after the fight,
I sob--
because you love me

once striking,
no longer          after he
struck

swallowing her holy wafer
she licks her lips
for the altar boy

couples
hands comfortably entwined
Red Rover instinct

talking
miles between us
talking

blindfolded
and anxious
What is taking him so long?

dusk meadow
boldly colored
by crickets

turtle instinct
now just a reflex
coax me out

his sweet words
washed away by alcohol—
but I remember

bundled
beside her
never too close

laughing as
we do the dirty . . .
dishes

drunken confessions
he can't erase
my apprehension

kissing you
alone
in a crowded room

ice tinkles
in the lemonade
southern comfort

peeling my skin
off of his—
even the moon sweats

my thoughts
enslaved by freedom
a spider watching its web

what I and only I am
allows me to be
a magpie… a swan

harmless—
a butterfly lands
on the bomb

legs wide apart
she asks him
     Check on the kids?

summer dishes;
drying her hands
on his jean cheeks

unpaid power bill
enjoying
the flickering candlelight

one
wrinkle
too many

through the fog
a street light
I hear each raindrop

humid morning
a cardinal
perched atop the privacy fence

hidden treasure
the penny
in a sidewalk crack

perfect summer day—
sunshine
hides the deceit

spilling into the air
over the golden day—
laughter

two sprouts
grow together
i watch alone

the broken limb
of the magnolia tree
my mother weeps

laying on the couch
watching the shows
I saw yesterday

surrounded by family
yet he reaches
for my hand

crazy kids
covered in ashes
…for Jesus?

the lawyer comes home
with estee lauder
on his collar

shadows suppress
the bright colors
caressing the corner

after spring showers
the little boy inspects
the worms

I hum
the doorbell’s
broken note

     I jump
I fall
              I crash
     Return
          Let’s slip again

over the crowd
the stripper's eyes
look dead
into the distance

          you and I
a ballad of
          the falling
                  autumn leaves

menagerie dove
I evny the flocks
flying south

lying in bed
eyes clenched shut
awake

drunken phone call
my sister’s stripping
at a myrtle beach bar

ashened glass
parents searching
through fires ablaze

in the calm
winter storm
…her tears run dry

sitting at the baby shower
wishing she
could share her secret

behind Sunday’s best
is a man
who kneels with the Lord

late evening sun
covering the swimming pool
a good book

little boy
behind the curtain
picks his nose

in the dirt
the stone cherub
dances

medium lost
distracted
disturbed

buried in blankets
I watch the snow settle
on the sill

a morning sunbeam
quietly serenades
the sanctuary

wet skin
slides together
in the darkness

making memories
with apple martinis
     you’ll never remember

a lone chair
waits for you
in hell

half a world away
she whispers my name
I jolt awake

smoke and wine
aroma a blue note
from across the bar

ocean breeze moves
the palm tree branches
and our beach hats

bitter wind
I watch your footprints
        … disappear

walking home
at 6:30 A.M.
in last night’s heels

on my knees
silent teardrops pray
winter moonlight

passed out on the floor—
even dropping Shakespeare’s Collected Works
can’t wake him

a candy heart
misprinted
“UR INE”

the captured caterpillar
set free
crawls in circles

rain on our faces
breathlessly laughing
soggy shoes

the water still cold
to our bodies—
summer lake

mailed in a shoebox
teardrops salt your cookies
weeks after you’ve gone

puppy waits
just outside
the empty bedroom

stormy skies
under the rose petal
a ladybug

gazing heavenward
I breathe in
        the sunshine

sun
on fallen snow
sparkles

sun-warmed grass
      afternoon nap

summer daisies
adorning
Momma’s dark hair

at the party
I relate to
the fireflies

a starless sky
I find my way home
by memory

two left feet
I salsa anyway
just to see her smile

oak tree
drops a leaf
the balding old man

peaceful waves
remind the city,
of the real world

past the rocks,
the sound of stirring water—
the days lengthen

porcelain angels
count each year
from glass prisons

the last of the blossoms
floating dead
in the flooded ditch

moonlight
lake water takes my breath
skinny dipping

speeding fire truck
sirens blaring
in the pouring rain

a rolled down window
talking on the payphone
springtime rain shower

the honor student,
unrecognizable,
at Ozzfest

a child’s painting—
the refrigerator magnet
stuck in the middle

the oak and I
sit
—settling dew

freshly fallen snow
our silent night
is deafening

sudden revelation
pulling over the car
to scribble a haiku

seven years old
a Christmas ribbon trail
bright pink go-kart

unreachable light
my four legs
useless

swimming pool
they take the plunge
forever

heavy rains
in the overflow
a bathing robin

melting
winter’s ashes
God blooms

alone
in the garden
single bloom

soulful breeze
carrying the aqua sky
we start a war

as the rain begins to fall,
I turn my face
toward the heavens

last year’s pants
exposing chubby ankles--
new grass tickles

     dancing close
through the pinstripe
she feels his salsa

your sparkling eyes
fade with the North Star—
jaded

truck dies at midnight
not close enough to
an exit ramp and orgasm

spring evening
my pages flapping
by the open window

climbing over
your empty words
to your core

Jerry dies after eating
112 pennies on a dare

I’m no rebel
I’m a child
numb

a walk in the woods – surreal
mushroom hunting
with my aging father

felled tree
drowned
in a pool of blossom

picking him for my teammate
torn between winning and losing
strip 8-ball