1998

“Time a Step behind”, 1998

I take a step
And looking back
I think I’m being followed

It has been wound,
That dreaded sound,
“Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick tock!”

O how I know
How slow I go
Can not trick this
Quickening foe

It keeps a pace,
In steady race,
And winds me round it’s finger!

O how I know
How slow I go
Can not trick this
Quickening foe

It keeps a pace,
In steady race,
And winds me round it’s finger!

__________________________
“Revolution”, Inspired by “A Tale of Two Cities”, 1998

Time and tide wait for no man,
All things unto their course will run.
The bitter sea in looming dance,
A million wounds open as one.

The dripping faucets long ignored,
Make water rise above the eyes.
Then, blinded, pity made abhorred,
The droplets seek no compromise.

Abused ones abuse their abuser,
Confused by fear and loathing,
And logic dissipates, like looser
Threads from ragged clothing.

Revenge, a slippery prize to hold,
Oft chokes the neck that cursed the chain.
The power bought by virtue sold,
Reaps tainted fruit that kills again.

When nose is cut to spite the face,
The tragic scars plague history.
For blood is blood, more can't erase
The ancient stain's dark mystery.

_________________________________________

"Sound", 1998

There is a perfect sound, somewhere
That lost the cringe of perfection
To ringing ears

It dwindles in the eyes watching
The last glimpse of sunset
Before it sleeps

This sound breaths somewhere
And many blind men know it
And so do the deaf

Some can not hear
Though it has poured upon them
Like rain from heaven

Beautiful rainbows of color
Have slapped them on the face
And they still stare

And some want nothing
Of something so true
Afraid of getting wet

But those who embrace the rains
With soaked-through open arms
Light shimmers off them
Makes rainbows in their hair

And there, the heart is open
Like a blood red rose to the Son
Washed in the showers ‘til dripping
Filth and oil puddles below

There in stillness it begins
A sound, a reverie, a symphony
Like the smoothing over
Of the wrinkles of a wet crumply leaf
And its pure stream rises to heaven
And shimmers like silver and gold water
Light dances within its newness
clean , pure
Sound
----------------

“What is Expected of the Man and the Woman”, 1998

A woman is expected to be the keys on the piano
Delicate and beautiful
Well taken care of
And in tune

Each crisp note a piece of her soul
The moods of her heart
So many notes
So many keys

A man is expected to be the hands which play the piano
He is in charge
He has strength

The sheet music is the window
Through which he sees her
They might start in F major
But she can change to f minor
Before he can read the notes
Her hidden power

He doesn’t always hear her
She often sings silent melodies
He can’t play

If I were a man
I would wish I was the piano
Knowing the secrets
Hidden freedoms
Where the unexpected
Is expected.

2002-2005

“A new poem for a new life”, 2002

Two whose feathers melted
While flying for the sun
As they fell, discovered
Beneath the sticky mess
They had grown
Wings
_________________________________

“You and I”, 2002

We used to speak in whispers
Upon new fallen snow
When there was just the two of us
And no place else to go.
We used to speak a secret tongue
And hushed in voices low
Tell where little tufts of spring
Hide underneath the snow
Back when the whole flat world was still
Beneath the blanket white
And there was only
You
And I
And what we thought was right.
_______________________________________________

“A year from now”, Fall 2002

A year from now
I’ll be ‘long-gone’
And you ’ll be ‘who-knows-where’

And that’s alright with me because
At this point I don’t care

We’ll draw a dotted line for now
And you’ll stay on your side

We’ll only meet in waking dreams
Now that my pillow’s dried
_________________________________________

“Open the window”, Fall 2002

I ran out of gas today
I lost my keys again
I drove on auto-pilot
To the place I used to live.

Then someone opened up the window
And I breathed new life
So, I’m not fumbling around in the dark
Looking for you anymore.
________________________________

“Just Stop”, 2002

Have you ever wanted
Everyone in the world
To just stop
Stop moving
And be still
For one minute
And look around
In silence
And stillness
And then maybe in waiting
We would realize
Who we are
_____________________
“Simple love”, 2002
I love
kitty paws on my windshield
I love
that you’re bigger and stronger than me
And butterflies on my paper towels
I love
Green and raspberry
And midnight blue
With a whole lotta stars
All peeping through
And love,

I love you
____________________

“Dear old oriental woman”, Spring 2002

Dear old oriental woman
How kindly you peer
Over the soft headed youth
Thinking pleasant things that curve
Your peeking smile

Oriental woman
With your bright orange-red
Thank you for brightening the room

You are an O’Keefe in a background
Of t-shirts and jeans

Thank you for coloring the future
With your lasting rays of sunset
___________________________
“Oh how good it feels”, Summer 2003

Oh how good it feels
Just to be
And not have to be
Anywhere but here
And not have to have
Anyone but me.

