tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75873709069752948872024-03-13T22:49:44.579-04:00Dances With VodkaDances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-42859413782532161182021-12-29T20:55:00.001-05:002021-12-29T20:55:40.988-05:00DEVOTIONLet's close our eyes<br />
we don't need the artificial light<br />
to show we've finally moved,<br />
unbruised<br />
through the crowded night<br />
<br />
You know that beautiful stranger <div>who once told us her name was Rest?<br />in case you've forgotten<br />
she arrives in her sleepwear best</div><div>when we take a deep breath <div>and count the heartbeats</div><div> which keep us blessed<br />
<br />
And that pen,<br />
that often asks<br />
to dance with the next page<br />
wants us to know<br />
it will no longer waltz<br />
with the storm and all its rage<br />
<br />
Paths taken seeking summer blue<br />
often led us to many a nasty fall.<br /> Though we may not be sun or bird<br />we've tempted fate</div><div>Risen with the morning to see it all</div><div>
<br />
<br />The frost will keep us still for a time</div><div>then suddenly disappear</div><div>and our prayers will flow more freely</div><div>through the lighter air</div><div><br /></div><div>The perennials,</div><div> as promised</div><div> will continue to greet another year...</div><div><br /></div><div>To blossom is such a beautiful thing</div><div>and for that let's thank the devotion </div><div>of the returning spring<br /><br />
<br />
<br /></div></div>Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-71349164009461464442017-01-29T13:15:00.001-05:002021-12-29T19:12:39.602-05:00Disappearance<br />
<br />
The turbulent clouds form a frown,<br />
their sorrow will soon be coming down.<br />
The tea kettle is screaming<br />
I'm awake, because<br />
My nights won't stop dreaming<br />
Of the last room<br />
You filled with your voice.<br />
<br />
The echoes survive.<br />
Sometimes, it kills me to feel alive;<br />
Haunting to know<br />
for a while, we all have a choice...<br />
<br />
And where did yours go?<br />
And why would it not wait ?<br />
The bright hour of the morning<br />
Left not a hint of a warning<br />
That the time was much too late.<br />
<br />
You didn't think you'd be missed,<br />
You know, that makes me pissed!<br />
I've met the wandering streams<br />
that ran into every smile you've kissed.<br />
<br />
Meteors of broken hearts fall<br />
Through the space of each moment<br />
That used to hold your hand.<br />
I stand and wait to be struck<br />
Where I hope the enlightenment will land.<br />
<br />
The disappearance of your future<br />
Is the worst mystery I'll never understand.Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-48520445066350594142015-01-10T22:07:00.001-05:002015-01-10T22:07:28.818-05:00long DistanceWill this winter finally numb the pain?<br />
<br />
I've drowned my secrets in summer's seashells again.<br />
<br />
I miss blue so much<br />
I've become it.<br />
It's taken over me<br />
like a tornado's latest possession,<br />
and left me pale,<br />
in a place I don't recognize.<br />
<br />
Am I the lost or the loser?<br />
<br />
I wonder if I've written this before<br />
<br />
I don't know anymore,<br />
I just know there was a time<br />
I lived with a smile.<br />
<br />
Lately I live alone.<br />
<br />
And I'm reaching out<br />
Calling long distance for laughter.<br />
<br />
I love you is bouncing back and forth<br />
From earth to space.<br />
I'm telling the midnight sky<br />
How much I miss your early morning face.<br />
<br />
I hope those satellites aren't disturbing your peace.<br />
But I want you to hear me now...<br />
<br />
I don't believe you did before.<br />
There's so much I don't believe anymore.<br />
<br />
I want to believe again.<br />
<br />
I'm tired of holding up boulders.<br />
I prefer to carry youth on my shoulders,<br />
So maybe it will see the world,<br />
And tell me how to fix it.<br />
Or perhaps it will laugh,<br />
And say nothing is broken...<br />
<br />
Just a fun mess.<br />
<br />
I'll remember you young<br />
And be troubled less.<br />
<br />
I'll try.<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-59791854911187426082015-01-10T13:21:00.000-05:002015-01-10T13:21:02.594-05:00Answers<br />
<br />
Sometimes just before I leave<br />
the darkness for a dream,<br />
I get that falling sensation,<br />
Then jolt up,<br />
realize<br />
I'm on a soft bed,<br />
And not saying farewell<br />
With anxious weekend toes<br />
on a narrow ledge<br />
With no room for dancing.<br />
<br />
I spend a lot of hours alone,<br />
on the edge of a mountain,<br />
Tossing what-ifs off a cliff --<br />
Listening to their echoes as they hit rock bottom<br />
Forgetting I'm above them all.<br />
<br />
That kind of spending should probably have left me broke, broken,<br />
and dead by now;<br />
<br />
I realize the reason it hasn't<br />
Is because you've gifted me some of your time.<br />
<br />
As you sit across from me today,<br />
And I look away from "away"...<br />
Away from the blizzard of questions<br />
To reach the warm hope<br />
Springing from your smiling eyes --<br />
In that moment I feel like an answer...<br />
<br />
Maybe not for one of mine, but maybe yours.<br />
And maybe that's enough,<br />
