puddles

when writing in the rain
poems form like puddles
iamb puddles
word puddles
dancing with each raindrop
rippling with each gust of wind

when writing in the rain
as downpour patters on palms
each frond cries out
in ecstasy they shout
bathing in the brilliance
droplets pool into each sentence

when writing in the rain
raindrop melee mingles with mesquites
cacti fill their folds
drink as much as each holds
doves coo as downpour idles
corvids splash in poetic puddles

poem names

some poems have names
as poetic titles
while often as riddles
can serve as a frame

some poems hold names
within their stanzas
pronoun extravaganzas
an anonymity game

some poems possess names
proper and dapper
of pauper or rapper
as stains for the brain

some poems change names
as they age over time
trade truth for rhyme
yet the poem’s the same

now you

you were with me
for only nine months
but even now
years later
you living
another life
i still feel
you are a part of me
and part of me
was once part of you
but the then me
and the then you
are so very different
so very distant
from the now me
and the now you
and i wonder who
is the real now you

Rabbit rabbit rabbit

Rabbit! Rabbit!! Rabbit!!! I hope that you have a Juneificent month of June! May all your plans and hopes, or at least a few of them, come to fruition. Wishing you all a healthy, happy month. Hoping we can work toward our more perfect world of honor and respect for every human’s sovereign rights in this month of Juneteenth and beyond!

memorious

you are no longer with us
yet here we are memorious
thankful for your protection
though you were murdered
defending until your end
so that we may live on
though the shadow of your death
lingers always for your dear ones
for the rest of us sometimes
your memory on the fringe
like the edge seam of our flag
waving on the horizon

every day and night we are here
while you no longer with us
some take time every day
for others maybe once a year
to keep the memories
of your ultimate sacrifices
for the bloodshed some shed tears
for the liberties we hold dear
the justice you entrust with us
for balance needs both left and right
upon solid center pillar
which you have left us memorious

shadowed

i live in the shadows
dwell in the spaces
between space and time
breathe of the aether
on which strings
play and chime

some day i shall return
to the land of light
dance in the sublime
but for now i thrive
on precious shadows
this everlasting climb

hidden deep within
fractal truth revealed
shadows within shadows
turtles all the way down
each shadow like a shell
nestled within another

subtle shards of darkness
within pockets of pondering
keep me from wandering
beyond the sacred veil
loose change i had forgot
never lost to the sauced

each blade of grass
like a pane of glass
within the flowing lawn
windows to worlds flow on
waving in the breeze
dancing with elastic ease

i live in the shadows
dwell in the spaces
between space and time
breathe of the aether
on which strings
play and chime

some day i shall return
to the land of light
dance in the sublime
but for now i thrive
on precious shadows
this everlasting climb

leaves

i saw the leaves swirl
they gave me a chill
it’s not just the wind
but the breeze can kill

or maybe it was
just the wind after all
the leaves live their lives
but then they must fall

i steer clear of the bark
that howls in the dark
it’s just the way i walk
where the trees sometimes talk

some trees warm my heart
but these gave me a start
as i rounded the hill
the leaves gave me a chill

i made it home safely
i mustn’t say gravely
realized as i should
my house is made of wood

as i made my dinner
put the chill on to simmer
but when i got to bed
kept awake by the dread

which kind of trees
was my home made of
were the walls who surround me
made of hawks or of doves

some time in the night
i drifted off to sleep
swept away from the fright
drifted into the deep

i dreamt you were a tree
your hands were deep roots
your legs went straight up
feet with leaves in cahoots

and there i was too
growing beside you
right side up for me
my hair turned to leaves

we talked like those trees
with the bark that howls
as the breeze blew our leaves
we were visited by owls

they carried you away
as the sun rose me awake
i wasn’t a tree all day
the dream still made me shake

scenes of you and the owls
still played in my head
but the strangest souvenir
were the leaves in my bed

slender shimmer

i saw a slender shimmer
dangling above the dawn
were it any slimmer
its visage would be gone

hovered above the cacti
it danced with fronds of palms
day shall steal it from the eye
yet this glimpse brings such calm

behold the bringer of tides
seen and unseen beauty
who every month still hides
but never shies from duty

data lake brew

my data lake
has turned to tea
this data brew
needs glue to be

i let it steep
far too long
this ripened lake
is all too strong

it’s time to drain
and dredge this
putrid data swamp
decompose the bits

now my new pond
is all too empty
this nascent lake
needs to be like tea

slowly collect
the data dew
channel together
all that’s new

unleash the filters
curate the brew
balance too many
with far too few

forsacken

i used to visit you
several times a week
sometimes every day
for years upon years

parts of you
i knew by heart
sweet essence of life
you would give me

i needed you
for dear sustenance
to survive and thrive
thrilled by your delights

what did i ever give you
but my daily devotions
homage to your glories
and one more thing

i traded money
for your gifts
gave my dollars
for deliciousness

but now i no longer
visit you myself
i do not pay you homage
only send my wealth

tonight i visited you
after weeks away
in for a quickie
to snatch your drugs

you felt like a stranger
who for so long
i once knew intimately
every inch of every shelf

there were always aisles
i would pass by
some I would ignore
but now you are a stranger

oh have i lost my love
abandoned my muse
forsaken my beloved
long ago grocery store