I found a dead ladybug in the sink
after washing a head of lettuce
the red had faded to peach
and the legs no longer reached for life

~

Standing in the school playground
during a warm fall afternoon
a bright red bug with black spots
lands on my arm

I can feel its little legs trembling
as it shimmies along my forearm
slowly turning my hand over
when it reaches the wrist

~

I hope that ladybug landed
on as many hands as possible
as a harbinger of joy
simply with its presence

I rose, from where I lay.
Slumber then being done with me.
I followed upon what's necessary
––A routine sung out to me—

Then on this particular day,
Trees on the outside
Beckoned with the wind—inside
No thought was then wasted

In entering a paradise
Where clouds charioted across
the sky—to diffuse the harshness of light
So that I could glance at the source of life.

golden rays
afternoon sun
shining

green leaves
tropical bamboo
swaying

cool breeze
summer weather
blowing

tiny birds
sweet harmony
singing

me, myself and I
with love and gratitude
sitting.

Strange
How the outside world
Makes such a blaring, disturbing noise
Yet only the silence settles between us.

Strange
How I'm right beside you
Sitting straight,
Yet I don't seem to even be here.

Strange.
How simple the world can be,
How simple we could be,
But you don't even exist.

The sky began to purple
And the scene to set
And the heart like drums
Began to beat
Then from some twist of light
A play began to roll
And there I was
Dozing in the sunshine
One quiet afternoon
When lightening flashed
Right from out the blue
Shattering my reverie
Was the Sunlight's goon
As he took a bow for
His introduction and
How d' you do
He shook my world of classic order
To a surrealistic view
With quick steps to the left
And then to the right
He bent my gaze
To his central stage
Of course,
This monochrome painter
Requests total attention
Not difficult,
As he's been struck from
The list of convention
He spills his canvas with tidy
Abstractions of captured jests
Of wild imitation, a pose
In fractured time
He is a master of imagination
With noiseless motion
He whirls to each identity
From his kaleidoscope of darkness
His badge of entity
He bends symbols to a new formation
A magician of dimmed light
He nurtures the checker board
Of contrasts in angles to
His invention
From a repose in solitude
I now acquaint myself
To timeless relenting
For he's here
He's everywhere
Though neither god nor man
But entertainer
A show that begins from light
And ends with darkness
While I see, he plays a game with me
Wherever I go, he goes
Whatever I do, he does
Though sometimes leader
Sometimes the lamb
But while still blinking
From this sudden view
He wills me to another hue
As he molds his statues
To another stand
And shades the tones darker
Then with some secret mime
And the close of time
The audience, now
Just common dolls
That leave no echo of applause
So they've left
The lights have gone out
And the Shadow
Opaque of emotion
Releases his hold
And there he's left me
In a final void
Was he really there?
Or was it just another show
Of self confrontation.

I remember sitting on the front porch, curled up in a wicker chair with a pen and a pad of paper
the early June afternoon sun going down over my smalltown, casting a golden glow on the blacktop,
writing a poem about loneliness
and wondering whether everyone else around me
driving by in that car,
walking their dog,
stirring that drink at the bar,
was as lonely as I was

whether their heart also longed for something more
or felt a loss for what they never reached for in the first place
whether they were settling and giving up on their dreams

or had they finally decided to go for it,
That job
That person
That trip
That thing that makes their heart beat faster and gets their blood flowing
That thing that makes them feel free

or was I the only one,
in a world overflowing with people,
could I be the only one who gave it all up,
too afraid to make the change my soul was aching for?

You know if I would love a song before listening to it.
You laugh at my jokes before I even finish them.
I wish I could live on your chest forever,
because you make me feel like pure gold.
I wish I could protect you forever,
because you make me want to do
all the things I promise to you.