Veins of ice water
with a splash of bourbon,
his rough cut gnarly scowl
ran roughshod over
a pasty faced crowd

The silence could be heard the next county over.

Good guy,
bad guy,
or just the best man for the job,
it was his for the taking.

He didn't.

Without a word,
he rode off into the blazing desert dawn,
saving himself.

Don't look away in shame,
let the river of tears flow.
It's hard to cleanse your name
when people's belief
is a no-show.

Breaking down and falling,
you reached for aid
but hearts no longer trusting.
"Better off dead,"they said.

One stupid mistake you've made,
punished for a lifetime.
Imprisoned by the grip of hate,
no one seems to care,
you've done your time.

Your spirit is screaming,
anger, burning,
your soul, weeping
for your dead dignity.

Not just a piece of fabric
it has a tale to tell
now a souvenir
though its borders are now frail

On each thread is writ a verse
in intimate dialect
still moist
with lavender mist
to inhale, reminisce
those liquid moments in tranquil

The motifs now faded
but the verses keep saturating
from the eyes
ever alive
moistened by
those intimate moments
tugging at the heart strings....

CLICKATY-CLACK

Flat tar rooves held the heat of
a sultry August day
confined to a breathless place,
no cooling breeze from windows
opened wide held my sleep
until dawn’s break
but a mesmerizing lullaby
of clickety-clack of trains
on the tracks close by
screeching into the station
on high over cobblestone streets
and old trolley rails
phantoms pale of a time
not too long ago
stole me to places
I did not know.

Say something encouraging
Have Compassion
Open a door for someone
Work a volunteer job

Yearn for Harmony
Or fairness
Understand and forgive

Contribute to charity
Assist the elderly
Read for the blind
Everything Counts

*acrostic

cheeky squirrel
bushy tail a'swagger
juggling nuts

a twig snaps
momentary stillness
frolicking resumes

wide-eyed kitten
empty box,
filled with joy

thunderous downpour
drips, drops, and droops
wading in wait

a child's scream
just play-
a mother knows

pink flamingos
plastic tacky, needless to say
I want one!

kitten and puppy play
carefree
not knowing of myths

I was drawing lines and time lines
moving ziz zag, connecting points
some dotted, disappearing from sight
returning in a parabolic flight
some ran parallel
others angular
acute, obtuse, perpendicular

no pencil, no paper
no ruler, no eraser
just an unruly behavior

I paused. looked back,
mystified at the collage
I panned it, scanned it
flashed my eyelids
click, double click, flash
before I knew
the lens crashed
blotting out all lines
of the hologram

It's all because of fear......

STALE BREAD
I know the power of words
and the unique interplay
of form and content.
yet nothing is said that
hasn’t been said before
and I recognize the pallor
of my own creation.

I have slipped away.

all truth, beauty and valor,
in spirit and soul surge
from a unique force
within which awakens
the Sublime in us.
Yet there is a time
when the spirit falters
and all is lost.

Richard for Joe

You give me your opinion on life.
Detested on what's wrong;
Adoring what's right.
Investing on where you belong.
Gaining a profit on hype
Based on the sight
Of what others see as blessed
With no means to reflect on your aim
To wisen up.
How else would you liven up?
If I didn't take your misery; make it mine
If I didn't face your mixed-in peace,
Senseless grief, contradictive speak;
Make the time
To lay flat, relaxed with nerves of steel
As you etch with force, how you feel