Laughing here on earth...

days

2012-02-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

the best thing about a forever with you
is all the days it will take to get there

words

2012-02-01T20:01:00.001-08:00

hello words familiar and true
worn smooth as these hands
scrolled you across yellowing pages

warmed by these lips
as your waves rolled over my tongue
breaking into life across these teeth

carefully tucked in delicate folds
hidden away, yet perpetually viewed
close to my heart, treasured, secure

conch

2012-01-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

discovered that looking inside herself
only led to deeper, darker, tighter spaces
that failed to bring clarity or
breath

so she resolved to face the world
where she found
white sand and salty waves
shared their own
breath

emerged

2012-01-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

surfaced
burrow escaped
sharp air floods lungs
eyes squint against the sun
a world so vivid it seems foreign
emerged

dreams

2012-01-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

singing from a depth so my much greater than herself
she projected notes and melodies and a hope for
a life that was bigger than where she stood
but only slightly smaller than
the dreams that were hidden inside her

icy waters

2012-01-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

toes dipping into icy waters
off the dock of tomorrow's expectancy
"it'll get warmer as you get used to it"
they always told her
but summer, was a long way off

wisdom

2012-01-22T16:57:00.000-08:00

it came not in a rushing torrent
a crashing wave
nor a surging tidal flood

it came in the sweep of a slow stream
the current of a steady river
a life giving estuary

atmosphere

2012-01-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

bubblegum beats rising in the dark
lifting their hearts to new heights
starlight glittering in their eyes
pulses racing to the frenzied tempo
providing altitude to a generation
yearning to be filled and lifted
to an atmosphere
far from here

40 caliber

2012-01-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

steel and polymer recoil against
her palm with each shot of lead exiting
fiery flash of gunpowder
in her nostrils and under her nails

yellow

2012-01-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

isabelline morning warmed by flavescent skies
chartreuse blades and citreous songs in chorus begin to rise
from goldenrod and gamboge hues, bumble bees are made
'till luteous and citrine sunsets, slip into ochre and fulvous shades

Tabula rasa

2012-01-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

a blank slate a clean sheet, a song yet unwritten
fresh start, new beginning, memories to be made
unburdened with the past, unfettered with regret
this new year offers a change to begin
anew

buried

2011-12-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

shaken to the ground by autumn's brisk breezes
buried beneath decaying leaves and numbing snow
cold, dark, and shriveling
certain your end is come
wrap yourself in this one warm promise
spring will come

geyser

2011-12-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

so rare
so rarely understood
unanticipated anomaly
impressing some, startling many
unlikely coupling of extreme elements producing a powerful display
cold water, hot magma, sudden heating, deep frustration,
unforeseen influences bursting forth
many stand in awe, few understand
so alone,
so faithful

preserves

2011-12-20T21:06:00.000-08:00

at season's end i
gather warm fuzzy fruit of the
memories i can't bare to lose and
trim out the bruised and ugly spots i don't care to preserve, then
simmer all of the savory moments adding sweetener where needed to
improve on actual events and
when i am finished reveling in yesteryear, or
the way i think those days are best remembered the
tidy jars with gingham trimmed labels are arranged in neat rows with
shiny copper lids, until the moment when
i retrieve these precious moments and
ingest their sweet savory goodness
once again

tickled

2011-11-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

shy smile that sneaks up when i see you
the brush of your bare skin against mine
soft bubbles rising from my flute
at sharing a lifetime with you

silence

2011-11-18T21:50:00.001-08:00

skipping stones across the creek,
drowning in the mindless silence of this moment

ache

2011-11-18T21:48:00.001-08:00

You make my young heart ache for growing old together,
my old bones ache for younger years

heartbeats

2011-11-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

warm feet cover my toes evoking
familiarity of a lifetime together
are unexpectedly interrupted
by racing heartbeats
born of young love
and the cool sheets against my skin

hidden

2011-10-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

freckled nose, knobby kneed, 11 year old girl
hidden behind designer frames, and an hourglass figure
watches, waiting and wondering
who can see right through to her

heritage

2011-10-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

sometimes the air i inhale is so thick
saturated in decades of heritage
drenched with legacies
that i am compelled to exhale
the very depths of my life
that i might leave an inheritance
for future generations

numb

2011-10-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

void of feeling, emotion, and strength
except pain
i think i can still feel pain
only now it's more of a dull inescapable weight
with no interest in being repaired
i am
undone

foundation

2011-08-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

my toes on yours they
melt as you lead me in
breathtaking rhythm across
this foundation that is
our love

drowning

2011-08-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

singing at the top of her lungs
in hopes of drowning out
the sorrow that threatens to steal
the glory of life that she knows
swirled around her in deeper shades of blue
than the depths of even the darkest night

