absence

 

searching for remnants

among scattered, broken shells

golden sunset

lone bird walks on shore…

absence

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

gone

 

It is better not to look

for me

for I am gone

*

It is better not to look

for other people

they fly away

like chaff in the wind

 

 

 

losing

 

it is possible

to live in this beautiful world

and be alone

and unloved

and watch beautiful people

from the side

–

it is possible

to see silver in snow

scattered elsewhere

except

here

–

it would be a seismic shift

to know, to be known

to be seen

to have eyes

seeking

for me

–

 

 

mirage

What is the mirage

in the world

in my present

circumstances

and of

what crosses my path

now?

–

I walk alone in shadows

beauty hovers

nearby

–

yet darkness lurks

–

focus on the good

assume the best

and see a beam of light

burning through

darkness

–

this is the task

of all who breathe

–

 

 

(photo credit: unsplash)

if you don’t know

I walked in the winter today

with no white snow

I walked alone

and wondered about the loneliness

of walking alone

with seven billion other people

breathing on this planet

I think about the many stories

behind each closed door

on the sides of each wall

of gray slick pavement

/

Trees are gray and other hues

varying shades of brown

The dull dark season

What is the color of loneliness

if this is the season

Perhaps it does not matter

since all seasons

surround one who walks alone

/

I think about living without a grounding

without a string holding us between

the ground and the sky

How do people live

from day to day

How lonely it must be

even lonelier than me

If you don’t know why you’re here

/

And even when I doubt

when I wonder and question

and cry to the wind

Though I don’t always feel it

I know it is true

/

I ask for a colored wind

to fill in the shape

of my doubt and disbelief

/

december 2018

(photo credit: unsplash)

---

lone leaf

source: unsplash

 

a lone leaf

driven by wind

*

no one notices

lost leaf

floating in wind

eventually dies

melts into ground

disintegrates

fodder for new life

in spring

*

you are the lost

leaf

*

no one cares about

single floating leaf

sinking in ground

*

 

 

favorite

I said to the gem

surviving beneath the

season’s first sheath

of ice and snow,

“you are my favorite”

because the world walked

by and did not notice

you

.

I stopped

and noticed

you

your tenacity

insistence to live

and not die buried

under indifference of snow

and fast-walkers
disinterested
distracted

.

I will look for you

because no one else is

and because you

persist, survive, insist

on shining through a white shroud

of cold

.

and because you are

beautiful

breathing and glowing

in the middle of

the cold loneliness

of your life

granting me

a bit of your hope

.

I am no one’s favorite

no one waits for me

no one looks for me

or longs for my voice

.

I need no reminders

of this

.

why do some insist upon

pouring salt on aching wounds

already split open

.

Salt melts snow

but burns

an open, raw wound

.

So I choose you, hidden snow-gem–

I make you my favorite–

golden reminder

of hope

.

winter will not bury you

and I will look for you

.

because those

who are forgotten

are those who remember

.

 

 

---

 

photos credits: unsplash

does anyone

does anyone see the tiny

tributary jutting from the main

river, it is so small, but water

runs through a small place

in the woods

does anyone see the miniature

blossoms, surviving in

the woods, they would seem

neglected, but color bursts

through now and

then

 

do you ever wonder if eyes look

for you, at you, if

someone notices the aging

of your hands, if anyone

misses the luster in your

eyes, the sound of your laugh,

but you still trample in

these woods with only

the sound of the wind and

your footsteps snapping

the twigs

 

---

 

patterns of light

 

beautiful patterns and shadows

created by leaves blowing in the wind

movement, fluttering shapes

casting a light on me, the floor, the walls

the grass, the trees themselves–

only possible because of the sun

 

---

 

(photo source: unsplash)

draw a river

 

I will draw a river

see how far I can go

how long the color lasts

how deep and lasting the blue

 

***

 

(picture source: unsplash)