You do not need a riverbed to drown.
The drought is carried deep within the chest.
There is no water in this quiet room,
Yet sudden silence floods the empty lungs.
The drought is carried deep within the chest,
A cracked and ochre basin of the mind.
Yet sudden silence floods the empty lungs,
And absence brings a current of its own.
A cracked and ochre basin of the mind,
Where reaching for a memory builds a sea.
And absence brings a current of its own,
The sheer starvation rising like a tide.
Where reaching for a memory builds a sea,
You gasp for breath in perfectly dry air.
The sheer starvation rising like a tide,
The devastating weight of being alone.
You gasp for breath in perfectly dry air,
There is no water in this quiet room.
The devastating weight of being alone—
You do not need a riverbed to drown.
In the predawn
Flashes and thunder wake me
And then it comes
A downpour that would make Noah proud
To have had the faith
And quicken the hammering
Of a few last boards
It’s been weeks but feels like months
Since we’ve had even a bit of rain
And this deluge provides the soothing calm
Music to my ears
Within the storm
(7/16/26)
In Southern hemisphere,'
Winter flowing past here,
At Jack Frost we peer,'
Happy smiles do appear,
Winter sunshine is sheer,
Roses need a pruning shear,
Moonlit nights all clear,
Not much snow this year,
Not a ski bunny, dear,
Drought is what we fear,
Of farmers' plight we hear,
Send more rain in our sphere,
Looks like El Nino gear.
Last Bone Last Breath
Three vultures circle fighting beasts for prey
All village dead and gone where dry winds sway
Drought cracked the mud walls and ate the light of day
No footstep no voice just dust in cold display
One skinny child left last hope where none stay
His bones show through skin in a thin display
Skin cracked and black no drop of water to stay
Hands lie in desert soil tied limp no play
His mother rests near well with no spray
He calls her name again praying she’ll stay
Fear and grief whisper like cold wind sway
But his eyes still hold fire a small dim ray
She turns she lives hunger fades away
Rain follows his whisper clouds obey
Hope holds on hard even when death comes to slay
It’s all boiled up and caked up
Lands weep and rivers cry out loud,
Puking withered currents that rather hide
Than run
Cornstalks, excoriated and wounded,
Are scolded by thunder at night,
And lightning brandishes the whiplash of its
Whitish tongue, chiding the frightened rocks nearby.
It has not rained in seasons.
It has not dropped.
Not one drop.
But standards keep falling —
And dropping.
drought
barren, cracked
worrying, dying, starving
farmland, weeds, water, mud
flowing, attacking, drowning
soaked, ruined
flood
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
frost cracks empty soil~
no mercy in cloudless skies,
thirsty roots gasp deep
river stones whisper,
dust where minnows once shimmered~
ghosts drink the moonlight
snowless mountains plead~
dry throats of sleeping cedars
dream of weeping clouds
A hold
Unknown
Seasons trials
Walking the miles
Been a while.
Waiting periods
Test of Faith
Jesus is present
With his Mercy and Grace.
Drought Won’t Last Forever
Travel on foot
Dreams on hold
Discouraged
Be patient
On God's timing
Faith and believing
Blind, cannot see
It’s worth the wait
Birds above don’t complain
Build up courage
Be open minded
Someone else's perspective
Drought won’t’ last forever
Rain calms the strom
Grow mentally
Slow to rage
Granted a blessing
Humble melodies
Grow into the gray
Sculptured to be wise
Down in the valley
Only for a short time
Sturdy Will
On rocky grounds, a cactus sprouts
In midst of torrid sun and drought,
Shielded by thorns, it lifts its head,
With its blooms, it graces the land:
With sturdy will and silent strength,
In life, man can surmount hurdles.
Melody In A Drought
I feel horizontal.
No motivation.
Absent from society.
Sometimes we need leisure.
Avoid people.
Just isolated.
Sometimes self-doubt.
Pondering a new poem.
Melody in a drought.
Sometimes I have no energy.
Thoughts fading.
Need another cup of coffee.
Mind in a haze.
Behind with my writings.
Empty pages never ending.
Consumed by insomnia.
The sun is burning out.
Restless night.
Exile from the light.
severe summer drought
river* water level low
treasure trove revealed
*Mississippi
He stood before her—
silent,
but not unspoken in his thoughts.
Words echoed loud in his mind,
if only she could hear them,
perhaps she would understand.
Understand his faults,
the weight of missing words,
the drought of silence
that left her drowning in doubt.
But when silence breaks,
clarity cuts deep.
His chosen words—
not what she longed to hear.
He thought his silence
was in her best interest,
a message left untold.
Yet in the end,
his silence
was all she heard.
I search through leafs of carefree past
In scribbled lines left half undone
For wisdoms sage to point the path
Back to where it first begun
My one last chance to grip the quill
And spin the trials of venture bold
A gift to those that follow still
By spinning folly into gold
The farmer stands with weathered hands,
Tending soils, nurturing the lands.
His heart beats with the Earth's own song,
Though seasons shift and days grow long.
Through drought and storm, he does not break,
For in the soil, his dreams awake.
A quiet strength, both firm and kind,
A bond with nature is intertwined.
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