I met the man
Who has become
The man, my father
Fought so hard
To not become
To always be
That lyrical, selfless soul
Only out there
To rid the world
Of joyless, empty measures
Filled with pauses, rests and
Unintended notes
Rather
His motivation comes
In rushes, bursts and
Pure brazen moments
Ready to share
His love
To the sick and the slick
The blase pack of
Tepid luminaries
Each marshal of
Their own parade
And he conducts
Them
Honors their passion
For something
Other than
The driftless pith
Of the soured day's
Intentions
With his merriment
And simple brand
Of anguish-soothing
Feign-removing
Love.
(8/3/04)
Categories:
driftless, appreciation, celebration, courage, freedom,
Form: Free verse
Watercress Heaven
Thirty-five years I've travelled these backroads,
.....renewing my soul, while being nourished by local artisans, I now call my friends.
Bread they've baked, milk coaxed from unwieldy goats in the wee hours,
beauty defining paintings, in magical shades of bluff-reflected light, all etching memories
of my retreats to the driftless river valley.
Yesterday, an Apple Artisan (she grows dwarf varietals for hard and soft cider and wine)
I visit often, let me in on a close-held local secret, directions to a brief-winding, swift
Spring Creek….. it’s there, she said….. at the crevice where it begins to escape from the
limestone bluff……. you’ll find an endless bounty of fresh Watercress, sparkling,
like garnet-tinged emeralds, so vibrant, you’d swear fresh pepper was just ground
on each bite!
I accepted the invitation…….
Upon discovery, I fell to my knees and scooped a bristling bit of Heaven from the
crystal clear rushing water!
_______________________
First day of Spring 3/21/10
8:59 am
Categories:
driftless, nature
Form: Narrative
I was once in gaze,
my swaddling robes
were saffron fibers
and interlaced
my skin
a nebula
driftless
I pulsed,
and every eve
was a glimmer
circling a necropolis
of double-stars
alone,
apart from the mosaic
finally,galaxies away
I fell from the firmament
my trajectory
earth
swathed now in mantles of dirt
moss grows between my toes
I pulse with life again
while the colour’s
of being earthbound
bind me,
my skin interlaced again
in Technicolor
Categories:
driftless, fantasy
Form: Blank verse
I heard my name from shadows spoke,
beyond the place called time
where thoughts begin, from deep within
where names have never been
It's there I found the driftless peace
upon the sunlit glen
far from the distant cloudless nights
where hope has never been
I felt the tears of morning dew
the Angels left for you
I'll shine a light upon your path
that sunrise never knew
Categories:
driftless, imagination
Form: Quintain (Sicilian)
What's left but a cripple?
Angry and Sarcastic,
Weathered lips
Bitten bloody
In the cold
January Fix.
Entered in a
Plummeting
Dirtied Drunk Mix.
Tasting;
Leaves,
Wheat and sheaves,
Daughters of Eves,
Feasts for Kings,
And other things.
Wetted tongues on
Driftless streets.
Heated talk with
Patterned
Beats.
When what
Appears to lifeless
Is suddenly up for sale.
Categories:
driftless, imagination, life, love, people,
Form: Free verse