because it feels like everything.<br />
It feels like May's pink and white trees have showered petals over me.<br />
<br />
It feels like beginning.<br />
It feels like maybe...<br />
And maybe is damn better<br />
Than all the never I've always known.<br />
<br />
It's possible we are all really answers<br />
Just waiting to recognize our reflections<br />
In the pools of questioning eyes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-81680201746849708512014-11-02T10:49:00.000-05:002014-11-02T10:49:08.712-05:00ForgetPlease forget the things that I've done, both good and bad.<br />
<br />
Forget the kind gestures --all the little things like<br />
offering my small coins at the register<br />
So the cashier gives you green paper that will rest in your wallet like a dream you're going to someday spend,<br />
instead of a pocket-full of well wishes to be sunk.<br />
<br />
Forget the compliments I freely floated towards you like frisbies...they were all just truths that had nothing to do with me, anyway. There were moments I'd stop being me just to be your mirror...you are that beautiful even in reverse, at your very worst (always remember that)<br />
<br />
Oh and please forget each verse...they only fell like short raindrops and I feel you've always been more like a strong wind that will come back again and again to knock me in the right direction during inclement seasons.<br />
<br />
Forget my name and the reasons you learned both the first and last...Forget the first day you asked (or maybe I just told) and the last day you spoke it.<br />
<br />
Definitely forget the broken record or two when you'd call out over and over for me and I wasn't there to respond to you... by the way, I kept the pieces and I plan to restore them into an album of indestructible, resounding second chances...<br />
<br />
Forget that I sometimes hugged you,<br />
And absolutely forget that I sometimes pushed you away.<br />
<br />
Forget that I cheered for you loudly in the stands.<br />
Forget that I've been clapping for you longer than time had hands.<br />
<br />
The words, the actions, all the fractions of my life that I've offered, too.<br />
Forget them. Accidentally or purposely leave them in dark, empty places<br />
<br />
So in the hours you're lonely, or busy doing things you wish you never had to do<br />
You can smile and remember that you forgot how I've always loved you.Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-28125663079023904512014-08-07T20:26:00.001-04:002014-08-07T20:26:31.496-04:00You Are AliveThe earth has a poem for you<br />
<br />
Close your eyes,<br />
hold out your hands<br />
and accept it...<br />
<br />
Do you feel the wind?<br />
The falling rain?<br />
The winter snow<br />
Numbing a black and blue sky?<br />
The sun growing tomorrows?<br />
The moon putting them to bed?<br />
<br />
A hand<br />
you turn<br />
To touch the palm--<br />
Tracing the lifeline,<br />
your fingertip knows the way.<br />
The echoes of those<br />
We cannot keep<br />
Though we hold tightly anyway.<br />
<br />
Close your eyes<br />
Do you feel the rhythm<br />
Fall and rise?<br />
<br />
You are alive.<br />
You are alive.<br />
<br />
Take that title<br />
And run with it.<br />
Make love to it.<br />
Bring it to the lake.<br />
Put it beside your pillow<br />
So you can kiss it when you wake.<br />
<br />
You are alive.<br />
<br />
Take your poem<br />
out on the town.<br />
<br />
Show it off to a friend;<br />
Get them to laugh<br />
And spit their drink<br />
all over the page<br />
<br />
Bring it to the park<br />
And get its shoes dirty.<br />
Push it on the swing.<br />
Slide it down the slide.<br />
Spin it dizzy on the merry-go-round.<br />
<br />
Drive it home.<br />
Open doors for it.<br />
<br />
Keep it always,<br />
For safe keeping--<br />
Just don't keep it in the safe.<br />
<br />
You don't have to memorize every line.<br />
It's probably best not to...<br />
<br />
But the title<br />
You may want to keep<br />
At the front of your mind.<br />
<br />
A whisper in the library<br />
a shout through the rustling trees<br />
<br />
You are alive.<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-33346978580662159022014-08-01T16:31:00.000-04:002014-08-01T16:31:08.368-04:00TruthI want to throw the truth out of my mind, but I'm afraid a friend will reach out on a reflex and catch it. I want to say I'm not okay, without those words slipping out and hanging on for dear life to your smile,<br />
<br />
until its weight is too much for your sweet smile to bear<br />
and the words fall--leaving a frown there.<br />
<br />
I don't want to lie.<br />
I want to tell you there are nights that I cry<br />
<br />
And cry<br />
And cry<br />
And cry<br />
<br />
I camp out in my room<br />
With worry<br />
And we forget to close the door<br />
And a gang called "fear" comes galloping in,<br />
wearing masks that even closed eyes can see<br />
The end of the world is just behind them<br />
<br />
As they get closer and closer<br />
The end of the world<br />
Is still just behind them<br />
<br />
I get lost searching for my breath<br />
Surrounded by a forest of death<br />
<br />
And that's not the kind of neighborhood<br />
I want to walk a beautiful soul<br />
like you through<br />
<br />
So I leave you a map<br />
To a false place<br />
With the design of<br />
