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In That Other Lifetime (Poem)
I travel the desolate highways
that run through the smallest towns
to transform for a minute into Main Street
then fade back into their nondescript route
the uncertain focus of dirty headlights
are the only shine in the night
the moon and the stars absenting themselves
from the unrelenting dreariness
lest they too turn drab with grime
or get tangled in the rusted barbed wire
hanging from an abandoned fence
the smoke from a cigarette drifts from the car window
and gas station coffee stains the vinyl seat
as I drive
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Rain Wind Fog (Poem)
I did not want to look back
and say with regret
that I never walked in the rain
too afraid that the water on my face
would remind me of tears
and I would cry in sorrow
that I never stood in the wind
too fearful that the buffets on my limbs
would feel like punches
and I would collapse from their hit
that I never moved within the fog
too frightened that the murk around me
would become like a nightmare
and I would never emerge
so I have made certain to do these
and more
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Notes In The Margins (Poem)
I’ve not looked enough at this stubborn mind
that throws a self like a shadow against any possible wall
that chases after every shiny thing
not seeing its own tawdry glitter spinning in a mirrored disco
that imagines it is the sun and moon
rather than a distorted reflection in some temporary puddle
I’ve not sat enough in the quiet opportunity
and just let myself observe this weather
the changes in the sky and sea
the shriek of the gulls and the howl of the wind
the vast spacious silence
