You so easily drink the pain
forever basking in it's shade
no hope of light to be gained
Always this dark  masquerade
Gloom misery your closest friends

hope you shred that black shroud
I did, the sunshines bright out

crawling from the weeds
fanged mouth ajar, eyes never blink
laid out, his evil deeds

Before the leaves come
Winds chime on hollow dead limbs
winter leaves as summer yawns

cascades
emotional mountains
flowing down

my little sweet child
when did that monster steal your smile
I was too dumb to really even notice
But today, I thought I saw a glimpse
creep back across your beautiful face

Wondering if they are the same
The feelings, long felt, long overdue
Waiting at the terminal for you

winter melt
meanders along
swelling spring

rushing to compete
races only rats finish
living in contests

hiking above the alpine tree line
misty mountain cloud tops seem like floors
raindrops there don't fall they hover

suspended in time
for just a single moment
before plummeting

descending back down amongst the masses
stopping to recapture that halted moment
only to hear the hum of diesel engines

they picture themselves
reaching out for strangers nods
living through lenses

new life starts to grow
in sediment of old floods
no rain no rainbow

may rises
flooding rivers
burst forth

daylight fades sooner
in the land of midnight sun
the darkness draws near

wild canine howls heighten
under northern light apparitions
lean times are coming

while frantic brown bears scour
glacial streams for half dead salmon
fat reserves needed

purple fireweed fields
have turned a dead shade of brown
soon to be covered white

big game herds panic
as caribou calves snuggle close
carnivores prowl near

the falling is short
not much time to prepare
winter is coming

Returned pages of this worn out letter
Written so long ago on wasted paper
Yet, I read those words over and over and
again and again dying to read a different end
Always hurling around that same tired bend
Reading the same three words we always said
Whether I close my eyes or open again this sad
Tragic tale unfolded on paper long stained
The one saying I love you goodbye the end

shimmer a while more
such travesty fading light
life among twilight

belugas stopped by
bobbing down Turnagain Arm
marsh mellows swimming

early morns better
each letter, word clear crystal
my mind unfettered

beneath slate grey skies
before their flurries begin
calm settles within

counting all seconds
sixty minutes, hours too
in waiting for you
tripping over all pauses
between ticks, when time does stop

Glacier melt to waterfall
Frozen hearts thaw with light
solid gold veins, coursing, remain

late sun still warming
milky glacial stream slips by
as twilight life goes

embers slowly burn
pulling me ever deeper
in seductive flames

lights to recall you
solemn flames dancing on whispers
scenes of you, linger
fires flicker as angels dance
candles lit in remembrance

In the spring I knew it all
As Summer was a ball before the Fall
Into Winter when I look to recall

yellow fades to brown
hinting winter's darker days
as northern lights dance

trampled under foot
left behind for dead, alone
one voice to guide me
one solid rock to lean on
found peace in eternal love

felt, just like a breeze
from the far ends of this world
I can feel your soul

I only gave you my heart
Thats sad enough
But you came for another sacred soul
Thats bad eenough
I couldn't give you that which is not mine
So I said enough
But you came a lurking anyway
You never had enough
Souls are eternal gifts from above
I just wanted enough

It hurts to see you
Staring at your reflection
Not seeing that smile

Magpies, black white blue
Tussling for a fry, brown ground
Foods still rare, I guess

If forever is never
And I never stopped loving you
Then I love you forever

Angel dropped her sash
Pink, floating , engines roaring
The day, just starting

morning cup brewing
popping bacon in mom's pan
golden grits stewing
flipping through dad's Sunday rag
saying grace for all I've had

heard that so softly
worded, silently whispered
obeyed the warning
above screaming agony
forgive yourself to break free

Afternoon sun pops through
Golden streams between gray shades
the spring sun prevails again

Steel Wheels Eighty Six
****’s head in a mushroom cloud
light dreams riding home

early plated sky
above obsidian hills
distinction by light