Category Archives: Gratitude

Heat

It's cold. We all agree on that.
The sky even looks cold. It's 
Giving me an icy stare when 
I cast my gaze at its horizon.
Over my right shoulder, I feel
Heat, warming my ear. I turn
To see the blinding low-lying 
Sun, the culprit, and the hero
Of my tale. It has cut through
Reaching me mid-crossing, a
Cozy embrace, so unexpected 
But so very welcome today.

Sky…lines

Today, I am surrounded by that
Same sky I admired a few days
Ago. Well, not same. Clouds are 
So versatile that no two days in 
A row or set apart by a few days
And a new year evoke the same
Sky. It's new and billowing in a
Breeze, although the clouds are
Stiller than my hat which blows
Off, stopping at my outstretched 
Hand. It's right to complain that
The gusts make the cold colder. 
Ah, sure, but oh my there's that
Sky!

Simply put

The stranger and less familiar
The greater the pull. Unusual
Words want me to use them,
To sprinkle them over the top
Like so much sweet garnish
Over common expressions,
Expanding meanings from the
Ordinary, trivial. Meandering 
Far from what you think you're 
Saying to a novel thought on
A different trajectory. You've 
Built a tree of ideas, branches
Alive with the unexpected, the
Consequences of imaginative
Thinking opens adjacent ideas.
Strange and unfamiliar words.
Transform an idiom, so it's ass
Over teakettle with excitement.
Simply put, give it a new verve.

Fall sky

There it is. Just enough red in
The evening sky to put me on
Notice for one more glorious
Fall day. Autumns that aren't 
Too chill for a quiet outdoors
Sit. Not too cool for school, so
I can be as dorky as I like when
I walk around marveling at new
Turned leaves, some redder than
This dusk sky, some tricked out
In pumpkin orange. A season I 
Favor over even the spring, that
Season of awakening promise.
The fall has the bite that melted 
In the summer, but no, it's not
Too cool. Not now. Not just yet.

Early

The dark will soon struggle
To meet the rising light. It's 
Still and eerie, this early late
Night. Early to bed early to
Rise, I am not wealthy. Nor
Wise. I am awake in a pre-
Dawning, in a pre-morning
Yet I have slept and dreamt
Now I await the sun's rise
Like any office worker, will
Have my coffee. I am up
Before the first rooster's 
Crow though no rooster
Perches on my city steps
Daylight will emerge from
Night's darkest hours. It
Will lighten. The sky will
Be a revelation after the
Difficulties of a starless 
Night. Maybe there were
Stars, like the crowing
Rooster unheard in the
Thrum of a city street, 
Stars are darkened by 
City street lights, lights
That do not illuminate
The deep dark of night
The sun will clarify its
Gloomy intensity, it will
Brighten into a singing
Light.  A new day sits
Beyond, opens like a
Flower in springtime, 
Steals hope from doom

Creaky

It wasn't like this, you say.
Everything hurts. Why do
You think that is? You ask
But I haven't the heart to
Place the blame squarely
Where it belongs, age, It's 
A starting point, I am sure.
My cousin Daniela, I miss
Her, like I miss my mother, 
She, Daniela, would say it's
The aches in the morning 
That prove we're still alive.
I answer your question and
I say no it never was like this
When we were young. I was
Never stiff or slow. Nothing 
Hurt to the bone. That's true.