fingers

2011-08-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

dancing up frets, down chord and strings
making melodies
swirling across the canvas, deep in paint
painting pictures
deftly scribing, smudged with graphite
recording rhymes

grief

2011-08-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

piercing so deep
through layers of flesh i never knew i had
discloses depths of pain
i wish i had never known

simpler

2011-08-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

a persistent tug on his sleeve brought him
lower, to a perspective he hadn't consider
in quite sometime, and he was reminded
of just how much simpler life
used to be

ben

2011-08-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

you held us
in strong arms, rapturous laughter, and bright ambitions
you fılled us
with tender reflections, witty prosody, and honest assessments
you left us
too soon, confused, and desperately wanting you back

lost

2011-08-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

his eyes, meet mine and suddenly I'm lost again
behind dark lashes in a sea of blue
and the amazing wonder, that he feels this way too

straining

2011-08-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

straining at the weight on my shoulders
names that are not my own
dreams that have yet to be shown
pressing forward for the sake of another
children, students, the hope of tomorrow

students

2011-08-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

untouched erasers, chalk dust
and the scrape of chairs across the floor
new book bindings, trailing laces
and fresh faced smiles at my door

entwined

2011-08-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

an inquisitive tug on the silk thread
caused the entire web to tremble
and some to scramble for shelter
revealing what she had suspected for some time now
that we are all much more entwined
than we're willing to admit

gardener

2011-07-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

he awoke early each morning
put on his boots, gathering his tools
simple, but trust-worthy over time and
began his tireless stroll down each
row of promising soil turning
each handful over to wonder at the
promises that would soon spring up
from this rich earth, tenderly pressing
seeds carefully chosen for this purpose
into its moist depths, covering them with a prayer
that they soon would sprout forth to
greet the warm sun and quench
their thirst from the refreshing waters and
cultivation he provided as they grew

unseen

2011-07-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

birds never question the air on which they rise
bees don't doubt the wind, nor do dragonflies
kites nary question the gusts that give them flight
so why am i always asking, about things beyond my sight?

imagined

2011-07-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

she fell asleep with sparkling visions of a bright future
filled with light and hope and things she could only imagine

she awoke amidst a myriad of endless possibilities
her hands grasping treasures, she had barely imagined

caterpillar

2011-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

some days she felt like she
was simply consuming and storing up
for a greater and brighter purpose
a caterpillar hoping to a butterfly someday

chrysalis

2011-07-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

arms bound, feet tight, stomach full
eaten, spun, worked, awaited, this necessary phase
dark cloak a curtain of hope, internal metamorphosis

longing, aching, desperately waiting, to shed this dry shell

sunset

2011-07-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

amber dripping skies leave me behind
fuchsia pink clouds go where i'm not allowed
deep purple cloak abandons the dark night
but i have hope, that a sunrise is in sight

time

2011-07-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

finding that time is picking up pace
even as she is starting to slow down

hope

2011-07-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

is counting seeds as they sprout
is touching leaves on young shoots
is numbering emerging blossoms
is tallying tender young fruit
is biding as the produce ripens
fulfilled, is a tree life!

choked

2011-07-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

the lump growing inside
her throat threatened to cut off her breath
raw from crying out
she gasped as it choked its way down

harvest

2011-07-15T16:23:00.001-07:00

knuckles raw with well doing
her eyes yearn for the promised harvest
now if she can just keep from
giving up

bullets

2011-07-15T16:20:00.001-07:00

growing weary dodging bullets
especially since it's gotten hard to tell
which ones are from outside
and which are from within

thick skin

2011-06-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

spent so long learning to be tough
thickening her skin
ignoring the pain

now she's praying for a breeze
to lift away the years of chaff
and let her feel again

forever

2011-06-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

everytime i see someone else say "I do"
I want to run out and start my forever all over again
with you

rain clouds

2011-06-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

no longer frighten her
like they did when she was young

rolling thunder and cracking clouds
rarely shake her small frame now

rushing wind and rising waters
still swiftly circle around her

hidden in the cleft of the rock
she watches, from safety

dusty cracks

2011-06-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

blinding afternoon sun
warm dirt aroma
ringing of children's laughter
filling her soul's dusty cracks
bringing forth a smile, too long forsaken

seeds

2011-05-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

amazed to discover
hard seeds once buried away
now softened by the rain,
are bursting forth
with mysterious strength, bringing life

birds

2011-05-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

gray, blue and green feathers pass
pigeons play a game of chase

black and silver plastic flash
mocking bird squawks at passing tourists

golden yellow and buttery brown biscuit crumbs
sparrow hops hopefully along

drifting

2011-04-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

less because she's unsure
and more because she is sure
of where she wants to be
and enjoying every moment

