Love and Leaf Luster
“Plant House”
book and coffee cup
dusty on a window sill
stillness of Autumn
hovers in mid air.
rainy day dark
but welcomed
leaky skylight leaves puddles
on the pebbled floor.
pots stacked quietly
leaning columns
an endless city.
seeds all stored in
“Scoop Away Clean” and
“Tidy Cat” buckets with
tight fitting lids.
old wine bottles and
colored glass vases
silently sing in the corner.
scissors and wire and trows
all dutifully rest along the
patchy counter top.
and a baby’s straw bonnet
dangles by a thread from
a grapevine wreath-
Handmade.
Ready for winter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Meet Me”
To you I’m nothing more than
one of the infinite specks of light
ordinarily gleaming down.
Stuffed in a mass of my kind
I could never be noticed
even though my light might
blare a different shade of blue.
Every now and then a pair of eyes
sift through me but soon
move on as millions
scream for attention.
They overpower my essence-
dim my shine.
If “soulshine is stronger than moonshine”
maybe I should swallow a cup of rain and let it
drip into a sea where you may swim
and maybe then, you’ll feel me.
I am here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Homemade”
The day before I left
tears streamed down onto my
hands folding the last of your clothes.
I lost my breath.
I lost my appetite.
And there you remained, at work
until Noon.
Home for lunch and back out again.
Home late…
Homemade lemonade
in your glass.
Hot meal in your Homemade bowl.
Hot shower in your clean bathroom-
Lay down in my bed
I sob to sleep, our last night.
You’re tired from work
You fall to sleep, our last night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Out of Hiding”
Fetal Position-
curled and rocking and
begging for choices to make sense.
Vein bulging in the center of my forehead
strands of dark hair turn
silver over night
and others find the shower drain,
drowning my ankles.
Bare Matress-
sheets packed and still soiled
my cheeks are sensitive
to the rough fabric
as they scrape against it like
the trashing of a fussing
toddler.
Filed under Simple Pleasures | Comment (0)My Favorite
About two years ago I first heard The Avett Brothers, and have craved their words and sounds since. I can’t get enough. I was prohibited from going to their show last year when they came to the State Theater in Ithaca, NY. Well, I quit that job and I won’t ever miss you guy again! I just heard this song tonight and it grasped my soul. It said it all, as they always do.
I had a refreshing and rekindling conversation last night with my old Asheville friend, Justin Lee. We spoke of The Avett Brothers and how gripping their lyrics are. Justin expressed how they plainly say everything we all stutter and stumble through. They lay it out simply and gracefully. The crowd in a trace by the utter perfection in their entirety.
Three Cheers Guys.
Filed under Simple Pleasures | Comment (0)Beef Stew
It’s that time of year when the sun and wind paint the trees hues of warmth, almost creating an illusion of what is yet to come. It’s time for scratchy wool sweaters and corduroys. These days are reserved for close friends and comfort. They are the days for strolling through shag carpet forests with mellow conversation- dodging salamanders and toadstools.
My good friend, Maddy Walsh and I took a walk the other day between the September rainstorms of Ithaca, NY. It was one of those days where two friends who haven’t seen each other for months start out in a blustery dance of smiles and banter, then ease into the serious talk, digging deep into the bedrock of our beings which shapes the surface layer visible to everyone else. It was only a couple hours we spent as Obleo and Tayen incessantly played and scuffled and romped, splashing us with mud on their way by, as all dogs should. The ground was saturated with tiny creeks and drowning clover, and the leaves of grass and the leaves of trees soaked our legs. It was as every Autumn day should be, chilly and damp as we ate beef stew.
For me, leaving was hard that day. I hadn’t seen her in so long, and we couldn’t even say how long it would be again before we can actually meet up. Work, and the band, and travel, and family…all good things, but they’re never congruent. I’m so grateful for the fall, as once again it made me look and laugh, breath and listen, hope and embrace.
That day we dodged raindrops and streams forming but remained pleasant through it all. And as soon as I left, and got into town, the sun shown so brightly almost laughing at our efforts to hike together. But Maddy made it all right by saying,
“This is why I love the fall, it’s just so Dramatic!” Exactly.
