I'd be with you every day if I could,
But a lot is not yet going as it should.
I promise from now on I'll do you more good.
I'm afraid of you leaving, if you ever would.
I'd lay with you forever if it was possible,
But each week in which I wait feels impossible:
For me to contently ignore every sad variable,
Truth is only my own mind feels so terrible.
I want to be sitting near you every day.
I promise I'll never get in your schedule's way.
I'll still love you even when my mind may sway.
I will never lead your sincere heart astray.
I want to fall asleep every night on your chest.
I want to be why you too can have true rest.
I want to support you in ways I can invest.
I'm sorry for all times I haven't been my best.
my mother keeps asking why Dad is taking so long
The speaker is my friend Belinda, who is about sixty-two
I see Mom every Sunday, she tells me.
She seems about the same each week.
Not better, not worse.
Her mother has dementia.
“What is he buying there?” Mom asks me.
“Why is he taking so long?”
I used to tell her that Dad died months ago.
But then she had to grieve each time.
Now I wonder along with her.
Sometimes I guess what he might be buying.
It seems more kind somehow.
I finished a Saturday crossword,*
The hardest one offered each week.
It took me a while
But earned me a smile
And the constant reminder I seek
That my brain cells, although I am aging,
Are still functioning well enough to
Fill in all of the squares
That some person prepares
So we solvers can track down each clue.
It’s a sense of accomplishment, truly;
Other puzzlers know just what I mean.
Though we do it alone,
We are, each of us, prone
To a chance to internally preen.
*last Saturday’s New York Times puzzle,
solved today
Hungering woman!
After many lean years
Hungry in heart
To point of tears -
Hungry for everything
That woman needs
Hungry for words
And hungry for deeds -
Hungry for kindness
Hungry for warmth
Hungry for love
To the point of remorse -
Hungry for whole
And for each part -
Hungry for soul
And hungry for heart!
Hungering woman!
You're never there
You say you need me
Then flee into air
Each day each week
I think and toil
Passion wells up
My blood comes to a boil
Waiting for you
Or simply your call
With my mind burning,
Nerves stretched out tall,
With cannons shooting
All through the lung,
With forks inserted
Into the tongue,
With gut contorted
With burning eyes
Hearing distorted
Throat bound by ties
With shaking ligaments -
Knees growing weak -
With all within me
Waiting to break -
With heart impaled
On the end of the knife.
Hungering woman!
You eat me alive!
Senquernized like chrome on a cross
Feel the drizzle I just bought a pistol
It’s a crime to call the Laws on me
I got all these squaws on me
They don’t question me when they call me
I take em out to fahls each week
They buy some Nikes to put on my kids feet
Written: January 17, 2026, for contest sponsored by Constance La France
Quote: “Dusk remembers what the heart forgets.” By Poet
************
I never questioned tastefulness or sway.
The vine bent through the fading of the day—
Not like the softness of your lips on mine
As dusk stole luster from the vineyard way.
I revere the earth from which I refine,
I implored for goodness, engrossed in wine.
Beneath the dim shadows of the fall crop—
It seems just warmth, nothing further divine.
Each week, I grind myself down with a strop,
Start our path, bound for the grave or the top.
A long stretch, ending with tears in the eyes—
Faith doesn't demand a grand ripple to drop
You drift by day, resting below calm skies.
No inflated self, just a lost disguise—
Gone are the cheerful moods and youthful tales
No grief or angst, yet left to stain the dyes.
It was 9 weeks ago when we had our first study.
I did not know what to ask or expect.
For me it was a time of change
In the past I would not have said yes. In the past I was apprehensive
Each week there has been a form of the truth coming to me
Even today as I sat and wrote I see the events changing
Love is becoming stronger and has been given the opportunity to grow
The fire is melting the ice, while the ice is calming the flame
All of this started when I said yes to start reading the Book!
Even agreeing to seek guidance in the Divine
It all started when you reached out and asked if you could do a Bible Study
The events are coming in to reveal the truth.
When you borrow money you never stay paid
Some lenders you seem to owe until you hit the grave
They become that extra bill you didn't want in the place
Trying to pay them back and not to make them chase
In a system that causes us to borrow from one to pay another
Almost makes you want to refuse any help given and to suffer
It seems as though you have to report your movements in life
Explaining every detail if your payment isn't right
It doesn't matter if you have paid on time in the past
They seem to want their money back and want it back fast
Each week worked for you're trying harder to get out of debt
Receiving your check wishing your gross amount was your net
You ever been trapped in a maze and can't find your way out
That's what borrowing would lead to so never take that route
Love drinking tea hot or ice cold
Monday through Sunday each week day
Never enough flavors for me
Overtime working is tea time
People around the world love tea
----------BOOK----------
Some sort of book,
Everybody needs.
Good book, bad book,
Fulfills your greed.
Light book, nice book,
Whatever you need.
Some sort of book,
Everybody needs.
Good book, good look,
Just take a peek.
Everybody needs
A book each week.
Red book, black book,
On what you agreed.
Some sort of book,
Everybody needs.
Bad book, cheap book,
Nothing will shatter.
After reading books,
You work like butter.
Gold book, silver book,
Whatever you plead.
Some sort of book,
Everybody needs.
Eat book, sleep book,
Read—no matter.
Knowledge is the thing
You spread and scatter.
Here stands a splendid chestnut tree.
But in its trunk there grows decay.
It’s no longer upright we see.
Each week it leans one more degree.
It will come crashing down one day.
Here stands a splendid chestnut tree.
It’s a danger we all agree.
When windy it will creak and sway.
It’s no longer upright we see.
From back in eighteen forty three
It has put on a grand display.
Here stands a splendid chestnut tree.
The chainsaw men hired for a fee
Now quickly start to hack away.
It’s no longer upright we see.
Now empty space it has left free.
Much sadness we all feel today.
Here stood a splendid chestnut tree.
It’s no longer upright we see.
We’ve a long time friend named Shirlene,
between first meeting and now is umpteen.
She phones each week,
and is quite unique.
She’s not left or right but somewhere between.
Paper Goods
Miracle Man
10/7/2024
Each week at the store,
When the pandemic was here.
We always bought more.
NEVER imagined such treasures I'd find
OF this one thing I am certain
THERE was something massive beneath the surface
HEAVENLY places are often hidden in humble places
I sat at a table and talked about this, that, and the other
NOTHING prior had taught me the power of nothingness
GOD alone can make something out of nothing at a men's breakfast
NEWLY discovered fortunes surfaced from deep within our souls
EACH week we met to talk about anything, but nothing in particular
SOMETIMES it pays to stop the plan, stand down, and settle in
SINCE discovering such nothingness, I'm a richer man.
090924PS
September falls just into Autumn
Each week that passes makes it so
Perhaps for some, arriving so early
Tripping lightly into the crisper air
Exiting from that August warmth
More by necessity than any choice
Because each year needs to mature
Entering a time as leaves must fall
Recalling that memory of summer
For it becomes a month of changes
As green leaves turn red and gold
Laying as a carpet on a forest floor
Loosely swirling around in the wind
Sensing that their time is now over
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