The well is dry

The sides fall in

And there’s no rain

To fill it back up

That we might draw again

These are the days ahead

Empty cisterns

Used to nothing

Purpose forgotten

Simply existing

Everything is in silhouette

Against a brighter background

Just outlines filled in black

Detail lost, washed out,

And wiped away

A cinder before the sun

Lost like ash in the wind;

This is how light

Darkens the world.

I will send my mind

Into the free clouds

Away from here

Where it is ensnared

By thoughts of earthly things

Beyond my own control

Let it lift into light

And cold fresh air

Without a burden

Without a care.

How many words?

How many

Combinations?

Can we string together?

What is the number?

What limit to meaning?

We will find out.

today i read
five journalists were killed in Gaza,
they were in a hospital,
it was bombed;
five witnesses silenced,
five families mourning,
and we all move on.

this is where we are at,
countries, cities, individuals;
no more talking,
only yelling, only blaming
until we can’t remember anymore
the reasons, the whys and the what for,
we only know how to do one thing,
we only know war.

Light is fading

And the sky grows dim

As sleep descends upon us all;

But this is not an end,

For in the dark

The stars peer forth

And we will sink into dream

Of life, light, and our beloved;

Rest well…

I am exposed

Like a thorn

Jutting from a branch

Strengthened in the elements

Sharpened in the wind

I am a warning

Before the world

Approach at your own risk

This one draws blood

the streets out front
they’re filled with strangers
as the annual gathering begins
it is prairie small town high art
a showcase of community
food and fair ground fun
a contrived chaos
filling main street
from dawn to midnight
shoulder to shoulder
city-dwellers mix
with excited locals
excited to complain
excited to enjoy
just plain excited
and it will end
as fast as it began
we’ll be back to normal
a town that feels abandoned
after 5 pm
a town that feels asleep
just the way we like it
even if we’re won’t admit it.

You are a camera

Observing the world

The blue, the green,

Every person

You’ve ever seen;

You are an audio recorder

Capturing the sounds –

Cars in the distance

A dog barks somewhere

As a jet flies overhead

And a motorcycle

Accelerates

Away from you

In the ever-present

Static of the wind;

You are a sponge

Absorbing the people

That pass through your life

Remember the laughter

Let their crying

Spill over you like water

Until you down in it;

You are a record of influence

Played before am audience

Until the silence of the finale

Sends them all away.

sometimes i seek the quiet
the spaces in my head
that are walled off from the world
hidden rooms of contemplation
that get lost in the noise
that disappear in anxiety

but
they are still there
waiting for me to find them
waiting for me to run in
that i might close the door
and lie upon the floor
to stare at the ceiling
and think
of nothing

these are the rare moments
when i can softly remember
my capacity to carry the weight
grows in the silence