The wake of Ike

The seat came from the coast road, concrete
mounds still stuck firmly to its legs. laid
on its back it looked like some star struck cactus
dragged through hay and netted in brown mesh sludge
the sea donated. It must have been some ride
to have washed three miles inland and settle
against the roots of the 100 year oak, a grey coffin
at its side. If the seat could talk,
would it ask to be put back, or to be left
on the roadside snuggled tight to people's possessions?

Paused

We are paused here, halfway
between heaven and hell
clinging to the landscape
like leeches, sucking the life
from the earth, unable
to stop the earth
from sucking the life from us,
pausing to take joy
in the smile on a child's face,
to pat the back of a friend
who's unsure which path to take next,
pausing mid-step to avoid
the pull of reason.
We are paused here amid the chaos
of choices and changes
that chain us to some other hot place
we can not escape.

Waiting

I remember you laying and listening
to the squeak of rubbered footsteps
as they walked the wide white halls,
remember your eyes moving to see

who it was that strode along
with such purpose, who entered
with such poise. I remember
the water held there, in your eyes

when the nurse lifted the blankets
and checked to make sure
your feet were warm, to make sure
that the skin that sagged over your bones,

was warm. I remember wondering if you
could feel their touch, their caring,
if you knew that they loved you too.

A more gentle era

I once looked at castles, wanted
their cool strength

that withheld the fight of swords.
I find the win, now, in the rise of steam

from my teacup, the smile
that a golden leaf brings,
the birth of praying manti.

Ike's visit

He raged and ranted,
deluged the shores
tossing trees and trash
this way and that, muddied
the streets, stormed
his way into homes
without so much as a by
or leave to rip roofs
from walls. He ravaged
a State but did not scratch
the surface of true
Texan souls.

A gathering

I don't know
if the hunch of distant clouds
will drift forever, aimless
wanderers crossing plains
where no mountains
ease their weight.

Blessings

Surrounded by storm clouds
I thanked Him for the lambs,
the calves that grazed
on green pastures. Looked
for the first Spring bulbs
and up to the sky to ask
how much longer
would I have to wait and there,
in the clouds, a heart graduated
from pink to red, from dead
to pumping, a blessing
to remind me that waiting
was part of life.

Girl/Woman

She has the drive
to join countries, the ambition
to walk from one to another
without looking back
and pondering those
what might have beens
that set pathways for others.

She thrives on joy
sucks it out of people
and spits it back
on pavements slick with oils
of previous past times.

I can see her painting rainbows
on the sky, no point waiting
for God to dip his brushes
she wants vibrant stripes
and she wants them yesterday

strong and unyielding and
it doesn't matter
that there are no shower clouds -
she will paint those too.

4th day of Spring

Soon there will be blankets spread
on paddock grass, buttercups
to place under chins.
Dandelions will stand tall
in the fast growing grass
of Spring and blue sky
will blatantly bless our land.
Soon warm Summer noons
will caress the ground
and fattening buds will explode
to give shade once again.