The Dogwood Tree

Beneath the speckled canopy
Of bright-leafed layers dancing
In early morning breeze that stirs;
In sunlight soft romancing

The underbelly umbrella green; here
Hummingbirds whisk and twitter
Stopping long enough to feed
On a container of sugar water

Hornets and yellow jackets feud
Above bright plastic flowers.
Table manners; greedy and rude,
Endure into the evening hours.

Ruby throats and emerald greens;
Through twisting branch’s thatch
Dart between the dogwood leaves
To hold a fencing match

Above on a higher branch there sits
The home of worm hunting Robin Red Breast
A woven nest of broken twigs
Where tiny heads are now visible

Tiny mouths gulp towards the sky.
Mother and father with dinner swoop in
In answer to the hungry cries
And feed their little children

Adolescent rabbit hops in the drive.
He stands with ears erect; alert.
At the slightest motion he scurries back
Across the gravel and through the dirt

The greedy, the humble, the meek and the proud
All gathered like drops from a summer cloud
While I contemplated the mystery
And philosophy of the dogwood tree

The Gathering

French Champagne at 3 A.M. with the ghost of Jean Lafitte
He hangs his sword upon my chair and cordially takes a seat
Poe and Dickens grace my step at quarter past the hour
Timid Emily; Belle of Amherst arrives in white with flowers


The Bronte sisters come to call and sit with Miss Dickinson
A knock brings transcendental poets Thoreau and Emerson
Jack London follows with a bottle of John Barleycorn
Then C.S. Lewis; pipe in hand; a gentleman to manor born

Not far behind; Mr. Tolkien; the mystic fantasy prophet
Telling tales of Middle Earth and creatures he calls Hobbits
Rudyard Kipling now arrives via my invitation
He hated to leave his India but joins the conversation

Caravaggio brings some paintings that were lost at sea
The former Knight of Malta drapes his sword across his knee
Knowing the temperament of the two; as host, I collect the blades
But in gentlemanly gesture; from both, a bow is made

Lafitte makes some remark of Italy’s taste for war
Caravaggio returns, “The French know not what canvas is for”
Bemused, Lafitte replies, “I’ve used all mine for sails.”
“And mine for masterpieces” the painter quips and spreads his tails

And so till dawn the guests arrive like Mary and Percy Shelley
Mary reads from Frankenstein and then we fill our bellies
“A goose that would have made Scrooge quite proud!”
“The nose of the Boz knows”, then Charles asserts aloud

Poe, in deep and morbid thought exclaims, “We all are dead!”
No such rubbish and fantasy, not here; as you share my bread.
“But it seems I’ve lived before”, London says, “I’d make a bet.”
“Quoth the raven, “nevermore” but you live on as yet!

You spirits are my muses who gather here tonight
All chivalrous and talented, inspiring by the lamplight
“Well spoken intellectual, recall the sun rose clear.”
Thoreau thus spoke and Emerson joked, “It seems we too my dears.”

At this; the ladies giggled, and Emily said to me.
“I know how a wave must look; yet, I’ve never been to sea.”
Lafitte here offered to take her, upon his ghostly ship
But when again I looked around, her presence from our group had slipped

And so they faded; one by one; each with apparition smiles.
London was the last to leave, saying, I hear The Call of the Wild.
And as the sunlight filtered into my bedroom this morn
I was surprised to find two swords and a bottle of John Barleycorn

I Must Write Of Love

I must write of love today though I feel no romance.
I must write of bravery and hope there is a chance.
I must kindle friendships remembering what they’re for.
I must count my blessings although I’m ragged poor.

I must write of peace today and sweet serenity.
Even as the dogs of war come snarling after me.
I must call you brother regardless of your skin.
I can’t let petty prejudice defeat my soul and win.

I must believe there is a God who listens to my prayer.
I must have faith on bended knees that He will hear me there.
Oh, Lord of heavens and the earth, my humble spirit calls.
You knew my soul before my birth, tear down these fortress walls!

Circumstance can hedge a man till he sees no escape.
And rob a woman’s morality as real as any rape.
And even though the wrong’s not theirs; lower them to the dirt.
Then, in throes of agony, they cry out in their hurt.

