The Gardener

My feelings and emotions
are tangled vines on a trellis.
This angry bunch is difficult.

I want to trim the withered ones
and nurture the blossoms
of understanding and kindness.

But they are bound in one painful knot
that can’t be undone just yet.

They cling to each other tightly,
force me to treat them as one.
As I learn to distinguish between the two

I will grow as a gardener
pruning, spreading my roots--
soon confidently tending my own lot.

Remnants of the Day

Seagulls sail endless skies--
pluck morsels from the surf
that offers periwinkles for bounty.

Driftwood harbors crabs
as they scuttle about.
Like eyelashes, sea oats

flutter over the dunes
winking in the breeze.
We came only to observe this day

to leave footprints,
vestiges of human passage
behind on the shore.

Skylights

The sun plunges
into a pool of orange and indigo.
Dusk settles in and the sky is turned on.

Stars ignite, the moon is luminous
and I attempt to connect the dots.
Through these heavenly piercings

I imagine you looking down at me.
Peeking through a keyhole
and into another realm.

I feel you
as celestial bodies flicker in the night.
Hidden among andromeda or maybe cassiopeia,

I wonder which constellation
possesses your window to my world
and shines your light on me.


In Memory of my Daddy 4.3.33 - 4.11.99

Make a Wish

In a field of wildflowers
I’m a dandelion.
Simple yet wistful.

I mix with daisies,
bluebells and columbine.
As their blossoms wither

I mature into gray--
a clock of dreams.
Eager to please,

I offer one wish.
What’s your pleasure?
Close your eyes. Exhale.