Selected Poems
The maples heard a rumor
And blushed a crimson red
Soon all the leaves had heard it
How quickly rumors spread!
Like fire on the mountain
Consuming one and all
The maples heard a rumor
And told the tale of fall
At first the noble birches
Dismissed what they had heard
The cottonwoods, the aspens
Would not believe a word
What foul, malicious gossip!
Yet gossip can be true
Soon all the leaves discovered
What crimson maples knew.
Deeper we go into winter
Despite the recovering sun
Every night, a later light
So soon, the ordeal done!
But try to convince the snowdrifts
Or explain to a chilly heart
That February’s temporary
And springtime, soon to start
Deeper we go into winter
And there’s a redemption there
A cherishing of other souls
A tolerance of despair
Meanwhile the sun ascends
And happiness waits in the wings
To swim, to kiss, to relish what
Audacious summer brings
But try to convince the snowdrifts
Or explain to a shivering heart
That tragedy is temporary
And springtime, soon to start
Deeper we go into winter
Despite the recovering sun
Every night, a later light
So soon, the ordeal done!
May means May is over
The start invites the end
Spring was only here when it
Was right around the bend
Flowers peaked in April
When few were to be seen
Barren limbs of March possessed
The quintessential green
And now amid the splendor
We’re stricken with a thought
The moment can’t be captured
The present can’t be caught
May means May was yesterday
‘Twas snakebit from the start
Tainted by the chalice
Infected by the dart
Though little violets beckon
And cherry blossoms ring
The restless eye anticipates
A season after spring
And now amid the splendor
We’re haunted by a thought
The moment can’t be harnessed
The present can’t be caught.
At peak, Time sneaks away
To eavesdrop from the door
As all the humans play
Along the sunset shore
Horizons burn and burn
The bonfire doesn’t end
Lovers ever yearn
A friend remains a friend
October’s far away
And April’s long ago
We dally and delay
We take the evening slow
Listening to our laughter
Time chuckles in his way
Aware of what comes after
The bracing light of day
Soon he’ll come to scold us
Marching to the beach
He cautioned us, he told us
Forever’s out of reach.
