wrap round my heart
and though I try
I can't but start
to fondly think
of their cute eyes
and all the ways
that they surprise
with feisty jumps
and muted trills
from fighting rough
to making spills
their little claws
have made my arms
a maze of red
as they do harm
yet still I pet
their softest fur
and hold them close
and feel them purr
into my eyes
they gaze to say
we've got you now
we'll have our way
i turned a corner suddenly
the streetlight wasn't there
i listened as the summer breeze
spoke laughter in my ear
not knowing that the hours past
were full of empty toil
when winter winds come soon
the autumn fruit to spoil
year on year of working
a quest for wealth or fame
days not worth remembering
and they forgot my name
i looked in vain for glowing
to see the way to take
my path is not so clear
the choice is mine to make
the keys beneath my fingers
a lonesome song do sing
the words a melody
that means a different thing
i play alone in darkness
obscurity my friend
and sometimes hear the whisper
of how my story ends
pieces of color patched together
noises and horns distracting voices
things i forgot to do
the morning is over the day almost gone
maybe tomorrow something will come
i'll remember what
items in order on small scraps of paper
litter the table and fill up the basket
lists i should get done
thirty seconds a drop and another one passes
videos of humour and other folk's lives
maybe i can skip that
closing my eyes as the summer sun sets
wondering if the road leads anywhere soon
i'd like to know
empty long days interspersed with flashes
moments of beauty i'm caught unawares
somehow i'll make it
folding my fingers to see just a glimpse
perspective beyond these restless hours
i'm almost there
maybe what lasts isn't measured by numbers
currency of legacy in different weights
things i hope to see
feeling the heavy settle into my chest
while lightly i tread through uncertainty
now i'm letting go
the bee proclaims
as lazily he flits
from blade of grass
to flower bright
and all the bluebirds sing
the robin finds
a tasty worm
as tender berries ripen
the hummingbird
sips nectar sweet
with wings as fast as lightning
I drink it in
the long warm days
that whisper endless idylls
the nights of dreams
what-might-have-beens
that fade away by morning
but in the wind
I sense a note
this moment cannot last
the days grow short
midsummer's past
and winter's round the corner
why is it so
in joyful times
my heart a shadow feels
though sunlight's strong
and breezes sweet
I cannot rest for long
it's summer now
the bee proclaims
yet in my eyes is fall
the rain that comes
the winter brings
and all the birds are gone
i'm out of time
or so i say
and put it off
from this today
the thing can wait
i'll do it when
tomorrow comes
it's fine 'til then
the whisper soothes
the day flies by
full of stuff
i'd rather try
a day a year
it comes and goes
words unwritten
tv shows
i'm older now
the hair is grey
and still i say
maybe today
it's all i have
this here and now
to paint the sky
and change somehow
the page is blank
and so i stare
in hopes my thoughts
will find somewhere
but nothing comes
and so i sigh
tomorrow waits
until i die
through coloured windows soft
panes testify to ages past
130 winter suns come and gone
the dust shivers on sturdy beams
as the organ plays one last song
temporary braces still standing strong
as voices pass into memories
who will remember the passion
pews retired to halls and gardens
partitioned rooms where choirs sang
altars whisper of vows forgotten
the eve of the end casts shadows
can an empty space hold pain
once full of hope and life
now reduced to begging favours
the door shuts slowly firmly
what fills one and not another
keep the lamp stand in the midst
bring your first love home
it sits like a blank page before me
this new year
hopes and fears are in the wings
shrouded by mist
a thousand options crowd my way
where will I go
the path I take is hidden now
someday seen
I waver between joy and dread
what comes next
many years have come and gone
a mixed bag
I take up my pen to write the start
this new day
come triumph or tragedy I know
not alone
