Angel Tears

Oh

Will it ever stop raining?

Will the angels

Ever stop crying?

At least

Long enough for the sun

To

Shine!

So my tools

Will

Stop rusting

So my tools

Will

Start working

Because

The dollar is slim

On these

Long wet days

When you make a living

Working in the dirt!

Too much rain

Is far from refreshing

When the crops

Sour

In the fields

When

The mud soaked ground

Can no longer

Sustain them

When the ditches

That need

To be dug for a paycheck

Collapse from

Rushing water!

The car washers

The landscapers

The irrigation men

The roofers

Are all out of work

On days like today!

So

Here I now sit

Looking out the window

Into the black and blue clouds

With their

Thundering roars

And

Heavy sounds

Like Gaye Advert’s Bass Guitar

Rumbling its riffs on stage!

I sit watching flashes of light

And

Small pieces of ice

Fall from the sky

These angel tears

Have become

My judge

My jury

On

Days like today!

White crookneck cranes

March in procession

Off in the distance

Palm trees sag and drip

On their ends like hair

On a sheepdog!

Still waiting 

I think back

On

The drought years

How miserable

They were!

How they

Snuck upon us

Like a thief

Like a pickpocket

Stealing moisture

From the landscape

The sun scorched

All in its path

Relentless waves of heat

Turned

Crops in the fields

Lifeless and brown

Roasting them

Under the burning sun

Day after day

We watched

The earth dry up

It cracked and flaked

Like dead skin

Then blew in the lonely wind

Blew over equipment

Blew over rented out land

Blew over barbwire fence-lines

And

Cattle moaning for food

Then shadows crept in

And covered the ground

As clouds

Finally started to form

The windmill creaked

As the cool wind picked up

Then the rain came

And

Gave us relief

If only there was a balance

Too much

Too little

Can affect many

That depend on the weather

To survive

From my book, When The Cedars Shade Your Grave

This World

This world

Is made by us

Absolutely

Lived by us

No one

But us!

Choices…

What will we choose?

Will we listen to

The all-knowing

Of

The norm?

The average?

Or

Will we listen

To our dreams?

Our hearts?

I say

Listen to our dreams

And

Listen to the dreamers

Listen to the words whispered

By the poets of the past

The poets of today

Take hold of your dreams

They’re speaking to you

And

Only you!

LISTEN TO THEM!!!

So many live

With thoughts and hopes

Of

The next life

Being the grandest

The mind can imagine

Or living with

Fears of forecasted fiery flames

In the hereafter

Without ever living this life!

Stop living with, the what if?

Simply start living!

For

If you spend a lifetime

Without opening your mind

Your mind

Will be

Just as asleep

In the next world

And

All the streets

Paved of gold

Will mean nothing

All the riches will be

As wanted as

30 pieces of silver to Judas

Once the rope tightened

And

His last breath was gone!

Find the true riches in this life

By being alive in it

Not just going through it

Hoping things will be better

In the next!

From my book, When The Cedars Shade Your Grave

The Sunset Of Helios

I rest now

My back against

A towering tree

Breeze cooling

The sweat on my skin

Nothing comes easy in this land

Of

Briars and weeds

Thistles and thorns

Tangled vines

And

Cat claws

That tear at your flesh

But this day of work

Is behind me now!

As I stand to walk

Back home

Beneath

The sunset of Helios

I think to myself

Days like today

Remind me of my

Humble beginnings

Refocus my mind

On the chessboard of life!

For, your opponent, “This World”

Is clever and crafty

In its moves!

You must dodge its pawns

Its Knights

Its Bishops

Its Rooks

Its Kings and Queens

Take your hits

And

Move on!

Savor your victories

For, your victories are sometimes

Merely surviving

That day!

Yet

Never forget your days

Under

The sunset of Helios

Artwork 1975

Wasp And Spiders

I watched a wasp today

Dragging a spider

Back to its nest

For dinner

Now that I think of it

It was a dirt dauber

Yes

Definitely

A dirt dauber!

Spiders

Must be a delicacy?

For

That is all I ever

See them

Dragging home!

It’s one hell of a dance

This winged hunter

Does for dinner!

For

One wrong move

And

The wasp could be

On the spider’s menu!

I guess

In one way

Or

Another

We’re all dancing

For the next meal

The real question becomes

How much are you willing

To dance

To survive in this world?

The

Dance with death

Between

The wasp and spider

Was magical

I’m sure

Isn’t everyone’s dance

With death

When the time comes?

From my book, When The Cedars Shade Your Grave

Irish Rain

Irish rain fall on me

Fall from

Across the sea

For

I’m centuries and miles

Many, many, miles

Away from my homeland

Of

Ireland

Oh

Irish rain fall on me

Puddle in this land of America

Soak into her soil

Like your sons

And daughters

Soaked into the new world

So long ago

My fathers

My mothers

Crossing

The wavy blue waters

Of

The deep dark ocean

Carving out a new life

In a faraway land

In the Appalachians

In The Ozarks

On the streets of Southie

In Pennsport

In Hell’s Kitchen

In Five Points

All the way down to

The farmlands of Florida

Which in turn

Carved out me

Your Irish son!

So

Fall

Little drops of water

Fall far from the sky above

Pulled up to the clouds

By the midmorning’s sun

From

Dew drops dripping down

Grass blades bending

Across the rolling green hills

Of

The countryside

The creeks

The rivers

The rocky cliff shorelines

With their crashing

White cresting waves

The stonewalled castles

The moss covered Ring Crosses

That stand like soldiers

Over

My ancestor’s graves

In Ireland

Then blow clouds blow

Over the sea

To fall on me

As Irish Rain

For

Your drops are as close

As I will get to my homeland

That is

Lifetimes away from me

From my book, When The Cedars Shade Your Grave    

Black Cat Irish Luck