Train of Thought

Words joyriding inside my head
like hobos on a train,
riding the boxcars
in line behind the engine,
no matter the destination.

Some fit well together
and I remembered them.
Others eluded me,
like children throwing rocks beside the track
running home to mother's call.

Puzzle in the Sun

Ran away inside myself,
to hide from guilt and shame.
Still, I see his labored face,
I see him break apart in pain.
Putting the pieces back in place,
gently I pick them up, each one.
Still, I see the cracks I've made,
He is a puzzle in the sun.

Out

All I needed was a smile
But I received a stare.
All I wanted was to fit in
But never quite got there.

Life was just a jigsaw puzzle
and my piece never fit.
High school girls inside their clique
And I, not a part of it.

Spiral

Issues are spiral.
Whatever you don't confront and work through
keeps coming back 'round
until you straighten it out.

2011

Awakening

I had no direction

  you offered a way.

I had no guidance

  you led me gently.

I had no idea

  your love was so deep.

Evening Fog

Fog settling down,
Opaque, swirling white.
Chiffon evening gown
To clothe the night.

1986

So

Compassion only comes from loss,
strength from weakness
and love from pain.
That we cannot be born
with knowledge
is a pity,
if we spend half our lives learning the lessons,
and the other half licking our wounds.

1985 Published "New Poets: Yes."

Midnight Still

He came to me near midnight
When all the dark surrounds
And touched a finger to my lips
Without making a sound.

The moon was full and rising
It blessed us with its glow,
He took my hand and led me to
A place that we both know.

The crickets stilled their chirping,
The squirrels and rabbits paused,
For in their midnight forage
They sensed a greater cause.

And in that stand-still moment,
When souls in love are bound,
We were the only two on earth,
Our love the only sound.

1987 published "Remembrances of Love."

Sprout

A small sprout pushes through,
straining toward the sun.
The old, wintered soil clings hard.
Refreshing rain rescues,
pitter-patting with applause.

1989 published in "Bitterroot."