Headline Poem 11/30/14 -- All

All 

All 

   most of us 

want 

is to be 

from a place 

we're proud 

  of 

Headline Poem 11/29/14 -- my future Josephine

my future Josephine 

Her, 

my future Josephine 

from Kansas, 

daughter of a beauty queen, 

daughter of a master 

in disguise 

who washed his hands 

clean after years of so called stains. 

He opened the closet and walked out and now walks among you,

proud of his preference, 

proud of himself. 

Free of the demons. 

Able to float. 

He'll call her on Sundays to send 

his love 

and say hello to his grand babies.  

He thinks it's enough, 

but 

for her, who has pretended to cradle so many others in his place, 

it's 

just 

not. 

So, she puts on the face 

and orders her Grande Chai 

and longs for the Midwest dogwoods and her grandmother's garlic fries 

and lays down on her ceiling,

hugging herself with fire rings 

and 

cries. 

Headline Poem 11/28/14 -- Yes

Yes 

Some things are best explained        

     while holding hands under

           the moonlight and 

              drinking cheap 

                champagne 

Headline Poem 11/27/14 -- That's right

That's right 

I'm so grateful 

for all I've been

given

and promise to

appreciate 

the life that I'm 

livin' 

Headline Poem 11/26/14 -- I want

I want 

I want a soul that runs 

when it's tired, 

     leading the way, 

tall and slender 

from fox holes and mud

 energized by truth, 

and fueled by 

skies the color of mid-June. 

Headline Poem 11/25/14 -- giving them away

giving them away 

At the medical center,

I keep my curtain drawn. 

When I tire of my ceiling view,

I muster a walk to the window 

and look down 

to see 

my granddaughter smoking a cigarette on the balcony.  

I'm up here bartering for breaths 

and she's down there 

giving them away. 

Headline Poem 11/24/14 -- There's so much to be

There's so much to be

I'll not wander too far 

 as long as    

you do     the same 

            For 

Broken Promises 

exist -- thankfully --

to 

pave the way. 

Headline Poem 11/23/14 -- Memories

Memories 

There's really 

only one album

that's all mine. 

The rest, I've 

unwillingly 

shared. 

Headline Poem 11/22/14 -- by

by

by watering 

logical roots,

with predictable 

branches and 

revivable leaves,

i actually take 

care of most things. 

Headline Poem 11/21/14 -- Some lyrics take longer

Some lyrics take longer 

That many years of unfinished songs 

    was a long time 

    to be gone, 

but 

he   came back to 

   put the 

pieces together    

           again, 

and that's  

the    most beautiful thing 

    anyone's 

        ever 

       done. 

Headline Poem 11/20/14 -- She was

She was 

She was a women 

with eyes 

poised, aged wisely, 

but hard. 

She birthed babies in bathtubs

  and frightened scarecrows 

away. 

On an island covered in 

Italian storms, she 

gained and lost control. 

She nailed down desires

like drifting, 

too-free leaves, floating aimlessly 

in wind without direction, 

and motherhood that came too soon. 

She learned to reopen arms

she swore she'd never open again. 

She breathed for years through 

streets and celebrations,

and losses 

that shook and rumbled 

her stoic soul. 

She was the concrete jungle. 

She was the master bearer of secrets and misery past. 

But when

pain swooped in like vulgars 

on a line, 

she passed 

away, 

and lay

floating above those she left behind. 

Whispers follow them 

down hallways 

now,

          I'll never really be gone... 

Headline Poem 11/19/14 -- I'll not

I'll not 

I'll not stay up and 

 worry

 about you, 

the things

  I cannot change. 

Instead, 

I'll remain on the trail of steady, 

on bridges that bend, 

and lead to 

places 

yet to be seen. 

It is when my scenery 

stretches, 

that I notice new things. 

If,  in  the  morning,

I wake with thee,

I will be kind and 

greet you in a most friendly way

with a mind clear from slumber

and a 

smile half-suspicious 

     on both sides. 

Then I can 

decide if 

you should join me 

for another day. 

