These Regrets

A sacred path, these stars define
A lost journey, two souls supine

A shattered heart, fractured sight
Colors bleeding in the night

An ashen page, rusty song
Hope of a life, long gone on

A woven stream, tattered sky
These regrets before me lie

This Road

Gentle rain coaxed the leaves.
Buds sprayed the trees in a mist
Of green, a dripping arch over
The road as I drove.  This road
'round the lake I shared with you
A thousand times and more.
It calls to me sometimes.
As I drive this road now,
I see you then.
Your eager heart, your smile.
I miss your hand in mine.

Wishes

Light as a feather

My wishes for you

Success born of struggle

In all that you do

Joy through life's trials

None too severe

The warmth of your loved ones

And friends you hold dear

Peace in your evenings

When life's treated you wrong

Smiles of remembrance

After you're gone

Looking Back

Looking back I saw a night with no stars
When I was between worlds and waiting
I rejoiced at the song that filled me
Music pulled at me and I followed
While memories of lifetimes spoke to me
Calling you home, calling me home

Balanced under the crest of the moon 
You waited there, as you always have
Until we found each other again
And danced to the midsummer song
While fireflies floated around us
Calling us home, calling us home

Through the mist of autumn leaves
The river rocks stand immortal
Along the path where we return
Guided by the light of those we love
Bittersweet as the wine we drink
Knowing you are home, I am home

Day and Night

Pages have been ripped out

Of a book I wanted very much

To read, to enjoy, to share.

Treasured pages that

Made me smile, laugh,

Made me sit back and enjoy.

Now, every once in a while,

I hear snatches of the story.

Bittersweet without the whole book,
Because I am certain the ending has changed
Different now, as day and night.

The Ninth Letter

Walk into the room late
So everyone sees you arrive.
Suit coat casual, papers in order.
This power. This control. It is yours.
 
If you ask enough questions, 
They will think you are doing your job.
And you can keep them off balance.
This power. This control. It is yours. 

Make requests and ask for help.
Make sure no one can do the job but you.
They will see how important you are.
This is power. This is control.  It is yours.

Turn the conversation to your successes,  
Your latest business deal, your many triumphs.
Others couldn't have done it without your help.
This power. This control. It is yours.

Double-speak those who question you.
Commend their willingness to examine deeply,
While you subtly insult them for not knowing.
This power. This control. It is yours.

Undermine others to build up yourself
Until people distrust each other and themselves,
Their very judgment, their abilities, their worth.
This power. This control. It is yours.

Understand it's not who we see in the mirror
That counts, but those behind us in the mirror,
The ones who come after us, the ones who hold us up,
Therein lies the power, if you can see past yourself.

Nova Scotia

The plane flies over the water,
Too low.  I can see the ripples
On the surface, waves lapping
Deadwood on a rocky shore.
Pull up, I want to say, pull up.
But the pilot leaves the controls
Walking to the rear of the plane
And I am sure we are going to crash.
Where is my daughter, I wonder.
She is not sitting with me.

I can see into the branches
Of ancient pines against gray
Sky.  We are still that low.
Pull up, I want to tell the pilot.
It is the co-pilot who finally pulls up
But we tangle with the tops
Of the trees, we can hear them
Scraping the bottom of the plane
And I am sure we are going to crash.
Where is my daughter I wonder.
She is not sitting with me.

The pilot announces we are going
To make an emergency landing to
Inspect the damage to the bottom
Of the plane, so brace yourselves.
I can see we are headed for an open
Mossy, rocky area, where the plane
Skids and bounces, and scrapes,
Without landing gear.  Surely now
The plane is even more damaged
Than it was from the treetops.
As I stumble from the plane
My daughter appears at my side.

She told the pilot to pull up
She said, but he didn't pull up
Fast enough and we still hit
The trees.  Why did she even
Have to tell him to pull up
I wonder.  And in the distance
There is a chalet, and people coming
To us with blankets to keep us warm.

Stories of Your Heart

Love the stars, your only light
Follow birds your only flight
Dream of colors in the skies
Hold your secrets in your eyes

Love the children when they sing
Follow rivers answering
Dream of passions in your art
Hold the stories of your heart

Ghosts

Treaties that defined boundaries,
Language and religion assimilated.
Forced to adapt, and redefined gender roles.
Humiliation surfaced, overtaken by anger. 
Atrocities traded, and escalated to war. 
  
Bounties offered for Dakota scalps, 
Rape condoned, genocide encouraged.
Land taken and forsaken.  Even
White women gathered rocks,  
To stone those forced to march. 

Today, so many young men
From so many cultures
Disenfranchised, separated
From their heritage.  Joining
Gangs, becoming terrorists.

Does history repeat itself because
We are too short-sighted to see the
Parallels through time and cultures?
Dakota were hung, buried, then reburied 
And we wonder why ghosts do not rest.

 

Things Abandoned

The sweet taste of grapes,
The twitter of a bird. 
Contentment is not achieved
It is things abandoned.

Tell Me

my comprehension scatters

vision collapses

stomach heaves

          your words lay in confusion at my feet 

when I try to gather them up

put them back together

i bump into mistakes

       i get the order wrong

because I do not understand

and no one will tell me

Empty

A weathered house with

empty windows that
 

offer no view.  Rooms  

filled with memories respond
 

with smothering silence.  I wish
 

I knew what I have done, how
 

you are, where I stand.  But
 

the house is empty and
 

the windows offer no view.