In the cloudy evenings with strong hints of rain
You heard them once and you heard them again
The air would rend with their cacophony
The torrents would send them in ecstatic glee.
Even a few years back you could find them around
The harbinger of monsoon with harsh croaking sound
On your yard and garden in quite large packs
Frolicking for insects, the great jumping Jacks.
They scoured the marshland in search for food
Calling in monotone and setting you to brood
With your mind gnawed by the incessant rains
That rattled your thoughts and the glass window panes.
But then lands were devoured by the human sharks
Soon disappeared open spaces and parks
Came up apartments and rows of house
Urban growth you accept without grouse.
Now in the lonely evenings with fair hints of rain
The rains will be back but you won’t hear them again
Their habitats are gone there aren’t left any bogs
And with these are gone your neighborhood frogs.

in 1989 there was a tragedy on a football ground
for all the world to see
96 were killed lives just took away
all them were there to watch the two teams play

fans outside  rushed in through an open tunnel door
police had lost control couldnt control them anymore
people suffocating coudnt get away
ninety six were killed on that tragic day

cover ups were made statements rearranged
details by the police they had all been changed
witnesses came forward proved that they had lied
if policing had been better on one  should have died

a mother for fought justice her son was there that day
he was just kid whose life was took away
anne williams was her name did her very best
fought through thick and thin she just wouldnt rest

she just kept on going for her justice fight
time and time again till they got the verdict right
unjustly killed that day she was looking for
then tragedies like this wouldnt happen anymore

anne got what she wanted the truth about that day
killed unlawfully the judges had to say
her battle it was over she got her victory
justice for them all for all the world to see

anne she past away her fight it had been won
she got what wanted now united with her son

RIP to those who lost there lives that day

Our family room has a vaulted ceiling.
Facing each other in that place,
our eyes meet and in this gaze
across the room
we take flight
through hot afternoons
into cold dark nights.

What we reveal in this air
is the stuff of dreams and things
of joy, pain and sorrow washed in tears,
and when the clouds have cleared
there we are in a sacred space
in the wind and tide
where a mystic spirit
arrives and abides
for quiet moments,
and on this holy canvas we spread
the blush of eternity.

We bring memories of our dances
and missteps where we fell
into each other’s arms and laughed
at the folly of two fools
who leapt across their rifts and fears
across dry days and long years,
sank into the hearts
of each other
and flew to vaulted horizons
where together we reached
to touch the face of God.

The feel of sand beneath the toes.
The smell of sea breeze fills the nose.
The sigh of foaming surf soothes the ears.
The heady taste of a few cold beers.
Where the ocean meets the sky,
Oh so easy on the eye.
Leaving everyday troubles behind.
In a paradise state of mind.

As I begin my poem, holding my pen,
I realize when I finish. I'll be older than I've ever been.

Is this really the best way to spend my time.
Trying to connect to another, with my rhyme.

Perhaps the worst thing that I really do,
is stealing the finite time, that belongs to you.

Oh, the  size of my inflated ego.
To do this insult, to someone, I don't even know.

For this I hope you'll forgive my sin.
For now, you're older than you've ever been.

The chill is seeping
Through my sweatsuit
As I walk this
Cold December morning

My cheeks feel icy-
My nose is red.
(Rudolph will not get
The best of me.)

A con-trail rips
Across the sunrise sky -
White slash against
The pink-tinged blue.

An increasing yellow glow
Begins to seep its way
Slowly down the
Jagged mountains.

And the gentle rising
Of the Winter Sun
Gives promises
Of warmth and comfort.

To a world in need of both.
                                ljm