glowing bright as a midnight star
a daughter strong as a towering oak
that's what I am getting... her name is Tahlia
wrapped in curls and manners bespoke

for me, her siblings and mother
frames filled with awards and recognition
we all know she is like no other
with focus, determination, and erudition

skills self-taught she crafts and smiles
folding, sewing, painting... singing away
her manner is engrossed as she beguiles
then off she goes all ready for play

not six, not twenty, just eleven in years
so knowing, and caring... always ready
"honey, can you find"... she's already up the stairs
her wit and knowledge are amazingly heady

a joy, a triumph to be called her "Dad"
I stop always to do whatever she'll ask
that is the way to guide and show her how glad
to know for me it's an honor... never a task

a cascade of Pavarotti high cs
the turbulence of ocean tsunamis

a casual duck quack, quack
the clacking of a nine-ball rack

a boot dropped with a thud
the splat when falling in the mud

the morning doves coo coo coo
a diamond rings ooh ooh ooh

a sudden unexpected insult
the response and inevitable tumult

the joy in a finely aged wine
a smile from whom you choose to dine

food just dropped on your pants
the casting of an unapproving glance

a lofting climb of a high flying kite
the tug you make with all your might

the hostas now dead under the snow
will surely soon blossom, that you know

your children's tinkling joy and laughter
will be your symphony in the hereafter

we are shredding our sensibilities
into mindless, endless affirmations of guilt
if by a freak of nature we are all now a disease
by birth our skin.... white and pale as silt

stumping and pumping hands high in shrill
gasping moments in the public square
banged and pummeled our mouths fail our will
but against those men with muskets do we compare

thrown across flickering screens that rage
with acid and foment eliciting condemnation's hate
are we just players in the second act on stage
if you fail and are plowed under there is no rebate

the mustering blustering sanctimonious deceit
has crept in brains and deranged the synapse
flagellating babbling chauffeur-driven elite
deliver the death knell, clock sure without lapse

take heed and know your forbearance is fully tested
against an evil with spikes at every turn and bend
if you falter now or run from the beast to be bested
surely the light and lift of all mankind will be but a bitter end

yesterday is the workshop of your tomorrow
   craft well, be careful... avoid pitfalls and sorrow
if you can... and you believe it's writ and all done
   or think, you can change, rearrange how it's begun

step around distractions and divets that come your way
   with practice and living, you'll not go astray
but, as you put more past in your backpack
   weighed down, closer to earth you'll fashion a deeper track

steady ahead your journey will pass filled with life
    it's coming your way with joys and strife
be bold in your words, manner, and thought
    take heed to contrasts... and embrace support

it comes inexplicitly when your eyes will not hear your heart
    fiercely defend your place... do not fall apart
as your dreams and days sync to your, presence and time
   seize the smart sense of it all... stay unafraid and sublime

today its Gauguin
fiery fauvist palette
where snow used to reign

pink purple fuchsia
and bits of white and mauve puffs
bathed in azure skies

soon bursting sunbeams
complete the symphonic scene
with feathered singing

sipping my coffee
quietly I watch the show
hum Pavoratti

six months she ignored
then we danced ate kissed and laughed
wed three children now

walking slowly on a concrete path, sandy strip, grassy hill
we make our way... push on...  soon enough until
a spot is reached, a need is met,
lofty places, joy-filled or with regret

little girls amusingly play and slip and slide
dancing ladies, fervent smiles and eyes filled wide
are you looking for me in that slow adroit glance?
do you know what you've found with your stance?

deliberate sure... imbibed with glee
pages turned, doors shut, where do you have to be?
flowers bloom and tears dry
how far you go, and where to, we wonder why

early on it was simpler, no trust needed or fear
consequences now fall free and come so very near
when I was told not to go or where and when
I shudder to think, how I feel now and how I did then

songs singing blunted behind the door
friends how they shine in the night's allure
raspy voices filled with lateness and talk
stumbling, rumbling away as slowly they walk

here eyes woke with smiles
I said good morning... sleep well?
yes! and so did you

winter's breath
froze the last driblets
the slate gray mist
  soon covered the once green field
chirpings waning concert
  fell silent to the leafless winds
darkness hastens to days end
as cerulean skies fired magenta
  the painter's lush palette
now earthen mahogany and umber
children chant for
fluffy white mornings
  houses puffing chimneys
and frosted window panes
  time twisted tight
awaiting the flourishes
of the springtime symphonies
tuning up beneath
our feet and beyond the stars

a full closed hand thumbed and gripped
mankind's power uniquely equipped
casting buildings into the clouds
monumental gestures covered in shrouds

