The bones of angel wings
resting tightly inside the tiny body
stroked by the mother's loving hand.
The bones of angel wings
while a young woman
grasped with greedy lust
by first love.
The bones of angel wings
weary with work
and achievement.
The bones of angel wings
again stroked by loving hand
to free to other existence.
Folded tight inside;
Awaiting the time to burst forth;
Covered with the will to live;
Fighting with purpose
To hide amongst the living.
The angel wings freed to flight
from earth.

Once I knew my way;
No need for a map;
Sometimes I grew bored
Or tired with the journey;
But I did not lose my goal.
Then I began to walk
Others’ paths
From my own.
Somehow they slipped me.
Now I am lost
Without a map.
Please return me to my way
So that I may complete
My trip.

He kissed her cheek first
Because he thought the other
Would not notice.
She gave her the better gift
Because she thought the other
Would not notice.
The other would not notice
Because the other granted love
Without condition.
The other did not notice.
But after the other was gone,
the hearts of the children hurt
Because they remembered
Their choices and wished that
Once they had kissed the other first
and given the other a gift of equal value.
The other had no memory
Yet a memory lingered.

You test my patience;
Give me bliss;
Cause me rage;
Help my purpose;
Share my blues;
Dance my beat;
Subdue my fears;
Make my heart sing.

Far from done,
But nothing left
To give.
Just the loneliness
Creeping from
Outer edges to
My center.
What will bring me
From empty.

Looked across at him;
Concentration firm;
Focused on ahead;
Blue eyes searching the page;
Almost done;
For me just a beginning;
Next phase alone;
Holding steady;
Not to compare;
Leaning forward for an easy time.
That never quite comes.
Dust floating the light
to fall in dark corners.
Trapped in the wait
For a better day.

Never see the other side;
The other side is not midnight;
Even if it is
Midnight has much to offer;
The cool dark of thought;
The blinking stars of enlightenment;
Peel back your prejudice;
Please take back your hate;
Nothing is all about you;
Other parties are involved;
Collateral damage, you love;
Why is it always the challenge
to see who can be the bigger ***?
Where once there was love and lust
Now there is mistrust and hatred.
Strong emotion replaced by strong pain.
Step around yourself.

Quick daylight leaving;
Tumbling darkness;
Cold wind batters the shutters;
Candle flickers;
Fireplace crackling with bright heat;
Dancing shadows against the walls;
Song of the long night;
Red and green decor;
Women with hoods and gloves;
Druid dream surround;
Met with Christian mood;
Mankind's combination
Of spirit and mystical.
Long night fills the soul.

Seeing the light in the crack;
The expectation rising with hushed murmur;
The lights lower;
The voices quiet;
The only sound is the curtain swinging open;
The light is on the stage;
People rest in shadows;
They await the story;
It is silence before the entrance;
A stage door opens and reveals the hero;
The hero walks to the end of the stage;
The hero stares into the shadows;
He delivers.
Only then people know who he is.

Drop the drape of care sometimes.
Sip deep from the cup of indulgence.
Dig your feet in the sand of time.
Let yourself drift in dreams.
Don't always be responsible.
Love the life that's left.
Serve yourself with patience.
It's not always about the other.
Sometimes it is about the now.

One was pious.
One was scheming.
One was toast.
One was game.
One was unchaste.
One was left.

Cynic or optimist
Believing you can push
future to your will.
When young, love potions.
When old, stronger notions.
Instead of pushing one,
you try to push many on your way.
Magic takes advantage of happenstance.
Claim ownership of luck.
Just nod with a knowing smile.
Your doing made it happen.
Probably did.
Fate holds hands with witches.
Which one is the guide.

Now it's done
No regret
Deep breath
Humble prayer
Step aside
Glance from side to side
Walk ahead
Relief

Wonder the mystery of acceptance
Never playing the same tune
Looking for the extraordinary
Never giving way
Eyes never meet
Unable to converse
Words playing inside
Never hearing what is said
Bad fit so unfit
No one is found
Friends are hard to know

Water poured throughout the house;
You said I put you in the attic;
No rest all night;
I saved the goldens;
I swam to save the best;
You couldn't rest
As I collected the family
Pulling them from the depths
of flooding waters.
Yet we live in the woods.
There is no rain.
No water, only floods of loss
Which we fight each day.
Loss of memory.
Loss of movement.
Loss of employment.
Loss of liberty.
Pouring throughout our home.
Yet we pull each other out
and move to the next level.
Trying to rise above.

One was just  alike
The Other was so different
One was first known
The Other was last known
One was just a dream
The Other was a life
One was remembered
The Other was forgotten
One was nothing
The Other was everything

Lonesome house in the field.
No longer full of voices.
No longer full of family.
Where lives bloomed.
Where tragedy came.
Left abandoned.