I feel like singing
With my heart
To myself
A song of peace
A song of reconciliation
And answering back
With my soul

“I accept”
_________________________
Fall 2004

I.
Autumn turns her shy side of cheek
Beckoningly,
And I
With leaves for fingers
Try my heart to grasp her meaning.
Rustling, she stirs her skirts
With sounds of silver
Threading leaves of gold
And her turning,
Turning,
The whole Earth with her
Glides deeply into time.

II.

The autumn leaves smother warm affection
to melt away green,
with the fire of their love.
(the lovers weep
Flooding the Earth
With hot, scattered tears
Which dance, and dry,
And are carried long away)
______________________________

“Of heat and brilliance”, Spring 2004

Where I come from
We have big skies
Supported at the base
By hugging arms
Of small green
Rolling hills, and
Larger
Purple
Mountains.
We have push-up lizards
On stones in the sun;
The shy ones peek though
Shadowed hollows
Where rock
Meets rock
And they kiss
Everlastingly,
In the shade
where the sun
Draws her line of heat and brilliance.
And they dance
In the shade,
Everlastingly.
_________________________________


“Held”, Spring 2004

Here I hold you, all around
As the dark hold the moon
through the long shadowed night
I carry you
I catch you,
fall on me

You are always in my arms
Fall
Fall to my heart
So wide , so deep, so near
So deep , so near, so wide
Slumber sweet ,
sleep in peace.

Let the beloved of God rest secure
For He shields him
All the night long

The one the Lord loves
Rests between his shoulders.
So wide, so deep, so near
So deep , so near, so wide
Slumber sweet ,
sleep in peace.
Let the beloved of the Lord
Rest secure
Between his shoulders,
evermore.
_______________________
“Beneath the Great Sky: a response”, Spring 2004

I’m only a speck, God
But I’m your speck
And even a glimmer can shine so bright
That it pierces the eyes with its all-pure light

Non-refracted
Un-distracted
Straight and narrow light

I’m only a speck, God
But I’m your speck
Shine upon me bright
While I walk through deep, dark night.

_____________________________________

“Reflection”, May 2005

In the reflection of your glossy face,
I can see the door.

Your smile lies,
By your shifting eyes
And itching feet,
And fire burns from under you.

I reach
To kiss your charred hand
You’re reaching for
Goodbye
_______________________________
“Return”, Spring 2005

When grace is gleaned
False ministering ended
By masterful love beyond
Power of pain
Our battlefield hearts
Return
To touch
Compassion
________________________________

“Year of Jubilee”, Spring 2005

When the land has no shadows
And the roses need no thorns

I’ll bear my heart wide
I’ll rend my heart open with joy

And drink of life with gulps and gulps
Gathering arms full of pleasure

All to you
To bring to your feet
In the year of jubilee

_________________________________________

2008-2009

“ Alone in a church at night”, 2008

I speak
To the audience of one
My words
Do not fall on deaf ears
I cry
And my tears are counted
My tears
Fall into bottles to be remembered
My hands are empty
But they clap
For they will be filled with treasure
My head is bare
But I look up
Because I will be crowned with garlands

Who is the giver of these gifts?
Who is the collector of these tears?
Who is worthy of my applause?
Could it be the Maker,
The maker of me?
The Maker of heaven and earth,
Of stars, sky and sea?

Yes, it is He.
How could it be?
_____________

Bits of song for a musical: "Intimate Dinner/Wining and dining", 2008

"Dining at home that sounds intimate:
salmon, I'll blacken it
capers and yam with it
Cajun style scallops
and dark leafy greens!!!
... with parsley"

"I've turned down friends for this,
especially Candice, that twit,
she is still a size four!

But when all’s said and done,
I've had two meals for one,
Just for me,
And Ben ,
And Jerry!"