Headline Poem 11/18/14 -- Sometimes it takes a stranger

Sometimes it takes a stranger 

You are amazing, 

and I hope 

that 

tonight, 

even if I'm the only 

who tells 

you, 

you believe it. 

Headline Poem 11/17/14 -- I wouldn't

I wouldn't 

I wouldn't let just 

anyone 

crawl so deep inside 

my soul that 

I hardly notice 

where he 

stops and I begin

Headline Poem 11/16/14 -- prodigal winter

prodigal winter 

look for me. 

in the multitude 

of   silver.    stars.

     and  dreams

 i'll be the one 

 resting      easy 

with insatiable.  

    .wanderings. 

Headline Poem 11/15/14 -- When I come home

When I come home 

Will you be waiting for me, remembering I've been good to you,    

    or will you be on the verge of a leave, surprised 

that you've survived, existing through ice that's cracked 

and barrels that exude at the seams

like caves filled with dripping mistakes 

and crystals the size of Everglades? 

Headline Poem 11/14/14 -- Banana Peels

Banana Peels 

Banana peels don't set us up. 

They don't grow and then fall and then get eaten up 

only to spread out on the ground and wait for us to trip. 

It's misfortune 

or a set up 

or an accident. 

If you see the yellow laced with brown and decide not pick it up or step around 

and you still go down, 

then what?! 

Who's to say you didn't trick IT into lying there?! 

Headline Poem 11/13/14 -- On the eve of my daughter's seventh birthday

On the eve of my daughter's seventh birthday 

My heart walks around with you 

every day. 

It is there when you cross the street 

and when you smile up at me. 

It runs with you at recess

and skips a beat every time you hurt. 

My heart works because you do. 

I'll try for the rest of my life to explain all of this to you, 

to show you my insides wrapped up in yours, to help you feel my warmth,

to know that my kisses and hugs will never end, 

and that no matter what,

I will honor you

and believe in you 

and love you until way beyond my last breath. 

Headline Poem 11/12/14 -- A Life Full

A Life Full

I stared at the page, 

lost in the noises 

of sprinklers 

and dog barks 

and evening mist 

    forming. 

I realized     at     that     moment 

that the sounds of life 

were all around me, 

and although 

I had nothing 

to say, 

the empty lines 

described it all

beautifully. 

Headline Poem 11/11/14 -- Dear Love

Dear Love, 

I found a place

where we can stay until 

we're old and grey     

and 

although we might be 

outsiders looking in, 

I say we begin again. 

Ya, let's begin again. 

We can just sit and say our prayers, 

and drink our cider and look for bears, 

and 

remember why 

    we     

      fell     

       in     

         love. 

We can light

  the fire 

and walk on wire 

and 

begin again. 

Ya, let's begin again. 

Headline Poem 11/10/14 -- Tonight

Tonight 

I had fun with friends. 

The end. 

Headline Poem 11/9/14 -- I would rather

I would rather

I would rather spend my money 

on walking out the door

to explore 

than on buying new things, 

because really, the first is 

all I need! 

Headline Poem 11/8/14 -- Highway 64

Highway 64 

I went for a drive down Highway 64 on the way toward 

Wichita. 

I was 

    tired 

of fighting and kicking my own ass and needed a place to pull my truck over and 

relax. 

I wanted to forget but 

needed to remember. 

When I got out, 

arms stretched in the autumn breeze, I felt November wrap her arms around me. 

She welcomed my stopping, because most just drive through. 

Things are always better after I've been with you, where I've had a chance 

to wail 

out lyrics I could have written myself about 

cats and dogs and doves that cry, 

stories about shooting stars and rivers and mountains to climb. 

We are all floating and trying to gain our strength. 

We are all our looking for a place to stay safe, 

the road of yellow 

that will ensure we don't slip 

off the cliff. 

We are all searching for the town called Bliss (most are already there and just don't know it). 

We are 

roses with thorns put on display, 

on the dashboards,

for the world to see -- 

We may be prickly and weathered 

from the sun, 

   but we 

were alive once, and will be again. 

We will mingle 

with the air and

  drop our leaves without a care. 

Because in the end, 

our fragrance keeps us company and our colors 

take us home. 

