SING HER SILENT

SING

Her silent,

Mother with child.

It’s enough

That you worry.

You don’t need

Her tears

To drown you

And your hopes.

You don’t khnow

The judge’s mind.

You don’t speak his language

You speak Spanish,

And he

Speaks Legal

When he’s on the bench,

American Legal.

Sing

Her silent,

Mute your daughter’s

Please, please.

Outside this door

You worry,

Whileinside,

I work--

Work within earshot

Of you,

Of her,

Of laws

I didn’t write,

You didn’t write,

that spin

Worlds on their axes.

Your song,

I don’t know the words,

But their intent,

By your voice,

Are meant

To breathe peace

Over a child’s eyes,

Sand man of another language,

Do your duty.

Sounds of sorrow,

Sounds of fear

Dwindling

Down to

Silence

As another day’s

Work begins,

Rending lives

From their temporary place.

Laws of motion send souls

Spinning off the surface

Where seeds

Had been planted,

Harveste

Had been anticipated.

Sing her silent.

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

AUDACITY

To reach/

To strive/

To try to touch

Calls for bravery,

Calls for desire.

The raindrop on the tongue,

While the rest of the body is washed,

The penny that landsface up--

Meaning good luck for the finder.

The hand that itches to hold

The money.

We reach/

We seek/

We want/

We drink

The rain drop by drop--

Sky purified..

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author

RECONCILIATION

While the body rests,

Repairs are made

After yet another day

Of life’s abuses,

The mind must consolidate

What it has gained,

Versus what it has lost,

And while it balances its books,

It entertains itself with our dreams:

Sometimes it makes sense

Of the actions and responses

We experienced,

But sometimes there are

No reasons for what flits across

The inner screen.

While the movie plays,

Everything we learned

Is set against everything

We forgot.

And when it’s done,

It’s time

For another day

To begin.

All accounts

Are balanced

And ready for

Debits and credits.

(c) 201010 by the author

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Now available from

www.amazon.com

www.bn.com

www.Borders.com

SOME BIRDS

SOME BIRDS

Some birds still chirp,

Though night has all

But fallen now.

The birds will come again

When dawn breaks,

When the wrapping is

Removed

On a brand new day.

The birds--I wish

I knew the names--

Will be outside my window

Once a gain

When all that remains

Of night is swept aside.

Sing me awake.

Sing me to sleep.

I don’t care.

Whatever their names,

The birds are welcome.

COPYRIGHT (C) 2010 by the author

MARKS

For Jane Martin

I willl forever

]be paying off

The debts incurred

Every time I skinned my knee,

Sprained my hand

Or my heart..

Encounters brought new knowledge,

And now

It’s my obligation,

No, my pleasure

To teach what I learned

By explaining all the marks,

Nicks and cuts,

Their histories,

Their geographies,

Their biographies.

Can others learn from

My mistakes?

Have I learned from

The miscues,

The wrong words

At the wrong time?

Now

I serve...

copyright (c) 2010 by the author

IN THE SHADOW OF MONEY

In the shadow of money,

Where the homeless move

Their shopping carts,

Where there’s only the aroma

Of a good hot meal.

Currencies zing overhead,

Dollars and cents in all directions

But down.

Men in suits and ties hurry

To catch up with their leader.

The homeless man doesn’t wave hello or goodbye.

“A nickel or a dime,

A quarter if you will,

A dollar if you cancan.”

And still no one looks

The man--a thin dollar falls his way.

Between fast food

And faster pedestrians,

It’s a wonder anything

Catches the eye.

No one notices.

“Good morning...could you...

Never mind,

Hi there, do you have...

I just want a cup of coffee...

It’s cold, right?”

The lawyers come.

The bankers go.

The tourists--

They take pictures

Another hungry day flees the scene.

“I can watch your car

For an hour, for a dollar?”

“I can open the door for you

For just one thin dollar.”

Just a dollar...

KEARNY STREET BECKONS

ALL COMERS TO EAT, TO DRINK,

TO EARN A LIVING

TO SELL ONE’S SOUL.

“A NICKEL OR A DIME...:

Copyright (c) 2010 by the author