words

words are plentiful
words are like dust
words are everywhere

you say words to me
in turn, words form
in my head but

are these the words
you spoke – or
some other words

I think I got it right
the words, that is
the words I think I
heard you speak

certainly there are
lots and lots of words
they are like dust

did you speak words
to me? or did I
form them myself?

I cannot understand
the words when you
shout at me nor
when you mumble

my mind

my mind has
become a city
streetmap

that started out
as nothing more
than an outpost

then became a
hamlet then
a village

the very first
settlers had a
different idea

than those who
followed; these streets
had a purpose then
that others changed

and everyone who
came to live in
my town altered

how to get
from here
to there

and now I live
in urban sprawl
in my mind

sometimes I
am not so sure
of how to get back

sometimes I
get caught in
my own rush
hour traffic

She was – I am

She was a witness to disaster
          And emotional upheaval
She’d seen families that were torn apart
          And in economic despair
There were carnal violations
          There was blood upon the easel
But she didn’t seem to notice
          Or she didn’t seem to care

You said happiness is a puzzle
          Some unworkable conundrum
And life is never really that
          What life appears to be
Love and hate and in between
          Sorrow, joy or boredom
We’ll not project the paladin
          And not impose our sympathy

I was sitting in a diner
          You were right across the table
I was drinking coffee
          You were busy with your phone
I asked if you were happy
          You didn’t even answer
I thought I caught a smile from you
          But I could never know

spring day # 37

on spring day number thirty-seven
i remember nothing new and wing
along inside mind’s eye
to capture        so to speak
a prize, a gem of introspection
one that i might share        and pen
my quiet jubilation        so
the cause of what i might expect is simple
seems to be neglect of all which bears
resemblance to a memory
or ample contemplation        oh
now there’s a thought-
ful pause inside this realm of mine
to realize that what is not is
new when it becomes        i see the
light of day beside the elm tree
fade away as bits of cotton battin’
float northeast away to shade
some other place        and when
the sun comes back to me and
i beside the elm tree watch
a bird, a fly, a bee
i catch an armadillo bug beneath a
rock with seven slugs and then i
roll the little fellow as a ball
around the trash can lid
and this he does so patiently until i
smash him to the ground        it’s
all she wrote for mr. bug        the
fall was just too much, no parachute
like dandelions which
sail forever        they can float
back down to earth or glide in
to a neighbor’s weeds I shouldn’t mind
if those weeds grow their roots
across the driveway birth is such a
lovely thing