Adrift (a poem)

Adrift

Written September 9th, 2012

My dreams shift

Mirages on a desert horizon

My heart adrift

Try to understand

The elusive wolves in the woods

Flickering between trees

Just flashes

Of eyes and teeth

Some nights

I plunge and shatter

Broken chips of bones across the rocks

Lakes of blood, yet;

Impossibly alive

Abandoned

When the rain falls

And rocks me to sleep

I’m stitched back together

A little voodoo doll

Revived

I walk among lands

With silver nights

Starry lakes

And mystics with soul-eyes

Landscapes too beautiful to paint

Predetermined Place (a poem)

Predetermined Place

Written June 12th, 2012

Today I bring a picnic basket

And a heavy heart

To the top of a hill

In a quiet corner with a charming view

Beneath a friendly maple tree.

As I sit in my predetermined place

I quietly thank the maple

For the kindness is has given selflessly

To my husband and I

Sprawling branches shield me from the hot sky

And in the winter

It holds back some of the snow and ice

Protecting his stone from damage

And mine as well.

My Coins (a poem)

My Coins

Written May 5th, 2012

The little wooden box

Has lost the shine on its finish

And appears dim and tires

Like its special contents

But I think the ancient look

Makes it interesting-

Alerts the viewer to a hidden

Mysterious treasure.

A dragon flies across the lid

Suspended in the wood

His maw open in a roar

Warning the evil doers

That he protects the contents

Fearlessly.

Selective Ignorance (a poem)

Selective Ignorance

Written April 19th, 2012

Threads tear, bare from use

Sad puppy cries, dejected

Punished for trying

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

Stark blind, full of whine.

No safe place for hearts

Angry shadows and bad air

Smells: rancid decay

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

Jealous, past your prime.

Watch a joyful soul

Crumble and suffocate here

A plant in darkness

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

All talk, with no spine.

Dreams crushed under foot

You could help, put action forth

Instead we suffer

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

Ignore passing time.

Principals Are People Too! (a poem)

Principals Are People Too!

Written April 21st, 2012

Such a dark, scary man

That lays in wait

In a shadowy room of doom

At the end of the hall

Since we were just wee children

We feared the call:

“Principal’s office!”

Surely in our heads

As we walked that walk

Of impending reprimand and shame

We pictured a tall spidery man

With beady accusing eyes

Behind authoritative spectacles

That magnify his angry glare

Crouched in his torture chamber

Waiting for us there.

Imagine our surprise!

To see a normal man

With a smile and friendly eyes!

Bustling about a bright,

Charmingly messy office

Much like any other

And he wants not to expel you

From his school on some accusation

But rather congratulate you

For some prideful consummation.

As you leave his office

With a smile on your face

You wonder how your friends will react

Upon learning he’s not from outer space!

The principal is a person too!

Say hi to him in the hall

And listen to his responding call

If you take the time as you walk

To greet him and have a talk

You might be surprised to find

He too has interests and opinions in mind

Instead of boarding a mothership from above

At the day’s end he returns to a family full of love

I’m sorry to change your world

With this ground-breaking news,

I know it’s strange, even revolutionary,

But it’s true:

Principals are people too!