Walking along an old logging road
Lost below old North Norton
Alone in the early morning dew
Under glowing leaves
And broken sunlight
I stop and close my eyes.
The trees are whispering
The dark night is gone.
But the shadows hold on
And with earthen chill -
A gentle nudge
I take a deep breath and move on.

I sat alone cross hatching
A darkness beneath us.

To hear the scattered leaves,
The old wind chimes
That fell to the porch
Last year, and the shadows
Scraping sounds in the wind
Trail off when
Your voice cracked.

Then a silence
Of understanding.

Now I enter my pain.
A place for the echoing sound
Of life and laughter,
Like a distant muster of crows
Photographed and framed in flight
Frozen specks of ash across the light
Closed up and leather bound.
I must move or be found
Alone covered in dust.

I fade into my world
Where I am strong
Before the ebb tide -
Like a clipper ship
Embarked on her maiden voyage.
Passing the guarded line
Into deep water
Under the cover of lime
Darkness she hums leaving
Protected harbor - square rigged
For counted moments cradled
For pitch and heave in
Amniotic sway.

My cell phone buzzes and
I return worn. Cold with
Years of white breakers,
Tidal pull, and
Trips around the Horn.

Looking down the valley
From four-thousand feet
Watching clouds roll
Covering the life below.

Perhaps, when the Earth's fountains burst forth
Man also gazed across this same sea.

Too many times we talk
And the words fall.
And my mind is silent
Waiting for another day.

And the sun is up.
And the sun is down.
Still no word from the heart -
The silent pain of dying.

Simple and easy I
Dream of you.

I followed you through dry sunlight
        Walking in the yard, our garden,
The way your shoulders bare
Sway musically with nature
As you get to the root of a ****.
The bed is accomplished
Not over-floral.

I clip three blooms off
Our iron gate hung roses
For the white vase placed in the light
by the kitchen window.