Justice

who will stand and speak
when there is such injustice
if not I then who?

angry seas-
ramshackle rafts
adrift and lifeless

Consequences

living on the edge –
tasting the forbidden fruit
and consequences

future regrets-
I send a drink
down the bar

Age

a rusting iron gate-
beyond the overgrown path
crumbling headstones

bristlecone pines-
deeply rooted
to the earth

Birth

my journal entry-
today I start another
lap around the sun

willow branches-
a crack appears
in the robin’s egg

Sailing

plying the trade winds-
seeking safe harbor under
an ocean of sky

rolling seas-
sails reefed
before the storm

Rot

all the leaves scattered
standing despite itself but
rotten at the core

a forest altar-
oaken pews
standing empty

Empty

hundreds of candles-
an unlit testament to
this empty vigil

tumbled stone-
autumn’s first light
warms the piazza

Light

the sun reaches down
and kisses the horizon
at the dawn of dusk

spreading warmth-
two more fingers
of liquid gold

Glimmer

the edge of the moon
nicks the night sky and reveals
the bare hint of light

cloaked in darkness-
betrayed by
a cigarette

Solitude

shut in this fortress
long days spent looking over
my kingdom of sand

rising tides-
my castle begins
to crumble