Losing my sight, walking around at night.
Perice’s the dark, a moment of candle light.
Your heart is a drum, it hears, breaths and sees.
Upside down, hanging from branches of trees.
The air that you breathe won’t stop your heart skip a beat.
The center of paintings that stare.
The rising sun when sleepy eyes start to blink.
Standing like a tree, the trunk is holding water.
Naturally eating, puffing cigarettes takes a life.
A moment in time when a man loses his wife.
Bundle of nerves to untangle.
One picture frame, your painting yourself in the dark
A ham on the table, a clean spot and you think your smart
It’s raining outside

One drop of rain, a tear from the sky that is giving.
An opening, a space that is rented in time.
Realizing the dark, it is the sweet that’s forgiving.
Plucking a flower, stealing the beauty of nature.
Ceiling overhead, a feeling we wish to escape.
Your closing your eyes, laying on blankets of grass.
Not to feel the pain, sunset that’s making you cry.
Like a good book, reading from cover to cover.
Standing in the shower, beautiful, ugly and fair.
The needle draws blood,
the uncomfortable weight of a stare.
The tired feeling of wondering where you are.
The smoke of a chimney does not always mean there’s a fire.

Dedicated to my mother Lynn Gardner. Happy Birthday!

Check and unchecking punching in
punching out
laughing and running
and running out
walking and dying
and dying out
calenders and chapters
ended calenders
of windows passed
checked windows
framed with a couch
for each frame
dusted with words
xxxxx’s & ooooo’s
white paint glosses
over like gallery wings open
then opens, unhinged board
cold coins aimed things at
knowing, death slaps
together. Sung.
mouths part. Together.
my soft soft scarfed.
open hand.
moving steadily as an old
horse moves. Forward.
folding fields, remembered in measured
milk water basin. Best rented Clean.
train soul passes. Broken factory
A dirt callow
Morning. rooster rectory clacks
hollow. dusting death leaves
leavened humming bluebirds skyline steam
the dust roared with brown turpentine
cursed with crumbs.
unchecking paint patterns open
book cover, a re-print of silk paper
marks, stamped rubber
stripped lines
blurred, unchecked.
Bluejay inside, postmarked.
My soft spot scarfed
Opened hand.
Moving steadily like a cold horse
dappled forward. A hand shake,
Then a headlock.
No mortgage, no notice, nowhere to arrive.
Open hand.
Birthday reminder.

Here comes Zeus in his zuit suit
Hercules in all his glory
hot and bothered, looks for Venus
history and poetry
standing at the Mayan temple
watch them sacrifice a child
Egyptians prepare a mummy
watch out the gods are on fire
all chant when the sun shines bright
the gods, the moon, the night
looking at the stars and Mars
watching Aztecs playing ball
voices speak to Persephone
George is singing my sweet lord
everyone try’s to stand tall
even when their idols fall
what you must do against all odds
is try your best to worship the gods
some people take time to pray
pray to Billy Holiday
some even praise animals
to stop sky and thunder from falling
and after the day is done
some pray to Jim Morrison
walk to the door and turn the knob
drop to your knees and worship the gods
muses mount the Trojan horses
pyramids and the white house
Apollo take your pick
shine your tongue and join the mob
drop to your knees and worship the gods

seahear
seized the day too
of rings of lovers
content to imatate
by kissing jokes in the arms of war
love harvests an original word
—a dancing decoy/a toe gate.

seahear
I don’t know what I can be
should you write lines
down for me
The more briefly I lie
the faster I flie
Design me in your arms
fold me up like an oragamy tragedy.
Then you will see the real me.

Love will have played with armored hands’
Heads or tails in the battle heat…
A good leg, a lead foot, a silver toe…
coughs that red color circulating Beat.
A migraine without speech
A golden calfve, still milk bleeds
Until the sun bows at your perfect feat.

All I know, softer than hard
the prickly value of love
the teating hands that touch
vowes made inside.
A monarchs wings reowned, both opened
a queen without a band
pages marked open, but unbroken.

ripened clouds depart
paper ends, pieces in part
hands remain true
terrain like fingers, in the sky blue
as a silver pointed pen inks,
sewing corn lines
angles blink, unfold us carefully

like a shoehorn unraveled.
It’s tongue holds many songs
fly words, strong like a jet lines
it remains, a marker in the sky.
the arms of you, the arms of I
laces unwrapped
loose like fireflys talking
seahear
hear the sea walking.

A crying wolf is howling, alone and never knowing
whispered words help those who are lost
days laid out and answers piled, lullaby’s for a child
spoken amen is spoken soft

wars go on with memories, secret notes inside the binder
blinded eyes that start to see, time moves slowly when you watch the timer

time is neatly traveling, emotions are unraveling
shot rings out and then it falls the prey
the youth has begun running wild, underdog has won the title
all the words that older people say
all the people in the pews, receive the preacher’s godly news
all hearing is focused on the timer

hands on the clock will never stop the timer sets off the alarm
the sun removes it’s rays, the clouds move in right before the storm

one man will become the loser and one man will become the finder
no one is alerted because no one took the time to set the timer

