FULL BLUE MOON

up at the reservoir

a full blue moon

ducks redress 
the full blown growl 
of a full grown raccoon
it goes silent all too soon 
what shall we do 
about the unfortunate fowl 
I ask and you don’t hesitate 
we are full grown my dear 
go quietly and run away

WINDOW

she had a window
once of beauty
elusive carousel ring
they stopped to
watch her as she passed
men who kept her
wondering
why they never
prized her thoughts
why her opinions
never asked
they sought to own her
own her laugh
she sometimes lost
sometimes gave in
stayed on the horse
‘til night’s upswing
she looked around her
growing older
leaving beauty to the past
what grew in beauty
grew inside her
the window opened
learned to fly
a mirror is
a useless map

Lion and the Tree

for Isabel Nuñez

on a walkabout day
in my part of the world
I searched for the sign
to bring you to me
it came from a quiet
turn onto a block
the moment I saw it
I stopped
stood no longer alone
in my reverie
for there you were
right beside me

I AM INNOCENT

September 21st

what comes in autumn
wears a different color
leaving gets stronger
memory grows older
a light is turned on
an unanswered question
those who would rule
do without our assent
when life is ignored
and death takes a stand
innocence, guilt
never a question
revenge and power
keeps us uncertain
no call to repent
from the honored grave
life worth living
was worth being saved
a sister a brother
united in love
far from injustice
democracy’s curse
a nation still waiting
for history’s reverse
when death visits greed
and unholy power
it casts a sharp eye
on what we’ll endure
it plays to the weakest
who never are sure
and so think it’s safe
that haughty presence
the refined diplomat
a murderous essence
until one autumn day
sick of the cringing
it loses support
for legalized lynching
on that autumn day
lives worth an honor
lead us out of the dark
to a brighter tomorrow

In active memory of Troy Davis and his incomparable sister Martina Correia

Tiny mutant butterflies
have always flown around me
called them arguments
when I was just a teen
and bad dreams hovered over me
in senseless movie schemes

where I was hero and heroine

when I was looking for love again

I tripped over the reason

tiny mutant butterflies
flared up in grammar school
I called them grownups
when I was called a fool
and opinions tried to smother me
in senseless faceless schemes
when I was just a child
where stories had meaning
the beanstalk grew from the seed

tiny mutant butterflies
dog me now in modern holocaust
they take a flighty message
for a modern SOS
and from Japan a tidal welcome
to the rest of us
when I was just  child
I knew all along

tiny mutant butterflies
would come along

She doesn’t cry herself to sleep
anymore

she’s still angry

just not at me

what she failed at

she’s flailed at
and found her policy
at her own door

I’m not her enemy

I’m her friend

I’m her beginning

not her end

and she’s willing to

argue that to the end

I don’t hold her head anymore

over the bathroom floor

the after fact

the end of the first act

is not the end of everything

we’re married and found the map

the bits we lose

again and again

she cries awake now

loud in an off putting way

sends them running

friends once

enemies forever

until the bridge recovers

the forever falls over

and hovers above and below

she is born again and again

and then who wins

me, I do

a wanderer in her soul

me, a madness

seeking whole

she doesn’t cry herself to sleep

the mountain

is no longer steep

SUN SIGN

I spin around the sun
wonder what becomes of age
when night crawls under
the window sash

I spin around the sun

for as long as I can

until mirrors no longer reflect

anything but the light

I spin around the sun

standing still sometimes

under stars confusing life

with anything but right

I spin around the sun

like a child who knows no age

I take my time and meet the gaze

of night when it comes

I spin around the sun

with love in my arms

on a warm summer morning

when songs come without warning

I spin around the sun

make my way in the day

like I have for many lifetimes

like I will for many nights

August 7, 2012