Branching Out
Branch out, stretch and grow.But don’t forget where your roots are.They’re heavy at first, those roots,holding you back, weighing you downwhen you’re thin and wispy,when you just want to soar.One…
When the Bottom Drops Out
One cool autumn evening when the leaves are so crisp they crunch, the smoke tickles your nostrils, and pumpkins dot the doorsteps, you stand first in line to ride. Up…
Inside Out
Most people slidesnugly through like columnsin a counter.She dropsthem in sortingsilverware,stacking plates.They spin like clothesin a glass-doored dryer,then teeteratop the othersbefore settling slowly, uniformly.A few refuse to fit.Oddly patterned,too thick…
Blue Paper and All
Your file in my mind's cabinetmeasures sharply thin.Others, fat and heavy,barely contained in the manila,scraps of scribble-stockedmulticolored paperstuffed inside ...1. White knucklesgrasp the tractorsteering wheel.He presses figure eightsinto the yard,exorcisingits…
In Residence
Deep in the purple velvet corner of her mind,he sprawls across an overstuffed leather sofa,guzzles beer after beer,clips his toenails into the carpet.Months since I walked out into the rain.And…
The Hike
When the mountain laughs,maybe it's time to trek down a bit,blisters and aches.It's easier going where you've already been.The snow's no more shallow, no less in your face;the sun's glare,…
Ice
Frozen in time,in place.Words kick me in the stomach,tease me with their hints.Images on the tip of my tongue.Brilliant, odd wordsfrozen inside me.An igloo around my brain.I plead,Heat, come.Spark me.Release…
On a Starry Night
On a starry nightshe curls up like a Persianon her bed.Past the faded leavesand dead bugson her ceiling window,she spies the star,the one that blinkspale greenthen deep pink.Almost like Christmas.Once,…
Burnt Toast: A Study
Wednesday at seven-o-five he slammed the dooryou pulled yourself up off the beige kitchen tile,wiped your mouth with the backside of your hand.He skidded out into the road in his…
Gazebo
Not a quart of iced tea,chilly beads of sweat sliding down the sides of the glass pitcherand pooling on the green formica.They drink a toast to the sun and the…