I sat at the end
Of a wooden park bench On paint both crackled and worn Coats over coats Of different colors Like rings on a tree Filling in initials Carved with a knife By a young lover Half in the sun Half in the shade I chose the sun.
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Broken sunglasses
Sitting on my dresser If I can find the part Out there somewhere I can fix them Jeans too small In a drawer in my dresser If I can lose some weight With diet and exercise I can wear them An unframed print Waiting for a frame on my dresser It was for a friend That I don’t talk to anymore But I could That dresser is full of “if”s It’s got drawers and drawers Of “should’ve”s and “could’ve”s Things I need to do And fix. The snow didn’t melt at all today
I found it just like I left it When I came out from work In the dark of December I shuddered in my jacket Jingled my key and unlocked my car With a button and a chirp Then opened my door The thin orange strip lay along The horizon and darkened With each passing second I started my car and turned up the heat. I’d cut through the pasture
On my way to the pool Every day in my summers Of youth Dirt path worn firm That was slick after rain In grass as high as my belly It shaved blocks off my trip To the pool and back home Time that I needed To swim. I lost the sun so
I asked the trees In darkness they mourned And threw their leaves Down to the cold Hard ground I asked the wind It shushed me loudly I asked the house That slept alone It sat there with eyes closed I asked the lake The ripples laughed At my request And sparkled specks From sky above. Christmas Eve 1974-1983
Embers glowing lower A random crackle or pop From deep inside the last log Black and crumbling In the cooling bricks This Christmas Eve Distinct candle smoke aroma Hangs in the air with the smells Of Dad’s pipe, Apple cider, Oyster stew And lefse. Piles of wrapping paper Boxes, bags and bows Heaped up in a jealous mound Away from the toys, Ties, sweaters and socks Stacked neatly Our stockings hang waiting And few gifts left under the tree For Santa will come while we sleep In sleeping bags by the tree Lit in the corner and covered With ornaments - mostly handmade This is the Christmas I’ll always remember A hodgepodge of them all Mashed into one memory Where the best times all live With the loved ones so dear. Dip, scoop,
Lift, turn, throw Repeat Repeat Repeat Repeat Clear the white Bright and hard packed snow Expose the sidewalk Waiting for summer To be covered by green clippings And darkened by the sprinkler Cooling on a hot day But now uncovered By a twisted and sore back. Breath in the sky
The stars The moon Light your darkness With a smile From the glee Of distant thunder And flashes low and thin On the prairie horizon Where dark meet dark And the night air’s Electric pulse Sends an invitation To find a place Of dry warm solitude Before the Gods Shake the earth with rain. |