Louis Armstrong …
a class by himself
Not Dixie or Jazz
but much deeper felt
Growing better with age
his music enthralls
If fourteen or forty
his melodies call
Both Ella and Ray
are seated out front
As Satchmo delivers
when others exeunt
Timelessly treasured
he’d broken the mold
Of what sound can measure
—and a smile can hold
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
When I was a boy
this spring house was there
Open and running
with memories to share
When I was a boy
it sat in the field
Above rising water
indentured to yield
When I was a boy
its door opened wide
To capture my fantasy
dreams there to hide
No longer a boy
now buried and hidden
My hopes and my wishes
—forever unbidden
(Converse Estate: December, 2023)
Chasing the
stoke
waves growing larger
Weekend
warriors
still on the beach
Destiny
calling
mortality daring
Odds
go to hell
above twenty feet
The spray
to the
heavens
Dropping
into
the thunder
Darkness
envelops
one prayer to beseech
The sound
of a
monster
The
howl
of its fury
But nowhere
on earth
—would I rather be
(California Surf: December, 2023)
Damn the nor’easter
hold the wheel steady
Waves from the Kraken
over the bow
Darkness ahead
charts plot the demon
Into the fury
—doubling down
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
Looking out
he took that step
intrepid
and risked it all
Faith to act
as his belay
one last piton
in the wall
Descent set free
in motion
a true heart
to guide him down
For love of life
and moments gone
belief once lost
—refound
(The New Room: December, 2023)
The closer we get
to the end
The bigger God
becomes
And the farther away
—he seems
(The New Room: December, 2023)
Living in the present
living in the future
One conflates the other
betrothing joy and hope
Moments breed contentment
from wishes left unclaimed
Tomorrow rules our nightly dreams
— and all today holds dear
(The New Room: December, 2023)
The world collectively
lost its mind
When fires burned
our vision blind
From East to West
and North to South
Insanity
from mouth to mouth
The world has finally
woken up
Pundits quartered
their lies corrupt
Mobbed together
they screamed on high
But run for cover
—as truth decries
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
Covered deep in
Poison Ivy
A rash that spreads
and burns
Its toxic mass
left festering
With younger minds
to churn
What used to be
a noble cause
Malingers
in disease
Whose vines grow wild
to trap the dark …
That once were climbed
—to free
(The New Room: December, 2023)
Who among us
will write at the end
Who among us
the last to contend
Who among us
will capture goodbye
Who among us
won’t wither then die
Who among us
will stare it all down
Who among us
our destiny found
Who among us
will proffer the word
Who among us
demand to be heard
Who among us
will write the last song
Who among us
—will bridge the beyond
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
An Anthology Of Perception 