Midsummer

the longest day of the year

is past

the sun has come and gone

at last

spring's flowers fade in summer's 

gleam

and autumn's leaves shall soon

be seen

the blazing heat belies

the chill

the waning days softly

foretell

another year is dying 

slow

how many more i do

not know

the future with its rosy

hue

is full of things that i

must do

tomorrow soon becomes

today

and then my change has gone

away

the years pile up instead

of dreams

and all the ghosts of might-

have-beens

the garment of the life 

i wear

is full of holes and so

threadbare

my thoughts are like the crows

outside

so loud with things i might 

have tried

the years behind are like 

this day

an echo of what cannot 

stay

and so i bid the sun 

adieu

to God the past make all 

things new

shuffle step

I saw an old man walking

his shoulders softly drooping

the shuffle step

the weight of years

the questions never pausing

I gazed at him unseen

though rough his steps not stopping

from where he came

to where he goes

I knew I'd never know

Has time to him been kind

do memories haunt his way

of faces gone

what might have been

I mused on possibilities

He might have stayed indoors

decaying by the fire

yet on the eve

of death's new day

he chose to soldier on

Perhaps in hime I see

the path we all may tread

each day a chance

to venture forth

and see what lies ahead

lock the door

the years stretch out 

i close the door

another task 

another chore

five years past and gone

maybe more

have i lost myself

in the mundane

the strong bolt turns 

pin tumblers slick

i think of nothing

that's the trick

to still the thoughts

that poke and prick

and keep me safe

from the truth

if i can forget

tomorrow won't come

where all the hopes

and fears are from

and all the things

i haven't done

might slowly and softly

creep away

another year passes

lines on my face grey in my hair

the years they pass quickly

forgetting more than i recall

i'm still not sure i will be

we live each day in clouds

pausing not to remember

how far how long the journey is

the account someday to render

inside i'm not as far along

with more behind than to come

if not for these failing bones

that tell the story of all i've done

fears and hopes failures too

the years bring these and more

to run to rest to soldier on

with eyes on what's in store

becoming me success eludes

as lonely grows the way

it matters not if i get there soon

but i must arrive today

coming

spring is dark mornings

when you feel set back

when life is bursting

but it is hard to get started

a flower slowly opens

and snow showers down

the unending night continues

getting shorter each day

you find something you lost

and lost something you found

and sometimes you are unsure

which is the right way up

each moment is full of hope

a potent elixir of potential

your dreams full of omens

an unmade world out of reach

the waking hours seem long

your heavy feet drag

spring is everything possible

nothing seems to happen

until you turn around

and winter is gone

periphery

it's hiding just outside

the limits of my view

I'm sensing but not seeing

like something I forgot

but never quite remembered

I grasp at aural light

concretely insubstantial

I wake with vague discomfort

false scenes disturb my rest

these moments never happened

left emotions strongly felt

if I went right the way was left

and so I doubt my path

a million tiny options gnaw

it's not regret I whisper soft

insidious voice is more

what ifs pristine and white

cloud castles in the air

like stories shortened early

they might have ended well

instead of endless epics

that tell of failures vast

I wish when lights are dim

this feeling I could shake

accept my lot the one I chose

and leave the rest to God

walk with me

sometimes the way is damp

although the stream is dry

and when I hope for some kind word

the people pass me by

the trees that shade the sun

breathe chillness in the air

and though I long for warmer days

fall's coming everywhere

when down the path I ran

you lagged a ways behind

but when I slowed you sped ahead

what did you have in mind

the faces through the years

some stay while others go 

if winter's frost were tempered down

they could relax I know

the road can stretch for miles

so lonely is the way

my steps don't match the friends I've had

and I've no place to stay

but in the stillness deep

the whisper still can come

the narrow path is worth the risk

the ending lies at home

uncertain times

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

put it off

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

the deep moment

who knows the light 

that fills your eyes 

when through the trees 

by moon surprised

or how the lines

that grace your lips 

grow deeper as

each cup you sip

whose voice can wake

your sleeping soul 

or make you laugh 

without control 

who hears you when 

the day is done 

the ups and downs 

the race you’ve run 

the shallow steps 

you take each day 

add up to much 

deep in your way

who finds you there 

and holds you close 

content to be 

who loves you most 

scars

my finger traces the lines 

broken flesh sewn together

signs of healing never forgotten

