This is for you big guy
somewhere way up
in that beautiful sky
sweet oleanders danced
the universe collided
sweeping you throughout
this grand galaxy soaring
the wide open granduer
finding me writing
my muse wandering
the shooting stars
igniting the brilliant
illuminating hues
twinkling beacon lights
creating a canvas of prose
between the meeting of the
minds why we meet again
Harry the Horseman gazing
into the Rodanthe watching
the braising stallions sabals
galloping covering the seaside
fond memories arouse
rest well my dear friend
until we meet again
Categories:
oleanders, angel, beach, beautiful, blessing,
Form: Blank verse
The Bermuda Race
Don't sail the Rum Line lads
To that beautiful isle is quite bad.
600 miles heading just South South East
Is not the way to tame the beast.
A straight course sailors say:
"You can't win that way."
Newport to "The Onion Patch" the saying goes
Is a milk run but depends how the wind blows.
The Gulf Stream is always pushing you back.
It is a humbling current and that's a fact.
If caught in its many meanders
You won't be first to smell the June oleanders
The water temp will tell when in that stream
Try and keep the current hard abeam.
If you are there squalls you may see
Driving rain, lightning.high winds, and seas
Mind the helm and listen to the crew
Your navigator knows what to do.
It is a joy to see Saint David's Light
Then you know his courses were right.
But beware the Devi'ls Isles rocks and shoals
Before you cross the finish and reached your goal.
Categories:
oleanders, june, ocean, race, sea,
Form: Rhyme
Hey, I’m Over Here!
Hey! I’m over here!
‘Case you were wondering if I was okay, I am.
I have no friends now so no one is checking up on me,
And I’m fine with not having friends anymore;
They’re all dead now, or there is a great distance,
A vast distance, between the old times and the now times,
I can see them all though, my departed chums from back there,
I remember their distinctive faces and voices still,
In movements at the old places, busy with life at the crossroads.
But they’re all gone away now and I am alone here.
But that’s okay because there is no phoniness when I’m alone,
And the voices you hear are phantom friends conjured
From the clay of half a century ago, alive again smiling and youthful,
All in a long line stretched beyond Hoover Street’s oleanders,
My ancient friends walking up to me with penetrating stares,
Wondering after so many years if I’m alive and if I’m okay.
And I am okay.
That long line of ghost friends has passed me by now, disappearing
Into a mental cloud still hovering in the blueness of my mind.
But hey! I’m over here!
‘Case you were wondering.
Categories:
oleanders, loneliness,
Form: Free verse
~
The waking sun does slowly rise
as dewdrops kiss the lawn
Pastels paint horizon’s smile
in shades of tinted dawn
Oleanders dance the breeze
while shadows come to play
Maples stretch their yawning leaves,
a colorful display
A new day breathes a happy sigh
beneath these skies of blue
Still love is all my eyes can see
each day I look at you
~
Categories:
oleanders, good morning,
Form: Rhyme
Eating ice cream outside
on a beautiful spring day
The dog sits at my feet
waiting to lick the bowl
A cat gently washes himself
under a nearby chair
Birds flying above
chirp joyfully to one another
An infant cries
from an apartment across the street
The whimsical sound of children
playing in the distance
All of this happening
at the same time
Yet it seems
so peaceful to me
The sweet scent
of blossoming oleanders
The warmth of the sun
calming the day’s stress
A gentle breeze
adding to the serenity
And at the end of it all
I return to myself
Categories:
oleanders, animal, children, flower, peace,
Form: Free verse
Nowhere, no warm shawl
Muscle power raising wall
The oleanders fall
_____________________________
29/02/2017
Categories:
oleanders, flower, pride,
Form: Senryu
Paris today is in the grip of killing spree
Afghanistan tomorrow another victim
New York had faced it terribly
Dew-killing fanatics spreading terrorism
Equity and equality sadly on the wane
Morning dreams in radical sleep
Oleanders in confused brain
Nuclear weapon will be very cheap
International awakening we need
Umbrella of justice and parity
Moon shudders in pandemonium
___________________________________
July 28, 2016
Categories:
oleanders, anxiety, conflict, horror, humanity,
Form: Acrostic
Closed the door…
locked it tight
For the final time
and then no more…
Gazed all about
At the yard…
The flowers…
Where I spent
So many happy hours
and now would spend
no more
The Oleanders
at driveways end
Lantanas blooming
Now as then
Our yellow Roses
Wilted now
Like wrinkled brow
