Piecemeal overtures 

of peace soaked in blood and gore

carry little weight 

The crow cawed from its

throne at the crest of the roof 

taunting all below 

The day so gray and

snowy resembled a black 

and white photograph

Titter and twaddle 

and dodder about and say

nothing with a shout

Wake and wake again

to disect little details 

of conversations 

Snap dragons not the 

flower but us two as the 

snow rises higher  

Sometimes I add things 

to my list I've accomplished 

just to scratch them off 

Roaming far afield 

I found a copse where I lay

and dreamed of my home 

The ice shifts and grinds

shapeshifting on its journey 

downriver to death 

The poet's dying

breath is a whispered stanza

from an ode half-done  

She breathed in the night

air so icy thanking God

she had a warm home

Inward we go deep and 

deeper still while the answer 

lies out there somewhere 

Breath pulses in the 

whiteout air as swirling snow

dances just for me 

They said the world was 

my oyster but didn't warn

of the many risks 

 

The sound of your voice

has faded from my mind but 

your words still linger

Is it too much to 

ask for them to have a road

to Damascus change?

Don't take the bait or

a bite of the apple just

smirk and keep going 

Rising and rising 

you see the world in a new 

way before the fall  

Push against the doors

of the mind and body and 

soul while you still can

Let love snuffle your

heart like a pig rooting in

the dirt for truffles 

When the everyday 

becomes rote you'll have to mine

memory for art

Champ i on the bit 

of luck that i chew and chew 

hoping to prosper   

The snow clung to the 

branches with the boldness

of impudent imps

The strictures of the 

form shape the end result so

you'll just have to deal 

Twisting alleyways 

and split-second decisions

led me here to you

Toodeloo to you 

and me too as we push our 

burning raft to sea 

Awaiting the storm 

gnawed nerves worse than the raging

wind and snow here now  

 

I slipped on the ring 

my father once wore and felt 

the weight of ages 

A broken record 

and a dead watch have become 

my greatest heroes 

You deniers of 

your own senses will soon 

blindly plummet down 

Afterparty blues 

and a mental hangover

not from booze but life