A happier face<br />
<br />
Maybe one day<br />
I'll meet you there<br />
<br />
If I could sleep long enough<br />
to dream a way out<br />
of this nightmare<br />
<br />
Maybe one day<br />
I'll meet you there<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-27059170707186408152014-07-02T13:30:00.000-04:002014-07-02T14:30:11.621-04:00Something To HoldIt is when my hands<br />
find themselves in an empty place<br />
and my mind<br />
has somewhere it needs to go<br />
that they seek the only vehicle they know<br />
<br />
The ink<br />
and my beating, bleeding heart<br />
leap onto the page simultaneously<br />
like two souls<br />
hand in hand<br />
taking their final leap off a bridge<br />
into a river<br />
that will accept their eternal devotion<br />
and embrace their fate<br />
<br />
Sometimes<br />
at the end of a poem<br />
I'm born again.<br />
I close my fist<br />
around my pen<br />
like a newborn's hand<br />
closes around momma's finger.<br />
<br />
Our first instinct<br />
is to hold love<br />
when it meets us;<br />
It's not part of our instinct<br />
to let go--<br />
<br />
I think that's why I always<br />
search for something safe to hold<br />
when my hands reach out<br />
and feel only a breeze<br />
<br />
I need something still<br />
that only moves<br />
when it moves with me<br />
...like this pen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-70989385099199250272014-06-22T11:51:00.002-04:002014-06-22T11:51:31.626-04:00To Balance The Light and HeavyI still remember when love and loss first ran away from a country music song to come and sit with me in silence. I've attended funerals, but never buried love. Friendship wears a super hero's cape--when it's not soaring, it still holds the scent of a freshly painted sky... and I wake up on a familiar couch wrapped up like Christmas in a familiar blanket, with clouds imprinted on my cheek and the color of heaven faded on my fingertips. I kiss goodbye on the lips everyday and let it leave without me. Hello is a better kisser, but goodbye can still tempt me. Morning whispers one secret to me each visit-- I'm collecting them; Their value increases each day. I cut off the bread and eat the crusts. Not everything is a metaphor. Last night I saved a drowning victim in the bottom of a pool in my dream. I have a fear of swimming under water. I love flying. I wonder if a hot air balloon could stay up in the air holding the weight of what I feel. I hope emotions won't turn into kryptonite. I hope much more than I feel-- mostly to balance the light and heavy. I'm grateful for everything--even the pain, though it's not my favorite four letter word.Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-39601491385300164712014-06-22T10:28:00.000-04:002014-06-22T10:31:30.492-04:00Just Say WhenI could follow you<br />
all the way<br />
to the shadows of your fears<br />
<br />
Spoil your heart with yes<br />
When the stars tell you no<br />
<br />
I'll stay with you--<br />
Plant our feet<br />
Just above the root of sorrow<br />
And grow our wishes<br />
<br />
I know where the breeze<br />
Loves to sail<br />
<br />
I know where the moonbeams<br />
Sneak off to kiss<br />
<br />
I'll hold you<br />
<br />
until life returns<br />
To shake off the past<br />
<br />
However long it takes<br />
<br />
If you wake<br />
Dehydrated<br />
in the middle of the night<br />
<br />
I could fill your glass<br />
<br />
Just say when<br />
<br />
I'll pour like April<br />
Until you shine like May<br />
<a name='more'></a>Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-43969219560881543732014-03-26T20:21:00.001-04:002014-03-26T20:21:45.851-04:00Just Missed YouI move silently<br />
Through the spaces you left<br />
And all I have to hold<br />
is a deep breath<br />
<br />
The air sneaks through<br />
Then pauses to ask<br />
If I've seen you<br />
<br />
I guess we both<br />
Must have<br />
just missed you...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-65968922196589653472014-03-25T23:36:00.000-04:002014-03-25T23:36:46.916-04:00 A Day Full of SandI wonder if the earth<br />
Feels my determination<br />
When I etch your name in sand<br />
<br />
I write to you there<br />
Because time is an ocean<br />
That sneaks toward the land<br />
To reclaim its shells<br />
<br />
I trace your name<br />
Just beyond the salty reach<br />
To keep you on the map<br />
While my grief swells<br />
<br />
I bury my compass<br />
In a trampled castle<br />
Beside an abandoned pail<br />
And a plastic shovel<br />
<br />
Feeling the burning circle's reflection.<br />
Life now faces<br />
this grave direction.<br />
<br />
I would rather see where you went<br />
than know where I'm going.<br />
<br />
I just want a glimpse<br />
of you soaring through.<br />
<br />
Instead, I wander<br />
with a day full of sand<br />
And a mind full of you.Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-28524521533237072452014-02-07T00:14:00.000-05:002014-02-07T20:49:12.874-05:00Where Do I Fit In?Where do I fit in?<br />
The question stuck<br />
like a refrigerator magnet--<br />
mocking me<br />
every time I opened my mind.<br />
<br />
The unused corners.<br />
Kneeling in the dust,<br />
prayers in the cobwebs.<br />
<br />
finish line tape<br />
piled in unmarked boxes<br />
<br />
