Morning Coffee ☕
05/20/24
Early I rise, then by any means
I reach for the darkness of magical beans
To brew them brings out the aroma it seems
I spoon in some sugars and then heavy creams
Blend them together in caramel-like streams
To create a concoction of wildest dreams
Scorned 🔥
11/14/23
Such love and prayers I did attempt
Received much scorn and bitter contempt
From whom I once held dear as friend
Now worth so little in the end
My heart I wore upon my sleeve
For truly I wished them to believe
The love and prayers I held as sacred
Which required me be vulnerable, naked
Was to portray all I sought for good
But was never cherished as I hoped it would
So Long, Summer 🌅
09/04/23
So long, Summer, it’s time that you go
The days have grown shorter in case you didn’t know
So long, Summer, please be on your way
It’s best you leave swiftly than prolong your stay
So long, Summer, why question your fate?
There’s no time to bargain, the hour’s getting late
So long, Summer, just say your goodbye
We’d prefer you move on than to slowly watch you die
So long, Summer, it’s time that you left
Despite all the moans from the grieved and bereft
So long, Summer, a new guest has checked in
Her name is Autumn and she’d like to begin
So long, Summer, even as we shed a tear
Just promise we’ll see you this same time next year
Blue Moon 
08/31/23
Blue sky darkens
The daylight fading fast
Blue moon harkens
The nighttime at last
Stars fade to black
Making way its debut
Maintaining their track
As moonlight breaks through
The star of the show
Is no star of nightfall
But the satellite’s glow
Surely outshines all
For its stature may pale
To planets compared
But the closest in scale
Is most loudly declared
And such moments of beauty
Are precious and rare
But that is its duty
To dazzle the air
Gratitude 
04/24/23
A thing I’ve learned in life
Is to be grateful for the ones
Who come into your life and bless your soul
In giving of themselves
In words or time or deeds
In doing so they play a major role
In building up your faith
In man, though man may fail
But little acts of kindness do restore
The hurts along the way
The time of disappointment
Through simple gestures never even asked for
For no one owes you kindness
And love can’t be coerced
Yes, no one owes you any single thing
And yet someone did share
Of what was rightly theirs
Their motive in the joy that it may bring
So never overlook
These sweetly given gifts
Though maybe you’ve been let down in the past
For sad things fade away
When time has healed the wounds
But the good things are the only ones that last
Springtime 🦋
04/19/23
Throw open windows
Welcome the day
Spring has arrived
Summer, on the way
This season of bliss
With fever at hand
Beckons us play
With frivolity, grand
Step out of doors
Return to a child
Dirty bare feet
Innocent, wild
Gather up wildflowers
Sway on the swing
Run through the meadow
Laugh, sing
Lay near the brook
Rest among clover
Delight in each breeze
As it washes over
Greet all God’s creatures
The great, the small
Bumble bees, butterflies
Welcome them all
Live, it is Springtime
Such pleasures are brief
Revel the beauty
Forget winter’s grief
Leave behind sorrow
This day is brand new
Savor the moment
Before it is through
Remain 💘
09/21/22
When do you know
If it’s time to let go?
No one’s to blame
You just don’t feel the same
One remains open
One remains closed
Distant and separate
Tho’ the two not opposed
Why make a choice
Or silence your voice?
You know how you feel
But can’t make your appeal
One wants to talk
While the other resists
The avoidant at heart
Creates an abyss
What does it prove
If one won’t make a move?
It may give the impression
You’re just a possession
Pain if you stay
Greater pain if you go
Should you wound your own heart
Or remain status quo?
Should the two remain lost
If you can’t count the cost?
Never know where you stand
Tho’ at times love is grand
In a moment of clarity
But then such confusion
Is what you share real
Or just mere illusion?
How not to cry
As you’re weighing goodbye?
