drawn

I lean

perpetually
towards earth

always
step by step
directly
               
treading
the curves
of your heart  

drawn
helplessly                               
by gravity  

-dp-
12-10-14    

flutter

must review these portals

slip behind two sleepy lids
reflect from darkened lenses
reel around things best hid
watch old images scatter     
flutter down my optic nerve
bounding back much clearer 
fill up my dream reserve     
hold that thought and climb
to a daydream yet to seek


-dp-
12-1-14

lost in a life (eternal)

I married

worked
the same job
for thirty years
raised a daughter

lived a life
that applied
to no one

until I found
that hope
is eternal
and love
love is all

-dp-
11-21-14



(eternal)


I married
worked
the same job
for thirty years
raised a daughter
lived a life
that applied
to no one

until I found You,

and now 
I know
that hope
is eternal
and love
Your love
is all

-dp-
11-21-14

still alike

beach leaves

dazzling dusk
stunning reds
departing light

keeps us
facing westward
hand in hand
return to night

holding
hard to dreams
often shared
but unalike

turn us 

to our homes

once the same

but now apart

- dp-
11-12-14

nothing

I wish I had

what I had
before
a bed
a desk
a little more
a pot  to pee in
a book to read
some basic needs
So much to gain
so little to lose
so much was lost
but one thing's for sure
it's worth having nothing
to be without you

-dp-
11-10-14

fingers

I wondered when

and what to do
when she asked
whether l hold hands
palm to palm
or with fingers
interlaced.

Caught off guard
I only said
I didn't know
I had never
given it much thought.

It seems to me
it always changes
from time to time
instance to instant.
So much like hugs
and even kisses
it's always the first time
that we remember.
 
-dp-
11-9-14

> pan

you could be my

Neverland darling. 
and I, after several costly
and complicated 
operations,
could be your sweet,
nearly pubescent,

Pan. 
friend of fairies,
captain of lost boys,        
foe of the evil captain hook.
clap your hands if you believe

-dp-

11-8-14

moisture in our way

seeking words of deference 

between our worlds apart
empty opposites divide us 
in rueful fits and starts
hollow hearts near empty 
so much to understand
no axe to hold  
our hands unfold
the solace of a tear
raise once resented ardor  
palpitations in our hearts
unexpected  shudders
and quivers in the dark
but feelings fail arousal
words don't fill the spot
that leave us cold
with love untold
and lips kept still apart

-dp-
11/6/14

comfort zone

It's funny

how comfortable
I feel
when I'm with you
Sometimes totally
other times very
still other times
much more 
than usual
Of course
most of the time
I find myself
by myself
alone
which is okay
now
Way better
than before
when I wept
whenever
I was alone
Now I feel
much more
like happy
Like happy
all of the time.

-dp-
10-24-14

press

lead me through tomorrow

there's hope within that ploy.
dreams of better days,           
soon here, or bound to come. 

moments shared together 
as only you can choose
to stay and hold, or
stay on hold, or simply

press release

-dp-
8-10-14

telltales

When I knock

on your dreams
scrape 
what I can
from your thoughts
will it matter
that I'm not
alone?

Am I stealing
your heart 
or are you 
holding it in,
there must be 
telltales that
somehow 
don't show.

-dp-
7-14-14

a part of tomorrow

   Visiting what might be tomorrow

I thought briefly of you, as though
blowing a dandelion too hard, watching 
its seeds scatter with the  breeze.
I thought of you, of us, dancing, 
spinning inside a crowd, drifting 
away with indifference.
  The music played on ever louder,
echoing as though the ballroom
were empty, but it was full. Full
of masked faces, and we were
ourselves masked, and costumed,
unable to recognize one another.
  We may have been close, perhaps,
or one of us may have left early,
thinking the other had gone
ahead, only to wind up lost 
on foggy streets, the hallow glow 
of street lamps and somber instinct 
to guide. Still, was it you, or I, 
who left first...
had we parted at all?

-dp-
6-3-14

whisper

I want to hear you 

whisper
ever so softly

are you asleep?
   
and know 
should I reply
it means bliss 

-dp-
5-25-14

four play

you could ride 

my tricycle
me on my
little red fire truck
pedal, pedal
round and round  
the driveway
circling and giggling
giggling and circling
closer and closer
around and around
until we
crash
softly
and play
another game


-dp- 
3-27-14
R5-11-14/Rattle-flintridge

scraps

I feel the edges

as I tear up
your letters, watch
pieces fall to the floor

where scraps scatter
below and about
some face up, but
most settle down  
                          
I gather them later
to rekindle
the fire we built
not so long ago
                        
but the embers
are cold and black 
and the ashes
have all blown away

only these scraps
in my fingers
remain, nothing
to bear but waste.
                      

-dp-
 5-9-14

routine

it was routine

I lacked 

before.

mixing oatmeal,

slicing apples 

peeling boiled eggs

for lunch.

slipping 

frozen dinners

into the microwave.

doing my laundry.

perpetual 

terminal

laundry.

Once 
I walked into 

the mississippi

and almost drowned,

like my father did

and his father did

but without intent
battling different

sorts of storms.

But a red moon

saved me.

lead me

from that torrent.

brought me home 

wet and tired,

scared and 
scarred, and

terminally

cautious.

Then,

I met you,

and still there
is routine.  

routine,

and waiting.

waiting for you

to show me

that hope 

is eternal

and love is

hardly routine 

-dp-
4-28-14

am I

am i happy 

as a question
or a statement
plaintive
or sarcastic

who's to say
or ask
the difference
from inside
without

commitment
contentment
confinement
conclusion
confusion

state of mind
or being
a hopeful
or helpless
situation

pliable
pleasurable
predictable
programmable
pitiful 

some projection
of inner light
forgone
forgotten
foreboding

a summation 
or goal
some state of
consciousnesses
or subtle choice

-dp-
4-12-14

this once

I'd be grateful for

such basic touch
the scent of your hair
sweet soft by my face
 
Your smile blooms gentle
upon moist lips
eyes so misty true
 they warn me of hope

Caution me to think
of youth now lost
to mortal decay
and these crippled bones

Could I reach out now
not graze your face
feel your blushing cheeks
softly with my wrists 

May I draw you near
to these coarse lips
can you grant your grace
bear my young heart's kiss 
-dp-
4-11-14

edges

I tear the edges

from poems
I send you

no borders
confine
my love

just ragged edges
and crooked
corners

a perimeter
much greater
than straight                                 

-dp-
 4-9-14 

still

am I still the man 

you thought I was
just slightly
more passe

do I make you laugh
though not as much
and keep you
less engaged

Are you holding on
though not as tight
to a man
who used to be

do I span the time
from loss to life
as someone
in between

-dp-
4-7-14

Hard Wood

as my thoughts rise to mediocrity,

or something quiet a bit less,
I think of you there
on the couch 
with your cats.
One in your lap, 
another by your side,
and a third, like a headrest,
saddled across the back of the couch
snoring. 

I think of you there 
in your popcorn crumbed
coffee stained, cat hair veiled
green terrycloth bathrobe with your
remote control in the left pocket.  A lighter
smokes, and an almost empty plastic
box of tic-tacs spilling into the right 
kept there just in case someone 
should arrive at the door or  
drop by.

So, I think of you there, love, 
watching The Price Is Right.
Drew Carey with his schtick and mike,
and you there shouting- "No! No, stupid! 
It's one-fifty-nine!  It's one fifty-nine!"
but sadly the TV guest doesn't 
hear you as the cat on sofa's back 
lumbers down and pees on the floor
sniffs it, then diligently scratches
hard wood.

-dp-
2-12-14