So I must speak of right today through tears began by wrong.
And though my soul is suffering, I must search for song.
I must swallow fear today along with tears and sorrows.
I must forget my past regrets with plans of new tomorrows.

I must conquer pride today and reach out for your hand.
I have stumbled along the way and need your help to stand.
I will write of hope today in the midst of my despair.
And to the cynics I will say, I bravely dare to care.

The Silent Song of Falling Stars

How brief the moments of our lives; our petty jealousies and fears
How frail the ties that bind our love; steeped in joy and lost in tears
The heart does not age but remains the same as our frail form retires
It was only yesterday; and now the passing years have made us liars

The man in the mirror; I know him not; where there should be a lad
With dirty cheeks and mischievous eyes looking somewhat like his dad
The moth still flitters round the lamp; the warmth of imitation light
But when the switch is turned and black; then, he retreats into the night

Into the lonely hours then; where once a baby’s cry was heard
Among the laughter and shaking hands; there, passed life without a word
Before he learned to whistle tunes; so many were the songs he knew
That he could not keep track of them and then, the dances were too few

Now the crippled steps he takes in memory mock him as a fool
He should have danced; he could have danced, but now the songs are fading too
The meaning of life was whispered clear on moonless nights between the stars
Deaf in wine; he refused to hear, and now the lights have traveled far

You sisters of the Pleiades; safe from the grasping of Orion
Like savannah grasses where, in wait; there lays the hungry lion
Immortal daughters, shine your lights, as my light fades in me
I do not know by mystic rights, if I, a slave or prince should be

Soft; the song is muffled now, the drum beats steadily desperate
The flow of blood is colder. How… I wish…but it is too late
Life is a dream within a dream of some mad and sleeping god
And we relive his life for him through histories both far and odd

How long the suffering of our souls; where empty hearts are met
How great the tragedy of our roles which we play in sad regret
The ageless heart is lost in dreams where happy children laughed and played
Now; ghostly shadows run to corners of minds where muted pain is stayed

To the Muse

Before her alter the poet brings
Written verse and singing strings
To woo the wells of paradise
Painting scenes which so entice
The oracles which prophesy
To separate the truth from lie
Taking thus the muse as wife
He dedicates his love and life

To fair Euterpe sings his song
Cleansing all the world from wrong
With music and the poets pen
Her honor thus he must defend
She has granted audience
To troubadours and others since
Yet he basks within her light
And knows he is her favorite

Inside his spirit soars and lifts
Till heavens voice her precious gifts
And raining down upon his heart
Swells again till words impart
Both to master and to sage
Bright visions of the coming age
When the weak have swooned and fainted
There will lie the canvas painted

Everything within his heart is
Offered by the humble artist
Whither tales of love or truth be
lies the beauty of Euterpe
Undisguised or masked by ruse
All is prized to please the muse
Through his wisdom or his wit
In every word that he has writ

Day at the Amusement Park

Fathomless gentle mother rolls sighing to the shore
Whispering the histories of things that are no more
Coral and shell are mixed in glittering snowy sand
Terns on matchstick legs retreat the foaming land

Black bulk of horseshoe crab lay; lifeless alien form
Airy driftwood twists its way from far electric storm
Delicate periwinkle pink; the shade of mouse’s ear
Lies beneath grey seaweed combed from mermaid’s hair

Rumbling roar that moves the mass; imitates the heart
Embryonic pulse reminding endings where they start
Beneath the waves, all is bright; eyes rise above to see
Azure above the rolling green stretching to eternity

Far, the pencil line of land; dots move along the beach
Where burning tourists march the sand; lotions and oils in reach
Their blankets spread beneath umbrellas; imitation shade
The sun is scorching on the waves, shining on my head

I laugh and dance and leap with joy before the ocean god
Joined by friends and family; all members of my pod
I hear the earthly creature’s children screaming out in glee
As I chatter back to them, I know that they have seen me

We come here every morning and fish till it grows dark
Protecting human friends that swim from eager hungry sharks
This is our entertainment too; the electric connecting spark
We watch from pools of pristine blue the human amusement park

