Afterglow

Fragmented eyes of the reader
You barely hear my words
as the class nearly closes
I’m frustrated by your lack
of focus
and your lack of foresight
if you could just see
that all of this is important
even the surface-y bad
the day in day out mundane
the lack of love and inner torture
the gay dead fathers
the parents in jail
then maybe you and I
could meet in the afterlife
in the warm glow of understanding
and the eternal bliss of the
Omniscient
Infinite
Divine.

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Powerlessness

Wanting things to go my way
day after day
hoping that if I pray
I’ll have nothing more to say
and so the outer edges
begin to fray
clear skies turn gray
and I cannot understand why. 

Praiano, Italy

Apologizing to Sad Kitty Haiku

My dear kitty kat
I’m sorry I yelled at you
I love you so much

Sad Kitty Haiku

kitty stop screaming
I know I came home too late
just leave me alone.

Passing of Chapstick

You asked for Chapstick
on our way down the hill
and as I pass you mine
a vision came
the one where you and I
are with my aunt in the
Hospice room
She wants Chapstick too
and you give her your own
The Beaver brand
we just bought at Wegman’s
and it feels good to
watch you gift our loved
ones something small
A token of our gratitude
for this simple, but exquisitely
eternal exchange
because here
many years later
many tears later
many layers of decomposition later
I still honor your memory
your legacy
your love and your life
in the mundane
passing of
Chapstick.

The Autumn Dance

Copper leaves
illuminated by the
glow of a Brooklyn
street lamp
cast
incandescent figures
on the pavement
below
They Dance
swaying to and fro
as cars
and people
and self-absorption
whiz by
missing the final act
ignoring the last bow
forgetting the entire show–

Last Leaf

What is it like to be
the very last
leaf on a tree?
Is it lonely and
scared or ready
to be bare?
Without a tree
to depend on
can it stand on
its own
on the
floor
nary
anymore
leaves to
call friends?

Strength

Give me the strength
to express myself in ways
I have not before
to know that love is
soft and sacred
and that I can touch the bottom
in the same way that I touch the top
Servitude
continues to be the
Mighty Prize
and a daily reminder
that washing dishes
brings the entire world’s
Consciousness to the
Universal Mind

Marshes