"Some well meaning people
have told me that single is really
just closer to free!
...they all happen to be- married,
un-happy, with children, and rabbits
and other high maintenance additions
...like swing sets "

"maybe I'll order out-
but I'm too tall for Chinese,
Pizza sounds better,
they usually average 5'5"

___________________________________

“Love Comes Late”, 2009

Loves comes late
But not unwelcome
Love knocks soft
As footsteps answer
Love looks weak
From the strength of love
Moon winks soft by clouds above
Love lies down by love

___________________________
“Desert Song”, Summer 2009

Apathy is a desert in winter
love is a desert spring;
Waiting is wind,
desire, light.
The cold, uncaring night
gives birth to desert dawn.

The winter, the night, the wind will come
but births are worth their labor.
The fire, the light, the spring will come
to bring blessing and favor.

And all the while, moons rise and fall
and planets make their journeys;
The longing day gives nightly rest
to lingering sunset's cheek.

Love is the power that moves these heavens
and makes the earth
Desire spring
Desire light
Love is the mother that carries redemption;
Look, she has given you birth!
____________________________________________

“Harvest Picture”, Spring 2009

Silver sounding, waving wheat
Late harvest’s abundance
Flies through the wind
And we are full, as from
Loaves and fishes
And we are satisfied

________________________________________


“Water Falls”, 2009

Water
Falls
Trickling down
Dropping beneath the surface
Disappearing
Somewhere above
Rock bottom

Water bugs dance
Lightly
Cattails slow dance

The moon draws her path on the water
Up To her stony face
Cold and mysterious

Blurred charcoal clouds
Hide her
Veil
And lift
Playing a trick
For curious stars

They hum
And the wind blows circles
Upon the water

__________________

“Thrift Store Portrait”, 2009

Stuffy, floral scent
Straw hat with wisteria vines
Grandma in a thrift store
Grandma in her prime

Wrinkled pantie hose around her ankles
Wrinkled, saggy chin with freckles
Lip stick blotchy
Slipping dentures

Yet, her smile
Yes, her smile
Charms the masses
Warms the cold-hearted

And her laugh,
Yes, her laugh
Rings like a church bell
At a wedding

She is priceless
In a thrift store
She is Grandma
____________________________


“A Cat Haiku”, 2009

a basking cat
stomach stretching
stripes expanding
and then shrinking

(fluff flies in the breeze)

winking eyes
and just cleaned whiskers
fur that twitches
fur that shimmers

sitting in the sun
until the day is done

( she has had her fun)

_____________________________

“Retreat”, Spring 2009

Retreat! Away!
The call to office(1) is now!
Turn from your mind-map,
With its well beaten paths.
Find the new way
Over roads all covered in snow.

Take the stale images of yesterday’s thoughts,
And feast your eyes upon the virgin day.
Crawl your dreams out of the corners
And bring them too!
Leave your distorted headset
To stretch your capacity for silence.

Come and hear the crackling quiet
See white upon white
The warbling quiet
Feather upon feather
The plopping and dropping and shifting snow.

The whispering voice is heard among His own.
When His own comes away.
With an inch of white, He covers the world
And the invisible is outlined in draped lace:
Telephone wires, each dry leaf, rock.

Their surfaces sparkling: a covering of grace.
A sudden stream of sunlight
Ice drips with the promise of Spring.

(1) An office is a Benedictian Monk term of getting away to be with God.
__________________

2011-2012

Holy Spirit Haiku, Fall 2011
1.
Lord I feel your love for me
creep up upon my toes
and swell like the tide
up past my knees
and into my belly
and I laugh, because You've done it
and no other

2.
synergy with the Spirit of God
this being like no other
who makes life with breath
and space by stretching
He cannot be weighed or measured
by human instruments
His presence surrounds all that exists
even as His universe expands
His thoughts are continuous
His force impenetrable
and yet, He knows my name
and still, He knows my name.
_______________________________________________

“A lye-down by open window”, Fall 2011
Breeze tickles my face
Wind tickles the leaves
Of the large tree outside
And, impressionist music
Ebbs and flows
Between my conscious and subconscious
I am in a Renoir
And it settles, like soda bubbles in a glass
This moment of rejuvenation
The breath of my belly rises and falls
My hair comes out of its rubber band
And my back molds into the curve of my comforter
And all becomes a sweet blur
An embracing of all the goodness of rest
A momentary blur by the window
_______________________________________________

“My evening stroll”, Summer 2011

Water curves over the surface of the earth
Trickling down driveways
Lush greenery drinks and sprays mist in my path
Morning glories trumpet over a fence
Bougainvilleas pick up the dance of the breeze
While solider trees oversee the scene,
Taking mental notes for their nightly review.