Inspiration glowed above me.<br />
I felt someone love me,<br />
but my hands would not reply;<br />
what's the use<br />
if I can't fly?<br />
<br />
The clouds<br />
have already claimed the sky.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-5742688512216905932014-01-29T20:59:00.000-05:002014-01-29T20:59:50.256-05:00Grieving in ReverseThey say you're in a pretty place,<br />
Splashing up some sun-showers.<br />
Lost smiles find your sweet face;<br />
<br />
Give them a kiss hello,<br />
and then hurry back.<br />
<br />
They say I'll see you again;<br />
They say a lot of things.<br />
They all mean well,<br />
but the one thing their lips won't tell<br />
is what is most true:<br />
<br />
Year after year<br />
I'm switching to a calendar<br />
Full of days you cannot cross.<br />
<br />
New seconds won't know you;<br />
And time<br />
now feels like<br />
A stranger to me.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm hesitant to tell you how I've been...<br />
<br />
In the beginning,<br />
shock slammed the awful<br />
into a stone wall<br />
but now, more than ever,<br />
I hear the silence call.<br />
<br />
Now, more than ever,<br />
there are too many thin lines.<br />
<br />
Boxing matches<br />
dancing a heavy weight on my mind.<br />
<br />
Words slipping through--<br />
they can't be coming from me.<br />
<br />
Tears running,<br />
while I stand here blue;<br />
they jog toward a memory of you.<br />
<br />
There are no driving instructions<br />
for grieving in reverse;<br />
<br />
The days get lonelier.<br />
Most nights feel like a reigning curse.<br />
<br />
Fuck pretending!<br />
Fuck strength!<br />
<br />
<br />
I feel worse.<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-21302823916880370332014-01-28T22:20:00.001-05:002014-05-01T06:35:00.166-04:00False HopeI hear the birds sing<br />
An April song<br />
As they watch white mountains<br />
on the gardens<br />
Slowly become<br />
powdered sugar-coated pancakes<br />
<br />
I open my eyes<br />
And spring toward the window<br />
<br />
And then I remember...<br />
<br />
It's January.<br />
<br />
And once again<br />
I'm frozen.<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-3465340517432098862014-01-27T09:46:00.000-05:002014-01-27T11:40:24.254-05:00TwilightI don't want to be just another<br />
Word clinging to the line<br />
on a turning page;<br />
<br />
I'd like to be the bigger picture<br />
Hanging about around the hall,<br />
Hoping to catch you strolling through.<br />
Witnessing our time gracefully age.<br />
<br />
So I paint my gypsy days<br />
Beside your loyal nights;<br />
<br />
Maybe you'll eventually<br />
Brush up against me,<br />
And our lives will<br />
Rub off on each other.<br />
<br />
Blending.<br />
Beautifully.Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-88290275542335377792014-01-13T21:51:00.000-05:002014-01-15T20:12:03.536-05:00All This OceanI cry<br />
just a little every day<br />
For all that has vanished<br />
Out of my life<br />
And into death<br />
<br />
Though, it's important<br />
That this be explained:<br />
<br />
My tears are not complaints;<br />
For on them sails a ship<br />
Of gratitude;<br />
<br />
A ship that would<br />
Be nothing<br />
but rust<br />
And shame<br />
With a faded name<br />
If it weren't for all<br />
This ocean<br />
that waves<br />
to your eclipse.<br />
<br />
This grief is no anchor;<br />
It's a northern glow--<br />
A stamp on the upper<br />
Right corner of the sky.<br />
<br />
When I mail<br />
My RSVP<br />
To your memory's sweet invitation,<br />
On the strength of the wind<br />
This pain will fly.<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-10006189811498845872014-01-06T15:11:00.000-05:002014-01-27T08:56:54.308-05:00Everything<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
It seems for as long as I’ve been—</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Heavenly dreams have</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Curled up beside me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And slowly rocked my mind<br />
While I fell<br />
Into the depths of a mystery</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Even when darkness was my bed</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And I didn’t know who else</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I could whisper to…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Besides the sky</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
That could very well<br />
Just be a stone on a mood ring</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Besides the lightning and the rain<br />
Before the thunder barges in</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And the introverted moon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Mostly quiet in the conversation</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Waiting for its turn<br />
to shed some light on things</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And the strongest trees--</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
holding the swing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
As life</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bends and kicks its legs:<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Back and forth <br />
