#35

-- So I sit and listen
close my eyes
and become the passing cars
speeding by
with a rush of desperation
the crickets
singing in the night
the leaves
waving in the breeze
the partiers' cries
and the dance of love
under the arbor
breathing
eyes closed
release
enrapturement and glee
impending and rushing by
the never-ending road
and the riverside picnic
breathless in anticipation
the beginning
the closing
we run and run and run
and so, I choose to sit
with eyes closed
listening

Exodus Verses

The air rushes my face
And drags its tail
All through my hair
Somewhere
Not far behind me
I hear it crash into my brother
With a gasp of breath

The leaves split
Like the Red Sea
In its wake
And I become Moses
With Aaron behind me
Leading the way
Into the promised land

Independence Day

I drove home under a shower of fireworks
Sparks
Falling all around me
I looked over
And realized that I was
Alone
I had been the entire time
Sparks
Falling all around me
But never striking

The Wonderful Land of Oz

The scenery changes
But the set remains the same
Glances and eyebrows - raised
Questions filled
And directed
beneath an undercurrent of pretense
Loneliness creeps
in and out

Realizing that nowhere
Can solace and truth
Be found
We are forced
Instead
To revel in the fake world
Of our own creation

Sophomore Year

The streets were wet
and the sky-
morning blue

We danced
and spun-
drunken laughter

Wrapping arms
bagels in hand-
ripped jeans

#32

She streams
Over mountains and lakes
Her flight is slow and steady
Over the crescent valley
She falls
And finds a home

The Homecoming

The quick beat of feet
The wooden planks vibrate
Their cries are barely recognizable
Over the fiddle
Hand-woven fabrics
Cover the dancers
Sun-baked skin
Dirty and dusty hair
Whoops of joy
And clanks of mugs
Orange light descends
And lanterns appear
Prods and pokes among
The clumps of child-men
Facing the seated skirts
Yellows and pinks
They dance into the night
While the wheat waves in the wind
And the fire roars

#28

The clouds separate
And I see blue
The color of serenity
I name it

As the grass tickles
And the breeze
Covers me

My blanket of hope
Soft and itchy
The world underneath
Echoes my heartbeat

The Dumpster Trip

I lug all the bags of waste
Down crumbling steps
My stride is quick
As I avoid the chill
Inescapable
My toes turn blue and
My breath becomes a cloud
In the cold

Sunday 1942

A joyous dance in the pouring rain
Wet skirts twisting
Turning against brown legs
And bare feet
Open mouths and closed eyes
The face of ecstasy
Hair wrapping around naked shoulders
Rippling wet
Grass in between toes and
mud-speckled calves
They dance
And sing
And shout
The beauty of it all
Warm skin cooled by warmer rain
The smell of blue
Twilight descends
Wrapping its fingers around the rain dancers
Joy drunk and spent
They dance on
The dance of the ancients
The beauty of feet upon
Hard earth - soft grass
The incessant plague
Proverbial blessing
And so they dance

Edgemere

I am riding hard
The air is whispering in my ear
And whistling through my hair

The wind chafes my skin
And my lips grow rough
As I struggle

All that holds me back
I am leaving behind
To find another victim

The gravel grinds beneath
My tires and the chain
Making a grating sound