Sound Bite

chamomile yellows low to the shifting

ground, another boot is keeping toes

from knowing what grows below.

the rain is washing blood

the sun wasting time on fresh graves

the wind is way ahead of soundless music.

sirens, bulletins, bullets;

new vocabulary words

at the kindergarten.

smiling through scars

shared meals prepare

to heal survivors

families break bread

stones break windows

poems break into silence.

All Punched Out

Orion's belt unbuckles

above the on ramp

I take home from the night job.

The star warrior and the wage earner

change lanes;  raised club and turn signal

flashing bright.

The black ocean peeks through passing trees.

I don't see what's constant as I drive

home from overtime.

The hero wonders when he can put his arm down

and ride the waves in the mythical moonlight

of California.

My exit's coming up. I'll be home soon,

boots off, legs on the couch.

No need to set the alarm, I'm already ready.

All That Flitters

follow the finch up seeded branches

the gold flitters in and out the green

it's a day's work eating your weight in the sky

my office window opens to a world too wide

the square peg of punched in time

separated by a pane of glass from the whole

a hummingbird came close to pecking

my workspace color, I nearly tasted

the break neck nectar in his wings

the daydream is my hourly wage

when the New Jerusalem settles down

these bird notes will fill my resume`