Tulip

The colorful tulip lost its petals, but it became somehow more beautiful in the 

wreckage of time.

The Love I Once Had

The statues standing in the courtyard surrounded by the bees of spring

have not thought once of renegade soldiers

laughing on the soot of angel's wings

singed by fires of impunity the hellish heat has made me mad

strapped into boots and on a horse to ride headfirst into the love I

once had.

Passions, Problems, Fears

Driving in traffic and waiting in line

mastering my emotions

managing my time

longing for love

and pining for hate

lastly my fear

of showing up late

to the champagne breakfast

tripping on flowers

giving away money

owning my power

falling into a pit

of real estate

and maintaining the tall cedar trees 

I planted for privacy 

on the property line of my soul

I am trimming back the rose bushes

and spreading the chips 

standing on the shoulders

of giants like this.

Thought Imperialism

I will walk the line of Imperialism in my mind

I will not conquer only coerce

I will not tread onto anyone's soul

only put footsteps on the sands of time

dragging a stick behind me

only concerned with where I've been

and never knowing where I am going

My Lake will be my ocean

my river, my blood

my heartbeat will be the sun

shining on the land of my thoughts

as I walk each word

a step.

My Ugly Face

I was walking back from work several miles in the cold

and was probably making a grumbly face as I walked

a friend texted me later and said, "I saw you walking!"

and I thought how embarrassing for someone to see me

in my grumpiest moments when I thought I was all alone

lemon-faced against the wind

with no color in my heart

at all

so now I look around with a face of wonder

because why not

relax the skin on my face

look at the flowers 

look at each thing like a miracle

the wavering ripple on a leaf

the fascinating rust on an old grey door

the way power lines lean against the pole

the movement of a jogger

the reflection in the window

the thread on the ground

the trees against the sky

a wonder all of it

all of it a wonder

and put the color back in my heart

and the relaxation back into my face

someone might see me

I might see me

I might see me

Hear me, O God

 Pasture me into a cowland glory digestive tract seance of goop

Genes are riding free on bodies into DNA sperm

and I am here trying to make sense of God

Pleasure me into the stench of plastic pansies bent at funeral parlors

for forgotten Gods

Mean and scathing like dog breath growling

in my heart's junk 

yard

Make me a martyr bake me a cake

make me a mixed media rake

come on top of me with all your dead leaves 

it's Spring time and the butterfly kneels

in front of the altar of renewal

and my heart lifts up in song

all these broken pipes

and psalms of rust

Hear me, O God!

Galaxies of Cherry Blossoms

I fold my arms, I fold the origami

I make myself a star

I cringe each time I hear my name

spoken in that sharp tone

the edges of my origami are soft

patterned by the rain

the edge of a flower

dropping and drooping

laid across the lawn

with tiny sparkling water circles

strewn about like galaxies

across the canvas of muted color

I walk on the sidewalks of Rogers Park

each path a new destination

each garden a new world