Robin will see Dr. Siegel now
whose deft and practiced hands
will dis-veil her clouded vision.

When I see her next and soon
A new portal will open gradually
to show her a world of reborn acuity.

The leaves will sing
With new-found lucidity.
Vivid color and detail
will wash over her horizons
And the world will be
a more dynamic place.

It all begins now
With Dr. Siegel's deft, and very practiced hands.

      Let there be light;
           Let there be color;
                Let there be visual truth!

On an ominous and moonless star-filled night
    Lady Moses led them to the shore
Where scores would cross the river to freedom’s light
    And shed their chains for evermore.

With boundless, courage and everlasting drive
    Thousands more would soon arrive
To climb aboard and row on liberty’s ride
    With Harriet Tubman as their guide.

for John Ensworth

Who am I and who on Earth are you?
     In case you wonder too, my friend,
I’ll trade your penny for my thoughts.

On any given day, I check the
    file drawers between my ears
and pluck out mental artifacts
    to craft into action plans
or in short, I THINK and DO.

And as far as reason leads me,
    I must DO to keep my world intact
and THINK to stave off Armageddon
    if you get my drift.
    
I know, I know, these separate hides
    we are destined to preserve
are breach-less firewalls
    that prevent our ever knowing
each other’s sacred mysteries.  
    Still we seek each other out.
Our common fate - our common bond.

The universe whirls crazily
     beyond the shackles of our skins.
so we measure all we can,
     chart the threads of consequence,
wonder at the mountains and
     seek to learn of seas and galaxies.
    
What do you think, my friend, of entropy?
     What is the nature of the God(s)
you choose to heed or disavow
     as you wander this inscrutable Earth?

Know that I love you, my stranger friend
     and lacking any other choice,
I cherish the firewalls that define us -
     that we cannot scale or circumvent.
      
January, 2020

Richard strained his eyes
and watched his deliverer
merge into misty shadows.
Never would he know
whose strong arms had dragged him
from twisted metal and flames
that used to be his Ford.

At first screaming sirens
and glaring lights
the stranger had risen, smiled
and hastened up the hill.

Haloed in photo flashes
Richard shoved the mike aside.
The lady in a blazer asked again, who?
but Richard only shrugged.
Had he known he wouldn’t have said.

July, 2006

A poem not yet written
Is like a genie incarcerated in its bottle,
Waiting for the gentle strokes
Of its poet’s liberating quill.

An image here, an alliteration there
Send emergent clouds of verbal magic
Floating into the aether,
Demanding to be crafted into
A tapestry of finest weave and hue.

It will be what it must
And not even the hope-filled poet
Can foretell its destiny.

But like all expectant parents,
Quaking in the throes of labor,
The poet hopes his or her newborn child
Will leave the world
An incrementally better place.

“J’espère en toi pour nous" Gabriel Marcel

When we share hope our bond is real
     And when our voices chant a blended song,
Our ties are strong as tempered steel.

In anxious times with fears surreal,
     We seek out friends among the throng.
When we share hope our bond is real.

But when our wills compel us feel
     Spirit-bound to search, however long,
Our ties are strong as tempered steel.

Without a sign, the fates reveal
     A newfound friend who’s come along.
When we share hope our bond is real.

With zest our common course we seal
     Hope-called by duty’s Siren song.
Our ties are strong as tempered steel.

With light and reason to fire our zeal,
     We rise to challenge fortune’s wrong.
When we share hope our bond is real.
     Our ties are strong as tempered steel.

for Joscephine Gomez

I quietly closed the door behind me and stepped inside
Where several souls had preceded me.

    A painter stood by her easel by the south door,
    There was a poet seated at her desk.
    A Buddhist scholar stood before an open tome
    and a lyric soprano softly hummed her warm up patterns.

Just then another soul entered the room and asked,
“Who are these people and how did they get here.”

I answered, “they are all called Joscephine
    and they have come from the stars
    bearing gifts to heal us, encourage us
    and light our ways with kindness and wisdom.

" J’espère en toi pour nous" Gabriel Marcel

When we share hope our bond is real
     And when our voices chant a blended song,
Our ties are strong as tempered steel.

In anxious times with fears surreal,
     We seek out friends among the throng.
Without shared hope no bond is real.

But when our wills compel us feel
     Spirit-bound to search, however long
For ties as strong as tempered steel,

Without a sign, the fates reveal
     A newfound friend who's come along
To share our hope; our bond is real!

With zest our common course we seal
     Hope-called by duty’s Siren song
Our ties are strong as tempered steel,

With light and reason to fire our zeal,
     We rise to challenge fortune’s wrong.
When we share hope our bond is real;
     Our ties are strong as tempered steel.