Day's End

Cat's on the couch flatly
lying
fire's in the hearth slowly
dying

paper in the kitchen
ignored
dishes in the dishwasher
stored

rain on the walk finely 
falling
snowy approach has been
stalling

moon behind clouds sadly
hiding
stars behind moon, mute
abiding

man with a book sort of
reading
daylight is finally
receding

pillow lays flat so
inviting
bedside lamp dimly
lighting

tomorrow's chores are
impending
day comes to pass, finally
ending

my last thought is this as I
pray
thank you, my God, for this
day

sleep is fast in
arriving
dreams are adrift and they're
thriving...

Girl By the River

She stands by the river, pulls the hem of her skirt up

      wades into the middle of the stream

and stands by a rock

She lets the wind blow through her hair

     raises her arms as if to fly

twirls and spins and dances like a 

     leaf blown into the sky

and her senses are all heightened

   by the beauty of her natural being

she could look all day and still not believe

    the beauty that she's seeing

she thinks:

Has this been here all my life

and I just haven't been aware?

She thinks of all those wasted days and how she's just begun to care

A voice goes through her head that says:

Don't take it for granted

What if the sun stopped shining?

What if the wind stopped blowing?

What if your world started 

slowing down?

In a forest shadowed quiet, she warms her hands by a fire

   with dappled sun, mossy greens, and browns

nature's spiritual attire

and the silence fills her head: it's an overwhelming sound

  so she lifts her voice like an owl at night

until it circles all around

she thinks:

has this been here all my life

and I just haven't been aware?

she counts her blessing once again 

and wonders how to share

She pulls her wrap around her, steps her way back to her bed

     remembers to be grateful for all

around and overhead

For the world is deep in wonder

and the sky holds mysteries, bound

tomorrow she'll tell everyone she sees

of the secrets that she's found

What if your world starts

slowing down?

I Swing

I swing because I was made for swinging
I dance because there's music in my shoes

I throw balls because I like to see things go where I aim them
I bounce balls because I like to see things come back to me

I lie on my back so I can see what's above me better
I lie on my back so I can better see what's above me
I lie on my back so I can see above me what's better

I sing because a little birdie asked me to
I stare because my brain has put on its emergency brake

I cry because I never do

I write because it's too late to play my guitar
I read so I can do something with my eyes besides burn things with my heat vision~duh!

I run because running frees my soles
I walk because I'm tired of watching things go by so fast
I drive because, well, I'm driven to...

I love because things grow when I do
I pray because life happens when I do
I worship because that's what I'm hard-wired for

I play my guitar because there's a wind in my fingers that needs to get out
I end because to go on would be presumptuous

Summer Dream

I woke up dreaming last night

I saw your face in my mind

I didn't turn on the light

A staircase leading below

wind opening up a door

a feeling 

going insane

A field of blooming flowers

a light from who knows where?

the minutes turning to hours

a world so frantic

a world so hazy

the spinning of my mind makes everything 

seem crazy...

(Oh hold me, reassuringly

let me stay inside your arms 'til I'm asleep

and then the world I build

will be deliciously dark

and deep)

I turned the switch on the wall

I gazed away from the door

I heard a fainting voice call

an echoing of a phrase

the summer turning to fall

someone's calling me home...

                                            someone's calling me home...

                                                                                        someone's calling me home..

                                                                                                                          someone's call

april, may i?

when i was a little raindrop
cradled in your hands
resting for a little while
above the burning sands

you raised your hands up to your lips
and gently kissed the rain
you threw me back into the air
the question now is plain:

april, may i be your raindrop
when your world is dry
hiding just until you need me
in your diamond sky?

april, may i stay forever?
kiss me once again
springtime showers
my love, to you, sends 

All the Way Back Home

taken by you
living with you
finding a new way home
thinking 'bout you
holding onto
a feeling of two, alone

and in my head
around and round
i've created a new poem
i've been thinking 'bout you
all the way back home

such a surprise
to look in your eyes
and see that the fire still burns
nothing to say
i'm lovin' today
the world had its way, now our turn

i know you won't 
see anything
i haven't already shown
i've been thinking 'bout you
all the way back home

night is warm and my window is down
thoughts are racing 
through my head like cars
racing through this town
and i CAN'T slow them down

angry with you
happy with you
girl, there's no view we haven't seen
boring and blue, laughing and new
soaring with you
man, i mean...

...that in my head
everything's there
that you've always known
and i've been thinking 'bout you
all about me and you
yeah, i been thinking 'bout you
all the way back home

Seamstress's Granddaughter

Carefully touch the unwoven thread
Don't uncover a wound that has bled
So many thoughts run through a young girl's head
That's what a seamstress's granddaughter said

We baste our dreams to the corners of our hearts
but so easily these two can fall apart
so many thoughts go through a young girl's head
that's what a seamstress's granddaughter said

and, oh, she dreams in silent repose
of handmade things, quilted angel wings
and colorful clothes

she wraps them all around her
as she walks through her days
and examines the threads that connect her life
in so many ways 
to the ones she loves

a stitch in time sews up several seams
a bright-eyed girl with material dreams
so many thoughts run through a young girl's head
that's what a seamstress's granddaughter said

'here's a pattern to look pretty on my doll's head'
that's what a seamstress's granddaughter said