April 2017 – Page 2

anticipation-
enduring the pain, thankful
for feeling at all
–
deadheading-
rose thorns
pierce my skin

a flash of silver
swimming in place, lingering
against the current
–
buffeted and battered-
leaning
into the wind

weeping cherry trees-
a wistful gaze through windows
that never open
–
budding branches-
a cockatoo’s
clipped wings

the frayed rope, broken
bubbles breaking the surface
of the swimming hole
–
sweet spring air-
off a chestnut branch
a stout rope swings

beauty and horror
entwined around each other
in a spider’s web
–
morning mist-
time passes
red on black

the marquee of dreams
in the theatre of my mind
ripe with false promise
–
summer rain-
the blind
desert sands

forced conversation-
a glance at his empty chair
then awkward silence
–
oddly quiet-
the azure sky
free of birds

angry thunderclouds
lurking on the horizon
heavy with cold rain
–
summer afternoon-
the scent of rain
fills the air

ashes of the past
the land stoic and patient
awaiting rebirth
–
robins gather-
the old gardener
tends to his seedlings

age pierces my side-
gasping as my youth runs out
between my fingers
–
crying crows-
my chest heaving at
mile marker two