Anywhere At All

As if I am a mother
or counsellor
people talk to me.

In restaurants
      coffee shops
                     buses
anywhere at all
people walk up
sit down
          and release.

Unclosed

The last time that I
saw her she
was wearing
a broad straw hat
that shaded
her face
and shoulders from
the sun.

Now and then the saddle
creaked beneath her and
the horse seemed
impatient to get
somewhere.

I dont remember what
we talked about.
My memory only knows
that it was good
to see her.

Eggplants

I dreamt
that my hands
were eggplants large
and purple
shiny like
new shoes.

My task
was to build
a house for my
grand-daughter's
little dolls.

Oh God, why?

I fumbled with tools
and tried simply
to push pieces
together.

In the end
I wept
and awoke
without tears
heartbroken
but whole.

Ghost

I have
no words
for this.

You were for me
a memory
someone lost
a heart wound
that had mostly healed.

Now you
appear behind
this secret door.

Hidden
I am lost.

The Sign

At the place
where the road divides
stands a two story
                     red-roofed
clapboard building.
A broad awning stretches
over the patchwork
wooden porch
shading a line
of round backed
metal chairs.

From the ridge pole
at the peak
a red sign is hung
with bright yellow letters -


        HOTDOGS   

I met a girl with amber eyes

that shone in the light.

Like stones
on a ring they garnered
one's attention.

She smiled easily
and made
a great cup of coffee.

Laguna Tide

Undulant
dark water falls
and rises
breaking effortless
on California sand

so smooth
appearing limitless
pale it shimmers
under a bright
three-quarter moon.

After William Carlos Williams

White frost glimmers
upon

frozen thin
branches

splayed like cold
fingers

awaiting warm
sunlight.

These days the light

of late afternoon slants
sharply across open fields
bringing brilliance
and celebrity
to stalks that stand
......................broken
disregarded in the snow.

We were quiet.
Waiting.

Surrounded by damp
warm air we didnt
move for fear
of disturbing them.

Cali

She misses California
in ways that have
               surprised her.
The water of course
and the warm
winds that come
out of the canyons.

Those were givens
but where
are the pomagranates?
      What is this longing
for ivy lawns
and shiny slime
trails on morning walks?

Summer Ride

We rode horseback
winding across
a tall grass prairie.

Blue shadows grew
between knolls
backlit with lowering rays.

This was before the rain.