And the distant mountains
Heavy with glory
Remind the land of heavenly wisdom,
Peace, and love.

My steps flip-flop along
And my thoughts finally slow to their rhythm.
Weights of the day are cast aside
in front of neighbors trashcans
some are recyclable, some are trash

Birds begin their lullabies
while blue houses turn purple-grey
Lights hang and cast their glow on a simpler world
A world with longer shadows, slower tempos,
a world at rest, for now.
___________________________________

“Awakening”, Spring 2011

An answered prayer
Feels like falling in love
Breathing and walking
And walking and breathing
At my favorite time of day
Is like chocolate on my tongue
The scent of roses from neighbors' yards
The gentle warble of men talking under open garages
Lights turning on
To cast slight shadows of security
That increase
With the dusk's finale
Of pinks and purples
Soldier trees stand at attention
Cars are at rest
Aromas from kitchens mingle
With smells from gardens and lawn
Lights are spotted across a garden
As if announcing a show tonight
Featuring: Crickets! Live!
And the trickling water and leaves maneuver down the curb
In an undisturbed dawdle
Houses settle in the shadows
Trees pull their shades and flowers shut their eyes
But my heart beats
Loud
Triumphant
Triumphant!
For God has heard my cry
And my spirit awakens like a nocturnal creature
To soar above these gardens, lawns, and curbs into destiny's newness
And to fill my weary heart
Full
Of grander hopes and prayers
So much bigger than before

Thought I walk now in darkness
So I manifest great light
Though I manifest great light
Still, the expansion of dawn will out-do me
For who knows the glorious things the Lord has in store for those he loves?

O come great glorious morning!
O come great glorious Son!
_________________________________

“Beethoven's Modern Spring Break”, inspired by Sonata No. 5 in F major, Opus 24 (Spring Violin Sonata) Spring 2012

Give me a room somewhere
With big bay windows
On at least a second story
That I might see out:
The movement of the crowds,
Or traffic, wind and trees.

Set a baby grand upon a rug on hardwood floors,
Scatter fresh, green plants,
Couches, pillows, a cat
Fill the fridge and pay the electric
And I’d compose for weeks
Out of the developing themes of my heart:
The exposition of my wanderings,
The return of haunting motives from darker days,
Undeveloped.

And the variations of buried hopes from former springs
Would take root to flourish, at last!
A new Eden from former devastations
And from the imaginations of my flying spirit: abundant journeys…

All I’d ask is that you kindly leave
The wall clock’s dying battery
And if at 11:11 it rests
That I might be given liberty
To remain so enchanted
And be reminded of nothing less
Than music

More 2012

GoldenGate Bridge 2011
"Chrysopylae"(Golden Gate):A song for Choir

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A golden reach
A dream to unite
To connect that
Which was separated
6,700 ft apart
The vision of towers, cables
Construction, precision
Was deemed: impossible.
But dreams will rise
And reach their mark
As sure as a reaching hand
Grasps another: a bond of life
Reaching cables, tremendous towers
Suspended in air,
Bound by forces unchanging
Crowned with layers upon layers of
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My hands in front; A Dance, Spring 2012


This narrow path to life involves
Me reaching out my hands in front
In the dark
And feeling for his nail-pierced ones
To lead me inch by inch
Til fear, beating in my blood,
Flies, finally, out the trap door
Grace fashioned
Out of the emptiness
That used to flood my heart.
So, I grasp those arms
With desperate thankfulness
And I'm swept up,
First in the kind of embrace
That only ends in more love
And then in a dance
That never will end
Even if the music stopped
Even if each star fell from the heavens
For the best kind of love
Is fear chasing love
Love and I- we will keep dancing.


Summer Wind Poem 2012, Inspired by Hammock


Easy, Breezy, Bountiful:
Streams of winds in trees
Swarms of acoustical swirls in the air
Sound like grass skirts on wild women
Twirling with rain sticks

The wide-eyed winds
Collect themselves
For a crescendo of rejuvenation
And then silence,
Like lovers who have exhausted
Their love-making
And exhaled ecstasy
To the four winds

And all the while
Light's rich embers
Burn
Each bending tree
With brilliant, cascading color
Rushing through each leaf
Like liquid amber
While the intensity of
Sapphire blue
Backdrops this dance
With so handsome a
Reverence
That the sinking sun
Settles finally
Her resonant song