Through the highs and lows<br />
<br />
And I can't stop it<br />
By dragging my playground shoes<br />
Against the dirt</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Everything will change</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Everything will fall</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
and in a dark moment<br />
will pause</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Just before the wind<br />
Lifts it like a child<br />
Back to the sky...<br />
<br />
At least once<br />
If not every day</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
It's the contrast that sharpens the clarity<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I believe this is what</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I've come here to learn<br />
Over, and over again.</div>
Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-60134675761224086952013-12-23T10:58:00.000-05:002013-12-23T12:44:53.535-05:00If I Can Only StandI want to walk with you<br />
over soft places<br />
where belief is conceived,<br />
<br />
Through times when peace<br />
closes its eyes<br />
and dives for reincarnation...<br />
<br />
to try again.<br />
to do it better.<br />
<br />
and if I can only stand,<br />
but still feel the warmth<br />
of a friendly hand--<br />
I hope my arms are brave enough<br />
to be the branches<br />
that present the red leaves...<br />
<br />
each fallen fault<br />
(still beautiful)<br />
Spell them across the Earth;<br />
read them to the listening blue--<br />
<br />
I want them to tell<br />
all the ways I happily fell<br />
while bending to comfort you.<br />
<br />
Waving ,and twirling colors.<br />
<br />
Only wanting<br />
to reach the untouched sky<br />
with my grateful reply<br />
to the message you carved into my life.<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-1162229705615901932013-10-20T17:44:00.001-04:002013-10-20T18:01:49.241-04:00Three Five-Sentence Stories-GBE2#127Submitted for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/209032889129479/" target="_blank">GBE2</a> Week#127<br />
<br />
<b><u>He Guards The Echoes of His Memory</u></b><br />
<br />
Forty years and a day ago, he had it all--laughter, love,youth, and a family of warmth joined safely together in his living room . Nobody ever sees a tornado coming from their blind side. He didn't watch the weather channel that morning before he rolled out of the driveway. Something the sky was brewing was on its way, and it appeared as dark as the end of time...as eerie as a ghostly fist repeatedly pounding the same dreadful chord.<br />
<br />
Forty years and a day later, the neighborhood children take turns daring each other to startle the long-bearded man with dusty eyes, who stares all day and night at the broken-down shack that so wearily leans over the edge of a dead-end street; but he hears and sees no distractions...he'll never leave or lose sight of home again.<br />
<br />
_________________________________________________________________________________<br />
<br />
<b><u>Runner</u></b><br />
<br />
Every evening she takes long runs that lead to anywhere but there. If she runs fast enough, she could almost be the invincible wind...nothing could ever snatch the wind when it flies through the dark. A hope beats beneath her chest that this is the final run that will put the screaming daylight to rest. She knows if she turns to look back at the long stretch of road behind her, she'll see bruises everywhere, and that solid white line will become a scar that connects the past to now.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, a pale little girl--with the woman's same scared sound, though much younger voice --<br />
hurries and catches up to the runner just as she collapses near the bridge; kneeling beside her, she asks with good-bye eyes, to be rocked to sleep one last time.<br />
<br />
_________________________________________________________________________________<br />
<br />
<b><u>Autumn's Paint</u></b><br />
<br />
She climbed as far north as she could up October's tree, and waited patiently until December--but she still felt the same when the first snow finally came. She shook her hair in the brisk air hoping her thoughts would drop with fall. The tag on her clothes described what little girls were made of, and the fancy ladies they must grow to be. The mirror on the wall told her she should love a boy or not at all. Now Autumn has run out of paint, and it doesn't matter, because changing her true colors was never a possibility.