Lonesome house in the field.
No longer claimed.
No longer wanted.
With front porch dipping down.
In graceful bow to passing traffic.

Lonesome house sitting in the field.
No longer stories.
No longer groomed.
With golden fields surrounding,
Collapsing dreams forever lost
in a pile of wood coming down.

Move the flounce to the right.
Move the step to the left.
Place the tiara on the head.
Dip into the mood.
Push the shoulder into the lift.
Allow the spirit room to guide.
Spin with the demons.
Dance with the angels.
Hum to a new day.

Old enough to drink.
She seemed naive.
Slow danced to old music.
Her long blonde hair.
Her skirt too short.
Her lips too full.
Out in cool night air
Curiosity leaned him toward her.
Lips met.
Stunned.
Did she know
She had an edge, daddy's little girl stung like a bee.
He pushed her back and walked away.
Too much trouble for too little play
She laughed out loud as he walked away.

Darkness settled;
Loneliness drapes my shoulders;
Wet stings my face;
Sobs shake me deep;
How did it come to this;
Loud crashing nothing;
Flashing temper.
So much, for so little.
Angry showers,
Should make you cower.

The breeze of it brushes past the side of your body.
You step your toes to the yellow line.
A chill goes down your back.
You feel the near.
You push your eyes close with the tears.
Not knowing whether to finish or
To stay just that side of the line.
The mystery of the unknown.
The caution of the known.
How close do you dare to step.

You are my three--
I remember my three--
I will never forget my three--
Let me see--
You are--
My Three--
You are--
My girls--
Your names are--
You are my three.

Spinning toward the future
At a slower pace.
Not able to leave the minute
That just seems to linger
With me longer than it should.
Takes so long to move down
The road when I moving at
My normal pace.
Something inside just not right.
Time needs to catch my moving mind.

Not just a word,
Not just a feeling,
Vomiting words
Meaning more.
So much pain,
no hiding from a future
that seems so much
like a past --
Living worst fears repeated.

Keep it behind the the lip.
Not to let it slip.
Share with no one aloud.
Softly scratch it out.
Keep it unsigned.
Make it unclaimed.
Let it drip alone.
Don't own.
Put it out on paper.

Sweet untold.
Left alone without regret.
If too fierce.
Best untold.
Honey words of truth.
Shared by lovers.
Shared by mothers.
Lost by liars.
Drip with saccharin
Not quite so.
Honey warm yellow
Manmade words
Stuck in wax.

Will I never again,
Glow with expectation,
Feel the touch of lightening.
Will I never again,
Be the one that wants,
Be needed to fulfil.
Will I never again,
Be so close to perfect,
Embraced in rich together.
Will I never again,
Feel the pull,
To never end.

He says his piece
I say mine
Both flow freely
Hours of hurt
Guided by lawyers
Directed with purpose
With clever questions
and pointed thought
To conclude this matter
So much money for
so little.

Didn't you know it is all about me?
You thought it was about us-
You thought it was you and me-
Not so much.
The story was short.
You thought it was done-
Your part was over-
For me, it had just begun.

I rest my argument
The test is end
No more to go
No more  bitter regret
Time to pack
To leave the foe
To leave the battleground
All thoughts in tow
No worries about what might have been
What should have been
To know what is.

Rising and falling
with the gentle bounce
of the wake
from the passing boat.
In the water waiting
for the day to be spent.
Gold warm resting
on my pink cheeks.
Leaning on the float
watching perfect leave
with quiet, brutal
splintering of possibilities.
Nothing gained.
So much lost.
But, it was good.

Buzzing in my ear
Trapped beneath the sheet
Can't see it
Just waiting for the landing
Hoping to smash it
**** thing numbs me
Takes it's plunge
Tiny little scoop
Leaving behind poison
In place of blood
Tiny little *****
Leaving itches
That welt upon my touch
Tense with purpose
Slap the little nuisance
One red smear of battle won
So much for that

Stagger me aside.
Take me from my stride.
Lift me from my pride.
Bewilder my heart.
Nothing from the start.
A secret slow apart.
Dimmed to know
Eyes glow
Head held low.
Bewilder me with thought.
Mighty tides dance.
Pulling deeper still.
Overhead and lost.
Bewildered by the grip.

Whispers falling all around.
Eyes staring with reproach.
How could it have been done that way?
Whispers caught in the breeze
From stories long ago
The sting still felt.
Small towns don't forget.
Wondering who knows
Who shares the tales with new unknowns
To walk with head held high
Whispers mold the air
Don't they know
It's not my usual way.
It  has been ten years.
Whispers still fall all around
As I walk down the street.
Without a friend.

