I’m working hard to get my poetry collection together for publication. Untethered Love is a response, of sorts, to my first collection, When Can We Be Soft?: Poems of Female Resilience. In that collection, I explored the social behaviors and expectations that force women to be “strong,” never able to let our guard down andContinue reading “Yellow in a Desert Sea”
Category Archives: Poems from our West Coast Adventure
Crimes Against Nature
Through the heart of rocky boundariesdelivering life-giving waterto sun-drenched desertsfrom ice-capped mountainsas the natural ebb and flowof centuries pass unfetteredDams built tall and strongcapture the power of this natural cycle stifling its organic balanceLines in the rock showingthe tragic declineof melted dreamsleading to the sad trickleof Earth’s bloodWhile just around the bendshallows stories revealhumanity’s crimes again itselfasContinue reading “Crimes Against Nature”
A Cautionary Tale
Follow the path.Stay in your lane. Don’t detour.Ignore the scenic route.Maintain your speed.Veer neither left nor right.Keep your eye on the prize.End in sight.Future decided.Fastest way is through.Only one way out.No U-turns allowed.Make us proud.
Walking on the Sound
Standing at the water’s edgeDeciding the path to takeSearching the horizon for answersThe water beckonsLapping lightly near my toesPromising cleansing in its wake People talk of immersion as taking the plungeLetting the newness wash over youFeeling the frigid sting at onceSome of us, though, prefer acclimationThat comes with each stepUntil we’re ready to submerge
Battered but Unbroken
Long forgotten stormsWailed at your limbsDriving you to the groundBattered but unbrokenYou reach toward the skyGnarled and twistedYour ancient branches witheredYet life springs forthSeeds of evergreenSprout from your fingersDemonstrating strength unmatchedRefusal to stay beatenSeeking protection from the windIn the arms of fateKnowing you’re not aloneThe earth littered with majestyStolen in youth and ignoredUntil someone seesContinue reading “Battered but Unbroken”
Land Shark
Out of the blueYou came into viewDorsal aimed at the sky. There was nothing to doBut take pictures of youAnd laugh until we cried. We knew there were more Random things in storeMaking these miles worthwhile. So we traveled onLong after you’d gone‘Til we saw an Angry Bird smile. When you drive all over the country,Continue reading “Land Shark”
Pregnant Pauses
Anticipation is a calm lakeOr a bubbling sulphuric spring,Reaction held by surface tension,Steam showing what is to come. You wait both excited and anxiousFrantically searching the facade,Expecting the piercing screech,Yet all remains silent. A single external movementOf word or deed,An imperceivable internal image,Can trigger an explosion. The spouts of rage touchingEverything within reach,The quaking subsidesContinue reading “Pregnant Pauses”
Ode to a Train
You held the promise of adventureIn your steam-powered engine,The lines that traversed the landscapeThe coal that pushed plumes to the sky.You carried dreams In your cars that extended for miles,The sleeper cabins and luncheonettesThe open rows where dreamers sat.You marked the distanceOn your wheels questing for connection,The destinations like compass arrowsThe nations shrinking in your growth.YouContinue reading “Ode to a Train”