Take A Listen To “Clowns”

trapping mice,
what to do,
small, alive
irritating
you want to kill them
harshly,
vigorously stomping
make them squeak no more
so they can’t shit,
and shit,
and shit
in your space

he smell himself, his shelling skin
molting snake, lashed, drying stems
swollen morning, eyes, crusted gems
rose colored cake, half mooned, stars pinned

rolling pins racing,
the icing, butter churned race
where mercury melts, small signature slips
where blood once flowed, and flies bit
his elephant ears missing

bloated and salted, Wednesday sun
an outpost, a harpoon sky
rebuilds a break, tattoo revised
stolen poems

watery lines, diseases left out
re-tuned river chimes,
one slow guitar,
words undone, time dawned domain
his elephant ears missing

a sewed costume, a hanging spoon
what an elephant hears

roles renamed, fingers shared hands
so brittle they play, together disbanned
the licensed, and unarranged
missing elephant ears

hovering, in post pone rain
breath cradled, the pro paned pain
thickness of snow, moaned and moved
a final bellow, woven papoose
elephant ears missing

the unforeseen, folded and creased
the tide rips and ivory sails release
what an elephant hears
soft as a paper boat tips,

what an elephant hears

She combs my hair
in loose strokes
as the cats warm themselves
by fire, to touch her skin
turns embers gold

Dad drinks his coffee, black, cold
long stories still untold
the gray root of his hair
growing, unfold

it’s going to be alright

Sunflowers catapult into the night
settle sun seeds in the yard
the pinwheel subsides, the pottery spins
of my mother’s hands working hard

her clay spoon caught
by both grandmother’s hands
kneading out the rising meal
smelling potatoes as they peel

it’s going to be alright

the dishes clatter, in the soapy air
black-white woman’s prints-
of old platter ware
silver patterned steel ingrained

the wrinkles hold pinched bread
held by many hands
wheat, onion, beets of the land

as stones tossed out in the lake
the roots grab the soil and take
as fish boil, the ice melts

there’s always time to wait
for every season so bright
everything is going to be alright

Open window; shining coffee
a paper curled, opening
newspaper dew outside,
the cost of cutting the tree
a shadow moving; edged, sun wet light
dropping fares, long lines
whole grain, leaving leavening bread;
growing, rising flatten silhouette;
spilling wooden vault
the robin touring,
still outside timing
walked away, redirecting,
spilling sight

Drawing fair, long lines
coal-train, hidden;
smooth gestures;
timber into October
spray paint beneath a careful passover
over stepped sewer holes,
round turned-clock, hues
tunneling underneath
sun clothing beams a light brimming, trim

Grooming hair, long lines
drawing reins in a paper maker,
palomino racing, ribbons green
wearing winning breakers,
changing yellow fly paper
two twirling leaves hung like golden curls
catching an abiding ear
long lines waxed, sticky & new

blue ribbon beer,
honey bees, lemon Rhine’s
draining the compost heap, humming,
turquoise-black flies wiggling;
like sea threw squid, dancers
spinning; a cloudy ocean deep
boiled words spiced, long time
holding salt, soup Turing

Recital, a huge playing,
green-bluegrass reference
clipping tool, agreement unmeant,
hand holds, hands held,
payment, original records
revolving door handle,
real-a-state-knob
holding the payment tight
long lines, Play on the darkest night

Sublet, the unrest, grey sky,
dulcimer threw the armless;
fire, mother kindling, year rigged,
need needle memories pasted in place
fire places replaced the sun,
fire moved the stations

turning the traffic lights
long lines, blurred rain

Song remains
in time, all the holes
in the middle
pupils pupils
recording call retained
thirsty names, puddles fused
words in your title
as we grow
we are all changing sizes
long lines
records records, a call

Night smears, long rhythm
warning mirror grains
grey sky entrails
evenly/cuffed/a plated bail
railing invisible fence trailing
cemented and armed
naming, out of the belly, poems
with warm sandy breath
need needle memories pasted in place
fire replaces the sun
long lines try for rented space

Thank you; just in cased
dropping you right outside,
the station placed
black and white; curled rimpled
change the day
crimped composure ride
driven away, Schwinn
blue bike-bombed to fly
dived-tired-out, a fallen direction
rekindled, tide, handed secrets,
and shipped lies
weeping late, hard sliver,
silvered sobered insight
watching patrons,
one graves of the hollering,
resound fans, masters of duplicity,
fiddling down, harbored arrows,
unknown re-board, foundered dimpled key
kept under the front door mat
spotted appetite; simply homeward bound
a woven DNA, clean caught
free-dumb, doing wheelies,
hands in the air, tight
well behaved acrobats,
charring coals hot
chair switching, church bells moving,
staring straight, angled cheese,
farmed after calves, narrowed gate
constructed happy, wine airing, too rich pate’
deducted tissue box, solving pro-nouns
tared for-malled, black statue, pro-rated,
dappled freedom, fresh rescue,
renounced of homemade flowers,
calcimine, in one sweet marbled beet
a nude tiled-a dying pillow-garbled speech
plagiarizing, a sleeping head
a rose colored vase, teared
cauterized smile,
re-surfaced

dark, cold, lost,
I ran to these things
it’s indescribable
to wish you were a bird
and build a five foot nest
inside a dying tree.
I slept in this nest,
safe and warm,
held, quieted, loved

I ran to this tree,
away from my family,
into the dark,
in snow up to five feet.
woods, alone, confined
the only place
I felt love,
caressed by stars,
the cold wind,
protected,
by my mother tree