illuminate

solace is found in a prom dress
tangerine-aubergine-blue
a blue you think you seen before ....
glimmers in the half-lighted room
under the canopy steals expectations light
stay with me
'til shadows dance against the cottonwood
twirl the desire
                        pull me in tight
stay with me
ride with me into tomorrow
stay with me into the night
tuck your hand tight--there--under my knee
as we trip down the lincoln highway
taking the curves at 103
daylight dogs at our heels
pushing the tulle between seats
your hand
rides a little bit higher
higher
as faster and farther we climb we drive
to capture the first taste of moon
silver-dust  plays upon tongues
as we get to the bend in the river
love is the infinite comet
dreams are the beggars of dawn
your breath fills me with the scent of dogwood blooming
secrets looming
stay with me here in this wild century
as we trust in the blaze of our song
drive on ....

chase the day

melting bone chasms pungent
dripped in the jupiter sun
all lies in shade and late-winter-rustle
ripeness waiting
darkness
timed to the tilt and yawn of earth
                                              moon
distance nearness everything pieced--parceled
to fit in my small hands
                                      washed dried
feel the fade of day
with the snow white towel
winter wears itself in the vines of hours
we hold as paradise .....

Cygnus buccinator

The snow line drawn evenly along the branch
etched in winter-white ivory emptiness
dripping in perfect stark bite - pale / cold
i am a trumpeter swan
white bird on white sky
over
snow fields of the great plains
regal
fierce flyer
river rider
ko-hoh ko-hoh
floater
forager
ko-hoh
my mate--beside me always
we call the promise of spring
to a place in the sun, a nest in the canes
but we are the cool color of winter
shades layered in
pearl & lace
eggshell & isabelline
against
the
rhinestone smoke of this winter afternoon
ko-hoh ko-hoh

the snow falls
and
leads us home

ko-hoh

#TBT

on the other side of  you
vastness concave
wakened by the bittersweet goodbye
of your shallowness

realization starkly lighted
regret has no place here
the dream belongs wrapped & tied
sigh.

hollow ground
hollowed ground
the long blue thread of us
loosely unraveled from the
sky

...at the heart of the sun

light absorbed
gathered embrace
of shadow's day
mounded reflection
blue on blue
coved and covered vibration
roots to green promise
shimmers
shatters
winter's sweet expectation
of spring waking

absorbing every color of visible light but blue

gathered with nets of silver upon land golden waiting
over and under and over ....
gathered pockets of a thousand tears and raven wings
lying just there below the surface -
infinite gliding goldfish swerving colliding smoothly
pennyroyal dance of endless days
each bit imperceptible
goldfish gliding
emboldened by wind and silver twining
iron words on pages torn from sunday funnies
and
small regional newspapers
exacting goldfish
swerving colliding smoothly
cut from the verdant fabric of this translucent vessel
charismatic dragon riders & shape shifters
apotheosis lies below the surface rippling rippling
home to blue ....

'this is ground control to major tom'

gathered to me
plucked blossoms tucked under the edge of the heart-line
stardust
pocketed from public view these morsels fine
moments
movements
neon alleys--shadowlands of orchestral hum
lyrics ink the undefinable thrum
unreachable unfathomable
honeysuckle pie of love's black-winged corners
gathered to me
these soft cloaked enchantments
and
i will drop as talismans to show the way
follow follow . .
i remember kissing you--folded to one
you carved a small black ring
'B'
gather to me
the promised notes of Spring
spread me thick as honey for the Goblin King
absorption not reflection
spins the deepest winter blue
Oh, sing me back to stardust

dance me back to you

Elvis & Daisy

my child has a birth-day ....
and i am feeling the turning of seasons upon this corporeal-self
turning, churning, crashing, mixing & simmering
of
time
where does it go?
is it all the same?
whether one stands atop everest, hiking the trail, sitting in your purple comfy chair
or amidst the tumble of warm oceans
whether one is birthing a child
birthing a song
dreaming of lost dogs
white sand
red dresses
sleeping, loving, shopping, fighting, remembering
lending a hand, creating a world, breaking up ice, breaking a heart
as we walk across the pages of our lives
it
turns & churns & tumbles about us in cerulean blue & amber pink washes of brightness
and somber shades of shadow & frigid cold
these legs have stood on mountains, worn tango shoes & gone barefoot in city parks
these legs have swayed to jazz & lullabies .... rocked his world
and tormented my own
birth--days
earth--days
time
is
it.
time
measured by sundials of wonder & wait
thru the kaleidoscope of days
we are all the same
yet
in the
scat-tracings of our cosmic dust
can you see the heart-casting?
some echo detected by an ethereal diviners rod about the root of ivory bones?
the surprise of the perfect gift, the smell of pine trees, the thrill of touch & lost innocence,
the sensation of your child's prickly ginger hair upon your lips, the color blue,
that timeless snapshot from under the christmas tree when your are 6 as you look up into the lights,
the brisk crunch of snow, the smell of spring dirt, the feel of rain, the glory of storms
the delight of reading, watching, learning, eating red-velvet cake, feeling, laughing ....
the pleasure of friends & warm hands & warm beds
the truth of a song, naps & long-slow kisses
as we walk across the pages of our lives
time
endows us with the puzzle pieces
shrouded in fog
wind blown
to the
truths and traces
of
velvet
magic

secret breath of life

his day poured 

in thermoplastic petaled splendor;

articulated & arched 

through time alleys of wakefulness 

rolling 

present 

ageless

black sharpie outlined 

to the scuff-skitter of a solitary leaf skating across 20º frost 

Spring comes whispered on a gray southerly wind 

teasing

testing 

this day poured 

always 19

10,9,8,7,6 ...

always 

this day 

this place --located near sternum and stars 

nestled to soul 

(illustrated in tender prairie's paintbox) 

ethereal illusive passage granted

gathered 

this day