i always yearn for the things i can't reach
yearning for the sweetness of control
the satisfaction of having everything
and anything
brings

but i always find myself in tears
dumbfounded.

Today is a duck
sort of day,

grey and windy
with waves
on lakes..

good for choppy,
                            bobbing,
not so great for
                             dabbling

but ducks find ways...

see,
to our
stuck look,
they're doing
duck-type stuff,

just as
the text book said

or

while they paddle
are they pondering
their station in the universe

expanding on the mysteries
of bread.

Sand-crusted catacombs of dismembered dreams
Settle beside memories of the child who grew up

In rocky Harpswell, Maine. Not many beaches,
Only a foggy stretch beyond Morse Mountain --

But I used to stand ankle-deep
In the water, wait until my toes sank

Into crystalized Earth
And bubbles from Littleneck clams.  

I’d stand there until goosebumps spread upon
My blanched legs, rising up, up, like the artificial hills

Of Maya Lin’s Storm King Wavefield.
Now, when I lie alone,

Misplaced inside a vacant Manhattan studio,
I surrender to sirens and accelerated lives.

Peace comes in painting – thick oil,
Violet and claret on stretched canvas,

Depictions of neon signs and cityscapes,
Cheap t-shirt stands on street corners,

And 24-hour coffee shops with “specialty”
Blends in little white travel mugs – selling

To flocks of strangers, strutting like pigeons on cement
Sidewalks, pretending they belong.

So it finally stopped snowing
And it's now quite sunny.
So many things now begin their growing,
And honey from bees will be overflowing.
Strangers in the street gift their smiling.

It'll be good for a while,
Everyone happy and fun.
Can't wait to come
And play In the sun.
In a few months though,
they'll think quite differently.
All their fun and laughing
Will turn to anxiety:
"Why is it so hot,
why can't I find relief?"
"I can't wait for the cold,
Snow will look so pretty."
So, then do you not see?
That the "now" that be
Will never make you happy
Until you learn to just be.

I used to be comforted
by the sound of ocean waves outside my window.
I used to sigh in and out with each current pull.
A heave forward.
A drag backward.
Reliable.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
In and out. In and out.
I used to breath with the water.
And it was simple.