FACE
My face distorts and dances
in the rippling water.
And a goldfish floats through my nose.
SCRAWNY KID
Scrawny kid.
Lean against your crumbling shack,
And try to paint with...
The Birds Busiest Before DawnNorth Carolina, January 7, 2021
America, can you still hear us? Caged, mournful,what songs echo empty streets after all ballotshave been...
Words I Write
are words you read.Do my words bring you warmthlike sun on shoulders? Exhilarationlike riding a motor bike fast?Laughing childrenwho make you laugh?
Poems...
Indian River
I had no idea
when I threw the mangrove seed,
wishing for brighter days,
clouds prowled over the mainland.
Perhaps my offering failed,
perhaps nothing could be done.
But...
Settled in the Gray
Dust weighs down the roomgiving an unfocused appearance, yetsomehow adding emphasisto the few items that remain:the soft table in front of...
spend your time
and heal thyself
then the world
waning such limited time
our warming gift
small hands pressed into clay
art but a reflection
the way they once moved
--and grasped
T....
Losing Sight
You were the first person
I reached towards,
A single, shaking arm
Plunged into the thick
Fog of fresh grief.
You pulled me through
The first awful snow,
The first...
Morning Class in Washington, D.C.
A sparrow collides, fallsglass to concrete
Beak opens, body spasms.
A student looks:me, bird, back.
She wants instructions.
Touch the birdto do what?
Stun it...
Bellevue Library
I remember this library as hiddenin trees, perched on the hillside,pierced by birdsong.
I looked out from the second floorto see the oak trees,...
Tondo: Closing the CircleAfter Sam Gilliam’s Something is Going On!—2021
In a muddle of abstractiona face emerges—owl, cat, human—no certainty.Should I turn the canvas,straighten its...
The Reflection Terrace at Brookside Gardens
I am still water
I take on the color of thehedge-pine greens thegeese-moss browns thetortoise-rock grays theazalea-breeze pinks thebride-haze whites...
