Apprehension

since you got sent home
I’ve been sitting by your side
praying you’ll return

waiting-
trying not
to lose hope

Risk

don’t gamble on me
there’s far too much at stake and
you don’t know the score

what you see
I choose
to show

Peace

longing for the time
when there is no one to please
and nowhere to be

cherished,
those few minutes
between calls

Longhand

caressed by the pen
ink and paper combine with
the lightness of verse

liquid words
meandering
into prose

Summer

faded cutoff shorts
bare feet out the car window
hair teased by the wind

hot skin
cool sheets
and promises

Anxiety

I’m never alone
my ally, my enemy
you’re always with me

ever present
that little voice
of self doubt

Patience

adrift in the tide
seagulls carving lazy arcs
through the azure sky

becalmed,
awaiting the moon
and the fish

Comfort

a cold winter night
staccato rain on the roof
you, keeping me warm

winter’s eve
with you, I’m
warm inside

Shelter

freshly mown spring grass
a frog hops to the safety
of an old stone wall

the bull frog
peeks out from
behind a stone

Avoidance

in grape arbor
a cardinal seeks shelter
from the driving rain

secluded
deep within
my wine glass