10.26.20 A Halloween Wish

Once upon the mid of Autumn

when the leaves are crisp and bright

step by stomp and twirl by creeping

screams and giggles filled the night

And the streets were filled with wonder

creatures from each walk of life …

some enchanting, some were haunting,

some brought laughter, others strife

Whether fair and dainty maiden

or a bold and ghastly ghost

when feathered, furred, or filled with scales

each deserves what they wish most

When the stars begin their winking

and the wind unfurls its breeze

moonbeams with their shadows dancing

sway and hush among the trees

This is the extent of magic

wrapped in spirits present, past

and the hope of all the dreamers

is that time will not move fast

Let this night be one of many

where pretend can dwell and play

make-believe and just imagine

are invited here to stay

Once upon the mid of Autumn

when the leaves are crisp and bright

let them stay like this forever

believing with their hearts, not sight

10/18/20 Mother Nature’s Curtain Call

Fall is Mother Nature’s curtain call
As Summer is a vibrant imprint of Spring’s entrance
Fall is Summer’s hushed echo
a crescendo of excess color
an overspill of emotion
a symphony of beauty so strong
it is almost painful to look at
Twirling in muted tones …
in the bittersweetness only an exit knows,
Fall arrives only as an in-between can –
as swift as a skipped heartbeat
as sweet as an almost-kiss
Blushing in tides of burnt persimmon, sugared cranberries, and dusted cinnamon her performance rises on winds of change
and promises an audience stunned to silence
at the stillness of coming Winter
Enamel glazed branches will applaud her long after the white curtain has fallen 

Pressed leaves in thick books will recall her essence
And the memory of her spirit will rest within the golden stars
just waiting to be wished on when warm nights with cool breezes return With a last turn,
with a final bow,
she leaves just as lovely as she came
Elegant and endless in the land of in-between 

10.8.20 Somedays: A Tribute to Those Living with Chronic Illness

Somedays

Somedays are dangerous things they tease and taunt
and ease and haunt
the imperfections of our current state of being

of wanting
of waiting
And on days like that …
the Somedays
when the magic of stardust and wishes call
when the perfection of heaven echoes in the loves we lost
when the sea and the sky brim at a capacity greater than any earthly ambition my heart aches with a craving I can’t satisfy
at the freedom I see
but don’t have
at the wonders of when
but not yet
at the whims I imagine
but can’t
make
real
Some days,
when Someday comes
my skin feels too tight
and my tears fall just right
and living
is heavier
than it seems it should have the right to ever be
because beauty is in the eye of the beheld
and I wish to be held
by something lighter
than gravity
Someday