Not A Child In Sight (+2)

A stitch past nine on borrowed time,

Memories come rushing back

 

The Wolf is feasting in Grandma’s bed,

Red Riding Hood a snack

 

A Cow gets ready to jump again,

when the moon drops from the sky

 

Humpty Dumpty a mess on the floor,

—the last horseman says goodbye

 

The candle burns for Jack’s last jump,

a quickening funeral pyre

 

The stepmother screams, Cinderella hides,

her daughter’s dress on fire

 

Little Jack Horner abandons his corner,

curds harden and whey runs aground

 

As Mother Goose watches the Grimm Brothers die,

—not a child in sight to be found

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017) 

 

 

 

Both Ways

 

Stricken with blame,

enamored by praise

 

My words caught between,

—and travel both ways

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)

 

 

 

The Time Is Near

 

The leaves have fallen,

the birds did sing

 

Memory lingers,

tomorrow brings

 

A promise spoken,

a solemn vow

 

The present honored,

—all faith avowed

 

The years enlighten,

as age sets in

 

While youth remembered,

   still burns within

 

The gates now beckon,

their pearl’s endear

 

My heart unburdened,

—the time is near

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)