August Rain

Quiet
but not silent.
Birds sing.
Tires spray.
Drops bounce up
from
leaves grass windows.
Waterfall dwelling,
this morning
this moment.
The rain brings itself to me.

Blood Scales

Blind old men send blood to be measured.
Blind old men sow to the wind.

Blood calculated
on rotten scales
won’t balance heaven or hell.

We reap the whirlwind.

News Budget

1
Every afternoon we met to rank the stories of the day.

2
I decided the story about the bicycle crash wasn’t interesting enough for page 1.

3
You were late getting back with the photo we needed for the sports page.

4
You were in an office romance with a reporter.

5
Is what actually happens more important that what we imagine?

6
The reporter who covered the cops called in to tell us they didn’t have an I.D. on the cyclist who died.

7
It was April.

8
You still hadn’t checked in.

9
Everyone in the newsroom believed you were falling in love.

10
The police reporter came back to the newsroom with a written description of the cyclist who had died.

11
Watching you fall in love gave us all a kind of thrill.

12
The cop reporter read us the description of the body in the morgue.

13
Did I mention that your girlfriend was working in the newsroom that night?

14
We moved the story about the accident to page 1

15
It took us a long time to find your picture in the files.

16
The presses started at 1 a.m.

Dishes in the Cupboard

I wipe the dish gently,
place it carefully
in the cupboard,
on the top shelf,
in the back,
where it won’t be seen,
and won’t be used.

Flyin' Geese Blues

I’m watching out my window as the geese go flying by
I’m watching out my window as the geese go flying by
I’m looking at the door and wondering why I try

Oh the geese are heading south, where there ain’t no cold or snow
Oh the geese are heading south, where there ain’t no cold or snow
And if you loved me baby, I would never go

But your heart’s grown cold as winter and I never see the spring
Oh your heart’s grown cold as winter and I never see the spring
There’s nothing left to warm me but this tiny little ring

Did you ever love me?
Did you ever care?
What makes you think
I’ll stick around
When winter’s in the air?

The geese are calling lonely as they fly to find the sun
The geese are calling lonely as they fly to find the sun
I think the geese are saying that they know our love is done

No Bravery

We need to pay attention.
This will break your heart.
No Bravery

Department of Peace

No poetry today.
Here is my new goal - to do one thing everyday for peace.
And here is my action today.
Go here, and think about what it might mean if we did have a Department of Peace.
thepeacealliance.org