Gone to Seed [Free Verse]

abandoned farmstead --
a blip in the flat-wide spaces
of the industrial-agro-manufactured prairie

the barn, dilapidated
the vehicles & implements, rusted

weeds growing from every crack

tall, blonde grass -
waving like ripe wheat -
stands in both front & back yards

something has died on the prairie
something is returning to dust & weed
something is lost

Morlock Memories [Free Verse]

I woke up rife 
with Morlock memories.

What a damnable time it was!

The days when I 
was not a boy,
and not a man --
nothing for which anyone
had a good word.

Maybe I was a shadow:
two-dimensional 
&
wonky in shape.

I was that which 
lived below:
below ground,
below the radar,
below comprehension.

Stampede [Free Verse]

Wildlife charges through the city
like the bulls of Pamplona,

a stampede of death 
from a river of life,

a river that flows turbulently,
crashing and slopping.

Nothing can falter before the stampede.
Each step must land solidly,
each step until one's last. 

Animosity City [Free Verse]

A place of rage
w/ days tricked out
into hamster wheel
activity,

actions of 
unknown purpose
& 
unknown origin

Where’d the Water Go? [Free Verse]

the lake is low.
where'd the water go?
i don't know...

but you can bet
squirrels aren't at fault.

Rivers Merge [Free Verse]

Rivers merge.

Trees may fork,
but rivers merge.

True, sometimes rivers split
to form an island,
and when they near the sea
they may branch out 
like the roots of a tree.

How the river knows 
it's near the sea
is unclear to me,
but it is the river's nature.

As is the tendency 
of rivers to merge
toward unity of flow.

But what is my nature? 

In the Shadows [Free Verse]

Sunlight breaks over the city,
and the people on the streets
remain within the shadows.

But those who turn their heads up
see the vibrant colors,

while those who stare
down to the pavement
drift deeper into shadow.

Tiny Tank [Free Verse]

Someone put a tiny, limp-gunned tank 
on Danube west bank --
in Budapest, opposite Parliament.

Unsubtle symbolism, indeed,
but worth noting:

The might of violence
made feeble in the face of democracy,
and all that.

So true,
and yet so few
seem to believe it.

We seem to believe
that matching savagery
is the key to strategy
in opposing the extreme,

but then we've really just made more
extremism, haven't we?

Bronze Goblin [Free Verse]

The bronze goblin 
rides the world.

Its wide eyes always open,
taking in everything 
that happens on the street:

brisk business-like strides
of mid-morning,

mid-day strolls,

slumped evening plods,

midnight staggers,

and witching hour stumbles.

It sees you when you're meeting,
and knows when it's legit.

Gothic [Free Verse]

The gothic cathedral is dark --

unilluminated, but for the
flickering orange flames
of votive candles,

and the weak winter light
of a gloomy December day
that warms the panels
of stained glass.

A pew creaks. 
A tiny movement makes 
a giant sound, owing to 
the stony acoustics.

The pew is creaking from the  
restless fidgeting of the 
church's sole occupant.