blue-gray

2011-04-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

she was too busy gazing at the liquid blue sky
to notice
everyone else walked around with their heads turned down
in shades of gray

waiting

2011-04-02T20:09:00.001-07:00

i've been right here my whole life
just waiting for the day
you'd lay down beside me

threads

2011-04-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

though I cannot determine the color
of the threads handed me in life
it is I who choose the pattern
in which these threads are woven

sailing

2011-03-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Voices rise and fall
A swell of laughter,
The crash of glasses
These sails are full
And this ocean a breeze

girlfriends

2011-03-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

late nights
and coffee conversations
fears and dreams
that are not our own
believing, crying, laughing, praying
stocks not measured on the S&P 500

enigma

2011-03-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

lost in thought though thoroughly found
drifting away with two feet on the ground
not easily explained but completely understood
rotten to the core yet morally good
passionately ablaze with a cool head
so much more alive than I've ever been dead

grasping

2011-03-08T18:23:00.001-08:00

grasping at moments drifting by
paper fragments caught in the wind
captivating, eluding
fingers against bare palms

spring

2011-02-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

a brush of her skirt against my skin
the lilt of her laughter warming my back
and for a moment I succumbed to her enticing
before she slid behind the corner
leaving me alone with winter's cold bones, and icy stare

forever

2011-02-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

still finding myself
caught of guard by the delightful knowledge that
the man who makes my heart beat fast
has promised to be mine
forever

lightning

2011-01-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

he spoke in husky tones of friends long passed

stories blurred in laughter and white lighting

of nights he couldn't remember

and people he won't forget...

sharing

2011-01-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

little bits of him keep spilling over my side of the line
and somewhere along the way I figure I must have grown up
since I no longer seem to mind sharing my space and
I keep hoping that he won't have to leave too soon

unafraid

2011-01-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

you free me to laugh and dance in the rain
unafraid of hurt, sorrow or pain
though in this life thunder and lightning come
I'm wrapped in your arms, warmed by your sun

2010

2011-01-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

slipped out nearly unnoticed
obscured as we bustled with anticipation
lowering her tired arms
she prepared to rest

morning

2010-09-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

scampering squirrels gathering their morning meal
late summer sun uncurls its toes
dewy grasses rise, refreshed again
another day is born.

bewitchıng

2010-09-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

blushing russet, and vermilion tinged leaves
attest autumn's bewitchıng has begun
as maple, oak, and ash
succumb
to her hypnotic charm

the teacher

2010-09-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

deftly traveling
the slope of the student's
written landscape
she
suggests shadows and pigments
and rays of the harvest moon
with only a fine tip pen

shells

2010-08-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

she collects shells
for their colors
rich texture
and the stories they tell

i collect words
for many of the same reasons

raw

2010-08-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

spent
exhausted
mind worn raw
a dry desert suddenly aware
of thirst
hunger
and the need to feel

hope

2010-08-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

the darkness over head
isn't always a night sky
and the weight I bear
isn't always my own
the arms that lift me up
aren't always mine
but the sun that rises with each tomorrow
is forever my hope

deep

2010-08-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

reminding myself to take deep breaths
and saturate my senses
eliminating shallow moments
in an abundant world

first dance

2010-07-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

watching them twirl across the floor
for the first as husband and wife
I fall in love all over again
with you for the rest of my life

raindrops

2010-07-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

these words
like raindrops
at times a light drizzle
at times a strong torrent
cleanse, purge, refresh, bring life

quilting

2010-03-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

diligently stitching together
memories of our early years
so that faded with time
they will wrap themselves around us
and never be further
than this very moment

stars

2010-01-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

motionless
beneath thick darkness
pierced only by
remote stars
a familiar voice
"I
still put the stars
in your hands."

2009

2010-01-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

She wrapped herself in a velvet thick cloud as she prepared to depart. Perhaps she desired to cover our eyes as a one would a small child's to the pains and losses of the year past, or perhaps she pulled the veil over our eyes to retain the wonders of the year ahead. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted to leave as mysteriously as she had arrived.

