Long Woodstove Poems

There’s something very special about country life
It took me back to when things were so slow
I would sit under a tree with an apple and a pin knife
Gazing out over the corn and counting each...

Read More

Incessant straight line winds, assail us from the East
and as all good sailors know, are good for neither Man nor Beast
The winds that are visiting us, like unwanted visitors from afar
Stay with us, both day...

Read More

The air smell cloudy, 
With a hint of rain. 
Come all this way by trustin’ 
In a thin white cane. 
If a wink is as good as a nod, 
What’s a brotha ta do?
Should Jesus...

Read More

The Empty Academy Schoolhouse

It stands on a vast green lot,
No trees to shelter it from heavy, gray clouds
on the rolling foothill horizon.
Its thin coat of white paint peels,
revealing bare, dry-rotted wood.
The rickety porch boards,
once sturdy...

Read More

Funny how winter turned into summer

Funny how winter turned into summer, not really, but it left a chill behind
So fifties in July feels like it never left, as we bundle up and we do find
A...

Read More

The curious dormant nature of tools
becoming more than themselves in their quick
and singular way of performing:
Snowshoes making the body's weight a lie
over twenty foot drifts-web-footed
again I get to the river
where the fishing rod asleep in...

Read More

You know it is cold

You know it is darn cold when the woodstove is going
But the propane furnace just keeps on blowing
When your nostrils freeze outside in the winter air
Ice is curled hanging with snow...

Read More

There once was a house up on that hill. 
Just a stones throw away from the old saw mill. 
It stood so tall, majestic and bold 
with tales and fond memories waiting to be told.

Four...

Read More

I set up my writing spot in front of the window
Then, I found myself in this ongoing trance
Nature was on stage, it chose to put on a show
As the cold wind blew, I watched all...

Read More

As winter waits around the corner,
Some dread the darkened days
But, I don’t forget the sparkling snow
That glistens in the winter sunshine
The flakes that come twirling down,
Fluttering through the winter air
The clear icicles hanging like crystals
Most...

Read More

SONATA FOR CHRISTMAS EVE RAIN

I.	 I sit in my friend’s armchair,
waiting for her to get ready for church.
Pianissimo, the raindrops fall in quick, staccato rhythm 
on the windows, the roof, and the pool.
I imagine the...

Read More

Christmas Day, December 25th –
   she sits alone in living room;
      joyous day for her is but a myth;
         this...

Read More

It was an early Christmas present
I was so anxious to give it to him
It was so soft and luxurious
I thought how it would keep him warm
With the winter months ahead
Turned out he didn’t need it
He...

Read More

Hazy, hot, stagnant heat with cough
Humidity reaching 100 degrees
Waiting for storms to cool off
And also maybe a cool breeze

Resorting on water to get by
I think I prefer winter and woodstove
I feel like I’m in a...

Read More

Santa, all I want is for Christmas is to sit with him
See his smile, share his company and know he is happy
Hear him laugh and enjoy the entire festive day
Simplicity bonding us, in love with...

Read More

The rain returns
I guess, I need more cleansing
Birds have arrived singing
But, the pain still burns

Like the fire in my woodstove
Keeping it warm inside
In my safe home, I hide
Like at an ocean, a hidden cove

Information builds,...

Read More