You’ve given your all
But you’re stuck in a stall
When one speaks the truth
And the other tells lies
Hiding from sight
They wear a disguise
But for now, I’ll remain
Though it may not seem sane
To continue to spin
When it all starts again
Perhaps up and down
Then we’ll go side to side
Still, here in your presence
I choose to abide
Imperceptible 🌫️
09/14/22
A Cottage by the Sea 
08/01/22
I do not want a mansion
Or regal brick estate
No manor set upon some foreign land
Overlooking acreage
Of lawns neatly landscaped
No, I do not wish for anything quite so grand
But all that I desire
To make me warm of heart
Is but a simple cottage by the sea
With room enough to prop your feet
All cozy by the fire
A happy place for the one I love and me
To talk of ships and sealing wax
And things we’ve read in books
We’d while away the hours in deep discussion
And laugh out loud at silly stuff
No one would ever understand
Without the slightest fear of repercussion
Flowers would adorn each nook
Candles lit with nature’s scent
Twinkle lights would hang on every wall
And oh, the sweetest melodies
Would occupy this lovely home
While peals of joy would echo down the hall
Just outside, a perfect view
With cushy seating just for two
Where we would sit all morning in the sun
And that is where we’d spend our days
Surrounded in such beauty
Enjoying each and every single one
Temperamental Summer 
08/01/22
Early morning, dark and dreary
Sun, don’t chase the clouds away
I’m not quite ready to face the day
Its somber spirit makes me cheery
Muggy noon, you came too soon
Heat provoking
Humidity choking
But still, I sing a lover’s tune
Cooler evening, clouds ablaze
Upon the porch, we sit and linger
The strings of my guitar I finger
Fancying your covert gaze
Temperamental summer climate
Hot then cold and sun then rain
I would live it all over again
To keep you near, I don’t deny it
Romance, Rest in Peace 💔
07/22/22
Perhaps I have allowed myself
To be foolishly taken in
By romance and fairy tales
And every other whim
But now as I’ve grown older
And wiser, I do see
That everything you wish for
Is not always meant to be
So perhaps it’s time to put away
So many childish things
Focus on the task at hand
See what the future brings
Release the folly of fantasy
I clung to as a child
Accept the inevitible futility
Of the dreams I let run wild
My heart may grey, my spirit wilt
But I’ll do what must be done
To keep the peace, lay myself aside
And complete this race I run
But even as I kiss goodbye
The hopes I once held dear
I know that secretly in my heart
I’ll still hold the little girl near
Solace 💙
07/16/22
Where can I find solace?
Where do I find peace?
If I can’t go to heavenly spaces
The next best places are the seas
Nowhere would I rather be
No home I long for more
All the best that the earth has displayed
Is grandly arrayed by the edge of the shore
Salty wind whipping my hair
Velvety sand between my toes
As vast as any human surveys
The mighty waves rise as it flows
It rushes over my troubles
And drags them out to the deep
Then leaves them there in a hurry
Releasing the worry from burdens I keep
While coarseness of the sticky air
Chafe upon my blushing cheeks
Reminds me that I’m still alive
My soul to revive all the wonder it seeks
Then one last glance as the sun sets
When only the glow of the moon
Gives me a peek at my favorite scene
To recall where I’ve been and will be soon
It’s Winter, So They Say ☃️
02/06/22
Most True 💭
02/05/22
Who is most true?
It’s whom I shall love
Oh to find one I should even believe in
Hand over my soul
On the alter I lay
Give all that I am without pause for the cause
Ignorance, bliss
I well play the fool
But in time I do wake from the pitiless fake
When A Friend Becomes a Stranger 💭
01/24/22
It’s odd how a friend becomes a stranger
When once there seemed no danger
Of letting go,
But time does show
That it’s easy once you’ve reached a plateau
And what we believed was certain
As one draws back the curtain
Can then reveal,
The spite we feel
Once love has lost its initial appeal
So how then shall we find contentment
In the midst of growing resentment?
Does it make us weak
To turn the other cheek?
Or do we simply hunger for greater mystique?