Headline Poem 11/7/14 -- The man who loved the Broncos

The man who loved the Broncos

On my way to work this morning, 

a man with a Denver Broncos 

license plate holder 

sped through streets you shouldn't speed through, 

cocky, and rushed, he blew cigarette rings out of his sun roof

Confused ringlets gathered in already perplexed air, grasping for a route to whiz past 

    And trace what he thought 

    would get him there

what, on time? Ahead of them? 

 

He bothered me for a full three minutes, 

and then I remembered I'd be spending the day 

with positive people, and having drinks with two women who've 

known me through all kinds of shit. 

Then 

I felt bad for the man who was probably rushing to a place 

he probably didn't even want 

to be

with his 

3 and his X and his C 

Headline Poem 11/6/14 -- Por un tiempo

Tonight, a short poem in Spanish (and the English version). Cheers! 

Por un tiempo

Pensé que los hombres

sólo besó a sus esposas

así

en las películas.

 For awhile 

I thought men 

only kissed their wives 

like that 

in the movies. 

Headline Poem 11/5/14 -- Midweek

Midweek 

I'm 

too 

tired 

to 

write 

tonight. 

Good night.

Headline Poem 11/4/14 -- What I gather

What I gather 

The clock has changed involuntarily, but it's making good use of things. 

I remember learning how to tell time in an English hotel room, 

looking out over cobble stone streets. 

  I never understood quarter of. 

  But now I do. 

When you moved in, 

my town, whose path to the ocean, 

contained a certain truth, 

moved too. 

My sand became dirt   and    mud   and manure and grime. 

    

 I shoveled it because someone      had   to. 

You changed me. You changed you. 

Flannel shirts covered your misery, and softball mitts caught 

what you missed, but then... 

     I fell in love and you couldn't      handle it. 

So you left before I said I do. 

You jumped, pirate-style with a patch over both eyes. 

     

     Were you scared? 

     Were you surprised? 

Or   did   you always know you'd leave if we started to see the real you? 

I've promised myself, 

I will not hate you. 

I released you a long time ago. 

I allow you to be 

the one who gave me 

Long Island and her white, blanketing snow. 

I allow you to be the one 

who let us accompany you to Houston

to watch your idol fall. 

What I gather from our encounters is 

that tin cans and thumbs 

on desolate roads 

are for travelers who are running 

and 

for those who   

     long to bury sorrows they     never      meant to plant. 

But the road is also full of people      who pack suitcases 

without a    plan. 

Dreamers without dreams,

they go... 

I watched you

and know 

that 

even though you'll miss 

what you'll never know,

I accept that 

sometimes 

disappearing 

is the 

best gift. 

Headline Poem 11/3/14 -- Connection

Connection 

Feed the one 

who feeds you

because if you both 

go hungry,

we all starve. 

Headline Poem 11/2/14 -- Life

Life 

Deep down, 

there are parts of me 

that want 

the other road 

where I do not worry about retirement 

and doing what I'm told

   where I 

do whatever 

the hell I want (now)

like

    take the advice 

        of my favorite  quotes

and 

leave the ants 

who march blindly 

forth 

But, 

there are five of me, 

and I am confident 

I

can be responsible 

and still be free 

Headline Poem 11/1/14 -- November and Me

Today is the first day of November, 2014. It rained. I cleaned. Here is today's poem. 

November and Me 

I go through 

     the clothes I've worn, 

and remember all I've seen 

on vacations and trampolines 

     and picnics and movie scenes. 

I've been scared and acted tough and melted from my heart hurting so much. 

      All while 

wearing these things. 

I've been free and trapped and happy

wearing pieces of fabric, blue  and black and pink and white.   It's too much and yet not enough. 

Today, I cleaned 

out the drawers,

which in the past, never brought 

tears. But now. 

But now. I 

   remember 

my clothes as little memories  

of 

holidays and trips -- I 

wore them while he wore you. 

        And I 

realize   that   some   have 

belonged to me 

through the 

    whole thing, and

  so 

    they     must     go

because  the fibers of them against my skin can no longer be. 

      They 

are no longer meant  for November. They are   no    longer meant for   Me.