Brief Visit With Moth

Late night buzz on a deck in the woods,

Laughter from inside:

When the moth landed

her hand opened warmly

and it rested for minutes.

For a moth, that’s a long relationship;

for my love, a brief enchantment

on a warm evening.

Making Time for Things to Go Wrong

Dragonfly traffic on the greenway
five PM in the summer
Steps light, conversation – lighter
Talking about wild, wild
w i l d f l o w e r s
Crazy seeds

Drinking the fresh air, toasting
ourselves, each other
for finding other perspectives

And talking about wild, wild

m u s h r o o m s

Until the sky went thick and grey
And I laughed and said “it’ll just be sprinkle

And was I wrong? In every way
Because it swiftly swept the paw paw trees
And nothing in our cozy side trail would save us.

I heard it tapping on your fishing hat, and!
The woods came alive like a rock concert
And the rain filled our ears
And a beat rushed up in our souls

A n d w e w e r e F R E E

So when I was already drenched –
Nothing left to lose, to do
But O P E N U P A N D L E T G O.



It’s so very loud

My dear,

i don’t mean to inconvenience but
The sound is incessant!

Don’t you hear it?

The old washer is churning
The rain is rhythmically washing over rocks
Your belly is growling
As if i were in it,

I’ve run out of diversions
Several times a day
And the endless

General thrusting of man and machine
Is driving me crazy.

It’s all fun and games until you have to get out

The lake is forty degrees fahrenheit,
The kayak is too small.
You turn grey, your eyes narrow, fight or flight?

When your piano fingers, finally
Make the crucial trust-fall,

Suspended breath, landing so gracelessly.

Geese converse across the lake-top, green, clear,

We paddle, hush, enthrall ~

The sun plays hide and seek, swifts dive and veer.

The mountains wear a sari of blue mist,

Every lake-house, quaint, small
Mumbles by us with the pull of a wrist.

A gentle rain comes down, urging us back
Heed a warm kitchen’s call!

Our wakes stalk us faster to the task.

The dock is in sight and you’ve gone quiet
The next order, too tall
You see it, and frankly i imply it.

“How am I gonna get outta this thing?”

Your boat comes to a stall.

I don’t know either, big girl, I’m thinking.

I roll up my jeans and search for shallow
Grip your pull-cord and haul
And we flail, and fail, get wet, and bellow.

We’re only half frozen below the knee
Cups of coffee, a shawl,

If we weren’t, I’d ask you to marry me.



To hell with the damned drum


7:45 am I’ve been up for 3 hours
I’m clean enough for my first meeting, right? yeah-
I guess this is “makin’ it,”

but I have to say
What they say
I got this far by marching

to the beat of
My own drum, but to hell with the damned drum
My arms are tired, can someone help me

Can someone

help

I am a man but

I need time

to cry.