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