leaving lessons

2009-10-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

I watch their end in vibrant marvel
brilliant hues marking their death
I dance in their departure
effortlessly descending from their source
I inhale their sweet scent
emanating fragrance as they're pressed
I aspire to leave this life
with such beauty, aroma and grace

roots

2009-06-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

thick, strong, growing deep, imparting rich legacy
twisting, tangling below the earth, guiding moral character
delicate tendrils still reaching out, growing ever stronger
some day a new life will germinate, and draw from these ancestral roots

alabaster

2008-11-04T14:23:00.001-08:00

heart of stone, broken and poured out
sweet offerings, a priceless perfume

falling afloat

2008-11-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

deep orange, speckled with brown
like leaves in a stream, we float along
aware of the changes beyond our control
mesmerized by the wonder of it all

spinning

2008-08-22T08:39:00.001-07:00

softly in circles
that demand little
but to dance
slowly in that very moment

shadows

2008-08-19T18:07:00.001-07:00

finding it harder and harder
to tell where she leaves off
and he begins
a common occurrence with shadows
and love

simplified

2008-06-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

dancing and spashing on the cobblestones beneath her
the afternoon shower
simplified her world
one drop at a time

empty

2008-06-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

she smiled
even on empty streets
because her heart
was always full

fingertips

2008-04-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

she held his fingertips in the dark
following his lead to the dance
that only made sense to her feet
and her heart

diamond

2008-03-18T09:22:00.001-07:00

their love sparkled and glimmered

like the the midday sun

reflected from her hand

baby girl

2008-03-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

bursting into this world in brilliant hues of orange
her sizzling, sparkling, flight
has just begun

Hot Air Balloon

2008-02-28T06:41:00.000-08:00

Her brilliant colors rose high in the clear sky
Lifted by the mighty force within her

landing

2008-02-27T13:28:00.001-08:00

She kept asking him why he was so afraid to fly
Until he asked her why she was so afraid to land

cadence

2008-02-15T14:05:00.001-08:00

His breath rose and fell in steady rhythm
Measuring time in the dark
He was, she realized,
Providing the very cadence of her heart

flying

2008-02-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

She used to spend all her time flying
Until he gave her a safe place to land

ribbons

2008-02-13T05:16:00.000-08:00

rolling, curling, smooth against my skin
ribbons of love’s sweet affection gently tucking me in

missed messages

2008-02-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

Slow down he whispered, or you’ll miss them
Miss what? She queried barely slowing her step
Miss the messages I’ve left for you
In this morning’s dew that clung to your feet,
In the soft breeze that disheveled your hair,
In the late afternoon sun that melted over the horizon,
In the gently moon that hangs patiently in the midnight sky
Slow down he whispered, or you’ll miss them

Miss V.

2008-01-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

Everlasting treats
Almost all sweet
Scavenger hunts
Saving baby wolf runts
Looking up, looking down,
Looking all over for the classroom clown
All the pings
All these things
Come from Miss V.

pictures

2008-01-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

climbing around on ladders and stools
hanging pictures of himself on each wall
so everyone would know he belonged here

sparklers

2008-01-24T13:21:00.001-08:00

their laughter came in small bursts
bright against the night sky
loud, fun, and without apology

handy man

2008-01-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

he always had just the right tools
for holding her together, and putting her in place
so she decided
having a handy man around could be quite helpful after all

good use

2008-01-18T13:01:00.001-08:00

pulling out all the scraps of love
she’d gathered from others who’d thrown it away
delighted to have finely found such a good use for them

papers

2008-01-17T14:18:00.001-08:00

she shook the paper into the air and watched the letters fall
from the page, small characters spinning out of control
collapsing into a meaningless pile on the floor
finally she thought, someone understands how I feel

pirates

2008-01-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

he was always running around waving his sword in the air
why do you do that? she asked.
because, he replied, that’s how all the pirates get their booty

waiting

2008-01-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

he lay so still you could barely see his chest move
his eyes carefully trained on the small delicate bud
when it finally opened he smiled knowing
this was exactly what he was waiting for

tickled

2008-01-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

few things brought the air deep into his lungs like that laughter
full, strong, rolling, as firm as the fingers in his ribs

Laughing here on earth...

days

words

conch

emerged

dreams

icy waters

wisdom

atmosphere

40 caliber

yellow

Tabula rasa

buried

geyser

preserves

tickled

silence

ache

heartbeats

hidden

heritage

numb

foundation

drowning

fingers

grief

simpler

ben

lost

straining

students

entwined

gardener

unseen

imagined

caterpillar

chrysalis

sunset

time

hope

choked

harvest

bullets

thick skin

forever

rain clouds

dusty cracks

seeds

birds

drifting

blue-gray

waiting

threads

sailing

Voices rise and fallA swell of laughter,The crash of glassesThese sails are fullAnd this ocean a breeze

girlfriends

enigma

grasping

spring

forever

lightning

sharing

unafraid

2010

morning

bewitchıng

the teacher

shells

raw

hope

deep

first dance

raindrops

quilting

stars

2009

leaving lessons

roots

alabaster

falling afloat

Voices rise and fall
A swell of laughter,
The crash of glasses
These sails are full
And this ocean a breeze