Libby

Libby told me she knows the way to make them all smile
I think she really does 'cause they flock to her everywhere
Clever innuendos and brief almost-touches
I never see her do anything as much as
Bat an eye...even in the bright sunbeams
Where the best of us catch a speck of dust now and then

Tears

See them alone
I've watched them talk across the gap
They whisper close
Conspiring against my deepest will
Smarter than me
They quickly react
Found in nowhere
Some small part of you is sensed
They set free
I fall like a heart from a chain
As their salty pools gather.............drop

For Fear

Saw you once
Saw you twice
Saw you in a tortured eye
Glinted fast
You blocked the sun
I had to run
I had to run

Over my back
Swiveled my head
Saw you cut another instead
Faster now
Never done
I had to run
I had to run

Swift of foot
Don't look back
Carry me away from an attack
Convincing you
You're not the one
I had to run
I had to run

Slower now
Mind caught up
Drink deep from this cup
You'd be lost
If there were none
You have to run
You have to run

What are you
Without life
A hollow cloud with a black knife
You dole out strife
And think you've won
You have to run
You have to run

Chase me now
Chase us all
Believers aren't afraid of a fall
Dutiful race
Your only fun
You have to run
You have to run

To His Own

Count them all but one voice
And leave him to his own
If he can't mingle
Must be single
Let him sing alone

Line them horizontally
And give them daisy chains
If he rebels them
Simply expel him
Until only he remains

Give them a frigid drink
And let their voices die
If he still shouts
Quickly push him out
Never ask him why

Hand them shovels of silence
And lead them to the ground
When they are done
The bleeding sun
Finds him not around

Push them into earthen beds
And let their bones rejoice
For while they decay
He travels the day
To each his own choice

It Must Be

It must be fear
the cousin of pain
To make her run through a dark parking lot
It must be shame
that stalks in the night
For her to hope she'll be caught

It must be love
the cousin of hate
To make him chase her through the day
It must be fate
alone in the night
That keeps them only seconds away

Request

Can't recall a single thing
A carol for my heart to sing
Bringing to me comforts
From your attitude of need

Do not trust a syllable
That escapes when my head is full
Blistering me in this time
Without a space to breathe

Is it fair to call a truce
Escape these trappings of youth
Jump across this valley
Only to drown in sand

Does it reflect on my wit
If I feel I'd love to quit
You're asking me to do things, Lord,
That I do not think I can

How can your words
ring so true when you've
Never met me
Never seen me

When did you look
into my secret book
Never asked me
Never saw me

I only gazed at
your picture inside
Staring at me
Looking for me

You've saved
every tear I cried
Fallen from me
Given by me

Do you pierce
every brain
Or only me
Only me

Hey, you’ve disappeared on me again.
It’s getting hard to tell people we’re friends.
I’ve said it, said it all before.
I don’t love you less,
I miss you more,
But I don’t enjoy trying to pretend
That I wouldn’t love to see this play end.
Or, write a new act and start again
‘Cause it seems you’ve disappeared on me again.

It’s been so long since you’ve walked down this lane.
You may not notice that I haven’t changed.
Has it been days, months, a year?
I gave you my heart,
Wiped up your tears,
Now cobwebs hang in the frame.
Sunny skies or rain, it’s all the same.
I’m gathering dust with the window pane
‘Cause it’s been so long since you’ve walked down this lane.

I really wish I could get this off my chest.
We both know in the end it’s for the best.
Are you afraid, scared to try?
To make the effort?
To let yourself cry?
You know, at first it’ll be a mess
With so much to share, to say, to confess.
But, it’s worth it – our friendship is blessed.
I really wish I could get this off my chest.

Unburden

Unburden

Do you have a place to put this?
Can I set it down for a bit?
My fingers are cramping on the side.
It’s taller than I thought, and much too wide,
But I’ve carried it all this time –
Even when that corner began to unwind.

Can you help me rest my aching arms?
I may do myself some real harm.
I can’t feel my shoulders anymore.
It’s so large, I can’t see the floor.
I wouldn’t drop it to answer the phone,
And most of my friends have left me alone.

I’ve given up finding a good shelf.
No one has offered the right help.
Everyone keeps saying, “Lay it down,”
But there isn’t any space around.
Maybe I’ll just hang onto it.
After so long, it seems silly to quit.

But I wonder, I admit,
How my life would change to get rid of it.
Finally to rest, get some real sleep,
Take a breath, long and deep.
I wonder how that freedom would feel –
To release this and gain the strength to kneel?

Lullaby

I published this over 10 years ago (YIKES!!! Old lady alert!) in the EBBING TIDE Poetry and Prose, Volume 8. In grad school, it was pounded into our heads that we should send out our pieces, en masse, and never expect to be published. We were a tiny school of fish in an ocean. So, when I was published in this quarterly Minnesota publication, I was elated. Oh, the joy of being published and receiving no money, only one copy as my prize. I don't know if I've ever shown this to my parents; and, a 2nd copy cost a whopping $6, so clearly in my poor college days I couldn't have afforded it :) I am pleasantly surprised I still have this copy.

LULLABY

I heard a lullaby tonight
Too soft and sweet to be mine
I think I've heard it
Once before,
Falling
Tripping through the trees
But away in the night
It always flew

Tonight it played strong, loud
Church bells and wind chimes
Someone played it
Once before,
Gently
Quietly through my heart
But stronger than night
There's always You