Lessons from the Choir Loft

A songbird woke me at three in the morning
In the pitch black smallest hours he sang
He warbled his chirps and twitters till dawn
I was so amused that I could not complain

Not a nightingale or whippoorwill; this
He roused the neighbors who turned on their lights
And as day began to sift through the trees
A chorus began to share his delight

It was clear he could not wait for the morning
Bound by the joy of sheer existence
At the top of his voice he sang until dawn
Perhaps thinking he brought it by mere persistence

And who am I to argue his logic
If indeed he had that thought in his mind
Enough beauty can certainly bring light
Enough light can open the eyes of the blind

So what if I am deprived of a little rest
At least I was entertained by the concert
In the dawn I spied him not far from his nest
I pulled on my boots and buttoned my shirt

As I walked out to listen to the Sunday choir
I found my own joy in my morning search
I whispered forgiveness for the early hour
And cathedral mountains became my church

Smolder

The rasp of a beetle against a window glass
Turned the sleeper in his fitful dream
The night was heavy as honey; thick as sorghum
And sooty syrup filled his lungs with charcoal

The stomach seethes with eager embers
When every breath is a fan to the flame
Skin hangs clammy cool against bones
The sickly boiled flesh is wrung to drain

Flame burns in the whiskey forge below
The sleeper groans in crushing pains
Someone is stacking stones on his mortal form
He lies pinned in the agony of suffocation

A ship is lost at sea in still doldrums
No wind stirs to fill her ghostly sails
She sits frozen as dark-finned shadows circle
Patience feeds the faceless scavengers

The dragging of chains across a wooden floor
Precedes the sliding bolt of a mammoth door
The sleeper struggles with his fear of death
Listening, he hears the draw of raspy breath

A ragged inhale brings rattles but no relief
The exhale is not his; it comes from somewhere below
Beads of sweat pour to his soaking pillow
To his terror he realizes the sound of bellows

A flash of flame envelops the dreamer
His eyes burst open in yellow light
A solitary bulb hangs from the ceiling
Sixty watts of hell in a sultry summer night

The Lucky Optimist

Bending over a field of clover
Counting petals over and over
Searching for his four leafed luck
Into a buttonhole he might tuck

I present the incurable optimist
The wisher of fate innocuous
Bearer of all good tidings and glad
Looking for hope as if he were mad

It matters not if he finds the thing
I am certain he’ll go on searching
It’s in the way of the optimist
Not to give up before success

Still he gives all the credit to luck
But now in the field he’s been stuck
For the better part of half an hour
Counting clovers and picking flowers

Patience

Patience is the advantage of old folks and fishermen
It is a forte not to be taken too lightly by any as well
If a person can wait without allowing petty distraction
There is life to be caught by the slippery shirttail

Things seldom turn out according to our plans
The plans of others and things unplanned are always cropping up
The schedule and the itemized list are the vex of man
Things forgotten are always at work in the tumbling tines of karma

So there we end up; speared like kabobs with no escape
Headed for the fire to be cooked for good or ill
And generally muttering like the fox about sour grapes
As old chef time prepares to sauté us on the grill

But the patient know that this too in time may pass
The patient are not distracted by facades of wealth and fame
Because there is no telling how long a fad or a man may last
And they have yet to feel the scorching of the flame

The exercise of discretion builds muscles of morale
But not the type one usually earns at the gymnasium
Confidence that is bulging is generally an act of denial
But patience is an attribute of old folks and fishermen

Adventure in the Storm.

Adventure in the Storm


He stood upon the wooded hill; eyes squinted against the falling snow
Staring with longing and hunger at the farmhouse far below
The smell of meat and burning fat was faintly discernable on the wind
His nose twitched and his belly growled as flakes drifted through barren limbs

He saw the big black ranch dogs; Newfoundland, by the looks of them
Drop-tailed and worried he backed into the pines; careful they did not see him
He is familiar with the rifles of the ranchers and this particular breed of dog
They are every bit as big as him; he paws the snow and settles in by a hollow log

The gray and silver folds of his winter coat make excellent camouflage
He thinks and ponders about the smoke, the rancher; the rifle and the dogs
A storm is moving in and blue-black clouds herald the threat of more snow
Through covering shadows he can see lights below inside the frosted windows

