Spring Memory

The morning birds are rioting
outside; they're trashing the dawn.
Any minute they may launch a song
straight through the plate glass
window of my sleep
to loot my dreams.

January 2 2014

Assistance

Old man;
old dog;
old truck.
He lifts him in.

December 29 2013

A Principle of Dreams

One clear principle of dreams
is that one thing leads to another.
Therefore, do not dream of cats,
to prevent the appearance of tigers.
Cellars are much larger and darker than they first appear
when you venture down the stairs.
Likewise, if you visit your old college campus
you will find that it stretches further
with more unfamiliar buildings
the farther you go to find the classes
for which you have no schedule.
Rather, dream of apricots,
which may lead to thoughts of fruit in general
and proceed to tangerines;
or of baskets, which tend to hold good bread;
or lightning, which can stimulate
thoughts of safety and of home,
where an absent friend is waiting
to hear you tell your dream.

December 18 2013

Stained Concrete 2 (Manna Rising)

Stained Concrete

Love Needs

Love needs 
to see love
in eyes it loves 
to be love,
or it is just 
the feel of
love, but never
real love.

December 3 2013

Fox and Hound

That fox was a while ago,
but still it lingers here,
amid all the wrack, the scent of a wreck
that only his nose can see.
Too faint, thank God, for rolling in,
but still the remembered mystery:
what it was, 
where it is,
and why he may not follow.

November 21 2013

The Heartened Shell

As when the fever breaks
and you are tired, clean, and empty;
you walk out from your house into a field
and the wind upholds you.
You recognize the sun from long ago
and the water from the grasses bathes your feet.
All these gentle affirmations grace
the fragile part that hopes to strengthen,
and you bring the heartened shell of you
back home, and throw the windows open.

November 18 2013

Programmer's Affirmation

Do not generalize
from local failure
to global incompetence.
Your errors are no longer in scope
when the current function returns.
Trust in a catch for every try,
that your validation is robust,
and that if nothing else you have planned
for graceful degradation.

November 12 2013

That She Was Never Far Away

That she was never far away, oh
that she looked over my shoulder
to edit me, and with what greatest grace
and kindness she encouraged me,
my silent watcher sitting perhaps now even at his hand
or feet, healed, rested,
and wiser; 
now indeed she lives, now indeed,
and it is exactly she to whom my tears return
and always will except that now I have been given the sight
of where she is happy
and ever will be,
in hope,
in hope, oh,
near.

November 7 2013

Skitter

It skitters, one leaf

up the street on paper claws.

Snow stalks close behind.

November 2 2013

Parking Lot Entrance (Road Number 4)

Around Here

Around here, people stand by their cars
at the other end of parking lots
and merge with the general grey.
We judge the value of a man 
by the color of his silence
and women govern competently in SUVs.
We know that winter follows fall,
that spring is late and grudging,
and that summer ends;
but work is always there to save us.
We would all be driftwood, if there were enough,
things of wood and wire that have endured the sea,
but much of what we have is pebble,
which is also washed and serviceable,
so most of us make do
with stone.

October 22 2013

Road Number 3

Bells

It isn't the time the bell is calling
but Mass. From where we walk
each peal of each 
sounds much the same,
though where Mass's rings 
sing close upon each other,
time's more measured, more methodic.
But bells are bells, only different in intent.
Time's chimes can be counted;
each hearing walker must decide
if both bells can be counted on.

October 15 2013

I Couldn't Quite Hear the Question It Was Asking Me

Peggotty Beach Walk

He is plunging along like a tug in high seas
at the end of a snapping line
while the garnet breakers toss treasure on the shore.
The wind is beating the season back toward winter
when the beach will be ours once more.

October 12 2013

Life Cycle of a Band

The band breaks in
the band breaks through
the band breaks out.
The band plays around
the band breaks down
the band goes under
the band breaks up.
The band is over.

October 12 2013

They Gave Me a Horse, and a One Hour Head Start

Road Number 2

Rhyme with God

God is in the wind, is in the dell.
God is in the winding of a shell.
Speaking in the silence,
sounding in a bell;
God's in every place that I can tell.

October 8 2013

Boardwalk, Egypt Beach

Road Number 1

His Scenting

His scenting correlates with wind
in which the ghosts of fox and cat
come visiting,
down the sidewalk he
is vacuuming.
There's no arguing with a nose;
all you get
is sweat.

September 1 2013

Baseball Memory

Wakefield in the zone
turns and catches Varitek's
throw behind his back.

August 30 2013