any other way

sideways through the door-
way
i stay that way
a crooked direction
makes everything clear

usually you go back
and left and forward and left

and left again - the curve
of a branch goes on and on,
and snaps sometimes
in a sudden way

the force of the wind
a fat owl
a heavy, wet snow

a leaping child
has made it to the top
and now the tree

waits

nothing, everything

when nothing appears
not justice,
not a friend,
not the sun.

you dream, you think
of something

a star, a thought
of the person you last
shared a coffee and cigarettte
with outside in
the rain while your coats
became soaked sponges
absorbing each other's
conversation

so much
that the rain
ceased to exist


the next day,
cold under a bright sun -
coats fluffed and warmed
you walked,
arm in arm
in the park

everything was there

not hello

sometimes to say hello hurts
and it is better to hide behind
the aisle, underneath the nearest
counter or anywhere you will be
cloaked from the vision of the person
who you know that you want
to talk to
but shouldn't

letter painting in the fog

a soft index finger spells
out a frosted message
on the fogged window

a gift
to the world
from the inside
of Mom's car

a dandelion waits
outside my window

one day he will pick it,
hand it to her

write her a message
in the sky

Smile

Smile
Make friends
Imagine
Live Honestly
Expect the best

the abbreviated drizzle

the drizzle drains off the
light coat of sidewalk grime,
leftover dew from last spring
a tear that has pooled at the
end of your eyelid,
finally falls away.

you are blessed by
a tiny water droplet
and 2 hydrogens

I remember Chemistry class,
when I first discovered you

up, away, you

further than i have been and towards
the future I am immersed in a sea
of memories

but will not drown

entrenched in the sticky mud
of guilt

reaching out for your hand

once our fingers touch

happiness

surrounded by air, life
tomorrow

new

freshly painted

and ready for the show

toes that twinkle
heels too high

eyebrows pruned
face and clothes
printed and pressed
 

another night

at the pub

in the dark

on a stool,

tipsy with hope-

a thing or nothing

stronger,

and more hopeless

than hope

a revisited dream

night after night

that the next day

will turn out right

teardrops and a tangent

the drizzle is a slow cycle
to clean the gentle earth
without shock

the drizzle drains off the
light coat of sidewalk grime
the leftover dew from last spring
the tear that is still at the
end of your eyelid,
finally falls away.

sometimes all you need
is a light rain
to be grateful
it's not a thunderstorm

you are a blessed
creature
surrounded by 
a tiny water droplet
and 2 hydrogens

I remember Chemistry class,
Junior year,
when I first discovered
the bunsen burner,
when I first discovered you

earth mother

if

clouds

were

beds

and the sun

was

our mom

we would

always

have a warm

place

to sleep

because it is fun

a future glimpse of us

our no teeth denture wearing
smiles
as we drink coffee
and feed our grandchildren
candy
and noisy toys,
instruments
whimsical
thoughts to take
home

magical golden
jelly bean covered
castles with
strawberry milk
rivers under
the moat

where prairie
dogs dance
and Elvis
is alive


we teach them
to speak in their loudest voices
and sing and jump
in puddles
and dress in mud

because being a kid
is fun

old things and new things

i have dreamed of daisies,
gold petals that glisten,
a glimmer of hope
among the ashes

among the construction,
reconstruction,
and fabrication-
re-manufacturing

I have dreamed of daisies-
of hope-
of second-hand clothes
and furniture;
jewelry worn by a fancy,
old woman with electric pink
lipstick

that I now
proudly wear.

I have dreamed all of my
things old
and my old things new

I have dreamed I don't need
things
but I do

gone

and so I haven't been around
been lost for awhile
among the crowds
... the piles of work

papers hoping to be read
comments comments,
trying to remember
what I've already said
truly wishing
I was in bed

I'd really love
to tell you more
but here I go
back out the door!