Tag Archives: Poems

Gates

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I passed the health foods store on Sunday
The store was closed
She wasn’t there
But if she was
My gates were locked anyway
So I kept walking

I passed the health foods store on Monday
The store was closed
He wasn’t there
But if he was
My gates were locked anyway
So I kept walking

I locked the gate after my heart was stolen and ransomed
After I lost my love and my innocence
After I put up my guard
After the pain

Was I keeping something in?
Was I keeping something out?
I don’t remember any more

I passed the health foods store on Tuesday
The store was closed
There she was
But she would not look at me
Her gates were locked
So I kept walking

I passed the health foods store on Tuesday
The store was closed
There he was
But he would not look at me
His gates were locked
So I kept walking

My key is lost in my confusion
I looked straight ahead
Should I turn my head and touch the tumblers?
Had the lock rusted shut forever?

I passed the health foods store today
Its metal gate was open and the store was busy
She passed me
And glanced at me

I passed the health foods store today
Its metal gate was open and the store was busy
He passed me
And glanced at me

We turned to each other

We went into the health foods store today
Past the open gate and the brown rice
Past the avocados and granola
Past the organic apples
Past the supplements
Past the cookies
Near the rice
We gave
Us
A
Key

Our gates are open
And nothing is missing

Orchard

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Sunset reflecting from your cheek
Onto our red wine

Last week there was snow here
But, that was a different here

Other lovers on distant shores
Do not concern us

The tree behind us wakens and greets the season
With green and gold

Our world ends at the edge of your blanket
On the grass by the still lake

Your eyes reflect my want and desire

Our world ends at the edge of our touch

I waken the stillness in me
We are two beings in our own orchard

Flowers opening
Apples growing

The sweet taste of the harvest
A winter of the soul

The season’s opening of our hearts
A budding of love in the still cool early spring

We see each others eyes
Reflected in a glass of red wine

Snowlight

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Winter calls us to our mountain
Just you and I
A few cold white months in our year
The low sun has a pale glow

Dinner with your favorite wine
Just you and I
Warm pie and hot cider are there
The roof protects us from the snow

We’ve settled by the fireplace
Just you and I
Laughter and smiles forever near
Always yes, we say, never no

Resting under a wool blanket
Just you and I
I stroke your face, sleep now, my dear
Let’s think of tomorrow, just so

Shoreline

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Fog protects me from the heat of your stare
I struggle to keep pace with the ground cloud’s movement
Lest I be exposed

Water surrounds me
Walking barefoot in the surf
Over clamshells and smooth stones

Rolling waves from the horizon send
Whitecaps flowing through my toes

Yesterday I saw your face
Flushed red with sorrow
Accusing eyes reflected my own turbulent sea

I had tried to tiptoe through your world
But I am clumsy and I broke your shell

Morning mist hides my shame

The fog lifts
The surf recedes
I see my shadow on the sand outlining hot sorrow
So now I must go into the brown grasslands

My back burns from your gaze

Moving towards the forest
I clean the sand from my feet
And dry off my tears

I walk the muddy bank of a narrowing river towards a distant rise
A stream up a hill
A brook up a mountain
Touching the waters that flow to you

I climb to the top and turn around
Straining to see your shoreline beyond the horizon

Imagining your cooling anger
And knowing myself a fool

Sleeping inside a morning mist
And dreaming of your beautiful shell
I will stay until all my seas have turned to clouds
And I can hide no more

Tree Poems 2

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only tree in the wilderness
    two lonely birds call it home
        three times they have met
strangers

your thought of leaving me
is an earthquake that shakes my world
    many apples fall
        i am hungry

i crossed the sea
following your voice
    and found you
    in a desert oasis
        kiss me beneath the one tree

cherry blossoms
    a subtle surge of spring
flowing from the ground and sky
    into color and beauty
        and my eyes

Clouds

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Evening at the lake
The streaked red clouds hide the sun

I cannot follow you over the horizon to your home
Where the clouds are white and the sun is high

Our places are disjointed
Our time is fragmented
Our love is stretched
Beyond my heart’s shadow
Beyond my sweet whispers
Beyond my loving dreams

Soon your sun shall hide
And mine will be gone

Every night, my dreams stretch out to touch you in your dusk
But you have moved on
To your dawn
With clear skies

Mountain

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the wind drives down the mountain and blows me off course

first one way
    then another

the summit is in sight
    but i can’t see you anywhere

i tell the wind it cannot dissuade me from my path

you are there
you are there

but the wind drives down the mountain
    and does not hear

i’ve heard nothing from you as i look towards the summit

your voice is lost in the air
    scattered in the winds
        diffused in the updrafts
            diluted in the vastness of the sky

the wind drives down the mountain
    i stand my ground and guard my directions
    i kneel and face towards the summit
    my legs are stone and my spirit hardened
    i close my eyes to remove the distance
    i close my ears to the howling lies

i will not believe the wind

    never believe the wind

you are there

you are there

    i know that you are there