chance knowing occurs
Putting it all together
We simply wait and wonder
It's turning in our heads
Where most still fear to tread
You hold the key
Please share it with me
Let your insight move our open hearts
Let it dig down deep and set us free

Bird feathers dancing
While singing and romancing
Singing a sweet tune

Here’s another poem from the dust bin (first verse was written circa 1985). It took decades to come up with the rest of the poem.

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell

She sat in the forest of moments.
Puddles of inspiration lay at her feet.
Moss-covered memories danced in the shadows
And her wheat-colored hair tumbled freely
To the bundle of choices that graced her shoulders.

She danced in the pool of reflections.
In the swirls of her laughter she saw a chance.
Beyond the ethereal moment she passed.
Little ripples romanced her style and grace.
Absorbed in that place, she slipped…into dreams.

Wandering the fields of her many past lifetimes,
Her toes caress the sands of each stride.
Inside her mind where the memories reside
There stands a good reason for taking each step
And then again, another step.

In the space of a moment, she sought to divine
The taste of that place where verse is defined,
To carry with her on this loose-woven path,
She’s lost in the forest and pines for a world where
Her dreams lead her on as they sweep her away.

Nothing can matter to this wandering one
A spark of the moment entrances her hair.
Her ears perk for questions she’s bound to receive as
The path leads her on to the land of invention where
She settles her debt with the author of dreams.

Just a few facts to get this straight.
There’s no looking back to the past we’ve unfurled.
The vision is bright as we look up ahead.
Gripped in a moment we seize it and fly.

Passers by never stop to notice;
There is no chance for them to see.
We’re off on our own train, out from the station.
We’ve charted a course to a new destination.

We might find a way to just get along.
Let this be a lesson and don’t take it wrong.
The chart is broken; the bridges are swamped.
The map’s just a token; and life is the reason.

Never let go of what you’re trying to find.
Your heartbeat will quicken and your ears will ring.
Let the muse guide you in all that you do.
Just slip through the night and see it on through.

one petal falling
the river is calling it
into the threshold*

4/25/2017

Inside;
Deep inside.

There is no mention of what you hide.
The meaning is lost on the back of the page.
Did you really intend to steal it away
Or are you waiting for another day?

Where is the thought you intended to say?
I won’t let go of the mystery you made.
Down by the river our paths they did cross.
Let’s settle that moment before it gets lost.

You left in your own way; it’s unclear to me.
I said what you needed but you did not hear.
It’s naught but a bother, just something to know.
If you can find the time, I will share it with you.

On a wing and a prayer, we can both make do.
In the split of an instant, we can capture our dreams.
In the breadth of a moment we can find what we need.
In the time of a lifetime, we should share only peace.

I want to be a better person
I’ll walk with you Lord just to be that way
I want to listen to all that You say
I want to give in and not only take

I want to wake up each and every day
Walking with You – it’s the path that I choose
The time is right and there’s nothing to lose
Teach me Your will and please let me stay

Let me bask in Your daylight and live in Your Grace
Living the life that You’ve planned for me
I’ll never forget what You’ve done for me
I’ll never regret what You taught to me

The earth keeps on spinning as You tend to my needs
The life that I’m living is Yours don’t you see
May Your Heavens rain down on this tired old soul
Let Your never-ending Love serve to make me whole


You know what I want Lord and just what I need
The things that I’ve asked for, I’m glad to receive
If You’ll have it that way then I’m very much pleased
If Your answer is no, I will still believe

Let your thoughts congeal
Into songs, into stories
And let them take flight

I took one step, one little step
Along the path I chose to travel
My mind was turned
To the thoughts I’ve learned
The gravel churned beneath my feet

The foggy path concealed my view
Just one more stride into the mist I stepped
I came upon a quiet place
And set myself down
By a jog in the road

I didn’t come here to while away
But rather I came to sit and pray
The words flowed out in a river of tears
The fog answered back
And a seed was sown

Never a fear nor even a shout
Just a quite moment to now write about
I picked up my feet and set to the trail
My prayer was answered
As I stepped through the veil

In a farfetched moment
Beyond the time that we spent

Lasting memories linger
And drift slowly by

Recollections flow
But the feeling is gone

So what’s to remember?
Was it worthy of thought?

What can we tender
With all that we bought?

There's just no getting back
All those feelings we've lost

There is nothing beyond the moment we know
No start, no finish, just the now that we hold

The end is but a supposition
A juxtaposition over the current moment

I thought for a moment there could be no time
But that concept turned into eternal rhyme

Often I come upon a lost loose end
I try to trace it back to the start if I can

There is no start to the beginning of time
No end to the moment we’d like to let go

I continue to search for the beginning and end but
The circle is closed; they’re one and the same

So this is the end of this little thought
A great beginning to take off again

Hang on to the moment; the first and the last
Ride on the wave and never look back

January 20th, 2017 (Inauguration Day)**

Let the people decide
Let the decision be final
Open your heart and do what is best
Let the trumpet sound from way up on high
Know what you say and say what you know
Believe that you matter and don’t let it go
I don't care if you approve of this message or not
IT’S MY MESSAGE!
Winners and losers are all the same
Money flies away on a mighty wind
It's all nonsense and the people lose
Nothing changes but it's time for a change

I looked inside my old beaten chest
While wishing I might find a miracle there
My thoughts rang as deep as the waters can rise
The measured memories were not disguised

I looked for the treasure, the silver and gold
The crown and the pleasures as yet untold
Drifting and dreaming inside that old box
My fingers they clasped at the dusty remains

I could see it so clear as it started to rain
I pulled out a thought and set it to pen
I wrote it all down to save it for when
The time is right to read it again