And Dusk begins her low hum
To the sounds of these
Grass skirts and lovers
She runs her fingers
Through each tree, bush and flower
Til night's canopy
Envelopes each desire
And carries her away
On the wings
Of the winds

________________________

Another Wind Poem, June, 2012


Wordless winds of adoration
Trees of luscious exhalation
Stream
Over a semi-conscious earth
A world at rest from labor
The ebb and flow
A breath

With arms full of gladness
Branches sway
And allow the invisible rivers
To ravish them

Green and blue grasses
Shiver with excitement below
While black birds dart
Through lightening fast currents

But my hammock sways gently
And my eyes wink carelessly
As I watch
My harvest cloths dry on the line,
Blowing arms and legs in the breeze,
Singing:

"To everything there is a season,
And a time to every purpose under the heaven"

________________________________


Three Words- Fall 2012

Three words made
Three earthquakes
In the four chambers
Of my heart
And in the rapture of each aftershock
I lye upon my bed
With galaxy in hand
Unable to form word or thought
Breathing unmetered patterns
Of ecstatic air
My poet’s words resounding
Over and over
As a rolling tide
And I am capsized by his passion
And I am drown under his verse
For three words have tied me
To his vigorous heart
And I cannot respond
For I have sunk deep beneath the waves
Of a love more true than I have ever known
Of a love that has captured my heart
_________________________

My thoughts are crowded
And I go in different directions
Like cross-streets of New York
In rush hour traffic
But my feelings are buried
As an anchor beneath the waves
And I cannot distinguish their cry
From the choppy current
I have a memory of happiness
In a locket hanging on my heart
A picture of us holding hands
But it will not open
Adonai I cry, I have wronged you?
How can the crooked be made straight?
____________________________________

New poem: A Song of Resilience, inspired by Madama Buttterfly 2012

A Song of Resilience

Resilience resounds in my spirit
Like the tide crashing in succession
Against the shore:
Quanto cielo, quanto fior!
And my joy resembles
The fourth of July sparkling
Atop a valley of vision.

Who can stand against the giants,
Who seem fashioned For my personal demise?
Who can weather the hurricane
And avalanche that come
When one feels weakest?
No one can stand and no one can weather

And yet I look at the colors of my garden
And the health of the vines and see
That the favor of grace has kept my seed
For being choked, stolen, or eaten
And my Great Protector has been my shield
Has been my re-newer,
Has been my help

I feast my thankful eyes upon
The results of His faithful intervention
The golden flowers ripening in the sun,
The warm winds swirling through
New fruit budding in strong trees...

There is nothing my hand alone could have fashioned
That could have added a hue of color
A degree of growth,
Any amount of goodness.

To you be the glory and the power
Forever and ever, Amen!
Let us walk in our garden
In the cool of the day
And rejoice:

Volgi te mira le cose che ti son care!
__________________________________________

2014

Lisa's Song: For Soprano, Flue, Cello , and Piano An Art Song, 2014

What would it look like to be
What would it be like to be
Normal, normal for me
I mean without the highs and lows
All of those high and lows...
When I think of "normal", I think if...
Just barely alive
If I'm really honest
I don't like the idea
Of being numb
Am I just addicted to climbing the ladder
and jumping off again and again and again?
Maybe I'm wrong about "stable"...
"normal" for me
Maybe boring is a blank canvas to paint on
Wouldn't I like a blank page to build on..
Slowly
A mosaic atop a canvas
That was boring
But isn't anymore!
_____________________

Of myself and of Avraham, 2014

Let me remove my armor a moment
Hang each mask, costume, and prerequisite
And sit naked before you
As when, bathed in the blood of my mother,
Novel expectation was all there was
An untainted cry bursting with new song
Was my only contribution
Let me , from this place, begin
To acknowledge your mystery and approach wisdom
And suspend my former nature in your beautiful enigma
Would I then feel adequate?
Would I then accept my own heart?
Any yet, the vibrations are not true
Without each word I spoke wrongly
Each sordid, evil, despicable thought and deed
That played it's melody upon my heart
These years since it's first melody
Though I have thought to cover each with
Beauty, light, and love
I fail to posses enough
And yet you knew before you formed
The swirling chaos of space
And set evil within the bounds of time
That your great melody of Life
Would teach my very being a finer newness
Than the virgin promise of my first cry
For even as I am, I breathed eternity
When from slumber I rose to your song of grace.