Tag Archives: poem

Ship on the Horizon [Sonnet]

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You see that one ship out on the horizon,
 and feel that unique tang of loneliness.
  There's far, far too much blank sea to thrive in,
   and all the makings for keen ghostliness.

That boat will soon be passing beyond sight,
 and maybe it will falter, maybe sink.
  The sea has created a million plights,
   and hazards there will honor no strict brinks.

In Shakespeare, ships are lost, often as not.
 See: "Tempest," "Merchant," "Pericles,” and so on. 
  Perhaps, you'll say that today isn't so fraught
   with maritime menace and sea demons.

Why more vexed than those who keep ships running?
 'Cause sailors will never, ever, see it coming.

Skyward [Tanka]

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i look skyward,
 and others stop to look.
  those who wonder
 why I'm looking up,
   might wonder why they weren't.

Black Sand Beach [Haiku]

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the black sand beach
 is no less pristine, but 
  the mind feels it is.

Frangipani [Haiku]

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frangipani bloom 
 on a barren branch;
  turn away, it falls.

Nobodaddy [Free Verse]

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The Nobodaddy rolls 
  like a sunglassed Santa Claus.

He watches things crash
  with bemused satisfaction --
   like a buzzed NASCAR fan.

And people cry out to him,
  and he gives a spiritless wave 
   of vague acknowledgement --
    like a celebrity tired of celebrity.

But the victims all die,
   and Nobodaddy calls it a day,
    a day of seeing life & death play out -
     not in any grand design -
      but puttering about as the living 
       bow to life,
        and the dead play out a demise.

Bridge Out [Free Verse]

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When I was a child,
      for a time,
 the bridge was out.

They were replacing the rusty
      iron trestle bridge
 with a thick-slab concrete 
  monstrosity.

I could go down to the river,
      and I could see the 
       scarred and marred
         construction site,
  & the big yellow machines
       that sat dormant on the weekends.

But one couldn't cross the river --
      not unless one was willing to get wet, 
       and was a better swimmer than I 
        (and it was autumn & the water cold.) 

It was a strong current that swept 
       along between two steep banks. 

It was not a great distance,
       nor were they violent waters.

But that brown water moved with 
       such smooth swiftness.

I dream about the time the bridge was out,
       now & again,
        and wonder what it was
         about those weeks
          that still has meaning to my mind.

Autumn Wildflowers [Haiku]

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as leaves fall, &
 weather cools, i'm warmed by
  autumn wildflowers.

Fruit Beauty [Common Meter]

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The flawless deep green melon rind
  houses a pink, bland flesh.
The rind - pitted, yellowed, lumpy -
  hides fruit: red, sweet, & fresh.

Under Pressure: Or, A House Divided [Free Verse]

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A construction worker once told me -
    for a building to last -
 depends not so much on
    its materials,
    nor even on its foundations,

but rather on the building being
    in balanced strain throughout.

A building stays up when its 
    parts press into each other firmly,
    or pull at each other strongly,
    but never too out of balance.

This web of unseen forces
    allows the building stand solid
    against any huffing, or puffing,
    the world might throw its way. 

A democratic society works the same.

It must have an establishment.

It must have a counterculture.

And these two elements must 
    constantly pull at each other
    or mash into each other:
    tension & compression,
    compression & tension,
    tug-of-war & sumo.

If one side is unopposed, or too weak,
    the state will crumble into some kind of
    authoritarianism by another name.

Destroy your enemies at your own peril.

Tail Whip Splash [Haiku]

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silence
 in the koi pond; then:
  a tail whip splash