Because the love of most grows cold
As the newness of ardor increasingly grows old
And that for which we live
Can no longer give
The pleasant feelings we wish to relive
So it’s easy to say goodbye
And our promise becomes a lie
When we said that we’d never
Come to sever
The love that we claimed would last forever
But then when you pass on the street
It’s as if you had yet to ever meet
For your eyes turn away,
You have nothing to say
But a tear will betray and give you away
Reality 💭
01/10/22
Truth is reality
But candor is dead
We’ve chosen to replace it
With delusion instead
We deny what exists
Fantasize how it was
Resisting the facts
Of what actually does
When our vision assaulted
We just close our eyes
Eager to accept
Any comforting lies
Though we alter perceptions
On how we think it should be
Despite best intentions
Cannot change reality
Winter’s Sunset 🌅
11/23/21
Early Winter ❄
11/19/21
The splendid grace of early winter
Many often miss
When busy looking back and forward
Past its peaceful bliss
To revel in its beauty bleak
Beyond the summer’s lush
To feel the slowing down of time
Before the Christmas rush
To look upon the rolling river
Next to hardened ground
To feel the wind that bites your cheeks
As it whips around
To notice men still fishing
Before the water froze
To see the ducks who’ve yet to fly
Their bodies huddled close
To gaze up at the slate-gray sky
As swirling masses form
While first flakes of the season drift
Before the coming storm
To see the freshly covered land
Its scenery renewed
Or walk the silent wooded path
In perfect solitude
To breathe the smoke of woodstoves
That fight the evening chill
To see the deer in snowy meadows
In the morning still
These things require careful notice
Deliberate attention
But the beauty bleak so often missed
I cannot fail to mention
Gold & Copper 
11/03/21
Stillness of Morning ☕
9/30/21
A Rare Afternoon ☀
9/25/21
It’s a rare sort of afternoon
The sky’s the perfect shade of blue
The clouds are light and fluffy
Not too many, not too few
No longer summer, not quite fall
But somewhere in between
The trees are on the brink of change
The fields as gold as ever seen
The air is cool and slightly crisp
But warm beneath the shining sun
Such joy it gives to many
And troubles, there are none
The water sparkles on the lake
While fishes jump among the reeds
The critters gather up their feast
Of many acorns, nuts and seeds
Not too windy, not too still
In fact, it’s what I’d call ideal
The birds are dancing in the sky
From pleasure that they feel
To see such beauty still exists
Grants a person’s soul much peace
Yet makes you long for simpler days
You wished would never cease
So feel the moment, take a breath
Before it ends and passes on
Yes, days like this are rare indeed
Just blink and it’s forever gone!
Emotion In Motion 🌙
6/26/21
Reborn ⛈
6/18/21
To awake to the sound of a thunderous peal
Is to witness all life take a breath
For the static that builds in the air turns to rain
And rescues the living from death
Forgiveness 
05/16/21
Many months and several years
I’ve kept the secret hid
And covered up the many tears
That fell from things you did
Not things that were intentional
I believe, or so it seems
But born of fears irrational
And not from wicked schemes
So once again I choose forgiveness
Knowing that I’ve learned
The mercy that I long to witness
One day may be returned
Prayer 🙏🏼
4/15/21
Prayer, the great petition
To call upon the Father
Who dwells on high in heaven
Is it truly worth the bother?
Does One so mighty even hear
Our cry from such a distance?
At times we often wonder
Can we trust in His existence?
Or should we take Him at His Word
Which says we should be bold
When making our requests to God
These promises we’re told?
And yet it seems some prayers we pray
Do not secure the blessing
Of receiving the affirmative
Which often keeps us guessing
Why, O Lord, did you not do
The thing that we desired?
We did what you have told us to
Was something more required?
But wait, what’s this?
A friend was healed, I can’t believe the news
Should I still doubt and not give thanks
For times when you refuse?
Or perhaps the problem I perceive
Is not the here and now
How limited our scope of faith
In what we will allow
For we know on Earth that nothing lasts
And all will pass away
What difference does it even make ―
Tomorrow or today?
What matters is eternity
When everything’s decayed
And then we’ll see a no for now
Was but a yes delayed
Winter Morn ❄️
2/11/21
Do you hear it? 🌊
7/31/20
Sing, o seaside
The mighty ocean roars
As sprays like cymbals
Crash along the shores
The sound of a bass drum
Beats upon the sand
As waves set the rhythm
Of nature’s coastal band
Terns and seagulls
Cry out as mighty brass
The wind, like a flute
Whistles through the seagrass
Dolphin, sea lion
Violin, cello
Enter the chorus
With a jubilant bellow
And each child’s voice
Rings bright as piano keys
The notes of their laughter
Creates playful melodies
But should you not hear it
You won’t know what you’re missing
This symphony only plays
For those with ears to listen
Scarcely Risen 
6/26/20
I love the very early morn
When the sun has scarcely risen
The mist that awakes from sleepy lakes
Is quite a stunning vision
The dewy air is cool and damp
The thirsty flowers sigh
“Here comes the dawn, let’s sing a song!”
