week 552 ~ my heart too heavy to carry

my heart too heavy to carry
held in both hands still scrapes the ground
daffodils wither without sound
old memories will not spare me
regret but their loss can’t bury
the vision of leaves blowing green
in a future landscape unseen
where spring patiently waits for me
to understand to really see
what the unconnected dots mean

 

week 516 ~ single out a moment to remember

single out a moment to remember
from all the days that passed before you knew
how a sudden rain could douse life’s ember
something to hold onto to get you through
an unexpected smile comprehending
nothing can possibly make time rewind
doors close as long lost adventures ending
knock vainly hoping still oh nevermind
life speeds up at the end without warning
there isn’t time to make a speech of note
play one more song to lure in the morning
night will consume you whole that’s all she wrote
and when it comes where will I be waiting
ticket in hand still anticipating

week 442 ~ light on a passing breeze

“Et la mandoline jase
Parmi les frissons de brise.” – Paul Verlaine, Mandoline (1869)
(And the mandolin chatters on/ In the shivers of breeze)

light on a passing breeze
wafts a most joyous sound
charged with lost memories

intertwined histories
laughter notes run to ground
light on a passing breeze

mandolin melodies
some unknown some renowned
charged with lost memories

across the centuries
sweet tremolos resound
light on a passing breeze

play the tunes as you please
they’re waiting to be found
charged with lost memories

now it’s your turn so seize
them they’re yours this time ‘round
light on a passing breeze
charged with lost memories

week 428 ~ there are places I’ll remember

there are places I’ll remember
all my life though some have changed
some forever some for better
there are places I’ll remember
most especially in December
piles of memories rearranged
there are places I’ll remember
all my life though some have changed

week 350 ~ family

family
for always
we will be
family
glad to see
these sweet days
family
for always

week 330 ~ there is nothing left but going

there is nothing left but going
wrap up your memories and fly
back home to dreams that you know lie
waiting patiently for you bring
souvenirs that need no packing
a new way of looking at the
world a new song in your head free
for the listening set your course
by a different compass a source
of context to light all you’ll see

 

week 323 ~ open the box marked christmas past with care

open the box marked christmas past with care
for childhood joys and missing friends you’ll find
with memories the lost-forever kind
that lie waiting to trip you up beware
or reconcile yourself to linger there
amidst unsorted photos of the mind
and laughter packed in odd-shaped boxes lined
with longing or regret for you can’t stare
them down reliably sometimes they just
wash over whatever happiness you
have since accrued there’s no way to predict
so pause until tears pass away then trust
tomorrow to sweep you beyond conflict
toward dreams love has power to renew

week 308 ~ inspecting the boundaries

inspecting the boundaries
of a life reconsidered
in a forest without trees

you can’t count what no one sees
and so much time’s been frittered
inspecting the boundaries

gathering lost memories
if one falls will it be heard
in a forest without trees

hostile winds blow cold dreams freeze
battered by each unkind word
inspecting the boundaries

of love bring us to our knees
is optimism absurd
in a forest without trees

all tangents go where they please
hope progresses undeterred
inspecting the boundaries
in a forest without trees

week 265 ~ notes from the basement

notes from the basement
ride out of a past
with time well misspent

who knows where it went
never meant to last
notes from the basement

too late to repent
life unwinds so fast
with time well misspent

as the twig is bent
we set sail half-mast
notes from the basement

self-stamped with love sent
back our lot’s been cast
with time well misspent

so we circumvent
regrets dreams once dashed
notes from the basement
with time well misspent

week 240 ~ the time before everything that has been

the time before everything that has been
wrapped in the scent of phlox and sound of rain
on the pavement of my heart before pain
dug ruts for rivulets of tears begin
stretched out on the grass watching ants scurry
by or jumping off the shed roof into
the waiting branches of the big spruce who
could eat their ice cream cone slowest not me
but I tried back in those lost summer days
of sunshine memories melting kool-aid
popsicles when I was never afraid
when happiness blossomed so many ways
easily beautifully without regret
before the time of so much to forget