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-23785789677532269122013-10-11T10:02:00.000-04:002013-10-20T12:36:18.032-04:00Today is Okay<div style="margin: 6pt 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Today all is okay</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Death stayed</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">deep in the black</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Of the last funeral</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And did not come forward</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">To make geese </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">push through the freckles</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Of my smooth skin</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">With its cold breath</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Today the sky</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> is soft</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And safe</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">All the souls</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Have placed their blankets down for a picnic</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">None have booked a flight</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And all I see</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Is an angel</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Peeking through</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">The opening of a cloud</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">To check on me</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And she leaves</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">With her smile</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Because I’ve got plenty</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Because I am at rest</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Because some days</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Loyalty shines brighter</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Than a cloudless sun</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Stronger than the endurance </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">of a summer’s blazing day</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And I can bask in it</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">With no burning risk</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> And I can sing </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">all the things I love about it</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And pluck every blooming chance</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">I once walked by</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> with closed eyes</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 24pt 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">through a dreamy spring</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 12pt 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-14386255963792186582013-10-09T11:25:00.000-04:002013-10-10T12:31:32.172-04:00Buried Word<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
There was a word</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Laying on the silence</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Of a body of sorrow</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Unmoved by the wind</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Whispering its strong concern</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
There was a word</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Stuck in dark seclusion</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Unmotivated </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
by the determination</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Of dawn’s touch</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
There was a word</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
that couldn’t find a voice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
To lift it to its heaven</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
To rescue it</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
From the layers of uncertainty</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Shoveled over it like a grave</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
All it could do</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Was remain a slave</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">To nothing</span>Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-5285857054524106382013-09-27T11:33:00.000-04:002013-09-27T15:14:19.091-04:00Far Away From The Blue Eyes of Summer<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Autumn isn’t wasting any time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
A chill grabs my heart</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
As I watch the Dogwoods</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Fall apart</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Soon enough these leaves </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Will leave</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And I’ll be forced to stay</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Frozen against </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The lifeless gray </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I yearn for the fire</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
That flames no more</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I cry for the colors</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I knew before</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
But nothing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comes and rests</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>its cold hands on me</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
While the sky </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Sprinkles its dust</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