no longer smooth

skin once soft and supple

now split by a jagged line

interrupted peace roughly torn

but stronger now

a bit of broken glass

a curious toddler's reach

now a white streak on a pink palm

remember when

longer wider shows one

tracing the shoulder blade straight

marks of a surgeon's skill and care

diseases battled

hidden from my keen touch

deeper lie the unseen breaks

whispered words that burn like fire

just yesterday

I marvel looking close

between the cracks I see now

a light come shining through my scars

becoming glory

turning time

I sat outside your window 

and hoped the light would glow 

without a cry

life’s passing by

and like the day it goes 

through winter’s silent hours 

and spring’s precocious way

my heart has ached 

as if she’d break 

to know what you would say 

the zephyr warmed my face 

as summer ushered in 

long days of fun 

beneath the sun 

before fall rains begin 

each season keeps on passing 

like seaweed on the sea 

beneath the crash 

that’s roaring past 

my heart longs just to be 

I know it’s not forever 

as moments pass me by 

I’ll shed a tear

but stay right here 

you’ll someday heed my cry

the window near my head

will finally open wide 

I’ll see your face 

feel your embrace 

and know that peace inside 

so though the shade is down 

as nighttime follows day

incline your ear

and reappear 

to drive the dark away 

strings of lights

I come around a corner 

and see a house aglow 

the festive lights of gold and green 

a sudden joy bestow

Though dark may be the night 

and lost may seem the cause 

when all my plans lie in the dust 

demolished by their flaws 

A single flame can burn 

and keep despair at bay 

dispelling night with joyful light 

and speed me on my way 

I smile this time of year 

though clipped my wings may be 

the colours cheer my way so drear

and shine when I can’t see 

the mountains are calling

sometimes a picture cannot begin 

to capture the horizon 

to wrap a frame around the sky

and trap the colour of life 

growing green and dying golden 

the misty ridges from blue to distant grey

rippling into the future like waves upon the sea

warm dappled rays dancing on the skin 

the wind making tympanic music all around 

rocky trails lead to hidden vistas

with air so clear it makes the heart ache 

just to be is enough 

let go of all the questions that remain 

open wide arms outstretched in gratitude 

today the gift of breath

the moment ripe for second chances 

miles to go

the miles roll into the thousands 

as the asphalt ribbon ebbs and flows

waving fields of grass bend and bow

before the wind with few trees to break 

silence lives in the middle of nowhere 

heavy as the billowing clouds at dusk 

testimony to words unspoken 

a life unlived in exchange for endless sky

the promise of no walls to constrict 

compensation for no arms to enfold

the plains keeps their secrets well

only a few know the allure and reward

of horizons that never disappoint

satisfaction in relentless labour 

oblivion to restless millions captured 

by the concrete prisons that are never still

stillness is a gateway to eternal peace 

a glimpse of something yet to come 

as the miles roll into the thousands 

hindsight

at just this moment a light comes at once 

bursting and soft from the corner of my eye 

obstructing my view and between yesterday 

and always i can see right now with clarity 

beyond tomorrow with all the what ifs and 

maybes floating down like the house of cards 

they are as in wonder i glimpse what lay down 

the fork in the road knowing the dark thorns of 

heartache and loss grew there as sure as if 

i had walked it though i chose the other way 

that i thought might be forsaken and at this 

same moment i find it was actually paved 

with roses and i find gratitude arising for 

the wounds i did receive that brought growth 

and no regrets and while i miss some of the 

yesterdays i know always is close and i wrap 

right now around me as i lift my hands to the light

sonnet 2021

when all the world around does fade away

and hope shines through the clouds that block the sun

I find this life of ash and soot turned grey

begins to shine more bright than anyone

though rain that falls may sting my cheeks at times

more soft than tears that fall the drops obscure

my eyes are clear and see beyond the grime

to where all things are washed anew, made pure

although my hand has yet to feel your touch

each day I know is less to wait for you

what thought it makes my joy abound so much

to hold you close until you find me true

this life so full so lost is whirling free

as I with you am all I wish to be

nevertheless

the wind at her back

a storm in her sails

half-drowning she presses on

the blood on his lips

a bruise on his chest

he swings a desperate fist

time running out

the doctor's grim word

yet the lungs keep filling with air

declined yet again

the wallet is bare

but hope for provision comes

leg crushed beneath

fire everywhere

and still he crawls along

nevertheless

all hope seems lost

something is rising strong

nevertheless

lift up your eyes

the day is about to dawn

nevertheless

against all odds

tomorrow becomes today