Of ol’ cherished friend
The Mulberry tree
Now old and wizened
Once tall and straight
Just like me
A bit time worn
Of late
Shrug of shoulders
Heavy sigh
Tears course freely
Down my cheek
Long last look
From misty eyes
Once strong body
Now grown old and weak
A chapter of life closes with
the closing of a car’s door
One last glance back
From o’er my shoulder
One long last look…
And then…no more
Small comfort in the knowing
That while chapters
weave and wend
The story just keeps growing
Because stories really
Have no end
For some strange reason
My mind wanders
I wonder what…
Rainbows sound like
as the past rolls past
my rheumy eyes
Then I realize
That Rainbows also
Have no true end
And neither
…do our lives…
Categories:
oleanders, age, change, emotions, feelings,
Form: Narrative
on tree limbs jutting out over rivers
sleepy gators bask, absorbing summer’s heat
in fall, the sluggish reptiles do the same
temperatures exceed 100 in the Sunshine State
till November brings a brief reprieve
water lilies, oleanders, daisies
boast vibrant blooms until the first freeze
perhaps December
maybe January
some years not at all
as snowbirds fill beaches in fall
locals return from summer homes up north
when warm colors paint leaves
Florida’s dogwoods and Bradford Pear trees
are decked in crimson
Water Oaks sport amber coats
wild boar and deer enjoy the reprieve
romping through subtropical forests
in the welcome chill of autumn
as hikers take to nature trails
“Indian Summer” some call it
when refreshing breezes ruffle foliage
with only several weeks of autumn we’re blessed
Carpe diem, seize these moments(/center>
*Written August 31, 2014
Categories:
oleanders, autumn, summer,
Form: Free verse
White and red and pink
oleanders bloom--
they are blown in wind,
littering grass and
drying on the bricks
of my front patio.
Orchid trees are flowering,
and royal poncianas.
Surprising jacarandas stun;
orange blossoms, honeysuckle,
jasmine, and acacia assail the senses,
while I, alive, enjoy
yet another
Spring!
Categories:
oleanders, introspection, life, nature, seasons,
Form: Free verse
The maidens face, fair and pure
The Devils will, sinister and obscure
She runs gracefully among the oleanders through the glade
Deep below, evil lurks, above light begins to fade
Darkness stretches across the land, spurring the young lady’s imagination
Rushing to the surface, Satan hides behind her nervous elation
Devious thoughts of goblins and witches dance through her mind
He feeds off of the desires and urges that tempt human kind
She falls asleep under a great oak tree, intoxicated by her vivid dreams
In her slumber he speaks to her, gently whispering “Not everything is as it seems.”
Springing to her feet she sprints back through the trees
Silently he watches her as she flees
Categories:
oleanders, adventure, art, fantasy, imagination,
Form: Couplet
The sunniest island,
with its Sea Stacks standing out
of the Tyrrhenian Sea,
shimmers as sailboats glide
in timeless serenity...
Paradise's duplication in man's heart.
Winter brings no drifts of snow,
only mild breezes from Sicily,
and the tourist is always on the go,
exploring, discovering and wondering
how this small island came to be...
when God stopped and began creating.
The sunniest island
with pastel houses perched on cliffs edges,
and ruins of castles and villas on rocky hills;
the loveliest island
in the Mediterranean garden...terraces
decked with common brooms and oleanders.
And as the mists vanish towards evening,
the quails are seen flying above, while the lemons'
perfume is hard to resist...the beautiful landscapes are revealed;
sail away in the bluest sea ever seen by the human's eye...
spend the starriest night gazing over its glistening waves:
a traveler's dream realized in the sunny island of Capri!
Categories:
oleanders, music, peace, sea, seasonssea,
Form: Sestina
he wants to take it all away,
but how much?
how far away?
he wants to unwind the oleanders in her hair,
to kiss the scratches beauty left behind.
to awaken the baby blues,
from their slumber behind velvet curtains.
and here she is now.
this is her rescue.
lying naked on his bedsheets,
goosebumps covering every inch of skin you could see,
and you can see it all.
no makeup to cover the scars.
no dirt for the tears to leave tracks in.
this is the way he wanted her.
because to him the whole world fits inside of his arms,
he sees everything he needs to in her eyes.
he would cover her in silk and lace,
furs and oils from foreign countries.
he would take away the sun, the moon, the stars,
if it would make her happy.
but nothing could make her happy.
Categories:
oleanders, life, love, teen, boy,
Form: Free verse