Best Bayles Poems

Sunlight leaks
through the curtain
after I’ve thrown off the covers.
Downstairs the television flickers
as a roommate sleeps
on the couch.
He was talking politics
last night.
I went upstairs
and read a poem.
This morning
I walk into the kitchen
and turn off a dripping faucet.
The furnace hums
to fight off a chill.
The calendar says spring
as...

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A woman’s voice said
Look out the window
and I saw a ravine
with a fresh cover
of snow.
I thought it was the neighbor
but I was alone.
A thicket of trees
reached for the sun
yet I noticed
one was fallen
its age born
in its rings.
Two cats lay on my bed
as I took in...

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dawn’s stillness
early lightfall
at my feet
my body aches
I slip out of bed
I shiver
the angels have fallen
a part of me has died
a part of me is gone
left with realization
my love
I’ll never see her again
my love
left with realization
a part of me is gone
a part of me has died
the...

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A cat sits on a chair
and hovers over me
as I lie in bed.
It’s December 31st
as a soft rain falls.
As I get up
I ask myself
if this is
an ending or beginning.
I’ve been back in town
full-time for five years
but embrace memories
of highways travelled
throughout the Midwest
when I worked
for road...

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november gray
the whisper
of love lost
...

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A friend said
a little mulch
and planting
is what it takes
to transform a yard.
She bought flowers
in spring
as a gift to herself.
She laid the mulch
and planted the flowers
around a tree.
She cried out 
for last night’s storm
and all life
a touch of rain could bring.
She said
after her divorce
every transgression
could be...

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Dressed in sunlight, it smiles
as it peers through my window.
As I put on a sweater
it says come live again.
The calendar says December
but the ghost’s voice
calls me outside.
A glorious spread of limbs
greets me as I drive
to the sight of limbs
bearing leaves
and just beyond
bare limbs reach for...

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neon lights at night
danced behind closed eyes
vague memories embraced
cats lie at the foot of my bed
a heater vent breathes
the world I know turns
it’s February
the sun wears a veil of clouds
I take a deep breath
a feeling that love
lies between death and me
as I cry out for...

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Road work had been finished
for the winter on an asphalt strip
north of town near a nature preserve.
I said good-bye to the hotel owner
and he invited me back
although the town was a lifetime away
from my home. We shook hands.
The town wore its history well
with a façade...

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Without a word I slip out of bed
and a thousand conversations
run through my mind
as I walk barefoot across worn carpeting.

Two nights ago, I barely made it home
while driving through a deluge
and water on the roads.
I defied the warnings
and survived
as bolts of lightning laced the sky.

I...

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soft reflections
after rain
cardinals dance
the refrigerator hums
time whispers
not quite spring
I write a poem
my friend
she waits for me
my friend
I write a poem
not quite spring
time whispers
the refrigerator hums
cardinals dance
after rain
soft reflections

...

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This morning weighs more than it should
a preponderance of sorrow and joy
about what I have and what I lost
and the moon to the west hides before the storm.
Astronomers say the universe, too, weighs
more than it should. It bears a dark presence.
I know I must let...

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rising from shadows

sunlight through window
a knight without armor
apparition in the city

time to celebrate and rejoice
a get-together
endless dreams

miles counted number turn
my many incarnations

to the next screen
the day comes too soon
stillness of late morning
soft awakening

my friend waits on another table
smiles and says hello
come back come back

the backyard...

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the
cold spell
morning sleeps
I dream of spring
north winds sweep the yard
fir branches dance and sway
with eyes closed I dream of spring...

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The bartender strolls from one
end of the counter to the other.
She makes small talk with regulars
who watch NFL games on screens
and a college basketball game
plays on another.
For each touchdown scored
mugs are raised.
Fans analyze every run and play
and the day unfolds.
while the bartender pours beers.
She says...

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