A symphony of birds cry
And yet this happens every day
As the sun escapes its prison
But rarely might I catch the sight
As scarcely I’ve yet risen
Silence 🤫
6/20/20
Silence is violence, they say with a sneer
But silence is often most wise
For there is no virtue in rushing to speak
Before we have opened our eyes
Perhaps we could listen a moment or two
And consider those things which are said
Before rushing to judgment and parroting lines
Of our favorite news talking head
What might we learn if we pause to assess
Before feeling the need to be heard
For greater the peace from quiet reflection
Than in speaking a careless word
For The Moment 🌅
3/21/20
The sun drops behind trees to the west
Casting a silvery glow
On the surface of the lake I view to the east
As the ripples glisten below
While wispy clouds scatter the darkening sky
A chill fills the evening air
So I watch from the window, cozy inside
For the moment without any care
Ready For Spring 🌷
3/5/20
I’m ready for spring, for the season is due
And I’d never be one to resist
A chance to be cheery and so I insist
On enjoying each day that is new
I throw open windows to let in the breeze
And vases adorn every room
Patiently longing for flowers to bloom
I await on that moment to sieze
But whether it’s spring or winter or fall
Or summer it’s all the same
For I am content to make no claim
I truly do love them all!
In Fall Past Peak 🍁
10/28/19
Late September 🌻
9/29/19
In late September
So begins the transition
The fields turn to gold
Orchards come to fruition
And now we all feast
From the harvest that comes
We decorate porches
With pumpkins and mums
But on rainy days
We watch from our window
Wrapped all in flannels
As blustery winds blow
What a glad thing indeed
To have nowhere to be
But curled up with a book
And a cup of hot tea
Green turns to rust
On the thinning tree branches
Dying in glory
Each falling leaf dances
And foliage burns
As bonfires smolder
The scent fills the air
That has surely grown colder
These days are short
And will surely not last
Before hit with the sting
Of a strong winter blast
But do not despair
Simply savor each day
And embrace every season
That’s headed your way!
In The Blue of the Morning 💙
9/16/19
In the blue of the morning
The deepest of hue
From shadows yet lifted
Before sun’s debut
The birds have just risen
While field creatures graze
Along grassy fields
Among dewy haze
And from mossy wood
The delicate fawn
Discreetly emerges
To welcome the dawn
As the first sign of light
Breaks the horizon
To let the world know
The sun is now rising
Then violets, greens
And golds soon display
While the blue gently fades
At the first light of day
Misty morning cool and fair 🐦
9/11/19
Misty morning cool and fair
Will not your beauty linger?
The birds cry out in scattered chorus
A joyous hymn from the singer
And silently in awe, I view
The sun that lights the dawn
Caress each branch they sit upon
To cheer their wordless song
A Parade of Clouds ☁️
8/9/19
A parade of clouds float lazily by
Above the yawning treetops
So soft they drift, each taking shape
As the atmosphere rises and then drops
And what do child-like eyes behold?
So many wondrous things
A carnival train with a zoo in tow
Is what the happy sky brings
A horse, a turtle, a lion’s face
A dragon breathes fire of white
A dolphin, a monkey, a polar bear
A magnificent eagle that’s taken flight
And creatures that nature has given no name
For earth has not found them a home
Alive in our minds, they exist out of time
But this moment the sky they will roam
For certain the day will come to an end
And the clouds will disperse into space
But to bid the myst-ical figures return
We need only return to this place
The Approach of the Storm 🌩
7/31/19
Midday in summer
A cloudy blue sky
Fluffy as cotton
O’er a Great Lake they fly
But near the horizon
A ship flaps its sails
Upon blustering breezes
That whimpers and wails
Those fluffy clouds darken
As I gaze to the north
And the shore swells to signify
The gale rolling forth
But I stare in fascination
As the sky turns to slate
Never considering
My ultimate fate
I linger much longer
Than wisdom allows
In awe of the lightning
That heat will arouse
Then rain starts to patter
And hail takes its form
Reluctant, I flee
The approach of the storm
Mystery of Nature 
4/14/19
The mystery of nature
How often you surprise
And do the very thing
No other soul considers wise
But you do not surrender
Your will to man or beast
And rather choose to do the thing
We expect the very least
Though truth be told we must admire
The power that you flex
Without it life is but a doldrum
I wonder what you’ll think of next!
January Grim ❄️
01/19/19
With hardly any snow to speak
When suddenly just overnight
The world is quilted in glorious white
And we all rejoice for a day or two
Then groan how we wish
That the winter was through
The November Shore 🌊
11/10/18
Waves that crash upon the rocks
Spray their misty sigh
And clouds that loom above the docks
Go quietly drifting by
Even gulls are silent now
As they huddle on the shore
But the surf with every mighty bow
Breaks in thunderous roar
Rise, O Sun ⛅️
10/18/18
Rise, O sun, and meet the day!
With hues of scarlet to sweep me away
Who can know His remarkable skill
Or the brush He uses, the sky to fill
No canvas He needs
For creation doth pleads
To be used to display His glorious deeds!