Longing without intimacy.
Most giving with selfish purpose.
Mechanical, practiced sharing.
Unknown thoughts hidden
in pleasant phrases that please the ear.
The surface look of caring.
To never touch the soul who knows only self.
Who explains love as an open feeling.
Why love one when consumed with many.
The bee in the garden.
Not too close to see the stains of  conceit.

The coolness of the water
as it runs down my hands;
Feeling the green of summer
surround my shoulders;
Reaching for the delight.
Sunlight tripping ahead
on the water;
Inviting me to swim.
God beckons my thoughts.
Gladly shared.

Scrape on the ground.
Held up as glides in the room.
Tossed behind in reckless play.
Torn with careless wear.
Seems to be a test of character.
Just the right length - debonair.
Too long - never give a care.
Carried by maid of honor.
Pulled by heel.
Pushed in passion.
Shortened for youth.
Lengthened for age.
Hidden at death.

Mix our blessings;
Guard us from troubles;
Led him not into temptation;
Let me not lose my sense of humor;
Grant us years;
Let the mess  not overwhelm our home;
Let fertility not overwhelm our purse;
Joined.
One, but well formed as individuals.
Let us not lose our own being.
Let me support him.
Let him lien on me.
Let him hold me tight.
Let me rest my weary head on his shoulder.
Joined at the heart.
Joined with delight.
Joined in rhythm.
Joined in misery.
Joined in laughter.

Grew up with too many
Lived life with too many
Took care of too many
Loved by too many
Plagued by too many
Lost too many
Years too many

Warmth inside fades to the cold
Through the open door;
Sun glares on the ice and snow;
Crunching one foot forth
into God's world;
Pulling the scarf across my mouth;
Another glistening world.
Cold wind wraps about me
With wicked arms.
Wet in my eyes goes cold
around my sunglasses.
One slippery step after another.
My old knees creak my walk.
My happy golden charges ahead
plowing a path for me to follow.
Old sun grins upon the earth.

Refuge from pain;
Balance of thought;
Constant defender;
Patient ear;
Loving support;
Now my turn.
I need to protect you;
To hold you steady;
To redirect;
To make it right;
To hold you tight;
To hide my care.
To love you
With all my heart.

Old Porsche parked on hill;
Fall bitting in the air,
As if these carefree days
Of term papers and lectures
Will last forever:
The Zombies moaning
On the radio about
The time of the season.
A hidden bottle of Jack
Under the passenger seat
Waiting for the barn fire.
Beauty of youth and
Nothingness on the cusp
Of meaning and purpose.

There it is;
Beyond the bliss I have know;
Still the past,
Rumbling and bumping;
Still moving inside;
Occasionally wakened when I look your way;
Giggling inside my heart
With what might have been,
But never should have been.
Thumping around but never released.
It was just a thought,
never a start.

He said "Tried It."
Not for him.
She pulled his arm and cooed.
Young and beautiful.
He pushed her back.
"Not the one." She smiled.
"Never the one."
Tiptoe past it.
Run right through it.
Never again.
Not suppose to marry.
Forever divorced.
Forever stung.
Until the one who ropes him in.
The trophy which must be won.
Not the woman lacking.
Just the feeling.

Night time quiet.
Fire sizzles and
throws sparks in the dark.
Leading eyes to follow the full moon,
resting low on trees.
Big and orange smiling
upon the earth.
Harvest moon glowing
autumn.
As the fire devours its nest,
Crackling with hungry delight.

Not in a wound;
But a flavor to add delight;
A crisp crystal on the tongue
To excite;
To brine the fun and hold it close;
Saving and savoring memories;
Curing them for all times;
You the salt, to my pepper.
The constant to my spice.

His smile was perfect
His manner easy
Why did mom hate him
Why did mom hurt him
His name became a curse
He ran with mom's girl

Yet mom still spoke evil
mom yelled angry words
Girl said, "Crazy Mom"
Off they went together
mom's words made no matter
Happily ever after

Just in the shadows,
Waiting to take a step forward.
Hesitation for a blessing
Or a lack of courage?
Lingering to see.
Not ready to commit.
Always someone else.
Never the hero
to save the day.
Just a bystander to marvel
At life happening.

The hunt
The push, the pull
The heat of anger
mistaken for the heat of passion
A love not sweet nor sharing
A hunt with hurt
Mean for strength
For dominance
No true care
Ich liebe Dich nicht
A harsh emotion of obsession
Without a basis in love
Never to release and never to truly want
One last call before the great love
One more attempt to pull her back
One cruel time before the date
One last phone call "I think I might love you."
Give it up ******* - I have gone
No more chase.
I won the hunt.