River Stone

stones in the river

gone for the ocean…

like words I search

to remember time,

place

seeking

one stark obsession

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Calling Stone

Call me out across the field
With abandon you will
Arrive upon my crumbling step
At last
We’ll close the door
Behind us
Just for the day

Memory Stone

There were things on Kathryn’s table;
I knew each small pile had a story.
I could have stayed all night to listen.

Book Stone

I found these books for you today
I tried to tell the man about our past
He’d heard it all before


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Missing Stone

I gasped and it
Felt like something inside me went missing
But
I looked around and
Everything was accounted for

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January 27

Hope Stone

I stand there for you
I stand
Listening for sweet sounds
Anticipation
Keeps me anxious for
Another time

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Blooming Stone

Where did our baby go?
The girl who comes in her place
Doesn’t give respite…
It’s constant transformation;
Childhood dueling with time.


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Cat Stone

My apologies:
Once a jungle cat
Now Familiar to a
Nascent diva

Tree Stone

This…
Is why I live here:
The green outdoes
The blue
Outdoes
The green
It’s what they do.

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Girl Stone

wonder of small worlds
eyes large
dreams immeasurable
future unlimited
endowed with no bounds

The Children Have Gone Home

Everywhere are little things;
Broken crayons, stiffened paintbrushes,
coats of glue on the table.
Pink princesses and odd shaped horses
taped to doors, windows.
Papers scribbled black, blue or brown,
Just a blob of color but…hello…
Now the children have gone home.

Bits of yarn, yellow and frayed
Wanted to be on a doll’s head but abandoned for
some noisy distraction on television.
Train tracks scattered under the dining table
and at the bottom of the stairs,
A once lost locomotive, a well worn caboose,
Easy to trip on but…hello…
Now the children have gone home.

Brushes and combs with goo and sprays;
ribbons and elastic ties in a maze;
Basket upended with bottles and pots;
bathmat a dampened mess on the floor.
Toilet lid up, then down, then up again;
Doors slammed, drawers crammed,
Streaks on the once spotless mirror but…hello…
Now the children have left; where have they gone?

Petals of flowers dried on the rail;
A red bow tied on the dog’s tail;
The cat finding refuge under the bed;
water bowls tipped and spilled on the kitchen floor.
The fridge door left open again and again;
Piles of towels and clothes, dirty or clean;
Bees left buzzing in jelly jars but…hello…
Now the children have gone home.

Rusted sleds in the basement;
Mittens with moth holes;
Jackets hung in the back of the closet,
Forgotten there by glistening boys and girls.
Trikes and bikes with hardened flats;
Pogo sticks and hula hoops.
Shovels and sand pails;
Wooden boats without sails,
Meant to come back to, but…hello…
Now the children have gone home


Yearbooks and primers gather dust.
Hairless dolls not to be tossed;
Comics and photos that won’t be lost.
Boxes dragged out with crumbling toys,
paint dulled and chipped
on trucks and puzzles
For children who gather where children have aged.
Don’t miss a moment or wish they’d be still because now…
Hello…
The children have gone home.

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Lingering Stone

She knows how to wait
Let the sea be the lullaby
Patience is the core of the faithful heart

Youth Stone

When I was young
I dramatized being old and wise
My hair was dyed silver.
Now I carefully pretend my hair is brown
And scratch the surface of memory
For who I was.

Flight Stone

Two birds.
I followed their course as
They faded in the haze...
And could have been saying
“Oh, for the want of wings.”

Sledding Stone

Feathers falling
Sticking to the earth
Making pillows to slide down

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Homeward Stone

I must make it home tonight
Clouds are full of dragons and ice
Shining pavement
Carves my way
I can hear a kind of warmth
Calling me

JANUARY 17
(Before the snow)

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Dream Stone

Dignity in the eyes of a dream
Truth at the end of the day
Relentless hope
Persistent optimism
Some things won’t be undone

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Snow Stone

Quiet softness
Broken only by crunching travelers
Who must go out
Into the white

Zarathustra Stone

Given the battle of the natural world
I touched upon the lightness of being
Life in C major
The joy of perfect intervals

Sunset Stone

The sun is in the water
My feet are in the clouds

Road Stone

I leave again
Always leaving somewhere
Taking with me
The things I lug around
Painted on the pedestal
That roots me where I land


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Big Stone

I write stones
You send boulders
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Luna Stone

Now I see the moon
Until tonight
The sky was vacant

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Rose Stone

Symbols sit behind us
Vows and curses the ticket for admission
Old jokes and tales ride the night
Secrets unveiled

Sand Stone

Black sand of Sayulita
clings to me
can’t wash it away

Moon Stone

There it is again
It followed me, I suppose…
Better to not try
hide
from the moon.

Jungle Stone

The night distillery
Takes the nectar from my heart
Ferments the sweetness
Into remembrances

Road Stone

My teeth gritty with dust...
the ocean whispers
rolling by on the left;
the other side
is the river
full of stones

Time Stone

With eyes closed
What comes back…
My youth
Lingering like a perfume
The music
Never changing, never the same

Music Stone

Vagabond notes
Call it music
Where anyone can listen
Sing off key
Anyone can listen


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Landing Stone

Just down that wing
If I slide
I could land in your sand
Take your hand
Fly
Your way

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Cloud Stone

Clouds
like smoke rings
beneath me.
Fall through them
Like O's


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