fish crowd the bottom
avoiding Peter's net
and Jesus gives his half-smile

that cactus-prick time
preys on the soft dreams
surge-dancing around my heart

that cactus-prick time
preys on the soft dreams
surge-dancing around my heart

only the dark carrots,
dull December sun,
wish they were as bright as you

edited by red
the green wreath of memory
produces a Christmas

blinding is the snow
that bends the reality
of things present,past

aging paramour
on your December window
the kiss of sunlight

cuddling the mist,
I whisper to the raindrops
gentle on my heart

The longing of bells
with their promise of new life,
clamour this Christmas

faint hints of sunshine
as if my shoes were polished
by December's touch

spring comes with tulips
if I plant bulbs in late fall,
let all the snow melt

lonely concrete sea
your taxi pulling away
I too must go, climb

sunshine sorceress
you wink at me in winter
show your legs in spring

my dancing hungers
so cold on December days
feast on memories

I can hear the leaves
blind, I climb again, again
textured is the bark

This December comes
patient as a fishing line
thru a hole in ice

blazing, long necked star
distance makes us intimate
I too love afar

purple cornflower,
I have yet to eyeball you
yet you resonate
-----------

I walk early rocks
and I jape across the stream,
sing the evensong

the gentle rivers
whisper about the skating moon
only to the dawn

the gentle rivers
whisper about the skating moon
only to the dawn

December sunshine
like a gift from a stranger
leads me across streets

fallible human
so serious the
daydreams of real heavy vines
that climbed green mountains
looking for their own dear self
is he still running?

while the moon retreats
the stars form again as women
silver as a hornet's nest
flowing in their gowns

neon lighted night
glittering with honky-tonk
halfway to the moon
dreams float to the night
so speak of tulips
that flower has opinions
for the clouds form seven veils
all these little scars
mainly about rain

note: I think I'm writing about barmaids

I love his heartache
It is second only to mine
daffodils, bluebells
eyes open the gate
almost purple, the yellow
price of gold is up
must we cry alone?
forged from a single teardrop
we may have Easter

gorilla take heart
for you could be just like me
sailing far away
the boat cuts the moon-picture
Marigolds planted
next to the prize tomatoes
fat, hairy and broke
her ripples still dance
to feed all the bugs

the feathered pillows
may be swimming with the wood ducks
in another life

You were corn flakes straight, father, and I am still honey flavored Cheerios.But life is more than breakfast. Today it seems like a little pick-up I'm driving to work, honking my horn and settling old dust. No, that's not true. But kicked up with the dust is a brocade of dead leaves, gold-brown like corn flakes.

intimate our grief
we cross the border
of high and mighty summer
such cabbage in fall
so many peeling layers
the sunny dippers
now float gently down
so hide your lonely desert
again rivers flow

inviting vigor
the stars will still dance
our lofty aspirations
the tiny islands of bread
cold fading soldiers
tiny sips of wine
our good intentions
go find the new moon
and fill it full of blossoms
for life's window box
the red Begonias finesse
early November

inviting vigor
the stars will still dance
our lofty aspirations
the tiny islands of bread
cold fading soldiers
tiny sips of wine
our good intentions
go find the new moon
and fill it full of blossoms
for life's window box
the red Begonias finesse
early November

the sun is slender
securely in the window
short November days
and the evergreens
to all the lemon colors
suddenly a rose
upward curving paths
rugged the pot holes
yet gold this November day

tall as the steeple
it comes very personally
tell all the patches
I give you the rain
in my great big crazy quilt
which errs, strays, stumbles
clanging like the bell
it is falling on a heart
I'm busy sewing

so much empty space
and time prickly as cactus
how hard the wind blows
somewhere near my heart
smacking on a hot tin roof
yet the desert blooms
as happy as rain
once forgotten in drawers
I polish the dreams

first quarter today
if you are looking moon way
dark back,light forward

rugged is the sun
the moon's the real big sissy
begging all that light

The dawn is resting
It is waiting for the sun
to streak its boa

call it the wild wind
the one that's always calling
and veiling the clouds

I will plant a rose
among the Dandelions
cause I'm uppity

take out the garbage
if you do it every night
it never piles up
but if that's always your chore
you may need a new partner

rich alluvium,
the half man,half woman weld
which is best to dig?

