For a friend

Knowing each other’s
needs
desires
failings

being together
walking away
allowing for change

friends

Storms come
and go
walking on
is all that matters

walking together
or apart
going the same
direction

Walking away with loss

Leaving something you love
is hard
It disturbs emotions
at the surface
the superficial ripples of
A soul
swelling
wrenched by
A tear
is only
the topside of
a tsunami
made by
doubt

My "not at home" message

I heard the rhododendron call
it's essence pulled me
like the tendrils of a memory
a long lost, dearly remembered
friend

So, I responded to the call

Now, my days are filled with birdsong,
punctuated by the rhythm of my beating heart
smoky air draws down on the mountain passes
as humming birds beat their way
to the same fragrant essence
that pulled me here

I will return (Lord willing) in late May
after the redbuds whither

Afternoon in the sun

Shades of green, yellow, gold
contrast the silver-blue of
Lake Champlain
Insects encircle
my head, my hands
looking for an
easy meal, not death

The clover at my feet
sends up a
sweet aroma of
sugar-pollen
white to the eye
life to the bee

I rise to leave
but will remember this
place fondly
despite the sound of
cars

Clear cut

Sun-baked dust rises at every step
Life is gone
Cut down
Torn up
Life ripped from life
Fiber by fiber
I have never seen desolation before
Never experienced such carnage

Carcasses of a once proud forest
Now, a litter of after-life
Nothing grows here
We have destroyed it all
For particle board
My soul cries out
My tears soon follow

One vista leads to another
The carpet is now black
Bleached-bone toothpicks dot the land
Life fractured by fire
Green shoots of new beginnings
Are everywhere

Scars will heal
Life will emerge
From death

Afternoon man

Purple shorts
knee length
burgundy briefcase
for his lunchbox
shark hat
support socks
on one leg

He smiles
As he works

Again
As he meets
the bosses’ daughter
a pink blush
clashes
with the shorts
but defines

The afternoon man.

Walking away

Leaving something you love
is hard
It disturbs emotions
at the surface
the superficial ripples of
A soul
swelling
wrenched by
A tear
is only
the topside of
a tsunami
made by
doubt