When writing the words,
are they thought or then felt
Which to come first,
cards different once dealt
But sometimes together,
as in straights or a flush
They win back the reader
—with more than potluck
(Rosemont College: December, 2021)
The Fleeting Motherlode
High minded but low brow,
and living the contradiction
of a greater truth
I’m caught between transcendence
and pontification
my pockets ladened
with a traitor’s silver
—in search of gold
(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)
Meltdown
The bars of the jail
those electronics we serve
our cellphones and laptops
new wardens in stir
Ipods and Ipads
to Tweet and I.M.
the virtual distance
created within
24/7
we Text back and forth
when Email’s too slow
a much faster course
But nature is watching
and planning a storm
the power grid wanton
with darkness for sure
And who is to blame
as we cry and we scream
our minds have been sentenced
we no longer dream
The reckoning promised
has come home at last
and this time not virtual
—our prison recast
(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)