When he was young and running with the pack he was adventurous and bold
Now own his own, it was stealth and cunning; not valor, that let him get this old
In the middle of the night; the storm raging, the rancher brought his dogs inside
Carefully he crept; inch by inch, forever vigilant, slowly down the mountainside

A cache of ham was hanging in a tree, tied securely to a higher limb
The rancher was smart and cunning too; but maybe not as smart as him
Methodically, he set about his work stopping only to rest or to listen
He pawed the snow until he felt dirt, then alternated, changing his position

The drifts were up to seven feet and he packed them solid with his heavy paws
Standing on his wolf-made mountain, he jumped and sank in teeth and jaws
Rocking his weight with the weight of the ham, the frozen limb began to crack
He quickly released it and let it fall; barely missing his shoulder and back

Quickly now, gnawing at the cords that wrapped his sweet and smoky prize
Inside the house came the creak of floorboards, he glanced up with knowing eyes
The rancher had heard the limb break and was coming out to check his cache
His rifle in hand and dogs at his heels; he couldn’t believe he’d met his match

A fifteen foot high ridge rose paw-packed around where his ham had been
His tedious knots were chewed clean through and the wolf? No sign of him.
Safe in a stone outcropping; high on a lonely hill, he gorges himself with pleasure
Dangerous work but the night is still as he enjoys the taste of his treasure

Eternal

The tree of life is Eternal
Though many winding courses travel
Among its branches and through its roots
All things are intertwined and irreversibly linked

Time and space are neither linear nor lonely
They are the life that drives the tree to leaf
We bud but for a moment brief
We wither and we fall

Among the sacred roots we are absorbed
And our lives become the nourishment
Of every history and future
All that we love and everything beautiful

Roots sunk into the foundation of the universe
Push branches high into the heavens; growing
The universe is expanding and we with it
Our knowledge transcending into the divine

When we reach that sacred Nirvana
We will be as delicate birds set among the branches
Singing the creation of the world;
Part of everything; now blessed with wings to fly

Fisherman

The line is cast in waters of hope
Failing to obtain the goal; cast again in faith
The Fisherman is patient
He needs nourishment for his soul
There is comfort in this recreation
There is peace of one who waits
To improve his situation
He may change his station or his bait
But seldom is his creel without
Upon returning home
He seldom harbors any doubt
But waits for fish to come
My soul is like the line cast out
In hope that harbors little doubt
Cast again by love within
I am a determined Fisherman



© 2011 Fabian G. Franklin

Understanding Beauty

The beauty of the rose is in the bud
Fresh is the flower being born
The scent of youth is strong and good;
Sweet as the dew of a summer morn

The beauty of the leaf is in the fall
When colors burn in fiery blaze
Orange and yellow; crimson all
Mellow; the ending of its days

The beauty of man is flower and leaf
Newborn babe and ancient wise
Beginning joy and ending grief
Innocent and knowing eyes

We are fragile as the flowers,
Stronger than the mighty oak;
In our sad and lonely hours
Words of love and faith are smoke

Let us comfort one another
Like infant held in wrinkled hands
Brother, sister, father, mother;
Spring and autumn on the land

Burning leaves and budding blooms
There is beauty in the plan
Old age for youth is making room
And Mother Nature understands

Shackles

Pregnant pain gave birth to addiction
Swollen up and swallowed up by herself
Need put iron shackles on her feet
Braded brass pins with hopeless hammers

Outside the stone cell, freedom danced in flowers
But the walls seeped lonely ache from within
A squirrel hiding acorns dug between the cracks
And buried a treasure in long forgotten soil

Little light fell through the bars; broken on the floor;
The ashamed sun came but for a few moments
But roots sunk lower to find rain beneath the stones
Then, like all things green, a living stem rose secretly

Photosynthesis showed baby pictures of life
And the pain longed to be pregnant again
She built a cradle of hope with nothing to fill it
And then mourned her abortion of love

Silent rage burned away inside the stones
Melting them like wax and winter snow
In the hope of different, the same was abandoned
The shackles of addiction were broken

