Long Rattler Poems

Justin Case - the weirdest guy in the all of Buxton county - did a lot o’ crazy things that most would never try,
And even weirder - just before he’d do the things he did...

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Thomas was walking through his favorite part of the forest,
where the overturned giant oak tree has been a sitting spot
for him since childhood, the part of the forest that is lit
a little bit thanks to...

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What once was a peaceful, delightful place 
Joyful and friendly creatures in God’s grace
A stunning morning, a soulful sunrise
A village heaven has gifted, a prize
The most grandiose of rainbow arches
The villagers, spirited because March is
The...

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How many people with foreboding palpitations
have I seen slip from middle age and slide into old age?
They slither into their last refuge, the dirt hole,
and ignorantly nestle into the forever unknown life stream

The ones who...

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Everyday is a new day
Except Thursday the symptom always replay
Madness, mental instability, psychological disorder.
Call it what you may
It’s the same thing every Thursday

Her frienenemies taunted and teased her all day long
But on Thursday, they singing...

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(A little slice of paradise, 2021)

A Good Day to Die

Every time I go climbing I think, “This could be the day I die.”
I also think this when driving in really bad conditions
or when flying on...

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A lonely rider traversed the sand upon his sturdy mount, 
Beneath a sky so filled with stars that no man might ever count. 

A dangerous dash across open land on a night without a moon,...

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That be cold sun rose yonder, our heads be hot, I'd declare,
I'll get Whitey my critter, worked all night, best she nicker.
'Bout saddlin' her real tight, or I'll headlong out of sight,
I want movin' nice...

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Oh lord hear the lonesome cowboys lullaby, singing beneath
The vast prairie open sky.
Hush, do they not lull the restless cattle to sleep, by a soft
Undertones sweet melody.
Drifting plains men, singing of the sorrows broken hearted,
And...

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The picnic was set for today:
A cause for two hips and hooray.
With Split and Blueberry,
Their time would be merry
That’s if nothing got in their way… 

The deviled eggs had to come first,
‘Cause a picnic without...

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The night was dark an stormy,
The Billy goat went blind,
It flew into a barbed wire fence
 and  tore its never mind, {anonomous?}

Ole Don he drove the A model Ford,
At least it was a ute…{utility/pickup}
He...

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She lives in the desert
with skin the color of sandstone
and the texture of an orange.
She’s a man’s man if you ever saw one.
Her carbine seems to have a mind of it’s own,
never knowing, when in...

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sweet pungent odor
fermented hay 
dark and warm
slithers of light spit
through the cracks of the
warped weathered wood
old pie tin lies in the dirt 
in its corner
where the mean old bull snake
drank milk with the cats
and kept...

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As I walk through the misty rain drenched woods 
I hear the whispers of my ancestors drifting through the trees

I have past here time and again, physically and mentally
The ghosts of deer and many rabbits...

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A strange woman blasted into the family reunion
Came in loud and crass; obnoxious. Showing off.
No one knew her.
I was selected to ask her to leave.
Mom! She said.
It was one of my foster children from way...

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Old Red 

There was this old dog that hung around our neighborhood. 
Everybody just called him old Red, ugly as could be, but his temperament was good.

Old Red had a nose that could sniff out...

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Rocky, high lofty mountains do stand tall and
boisterous waves continuously applaud 
The rooster crows to commence:
musicians of dolphins, humpbacks and orcas,
vibe with sonic vibrations and 
voice their vocal orchestras

Ravens, seagulls and doves chirp the song
The...

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Summer speaks to me by waking me up early
Playing tunes of beautiful song bird melodies
Blowing cool breezes in early mornings
Creating chimes of rustling tree leaves

She speaks to me through marvels of elaborate spider webs 
Through...

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Since the Garden of Eden and Cleopatra,
snakes strike great fear in man
I have it—ophidiophobia---
legless lizards equal repulsion
 
Slithering, sliding as they move
something about friction and scales
like goose bumps on human flesh
more than I want to...

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D. H. Lawrence was a Better Man

I read about his snake 
And was quite impressed with the 
Alliteration and symbolism he used
To express that moment 
As they met at the “stone trough.”
I appreciated his struggle...

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A Cowboy's Last Will


The old cowboy struggled for breath,
Heartbeat faint, his eyes set
He whispered softly before death -
"Wait! I ain't finished yet! "

"Don't lay me where my feet are cold
Or where the lightnin' plays.
Keep me...

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We were having a chivaree for Bob
And his brand new wife, little Laurie Lee,
When Betsy ran up from the barn and sobbed
That old Queenie was as sick as could be.

Old Queenie was a horse long...

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The Nefarios Scream

Camping in  isolated lands of parks and creeks
Untold experiences of adventurous beauty
Nefarious acts eclipse joys of freedom 
Blowing up cars to bar any escape
Tents knifed through in the darkness of the night
Wakening...

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What do you need right now?

I feel like I would enjoy a long retreat
from human voices,
a free to reverse
get out of jail vacation
from inside voices,
especially my own.

Who would keep you entertained?
Who would you listen to
with...

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As I hike
The winding Rattler paths of Green Mountain
It’s tempting to think
Beneath my skidding leather shoes
These marbles of red stones
Were scattered and tossed here
Just today

Laid out
While I was still eating breakfast

Though I know
The mountain is...

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