Distance – Page 74

in the pre dawn hours
the sounds of distant thunder
lull me back to sleep
–
a hard rain
drumming on
rhododendrons

brief is our passage
across the river of time
into the unknown
–
oak saplings
from acorns
never unearthed

glowing embers blow
through gnarled ashen limbs and
pallid withered leaves
–
a cigarette butt
untold miles of
scorched forest

coruscating veils
of yellow, purple, and green
midnight in Norway
–
pebbled skin
perfectly
camouflaged

staring at the stars
she walks in the warm surf while
winds tousle her hair
–
herring gulls
skimming on the
offshore breeze

the rain’s heady scent
rolls in on the thickened air
of the coming storm
–
hummingbirds
weave the air above
a honeysuckle vine

the moon overhead
a toad lifted from the lane
sitting in my hand
–
walking together
for the first time
your hand finds mine

hatred is poison
turning ignorance and fear
into pure evil
–
meandering river
crocodiles wait
just below the surface

slipping off toward
an indifferent future
full of the unknown
–
the future
ruthlessly becoming
the past

no matter how far
the vanishing road takes me
I always return
–
nirvana awaits
yet I’m not
quite ready