Guardian Angel

Guardian Angel

I can't feel you

are you really

out there or are

you like Santa

there have been

times when I

have felt saved

by your protective

presence, at my

lowest

lately I am lower

I don't feel you

but I am reading

a book that attests

to your existence

I wonder if I am

blocking you to

insure my belief

that you don't

exist, that you

are not my hope

Inside Alzheimer's Disease

Isolation

It is lonely in here

there are two of us

who travel together

we seem separate

as trains on different

tracks we pass

not caressing or

crashing

It is lonely in here

he is on a track

going in a straight

line to nowhere

he can't get off

he can't turn around

I am his

passenger

"Tales of Hoffman"

I met Hoffman at a poetry festival
the bard who had three women
in a day
one robotic sex machine
dance machine, karaoke opera
one pure in a white nightgown
opera diva dying protected

by her father
one courtesan who sells him out
I met Hoffman at a poetry festival
and knew I would love to tumble

between the sheets with him
while he read me his poems

Lost Prompts

I am growing daily
at a snail's pace

each rainbow inch
I leave along the way

a message
to all who notice

Driving in my Car

Turn on the radio
going away so far
New York to Californio
driving in my car

state of liminality
suspended in between
possibility and actuality
caught up in a dream

going away out west

promise of the free

driven by a quest

tethered by my seems

driving in my car
turn on the radio

going away so far

New York to Californio

Red and Pink

Red rag
pink flag
in the words of e e cummings

Red blood leaked in a red war
pink of innocent daughters
who accept their brothers will fight

maybe they will be warriors too
and I wonder when it will all end
no more war

I think if we must war
we should do it with sticks
no guns, no knives, no spears

no tanks, no planes, no drones
no buried bombs, no innocence
dying in greedy men's wars

red rag
pink flag
we lose our young

Winter Blues

Blues of Winter

I long for a taste of winter
wimp that I am I don't want
winter that feels like forever
but I grow stale on summer

I miss seasons, hills, hardwoods
miss cool summer evenings
mornings fresh when I open the door
fireflies caught in a jar

I long to bring in wood in fall
a fire in the fireplace
the copper color of hills
going to winter

I miss hills haired with trees
imagine deer and bear run free
opossum, rabbit, beaver, fox
wish for wolves and coyote

summer winter respite from
cold, shoveling snow, slush
wrapping up, keeping warm
driving on slippery roads

I walk on the beach
appreciate the ease
see the weather on TV
and can no longer relate

blues of winter

Illusions

Squashed yellow moon just past full
shadow of the Americas on its face.
Is this a sign, the universe speaking
or just an illusion? One more year
according to the Mayan calendar as
Cairo erupts, Alexandria. The bible
says it begins in the middle east
the end, that is. We seem to have
been striving for it for ten years.
Though there have been centuries
of wars with the middle east, lines
drawn in sand where empires swell
and shrink while evil eye observes
our gluttony for oil. The black blood
that courses through Mother Earth
powers us, illumines us, drives
nations to capitalize on unrest.

I Bequeath

I leave you my experience
which I would like to
abbreviate here
except to tell you
forebear

I lived too small
spread your wings
you fly girl
right off the edge
of everything

Don't hold in
suck dry turn away
you are beautiful
rise
rise

When God Was Handing Out Love

When God was handing out love
I thought he said look above
behold my creation the turtledove
entranced I missed my chance
the turtledove flew away at a glance
when God was handing out love

No Doors

I sob uncontrollably
in dark they echo
against metal walls
I comb with my hands
can't find a knob

Bucket List

I would like to live alone
for a while before I die
in a quiet place of waves
birds, bees, breeze
find my rhythm in harmony
without the dictates of mother
husband, children, job, world
with planets, moon, sun, stars

I want to eat when I want

what I what or not eat at all
read, play music or stare at the wall
walk on the beach, lie on the beach
sit on the beach, play in the sand
pick shells, agates, feathers, glass
watch the sun set and moon rise
watch the sun rise and moon set

I want a small place, great room
bed, bath, lots of windows and a
studio, easel and paints, camera
kaleidoscope, iPod, telescope
binoculars, laptop, iPhone
pots, pans, a few dishes, bowls
teas, teapots, cups, a journal
books of poetry and prose

I would like to be alone with me
look in the mirror and say, "I know
who you are."