initials should soar
in broken bar room toilets
after washing hands

hungry-like walking
yet step after step singing
unlike Kerouac

initial rainbows
for they may well know your name
and reserve you gold

worthy as that rock
placed upon a pedestal
showing its gold vein

humping the humpback
whale thru all of perdition
nice to get laid though

we will fill the rain
we will fill it with hardships
so they wash away

little scratchy leaves
scooting across the sidewalk
Halloween! Say boo!

sugarcake bridegroom
I have never tasted you sweet
let us make a peace

sociable climbs,
you populations of one
don't drown your cherries

hope has a left wing
that's far shorter than the right
that's why she flutters

interludes with cream
happening in October
love like a goblin

the shells of meaning
especially for the snail
grow ever bigger
scary trip between shells though
sometimes you have to slow crawl

always beautiful,
Barbie, and so often white
plus all those dresses!

lean upon sorrow
and in the hush of evenings
shiva for yourself

grace like a platter
overflowing with fine fruits
just a sip of wine

shadow on my wall
twilight makes you so much more
but I imagine

sweet wafer, sweet wine
the dervishes whirl so close
I know their herts too

little knots of time
curl slowly in my footprints
never to unwind

November soon comes
the cabbage's now purple-white
seasons changing robes

care so heart-felt deep
I let you answer softly
my obsessive tooth

Grandiosity
so much soaring on the wind
fellow rabbits run!

Grandiosity
so much soaring on the wind
fellow rabbits run !

lone, lovely goddess
this garden will make us one
when we feast, dance, sing

the calm between waves,
the moving calm, gentle calm
that heals the roughed beach

unconditional
is like riding a pale horse
that enters mine fields

place a dreamy dream
on the hot griddle of love
find out if it cooks

enjoy the mowing
around the white picket fence
watch out for the grill!

On suburbia

her washing machine
keeps the gold tiger at bay
cycle by cycle

shy the ugly moon
pimples all over her face
yet the sun touches

squeeze the soft rainbow
the one that answers questions
after the hard rains

romance seems the boat
with somebody overboard
who gets pulled back in

rolling back the stone,
I hear, feel, the gravel crunch
on my muddy path

the song of the heart
makes all of the shepards dance
as I blink again

hibernating dream
like a bear in the forest
you wake up hungry

kiss like the darkness
that erases your shadow
and welds you to stars

confront not lions
confront the dreams that linger
after all the green


medicate the rain
make it come in soft teardrops
to mask all the pain

Soup Kitchen Blues

all the fallen leaves.
frail, broken, forgotten leaves
that scatter along

caress the balloon
and bend it until it pops
the cool air goes down

caress the balloon
and bend it until it pops
the cool air goes down

first day of Autumn
planting the cabbage and kale
to soldier until...

call the moon a rock
all you cynics to romance
it still glows the dark

forgive not forget
especially the fork lift
with fruits of the pie

stolid Begonia
you will last thru November
why not be bright red?

so much empty space
and time prickly as cactus
yet the desert blooms

so small Petunias
so fickle about water
welcome anyway

sweet,young Marigolds
tough organic gardeners
feed you to the bugs

September
the dark is earlier, the nights longer
we will plant Mums selecting
the orange over the yellow
they better hide Autumn's decay
yet the sun still shines orange, yellow
the dying stars in white, orange, yellow and
in my heart I wish them all good night

let the stars get fat
let them gobble on your heart
then the songs will come

burnt banana sky
the sun will make you rosy
as it travels west

struggling with the grass
the lion Dandelion
impudently glows

garden rodeo
over the cowboy sweet peas
Begonias stand tall!

climb into heaven
twinkle stars with pure reason
it's that clear a day

The white impatiens
help me accuse the darkness
of hogging the show

wash the sea with me
as we work beneath the stars
love is bits of salt

shards of broken dreams
and dying not as hero
our earth is clay, Lord

planting canyons edge
trying for the white,white rose
maybe pink will do

dandelions live--a small blaze in a green lawn--
or cemetery

It's a slippery sun
the sky is burnt bananas
bottom up the moon

defiance rages
saw General Custer again
he said hold the fort

defiance rages
saw General Custer again
he said hold the fort

defiance rages
saw General Custer again
he said hold the fort

defiance rages
saw General Custer again
he said hold the fort

clowning with my owl
gotta make (him her it) smile,
avoid all my mice

a rainstorm, a pro
standing bold in a doorway
waits out God's thunder

dog day afternoon
sun rolling like a boulder
time to water plants!

