After shoveling the snow
After chipping the ice After grooming the edges Of driveway and walk The back throbs The sweat drips The breath burns from cold And stopping feels good The boots come off The shower is hot The beverage is cold And the blankets comfort my soul.
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The words running down
Through the river of my soul Speed up when funneled Over rocky rapids and channels Made tight by other obstructions. But when thoughts and cares Lessen and ease, the river span widens And the words slow to a crawl The tribulations calm The blurry are focused. The noise is gone and wildlife sparkles The colors heighten their hues And the crisp calm air drifts Into my lungs and holds Court with my heart. Spring sprinkles
Dot my shirt The marks of water felled The cool spheres tapping On my face Remind of fall Just before the snow But now that Snow still melts In clumps and chunks Around my feet On the north sides of buildings Hiding in shade And dripping slowly away Those sprinkles Will soon turn to rain The thunder will roll Behind a flash As pouring rain fills gutters And lawns will be Green with life I dug a hole to China
When I was young I made it three feet Before evening ended My expedition. Summer came to a close And over the seasons Mother Nature healed The wound to her skin And I lost Dad’s shovel I wonder how far down I’d be today if I hadn’t quit that quest I’m guessing I’d probably Have died from the lava by now. Cradle the smell
Of french fries and quarters Clinking their way To the belly of Donkey Kong The bowling ball Slides and pins they hit Coughing as they Fall in the smoke-filled room Dipping in ketchup We salute the fallen red-ringed pins As high scores fall and initials go up Below the row of quarters for those to go next. We had a tree
My brother, friends and me Where we’d climb into its arms And talk philosophy and life Which sport was best Which team was best And who we’d each someday marry We’d drink Mountain Dew And spit sunflower seeds Onto the road below us While telling jokes we’d read In cheap joke books we bought And tried to memorize Even if we didn’t get the jokes We called the tree the Joke Tree And even though I don’t remember Those jokes or who I’d marry I do remember the company And feeling of understanding Things bit by bit when talking To each other there. I was once convinced
That if they could Learn the language of whales Then I could Learn the language of robins I sat patiently on the lawn And watched them hop closer And closer to me As they chirped and whistled I did my best to copy them I wanted to earn their trust I wanted to know what they knew And tell them that I wasn’t Going to hurt them I tried to learn who each of them were But I couldn’t differentiate as Their orange breasts all looked the same And as hard as I tried, they just Wouldn’t get close to me... It was a futile thirty minutes. Basement corner
Long small room Dark dirt floor Single light bulb Wooden shelves Filled with jars Jar after jar Filled and dusty Mom’s hand in marker On the lids Of all the different Beets, tomatoes and pickles The dates marked time Of the days in the past When the women gathered Over boiling pots Sealing the jars Together then shared The pickles. Heavenly sweetness five shelves tall
That shrunk as I grew old The brightly colored boxes Sitting shoulder to shoulder Holding smooth wrappers That held their treasure Organized before I arrived The cheapest at the bottom Were waiting for me for a nickel Second row were dimes and fifteen Third and fourth were fifty cents And top row mints and gums Temptation always loomed over me Especially when there alone I’d sit at the till Waiting for a customer to come in Reading the newest “Archie” And that section of shelves would call me Like Sirens beckoning sailors against rocky shores I’d hear the cries for help from chocolate So... I’d sneak a snack that would Make my dentist shake his head And help him buy a boat. I have a place
In my memory That’s more than Just a place It’s a taste A smell A color A feeling A sound And more It’s hard to explain But every now and then My mind goes there And I’m at that place It’s only there for a moment Not long enough to pinpoint exactly What or where or why or when This place is to me But it’s definitely something I’ve always known Since I was a child Probably love or family or home. |