Poetry

In mid-May: A passing rain opens the day. Finally, on cue, the evening sun, Casts colored light across the tops of trees, And peers through the kitchen window, Suddenly weaving the day Into a great, hushing pause. Even the hissing whispers of grandma’s gossip, Under cast iron clangs, ceramic dings, And the thwaps of the […]

A chill a ululation one howl and then another like a wounded animal like a caged animal breaking free in voice calling out across the neighborhood lighting the city at dusk calling out to the fog to the Bottom to the hills Heartache, is it? but also, “I’m here” and “I hear you.” We are […]

Barkeep, pour me a stiff one, will ya? a climate-changer on the rocks, a big hunk of ancient ice, if ya’ got it; want to watch it melt. Thanks for turning up the thermostat. Can’t wait to see the stirrer melt into an oily, iridescent scum, a fitting offering to the green-dollar flash. I’ll need […]

Swallows dart about Apparently together But never quite in sync, Changing course In a heartbeat for No apparent reason, Which always Seems to work. Kirk Gothier

Enjoying my own company Sharing space with just one friend, Who lovingly lays next to me from morning til day’s end. No need to entertain her she’s content without the need, To fill the air with idle talk, or boring words to heed. So many people disappoint they must not know the joy, of real […]

The rain and the burning sun entwine; and what becomes of water and fire but spirit-lifting mists,  vaporous and lovely, rising like a host at the height of prayer. True, it’s cold now;  but remember the heat and how it slows and softens us. We are blown into flame;  bellowed and molded. Oh! look at […]

Having been discharged from Hell, the New York dead lie piled inside refrigerated trucks, awaiting their transport to Heaven and reunion with old enemies and friends. A continent away, the redwood forest throbs with life, as prehistoric ferns unfurl, and tiny wildflowers become droplets of courageous color in the shade of the big, dark trees. […]

I would like to think that it would be no different If you were really here with me Sharing the last of this red wine Our after dinner faces on And the long evening hours stretched out lazily in the corner You would listen Just so Chin in hand Eyes bright in the candlelight That […]

A midwinter sun through the clouds doth peek; White egrets decorate a tree, at rest. Shore birds and ducks on the water, seek, Food as they dive and bob in their quest. Buds on a branch portend early spring And give one a sense of hope and gladness. Evoking such a desire to sing, Rather […]

We mark graves for ourselves Not for distant arrivals But for our own returns When we place a stone We don’t believe its weight will ever lift But it does What still hurts now seems to bear some load Each grief is a member That vaults the sky This old skull Is going somewhere I’ll […]