sweet heavens gather,
be like bears hibernating--
dreaming of Salmon

sparrow fly for me
as I risk my life at sea
you too will settle
you too will find a mast or spar
something, someone to lean on
something, someone to twitter about
something, someone in addition to the rain.

that distance-time, light--
disturbed by my fingertips
shadows my prayer

angry at the sweet pea
thought it whacked the Petunias
It didn't. wild stuff tho.

drifting, insecure,
I let the ebb tide pull me
let the helmsman rest

such subtle beauty,
the taller seaweeds weave time
to this tug, that go

kick the big clouds,
the ones that fog your vision
the small are just dreams

the degrees of rage==
show them to that golden bird
on that golden bough

hard to change the past but my imagination amusingly tries

expect the black nights
to showcase the brightest stars
does God wear diamonds?

finding my own weight
among such a labyrinth,
such demon pop-ups

laughter is real sand
if you need to make a beach
to wash ashore on

woman washing hair
the slow pour over the top
the cascading waves

the sunlight got lost
it was trying to find me
old clouds detained it

The sower of seeds
spat a few bad ones my way
said t'will help my growth

The sky is apple
The July sun diving west
cotton candy clouds

if joy comes in cans
and happiness in bottles
pop a top sucker

just the morning sun
don't even dare call it love
that's for afternoons

until yesterday,
I sat on a sour tree
calling lemon--aid

cowboy with a hose,
I lasso all the flowers
which seems to please then

no covering clouds
as the moon frightfully bare
serenely passes

scratch across the sun
know that you will never know
then button your pants

silent the ranting
for a cage full of lions
once you are bitten

that sailor, this sea
drowning he awakens me
birth, death and rebirth

clouds wake up the day
peek- a -boo, sun, I see you
warm my cheeks okay?

frightened superman
saw you dance with Custer's ghost
peace be with you both

slam open love's door move him in a little more walk that walk, walk home

giving to the land
and letting it give to me
earth and earthy love

quiz-quarreling God becomes embarrassing math --he doesn't seem to add

tell the sea to fly
who's to navigate, to die?
swimming here with you

Fool up on a star dip your feet in the Milky on your Way down love

So what about me?
---planets like salt in the sea
So what about me?
---your river's so long and big
So what about me?

saw the rain begin
never broken by the wind
do you want to roar?
lion, dream your dreams
pretend to all the shadows
do you want to roar?

moon, you are a tease
you circle but rarely touch
may I drive you home?

when rain catches fire
and makes prisms in your heart
treasure the rainbows

sun on a cold chair
sitting silently for me
I am quiet too

sweet pea mania
from under a green blanket
the Petunias wink

stealing big roses
from life's small thorny bushes?
good! flower power!

so lonesome the sea
yet embroidering each wave
with such filagree

ride a painted horse
circle, circle, round and round
listen for the song

Will you carry me?
so laid down in white linen
will you carry me?

let the morning run
as if the sun's a sail change
climbing up the mast

coarse as kosher salt
the lickity wings music
hammered gold by time

hot buttered popcorn
the stars spread across the sky
hungry is the dark

the blowing sagebrush
the troopers always saddled
in the shadows, bones

coarse as kosher salt
the lickity wings music
hammered gold by time

hot buttered popcorn
the stars spread across the sky
hungry is the dark

the blowing sagebrush
the troopers always saddled
in the shadows, bones

fables in my head
those imagined episodes
that, like spiders, cling

dream a ragged claw
one that nets all shooting stars
who's team?court? rebirth?

flop Petunia flop
after splitting the cold rock
give your red grin too

luxury temper
let me go lie on that couch
pay the pain away

dawn comes with the dream
that the sun will light it up
usually it does

Eve took the apple and placed it in a basket alongside the sun

past the forgiven
on the road to Calvary
the donkey waits too

If your ego's black
and virtue's just a raincoat
flash black and then white

this morning's dawn threads
calico clouds as the print
blue sky as the frock

turn the earth slowly gather it around my heart- it deadens the pain talking to the sky asking it about blueness but I almost know south to the north face as if a mountain could turn and catch me seeking

maverick come down
my lasso is lost again
go slow, be careful

bread, wine, the white cloth
my bare ass dripping water--
good times, a picnic

sailing far away
the boat cuts the reflection
her ripples still dance


in memory of Nancy Wallace Bailey

mostly it's the weeds that sprout up and never bloom look! dandelions!

