I tried counting up sheep
as o’er the fence rails they leap
but, alas, my downfall
is my flock is too small
and runs out before I fall asleep.
#200
I tried counting up sheep
as o’er the fence rails they leap
but, alas, my downfall
is my flock is too small
and runs out before I fall asleep.
#200
Two steps forward and keep on the track,
resisting the surging
of the current that’s urging
you to take at least one step back.
# 199
Does squinting really make things easier to see?
It seems like it should be about as effective
as pushing on the dashboard
to make the car go faster.
And yet as I screw up my face
into wincing wrinkles
the word will sometimes float up
for a split second and I can skim
the essence off the top,
like alphabet soup noodles roiling
in a pot of boiling stock
and if I read fast enought I can
get the gist.
Such is life when the cataracts
are acting up.
#198
Why do I dream of beautiful things
falling apart, of useless relics underfoot,
of strangers in my home?
Are my dreams some strange waystation
for past, present, and future baggage;
a merging place for alternate realities
where outcomes are all able to occupy
the same space at the same time?
This is what comes from failing Physics in high school.
Why do I dream impossible foolishness?
What crossed circuit or over tired synapse
is responsible for my dreams of broken glass
and spilled wine?
My REM cycle seems to have a flat
and I awake, gasping for air.
# 197
Take care of your heart
or no one will ever trust
you’ll take care of theirs.
#196
The morning dawns with a pale, flat light
and eases out the last of night,
tired of black, you’d think she might
squeeze out a little spark.
But no, her bland illumination
consists of gray and its gradations.
You’d think there’d be some small temptation
to make the world less stark.
Lightening now, the grays turn whiter
as though the celestial lamplighter
decided graciously to right her
obvious shortcomings
And now a hint of blue I see
emerging o’er the snow clad trees
and a band of peachy red that seems
to set the sky a humming.
The light grows stronger now and gleams
on silent, stately evergreens
who rouse themselves from winter dreams
and start to switch and sway.
And as the wind begins to shake
their cloaks of snow to falling flakes.
Pink clouds begin to thin and break
and simply float away.
Winter white returns full force
and day progresses in its course
I’ll let it go, with some remorse;
this fleeting, lovely thing.
Another winter sunrise gone.
But I’ll recall the day that dawned
and spread her colours on my lawn
and made the morning sing.
195
The older I get
the more sunshine I require.
Quit blocking my light!
#194
Our tea ritual.
Bed ruts that fit our bodies.
Floors squeak ‘welcome home.’
#193
Goodbye Arizona,
I liked you from the start
but now a fine grain of your sand
has settled my heart.
Gathering my memories
like layers upon a pearl
to make a jewel to guide the way
next time I return.
So, so long Arizona,
cause goodbye’s hard to say.
I know I’ll feel your sunrise dawn
on me again some day.
#191
Snippets of satin ribbon unravelling,
tangled on twiglets, tiny drips
of crimson in a winter desert,
blossoms of blood on fingertips.
#190
