Thanksgiving rengay with my dad

Thanksgiving dinner
interrupted by
first snowfall

Ice cold flakes
dissolve on the window

distracted relatives—
sneaking a sip
of Grandma's Bacardi

realizing my daughter
drinks

catching his eye
I do my best
adorable smile

snow blanket sunset
icy hot patch

The Baby-Sitter Syndrome

Love in the making
A infatuation
On first sight

I don't feel
The same way

I follow your shadow
Caress your thought
And grasp at our dreams

Restraining order
And pepper spray
Is all you remind me of

I write you poetry
In my Disney notebook
You are just a child

And I, your babysitter
It will never work out

Hard Hearts

cross hanging
from the rearview mirror.
he flips a girl
the bird

the cold ices another heart
the darkness of depth unfathomable

a dropped note—
noticed,
and abandoned

curiousity broken
frozen bereft

not a glance
as he walks out the door—
his baby girl's arms outstretched

a gilded cross about her throat
doesn't ease the loneliness

"Artificial Light"

acid rain
wears away
the stone buddha

artificial light falls
on yellowed pages

live girls!
flickering sign reflects
off the church window

rippling words
dead leaves fly
through manicured gardens

crack of dawn
over the grey horizon

wise old owl
a flickering shadow
disappears with the night

Rengay:

Vise-like grip,
I finally meet
her father

a hunting rifle
on his back

first day
of working
the night shift

I calmly check
His pulse

Funeral procession
walks on a carpet
of red leaves

the folded flag
sits over his heart

Rengay with my Mom

outside looking in
troubled soul
searching for light

his happiness
his booze

no surprise
empty beer bottles
he's a goner

party dead
still
tipping the bottles

his actions hurt,
please stop, Daddy

denial drawn on his face
can't stop
death.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Finals

desk top christmas tree
struggling to stay standing
in the dorm

sweet sugary scents
decorate nostrils the of sleep deprived students

oil pooling in the rug
crack a window to let in
the freezing wind

the sprawled students shiver
procrastination's beckon becomes so tempting
the clock ticks past another hour

festive music chases
the paper from the mind

Christmas calls with a sweet song
as memories from a childhood lost flurry collegiate minds
the wind moans as silence invades and light disappears

black ice
her lacquered lips taste
snowflakes

red snow
staining the sink

gnarled tree
trying to scrape my hands
clean

cracked skin
snagging on wool

cold fire
feeling the icy touch
of your feet

moonless night
your face darkens

iron bed
your mouth on mine
I stare at the clock

Sunlight

babbling brook—
otters napping
amongst the reeds

dandelion puff
blowing a wish

grandfather's watch
frozen in time
left on a weathered rock

kittens stretch
in a pool of light
on the windowsill

together we watch
lazy dragonflies

barefoot in the grass
I feel dew drops and
a summer breeze

Elephant in the Room

static on the radio
covers
the silence

we avoid the subject
like the plague

her hand grazes
my thigh—
a silent apology

the subject is dead
for now

her phone rings
mom checking in
again

a little white lie
avoids an argument