I conflict the rain
from garden to hard pavement
It has splashed me

rowing with the boats
into the lingering fog
the squeaks of oarlocks

gorilla take hope
for you can be just like me--
hairy, fat and broke

should I awaken
I may find myself dusty
and I will wipe you

I strip to the bare
and listen for my heartbeat
kind of chilly though

walk across the loam
pile it, pick it over-
wash it with water
you can make the water tan
or you could make big mud pies

a difficult climb
suddenly to reach the top
line-tied to others

always the waves
always the screech of the gulls
sometimes the full moon

marigolds are planted
close to the prize tomatos
to feed us insects

take the horse's reins
I walk into my future
or crawl it hands, knees

journey to the east
mountains to the west, north, south
maybe I should climb

healthy the lions that spring over all ramparts, swim across all moats

away you summer with your airs of permanence did yu ever love?

often found the font
but the water was turned off
so I trust the stream

out that fishing pole
sky's blue enough to catch dreams
throw back the small ones

you are cunning, rage
for you slip in with a smile
caught, you hide again

church basement people
holding hands in a circle--
that forget distance

as if in August,
the fields drying, yet still green
the heart pumping iron

The romance of day,
the sunlight's glittering calm
as seen thru windows

accept the reindeer
that Santa trades on E Bay
you might need Christmas

grow up, you flower
miracle that you opened
June's parade is on!

two highways, one lane,
it comes and it goes sometimes
straight, often crooked

my alligator
smiles, shows off his new brogans
says they're his ex

skinny dip yourself
yes leap into that river
where locust John swam

we grow bananas
on our little farm in Maine
sure beats potatoes
but it certainly takes time
our last crop was less than one

always running child
the moonlight glows your sneakers
can we at least talk?

The odd numbered house
of birth and death and rebirth
has a swinging door

the sky is looking
for long life, expanded growth,
and a bit of blue

living in his world
the commoner knight passes
damsels in distress

live some sour dreams
don't spend your life as Peter Pan
grow, love another

no missing persons--
overflowing my garden==
sweet, sweet Petunias

dark leather couches
shelters for an opening
with no hands, no touch

jump shoot your wallet
if you think your sky hook green
but catch your rebound

crack that concrete slab
if it folds like a napkin
it may well be love

The mice in my wall
talk about me in the fall
said my bed in spring

bass washing away
the fiddle soothes like a wish
love that ramblin' band

the flower statement
is not if the waters part
its if they depart

rain, plaza fountain,
nature is just not looking
unless we water

lion of silence
my struggles with who, would, could
our conversation

It's blemished, the star
falling all gold and silver
tracking fast, alone

where all the suns?
science says they are plentiful
I see only stars

all apples beware
of gardens with Adam, Eve
they blemish your name

you leaf wannabees
wait til after your birthday
no rush to turn red

• fog on the river
• some boat lights swim thru its tears
• others shine unseen

The mountain is there
dig a little, climb, climb, climg
but there is no top

fingers digging earth
feeling it's a big secret
one about to bloom

• looking for places
• to stop, fill in all my faults
• but the road goes on

fresh clothes, new hat, shave
tell the frogs to stop croaking
already a prince!

racing chariot the moon a farmer's wagon leaning on the sun

often we gathered
a small pool in the river
soft, soft, the current

a life of music
often rich, often off key
heels down, but dancing

reaching for daylight,
the moon feeds upon itself
like a mirrored self

hiding from my dreams
they're somewhere in the bushes
flowers are there too

Petunias nurtured
let me check the Begonias
they only act tough

I love your heartache
tis second only to mine
must we cry alone?

heart of a lion,
together we will climb steps
past fear, past the hunt

the bone of the fish
silent these empty glasses
empty, empty time