For Love’s Sake

I give my love through joy and ache

Not for return — for love’s own sake

No turn of others bends my way

The light I guard will not decay

Though some may take yet cannot see

I still walk on with empathy

I Am the Lightning

Copper

On my tongue

I spit it out

No more swallowed pennies

No more making change out of myself

So others can buy their reflection

No more

The storm

Behind my eyelids stays awake

But now it’s mine to call

I let it crack

Let the lightning

Outline their shadows

In perfect detail

No hiding behind sugar voices

No masquerade in satin smiles

No masks at all

Their smoke curls toward me—

I watch it writhe in the air

But it burns to nothing

Before it reaches bone

Every word

They try to lace with poison

Hits the salt in my blood

And dies, hissing

Like oil dropped in fire

They once thought

I was an ocean

Turns out—

I am the tide

I decide who docks

I decide when to pull back

I decide when to leave their ships

Stranded on dry sand

Barnacles choking in the air

I decide

I decide

Sweet talk from glass teeth?

I hear the strain in every syllable

I hear the break where the lie leaks out

Their perfume stinks of need

Their eyes glitter with desperation

They reach for keys

To doors that no longer exist

Their ghosts knock in the night

I tell them: wrong address

Gnawing hunger for reflection

I do not feed it anymore

I carry my own mirror now

Polished with truth

And it will not flatter them

I see the empty theater

I see the audience was only me

And I have stood up

Walked out

Grief crescents

Under my nails—

Cleaned away

Borrowed pain—

Returned to sender

I have no intention

Of being their whetstone

Walls stand now

Stone on stone

Mortar mixed with something

Harder than compassion:

Discernment

My softness is not weakness

It is the river that carves mountains

It is the force that wears down steel

Inside me

That ember

Is no longer small

I can stand in the riptide

And not be moved

I can watch the sky darken

And not fear the lightning

Because I am the lightning

I am the lightning

I am the

L

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Good Medicine

Joy paints the heart in colors clear

Laughter mends what’s cracked by fear

Sorrow pulls with heavy chain

Mirth revives and heals the pain

Sure and Sound

Repay no wrong with cruel return

Let wisdom lead where passions burn

When harshness rises like a wave

Respond with strength that will not cave

Hold fast to good though wild winds howl

Plant truth where bitterness might prowl

Pursue the peace that holds its ground

A quiet force, both sure and sound

Truth Remains

Deceit weaves webs where shadows lie

But truth within will never die

False words will plant a seed of pain

While calm is found where trust remains

Masked smiles conceal the knife

But honest tongues bring dawn to life

Photos From the Avant Garden - 7/26/25

 

Avant Garden Poetry Amphitheater

Saturday, July 26, 2025

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Where Kindness Grows

Turn from evil, chase the light

Pursue what’s good, hold what’s right

Let peace be found in quiet ways

Shun wrath’s fire, avoid its blaze

Seek life’s path where kindness grows

And watch how mercy’s river flows

Being In Bermuda (Pantoum)

A quixotic dream upon the seas

Tropical winds hum melodies sweet

Jocund waves and coconut trees

A place where sky and ocean meet

Tropical winds hum melodies sweet

A joyous fete on distant sand

A place where sky and ocean meet

We sail toward a sun-kissed land

A joyous fete on distant sand

Laughter flows through salty air

We sail toward a sun-kissed land

Bermuda’s shore, beyond compare

Laughter flows through salty air

Jocund waves and coconut trees

Bermuda’s shore, beyond compare

A quixotic dream upon the seas

Lifted by Light

Worry weeps through silent halls

Heavy hangs where shadow falls

Kindness, spoken soft and light

Lifts the soul and sets it right

Words, when true and gently spun

Shine like dawn where fears had hung

By Faith, Not Sight

I tread where mortal eyes see naught

By faith, not sense, my steps are wrought

Though shadows stretch and tempests rise

Mine anchor holds beyond the skies

No fleeting sign nor worldly flame

Shall turn my heart or shake my frame

Led not by sight, but light within

A spark untouched by doubt or sin

Danse Haiku: Act XIV (Fruit Edition)

Scene 1

Oblong golden arc
Peeling speckles, ripe delight
Banana breakfast

Scene 2

Antioxidants

Collared with ruffled calyx

Blueberry basket

Scene 3

Ruby orbs on vine

Clustered full or pressed to juice

Red grapes in sunshine

Peacemakers’ Harvest

The wise sow seeds in peace and grace

With humble hands, they tend the place

Their hearts are pure, their speech is kind

No wrath or pride is left behind

Through gentleness, they shape the day

And guide the truth in quiet way

Where peace is sown on softened ground

There fruits of righteousness abound

Old Glory (Triolet)

On the Fourth, Old Glory flies high

Stars and stripes in radiant gleam

Igniting the vespers of July

On the Fourth, Old Glory flies high

Fireworks bright and spirits nigh

Where freedom's winds gently stream

On the Fourth, Old Glory flies high

Stars and stripes in radiant gleam

Happy 4th of July!

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Wellspring

Keep your heart, its course runs wide

Quiet rivers swell inside

Shield it well from rust and thorn

Let no cold wind leave it worn

For in that sacred, pulsing keep

Springs of hope begin to leap

Scenes From Laser Pink Floyd

 

The Reichert Planetarium

Saturday, June 28, 2025

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The Morning Sun

I fix my gaze on things above

On peace, on hope, on gentle love

No room for fear, no space for spite

I fill my mind with purest light

Chaos fades, its grip undone

Truth awakes the morning sun

Photos From The Avant Garden - 6/21/25

 

Avant Garden Poetry Amphitheater

Saturday, June 21, 2025

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