force wars to quell interim lust
make impervious machines unable to rust
forge landscapes that snarl the mind
heal the masses, undone... left behind

irrigate parched places, seed an endless reserve
patch brains, restore heartbeats, and spark a nerve
watch plainly with those modern eyes
miracles and wonderment bereft of surprise

hook up make links, connect and make small
all that has come, once so mighty and tall
the click and clack and smooth vibrato
sinewy synergies and pounding staccato

do it, done it, here and there, then and now
what stuff, what things... take a bow
cross your legs, unfurl your hearts, embrace the stars
for soon, it will all be coming to you from Mars

love is permanence
trust makes it immutable
and it perseveres

it thrives in conflict
many seductions arise
defend it each day

it's your solemn oath
when you are most powerful
joy will fill you up

twigs clicking soft steps
earth and leaf waft fills nostrils
woods give all delights

sun dancing above
flashing through waving treetops
and you pick your path

go up down left right
each way a new horizon
your special places

back to the gray and hard
city redolence busts in
home you are right now

the screen flickered on
and up came my new emails
good news for a change

clever is the fortuitous man to surmise

the ever-changing meaning and machinations

of life's tinsel and flagrant floppiness

flipping and bending about immeasurably

to whims and claims and vignettes of

times past and future just guessing

and murmuring assumptions and platitudes

irascible mendacities or sagacity ever plain

in your mind's eye to blink or close

perceive or persuade the idle viewer or

dedicated neophyte all matter is but

conjecture for sure it illuminates the heavens

and darkens the pits of hell

inescapably
love conquers every human
if you allow it

the mind finds its way
to every enlightenment
when your heart seeks it

joy comes from your strength
against every upheaval
life throws in your path

power grows in truth
in every undertaking
make it your work

kindness is the hope
for your every utterance
you make others smile

moments ago
   through an untapped
spread of ******
    snow
hearing the soft sigh
under my shoe
   flakes pressed
     tight like glue
cold air kept
  them in place
though the landscape
      now echoes
my new space
    cut under
my human weight
  it's now patterned
       by my rhythmic gait
regular steps
   going to and
       back
on the snows' edge
  my trash arranged
    sack by sack
a mornings hum
  will break the air
   as the trashmen
  soon will appear
   then all is gone
in a clatter and
    clunk
another day
   passes and
along with your
    junk

tomorrow's hunger
steps on today's sweet produce
best walk carefully

I twisted my thumb
  pain in the ***
gripping is very
         important
   even for your left hand
then you can
leap to conclusions
        about fixing and
setting things
   right
yes with that other hand
the one
    you use to brush
your teeth
   and hair
point the way
    and feed your face
sometimes  
   hold up your head
when you
  are thinking
    deep and the
more I think
           about it
I think we should
   shake on it
and call it
   a night
cause I think
   I want to
  soak my
    thumb
I said soak
   not ****!

bursting are the buds
sun is heating up each day
where are my swim trunks

halleluah
  my my and then
some
what nonsense
  did you just say
hey cut that
  out it sounds
stupid
   and it suits
you to a tee
  yes
more of the same
  it's like
when you have
to listen
   to some
idiot

FOLLOW DAD GUYS

I remember, with great fondness
     moments
walking amidst a soft, hidden
           wooded place
       tall trees shrowded the
            light
which fell filtered in a soft misty
   dewy haze

         at my feet
as far as the eye could see
    were gently wispy ferns
                   moving ever so slightly
with the rising mist
               in total quiet

        it was always early in the morning
because
         that was the ideal time
  my dad knew
      that
              taking his children
to this special place
    at this time would enable us

          to witness these wonderous
    moments

THANKS, DAD


            LISTEN TO MOM GUYS

mind where you
  walk

as the floors
were covered in
     newspaper

  to protect
              the freshly dried wax

  for it was Wednesday,

      the day of the week
that our
      home and all in it:

bedding, dusting
organizing, cleaning, washing,
   polished, set up
discarded, rearranged, thrown away,
brushed, fixed,
  fastened, folded, stacked,
       closed, shut,
shelves, pantries,
    closets

  was to get done
put right
  
so we could
  all enjoy the
simple
     comforts of a clean,
  orderly
             upbringing

THANKS, MOM

my wife
  bakes wonderful pies
and
      cakes
not very often
   though
she should
do more
              I think

  but
           sometimes
when I watch
   her
crimping the
  edges
       I wonder

the
    Granny Smith
    pies have
such a tangy
          after taste
        I like

The Pecan
      Pie is just
a crunchy
     casserole
    I love

But
her simple
     Bundt Cake
    is
      indescribable
       I know