Chance

lying here in bed
unnbeknownst to you your trust
already betrayed
–
heavy fog-
your train leaves
without me

with a poisoned pen
I write stories in the blood
of the innocent
–
desert sagebrush-
rattlesnakes hidden
in plain sight

I catch your eye as
we pass each other by but
you’re out of my league
–
noonday sun-
lions stalking
in the tall grass

reaching for your hand
I would touch you if only
I could turn back time
–
under the oak tree-
lost in our
history

the last day of spring-
apple blossoms ride on the
late afternoon breeze
–
barefoot-
crab apples
in the grass

friends and enemies
all are but dust as I wait
for mortality
–
a dark attic-
old records
gathering dust

bitter on the tongue-
the hot bilious taste of
someone else’s fear
–
an owl’s cry-
the field mouse
frozen

a sienna sun
set low in the eastern sky-
the treetops alight
–
red stratus clouds-
remnants of the
evening sun

twisted hotel sheets
warm champagne and melted ice
left for housekeeping
–
an open window-
our naked skin
in the noonday sun

with the rising sun
the smell of coffee clears the
cobwebs from my mind
–
smoldering campfire-
I blow on the
overnight coals