You must learn not to be so superficial as to judge me, my friend, if we are to remain friends and peers.
Category: Friends
The Rebirth
To my friend, Terese Bozdas.
Once I stood on the trembling ice
Of a mountain torrent in winter
Surrounded by granite boulders
And dared the wild waters to drown me.
I had lost my wife.
I had lost my home.
I had lost my hopes.
I had lost my dreams.
And I dared the wild ice
Beneath me to break.
It is curious how you can sometimes
Be so numb the desire to die
Is the only thing
That makes you feel alive.
It was only when you came to me
Some years later
Singing songs of friendship,
Singing songs of compassion,
That I felt at last
The rebirth, the renewal
Of Spring.
How I Feel Like a Dog Some Days
I want to bark
& snarl & growl
Until the world
Clears a path for you.
A Flock of Sparrows for Majel: Butch and Rae, Rae and Butch
(About a 2 minute read)
A kind man,
Butch’s dad did his best
To raise his seven kids.
On a hundred and fifty acres,
It was bottom land,
Rich and deep,
But it wasn’t enough,
He never got ahead.
He never got ahead
And worked himself to death,
The death of a kind man.
Continue reading “A Flock of Sparrows for Majel: Butch and Rae, Rae and Butch”
A Flock of Sparrows for Majel: No Returns on Lost Hearts
(About a 3 minute read)
I beseech thee! I, a wretched beggar, beseech thee!
In the hour of Marissa’s crisis, in the hour of her darkness,
I beseech thee! I beseech You whose lowly latrine
Is not only infinitely above me, but is thoughtfully plumbed
To drain into my life.
You who are sacred, holy, and divine
You who are the Twisted Circus Clowns Above Us All
Have mercy upon my friend Marissa,
Have mercy on her, you Clowns!
For Marissa has lost her heart, her only heart —
And tragically, her heart has been found by mine.
They won’t, Marissa. They won’t help you at all.
Trust me, I know the Clowns,
I’ve seen them with my own wisdom.
It’s always good to pray in times of crisis
But the Clowns won’t answer prayers.
I do it for tradition, Marissa.
My prayers for you are just formalities.
I only pray for the sake of tradition.
Continue reading “A Flock of Sparrows for Majel: No Returns on Lost Hearts”
I Will Sing Songs to the Ice
(About a 3 minute read)
i.
Something huge fell against my door last night.
Something crashed the silence of the night.
When I was calm enough to look through my window
I saw a tired stag with a broken leg
Struggling to rise.
It failed at first, but then, with horrendous effort,
At last gained its feet.
Last night I saw a tired stag with a broken leg
Slowly cross my yard, pausing every few feet,
Perhaps to ease the pain.
The fur on its back was tuffed up and disturbed
Like the stag had been pounced on and in a fight.
Last night I saw a tired stag with a broken leg.
Last night I saw a tired stag with a broken leg.
Last night I saw a tired stag.
ii.
You are comely and beautiful.
Your still-satin skin glows
In the grace of youth.
You are comely and beautiful.
Your life opens towards the future
Like petals spreading in the morning sun.
You are comely and beautiful.
Your mind roars over the rocks
Like a crystal cold mountain stream.
You are comely and beautiful.
Your heart yearns for the heights of love
Like an eagle for the sky.
You are comely and beautiful.
Your still-satin skin covers sleek muscles
Covers sleek muscles and unbroken bones.
You are comely and beautiful.
I watch you as you take my breath away.
iii.
Tonight, I can hear the cracking of the ice
Beneath my feet.
Tonight, I can hear the cracking of the ice.
My winter is half run.
At 62, my winter is half run
And my life now thaws
Into your spring.
Rushes over boulders into your spring.
I have loved you more purely and more passionately
Than you in your youth might know.
I have loved you with eyes that see well beyond yours.
I have loved you until my heart
Has broken and been reborn.
Tonight, I can hear the cracking of the ice.
Tonight, I can hear the cracking of the ice
Beneath my feet.
So tonight, I will sing songs to the spring.
“You can fly higher, my love,
You can fly further than you think.
“You can fly higher, my love,
You can fly more beautifully than you think.
“You can fly higher, my love,
You can fly to intimacy with the sky.”
Tonight, I can hear the cracking of the ice
Beneath my feet.
And so tonight, I will put on heavy skins
And sing songs to the ice
Before my fall.
Tonight, I will sing songs to the ice,
And I will put on heavy skins.
Curious readers might want to check out Sharon’s poem, Struggles on the Ground. It strikes me as having themes related to this poem’s themes.
Sleep With Your Friends, Not Your Fascinations!
(About a 7 minute read)
Guys, I apologize for a bossy post title, but I just could not resist the alliteration. A good phrase has so often been my undoing in life. Twice, for instance, I said, “Make it happen!”, at the worst possible moment.
“Make it happen” is one of my favorite phrases. I stole if from my younger brother. My bro is superb at making even seemingly impossible things happen. But twice, I’ve said it when I should have thought before I said it. “Do you, Paul, accept this woman as your lawfully wedded wife…”.
“Make it happen!”
“I’ll take that as an ‘I do’. You may now kiss the wench.”
Continue reading “Sleep With Your Friends, Not Your Fascinations!”
