In Between

In Between

Among the blossoms in the orchard
Where the sweetness subtly shifts
From apple to apricot, a young boy walks

He stoops to study the olive foliage
Woven round brown
Broken twigs in a wreath

Luxurious leaves so complex
Intricate arteries interlaced
All things are connected

Limbs and branches to the tree
Arms and legs; hands and feet
He himself; part of something bigger

The universe so vast; solar systems
planets, suns, stars of other galaxies
Pulsing with life... more than blood

Here in shrubs slightly higher
Than his own head he finds wonder
A different shade of green unseen

Stretched between the branches
Like the story in the Bible
A serpent smooth, lithe and agile

He grasps the cool creature
Gently, gently and holds him aloft
The flickering tongue offers no protest

He's only seeking sustenance
In insects and spiders among
Apricot branches and gently returned

How many mysteries are hidden
Just so, going silently unseen
Miracles connected by something
In between

A Day in the Sun

Midnight crickets hushed
By damp grassy footsteps
Flashlight wielding shadows
Wandering towards home

I was a bit drunk
You were moonlight beautiful
Under the stars
Those wise and wonderful stars

When the embers of our fire
Were quenched with water
The last song played
On my guitar

Memories lingered
Of walking the Bizarre
In the heat of the day
Where I bought you a ring

You smiled that smile
My soul was warm wax
Melting with my heart
Into our everything

We searched out the restrooms
In panic and impatience
Baby riding your bladder
Like a trampoline

I felt her kick this morning
Stretching, turning
Can she even begin to know
How much she is loved?

Now the day ends too soon
As we walk hand in hand
Back towards home
From the dew drenched field

I see in your green eyes
By the kitchen light
Satisfaction and hope
As I smile in understanding

Heaven and Earth

Once was a raindrop in a crowd
Like the sea; high in a cloud
Said he to his other fellows there
Let us go forth into the air

For far below us there is found
A place that is called “common ground”
Where dreams are dreamed and hearts are free
As teaming waves upon the sea

There we shall find peace and love
That can't be won here, high above
These are things worth dying for
Thus, the raindrops went to war

And so the army of the rain
Sent forth a billion to the plain
All brave soldiers to the last
With lightning flash and cannon blast

There they stormed the gates of earth
As heaven heaved with giving birth
To children like a tadpole throng
A mighty wind blew them along

Until at last they came and found
A billion graves upon the ground
Herein were buried bones of men
Who dreamed of heaven to ascend

Said they to each of noble birth
Heaven is preferred to earth
And many a mother of soldier cried
As men of valor in battle died

Who dreamed of heaven high above;
A place of lasting peace and love
And for that heaven blood was shed
To touch clouds the rain had fled

But if the rain had not come down
Nothing would grow upon the ground
No life would find the secret door;
No waves would roll upon the shore

And if mankind did not aspire
To brave the storm; thunder and fire
For peace and love, it is a given
They must forfeit all hope of heaven

Every Now and Then

Every now and then I dream
That I'm seabird sailing gracefully
Among the snowy clouds so high
My fingers; feathers in the clear blue sky

Every now and then I think
It doesn't matter if I move my wings
I can soar and I can glide
And I'm so happy just to be alive

Every now and then


Every now and then I'm free
With no shackles and no chains on me
Running through the fields so green
And all the flowers bursting just for me

Every now and then I pray
That I can stay here for another day
Please don't tune me out; turn me away
God, I'm asking that You hear my prayer and care

Every now and then

Every now and then I sigh
I grow weary as years go by
I'm afraid to sleep for I fear I'll dream
Of all my loved ones lost; what might have been

Every now and then I cry
I forget that I have wings to fly
I feel my heart must surely break
I wonder how much more my heart can take


Every now and then

Every now and then I smile
When I hold a puppy; kiss a child
I remember then that this life goes on
And it sends my spirit back where it belongs

I'm a seabird sailing gracefully
Come and fly with me
We can both be free
Every now and then

The Concert

In smoky shadows a pianist plays; gray fedora perched and tilted like an expectant bird atop his brow.
He remembers the jazz but lives the blues and wonders where the girls of summers past are now.
Man was not made to make music alone or sit in confines of crowded bars.
He must taste fresh air and study the sea and go out walking among the stars.

With arthritic hands the guitarist weeps for tunes forgotten or never learned.
Staring silently into embers that glow and fade once the hardwood of life has burned.
His heart, still fresh with music and love; his mind full of beauty and wonder.
He looks to heaven and seeing clouds, is reminded how softness can thunder.

There was a time when they played together with words and women and wine.
The music seemed to last forever like a symphony of something dreamed and divine.
Time befalls the best composer. Words to the aria fade in the mist.
Jazz becomes blues and blue memories warm like a love lost; remembered by a single kiss.

The Sun Does Not Mourn

The sun does not mourn the coming of night
The world must turn but the sun is constant and bright
The moon bears no jealousy or grudge to the sun
But mirrors his brilliance until night is done

Some poets have said the moon rules the night
But she is only reflecting a great star's light
And those drinking shadows upon the earth hath
But fell to darkness by blocking his path

They say in their vanity, “the sun has set”
When in fact they have turned away and yet
The sun does not mourn the coming of night
But waits a new morning to bring his light

Epitaph

I wrote the sky both red and blue
Sunset, sunrise; midnight hours too
I wrote the sun, the moon and stars
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

My lines proofread and well rehearsed
From galaxies to universe
I wrote the clouds. I wrote the rain.
I wrote typhoon and hurricane.

I brought words of mine together
In open fields beneath the weather
The heat beat down on desserts bare
Sailors drowned in oceans there

I wrote for you both lands and seas
I wrote sand dunes and forest trees
I wrote the mountain white with snow
I penned the valleys far below

I wrote the creatures; great and small
The elephant, the ant and all
The whale with krill on his dinner dish
The shimmering spineless jellyfish

I wrote the songs and moods of men
Joys and hopes and dreams again
I wrote of love both cruel and fair
I wrote the darkness of despair

I wrote of wealth and trust and loss
I wrote the price and paid the cost
And every time the caged bird sings
His heart within him finds his wings

You and I have traveled far
The journey brought us where we are
I wrote the diary of a life
In blood; my pen like a razor knife

To write has been my destiny
I've given all the best of me
And whether you will cry or laugh
When you read my epitaph