If This Is The Last Song

because this may be

the last time

I sing this song

sincerely and reverently

in this place

that knows my voice

and follows my stride

through braided seasons

seemingly without end

I sing

as the cardinal

opens the day

radiant in golden hue

I sing for you

as the song dances on air

filling the intervals between

sound and silence

I sing 

because this time 

shall be unlike any other

echoing in the place

memory reserves as its own

Wind

wind…

from where have you come

where do you go

what do you carry

whom do you know

circling round corner

nestling in crevice and seam

scattering seeds over meadow

gathering fragrance from blossom and bloom

swaying beneath your stride

ever restless and impatient

running full circle wide

pausing to gather your wits

before driving ever on

When You Leave

when you leave

I will smile

as you turn

away and go

while these words

sketch the outline

of where you were

Le Sacre

time held me

full fresh lush

and green in

golden vibrant spring

songs rang to

a silent pulse

throbbing beneath my feet

from a presence

sensed unseen

a heady fragrance

rides on air

from blooms diverse

in shape and hue

the pungent loam

of opened soil

yields a generous bounty

of fruit from

the fertile earth

let us be one

among all that moves

playing to the music

of the intimate dance

of time and light

To Those Who Ask

to those who ask

I have little less

than nothing to spare

tell me

if it is enough

Fritillaries

a pair of Fritillaries

float drift and glide

dancing on air

weaving interlaced designs

around one another 

in arcs

of becoming

ascending

on an invisible strand

like lovers consummating

in a spiral 

of forgetting

who they are

Let's Take The Long Way Back

let’s take the long way back

beneath shaded oak and aromatic pine

athwart the weathered split-rail fence

bent into the warp and woof of nature’s wiles

past the old place

with its long front porch

and massive beams holding memories

of laughter and dancing feet

in moonlit rooms resonating with sounds of

family and friends fading now

as we roll past the giant willow

bending shade into the shape of long afternoons

drawing water from the well

with the fresh coppery taste

so light and cool on a summer afternoon

we glide into the blue-amber glow

of the western penumbra spread long and wide

with faint lights glimmering in the valley below

melding light and shadow into night

as we drift on wheels crunching gravel

like popcorn between our teeth

the hour is right in its time

and all that might have been

trailed behind and lost the way

back to what we remember

of days that are no more

Words

words/letters

symbols on a string

obsessions of genius

possession of kings

complicated tools

manipulated by fools

everyday/every way

you and I 

all we can say

words

see them

hear them

read them 

write them

say them 

mean them

use them

abuse them

echoes sound softly

around in your head

modestly/proudly

once they are said

find them

say them

write them

play them

amuse them

abuse them

fuse them

use them

words/letters

symbols on a string

obsession of genius

possession of kings

complicated tools

manipulated by fools

echoes sound

alive in your head

once they are thought

and then they are said

find them

say them

write them

play them

use them

abuse them

amuse them

believe them

everyday every way

you and I

all we can say

…words….

Beads

beads

on leaf

blossom petal

and bloom

beads 

laced round 

the neck

of my lady love

beads in eyes

on thighs

lips and 

tip of nose

beads 

glistening on skin

running down the middle

of your back

beads

nestled in clefts

where passion came

and was spent

beads

on the cusp

of a tear

hovering on a sigh

beads gathered on

tear-stained window

casement and

onto floor

beads 

that remember

all that was 

and is no more

Her Flaxen Hair

water runs full free and fast

flowing down cliffs 

through meadow and marsh

carrying effluent on its back

time rules the hour

wheels turn winds blow

over fields of grain 

swaying like waves

rolling with the tide

and her flaxen hair streamed

like silk ribbons flowing

golden and fair as she rode

in the balmy summer air

she rode across meadows

stretched long and wide

like a dark messenger

on a mission to hell

she paused beside a soft sandy mound

that breathed a sigh 

and a message ushered forth

from deep within its depths

only she understood

then turned mounted her ride

and rode into the wind with abandon

her flaxen hair streaming 

like fine silk ribbons trailing behind

she never looked back

at what was left behind

she rode and her flamen hair

flowed full and free 

on the soft balmy breeze

riding by her side