She could barely crawl but soon could walk
Blinded by sun; the confusion too much to bear
But she remembered the cradle and brought it out
It came with a whimper and a tear

Flowers were blooming again that year
She filled the bassinet like a basket with petals
And the colors joined to take wing as butterflies
Freedom flittered and danced and she followed

When freedom was full, she gave birth to joy
Swollen up and bursting with her baby boy
Forgiveness put booties on his feet
And baby lamb’s wool lulled him to sleep

Prison melted into the past; in its place, a tree
The seed had come to fruition at last
The limbs stretched forth to grasp the sun
And on each branch hung golden poetry

Rain on Main

The tortoise shell umbrellas spread like gospel tents
Against the drumming rain and sailing mournful wind
Huddled shadows; turned up collars braced into tinsel-tiny
Pearls; each spherical world; a sea of wayfaring minstrels

Tambourines rattled down puddles; gurgled in gutters
Danced on windowpanes and slid down shutters
Across vaulted awnings of coffee shops and cafes
Rivulets of silver wound through dirt of an ordinary day

And all the busy people with briefcases under overcoats
Were frightened of the water army; a billion droplets strong
They could find no place for music in their souls; a saddened note
Where the rain, like pain, is feared and has no place to belong

A madman; soaked hair streaming down his shoulders
No hat or spring loaded dome of protection held in hand
Grasped above his head a gray newspaper unfolded
And skipped across brown potholes; laughing as he ran

Stones

STONES

We are children of earth and water;
Born of fire and sky
We recede with the ocean’s ebb
We swell with fury in the tide
Countless grains of brine washed sand
Often find communion
Partaking of the Creator
To fashion and form unions
Structures indivisible;
Bits of sand and salt and shell
Containing lives of memory creatures
That we become as well
I would not leave you abandoned
Would not see you cast out; apart
Though I am nothing more than man
I offer these with my heart
These little pieces of stones;
To remind you of the ocean’s flow;
That the tide pulls not one heart alone
But each part in all; when beckoned goes
I will see you on some distant shore
And we may share a naked sunrise
Opening a heavenly door
Opening our weary eyes
Being part of one another for the first time
Seeing through our inward eye
Where earth and water children go;
Born of fire and sky.

Hard Scrub

There is rage beyond the rain
But there is peace in quiet
The mountain is still this morning
But it softly whispers of the rage

There was lightning in the night
Cracking jagged whips of fire
That turned the maple’s faces white
Now birds sing quietly to the dawn

The hard has worn the morning tender
The rough rubbing of the fearful night
Now the sun will bake day clean and
We’ll see what’s strong enough to survive.

Ride

Vibrations from between his legs
Voice raw and intrinsic power
Urged like a horse at the starting gate
Uttering a low and guttural growl

Gloved hand on the right rubber grip,
Left finger hooked as thumb pins the clutch
Steel toed boot rests on peg
Tip tripping the gear into first

Pulling away, hears the gravel crunch
Under the heavy rolling tires
Turns back the throttle and squeezes the clutch
Engine answers with warm desire

Fourth gear echoes a melodious hum
As asphalt miles fly by
The world is a prairie in a cowboy’s dream
Before there were fences and wire

The wind cuts deep into laugh lines worn
Around the odd traveler’s eyes
Oh, and it seems like he was born
With steel and thunder between his thighs

One great beast; this man and machine
Set out to conquer the world
Passing the vistas of gypsy dreams
And longing glances from glamorous girls

Through farmlands and desert, by seashore and shop
He leans in the hard curves of life
The cement of cities can’t make him stop
Or the fields when the harvest is ripe

His eye is tuned to the gauges and mirrors
His heart; with the pounding of iron
Between his two wheels life looks much clearer
Than the dirty world with its grime

Yet even steel ponies must rest in the barn
When the tired old biker is spent
But he’ll dream tonight in his lady’s arms
Of when he’ll go riding again

The First Step

The first step is often the most difficult
Falling can add injury to insult

It takes a leap of faith to fly;
From a trembling limb to say goodbye

Love can sometimes stretch our wings
And prepare hearts for dangerous things

Stepping out on faith; into the blue
Be careful of the step but be brave too