All over what I used to be</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Now colder and older</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with premonitions</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Of what January won’t bring</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
One less voice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
In a home that used to sing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
One less smile</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
To dance around our hearts</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
There marks the mile</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Where the pleading starts</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I cling to August’s leg</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Like a tearful child,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And I beg.<br />
And I beg.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I don’t want to be far away</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from the blue eyes of summer.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
That was the last season</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
to see you alive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-66222167635936566062013-09-23T22:20:00.000-04:002013-09-24T15:43:34.820-04:00The World Needs <br />
The world needs<br />
more people stopping to embrace<br />
the poetry that exists--<br />
swaying in silence<br />
in the midst of noise & traffic.<br />
<br />
The world needs more love letters<br />
to console its loneliness--<br />
written in cursive--<br />
letters curving & stretching<br />
to connect like a stream<br />
of souls holding hands.<br />
<br />
The world needs our rhythm<br />
to join its own,<br />
Our hearts to applaud together<br />
and become loud enough<br />
to pause a rushing crowd.<br />
<br />
The world has more poetry<br />
than it can love on its own,<br />
<br />
and that's where we come in:<br />
<br />
Down the aisle<br />
To marry the art<br />
that was meant for us...<br />
<br />
To stand on its hills<br />
and bathe in its sun<br />
<br />
To dance with its meter<br />
<br />
and proudly wear<br />
its shawls of syllables<br />
<br />
To run with the freedom of its verse<br />
<br />
To love its warm breath<br />
whispering around our minds<br />
<br />
To swim with its bravery<br />
when it rises like a wave<br />
<br />
To pay attention when the sky<br />
Wears a new dress<br />
<br />
To thank the strong breeze<br />
For passing through<br />
<br />
The world needs us<br />
to enter loyally into<br />
its family<br />
and take great care of it..<br />
<br />Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587370906975294887.post-86332851478383927002013-09-12T12:11:00.001-04:002013-09-12T12:56:12.857-04:00Connection<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Here, in a place</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
That is only quiet on the surface;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
There is a faucet that runs</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
As constant as the night</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
at the closing of the year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I wash my tired face</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I soak and scrub the few faded decades</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
off of this map on my hands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I inhale the pulsating fragrance</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
of my freshly varnished hopes and plans. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I am unsure if I am an extension </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
of this giant spinning world,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
or if it is a dizzy part of me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Whatever the connection may be;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
It stirs question upon question</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
That entertains the hopelessness</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
And transforms it </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
into something butterfly-like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Contemplation of what I am </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
and what I should be doing here</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Overflows and dampens</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the sympathetic air</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I’m never a step closer to knowing</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
But all the stars my eyes have met</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Are there, bright in the sky, still showing;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
and something about that sight </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
urges this wanderer to keep going.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Dances With Vodkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17826849421762801692noreply@blogger.com2