Chain smoking sadness, slapped by time.
Winter doesn't freeze the pain.
There was one thing that
Mom wanted desperately:
It was to have a
picture of her
seven kids all together,
in one place,
at one time.
There was an age
difference of 23 years between the
youngest and the oldest,
and 1000 miles separating us.

In December of 1987
two weeks before Christmas,
I held a picture of
the seven of us all together.
I put it in the
right front pocket of
her navy blue blazer.
After the funeral,
we buried her with it.
Oh, Mom, I wish we
could have done this
when you were alive.

If I was to give you my all, would you accept?
If I was to mould you a world of your desire,
Would you live in it?
If I was to give you half of my kingdom would you be my queen?
If I was to give you a piece of heaven would you be my peace?

Just if,
There is no one so precious,
Just no one,
I have seen all,
But no one caught my sight as you did,
I can’t blame my heart for loving you,
Neither can I blame my mind for thinking about you.

You are a rare gem,
Your rhuemy eyes full of glam,
I’ll die for you if I had to,
Making you mine is a must,
It’s a do that must be done.

Would you say yes to my proposal,
Would you be the flower in my vineyard,
Would you be that lilly in my valley?

If,
Just if?
Would you complete me?

Time
           steals
                     moments,
                     lost
              in
     air,
Memories
               fade,
                 beyond
repair.

a heart has many hands
i whispered  
while moonlight stole
through the tears in our blinds
but her breathing never
changed, never
hinted
she had heard and so
i rolled away, sensing
the dog shift
in its soft bed upon the floor
and tried
to pretend
i hadn't really said it

Lying discarded and torn
upon an autumn path
a pair of paper wings I found
one a little damp
along the trailing edge
the other sun bleached and rippled
from some long ago summer day

So of course I strapped them on
looked around
and, well, flapped
hesitantly at first, but after feeling
that alarming little
     tug
of lift
I really went at it
beating the air about me
breathing hard
and then I was airborne
floating
lurching
tilting and leaning
climbing skyward

The little birds
and insects of the green and flying
sort
fell silent about me, watching
while upward I pulled
smiling