Up in the apple tree
we watched the leaves the birds
shared our secrets
read countless books
surveilled the world
Bodies balanced
legs wrapped round broad limbs
we turned our eyes sometimes skyward
sometimes to the ground
lived in the present
imagined the future Continue reading
I tilt back my head and gaze into the canopy
lush tropical density shading
my over-delicate skin
from the blazing eye above.
Light peeks through, birds and insects call out, Continue reading
The poet that I heard tonight
brought their fears, their loves their passions
and shared them with the world
Their pain their blood their past
shared to soothe our souls
Their skin their grit their history
emotions raw and real
and true
so true
for not just them
for me
for you Continue reading
“Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba.”
Children run for cover, trampling each other in a desperate sprint for safety.
In the street an 8-year-old boy
lies
motionless as his savior on the cross,
wounds front and back.
His mother rushes to hold him,
somehow knows
where there’s no compassion,
compression can save lives.
Her hands cover his wounds
try to stanch the blood
hold the life within. Continue reading
I can’t breathe
So I write poetry
Barbie lost a shoe
I found it in a parking lot
dirty with grit
One tiny pink sneaker shabby from the settled dust
of countless cars
and passersby Continue reading