Layover

Waiting for
The plane
To board
In Denver
I mused about
The visit with
My sister
An airline rep
Stepped up
For an
Announcement
We all perked up
Oh no, delays?
We have here
A soldier
Just come back
From Iraq
To accompany
The body of
His comrade
Could someone spare
A first class seat
And two stepped
Smartly forward
It causes chills
To write this
As it did before
When I watched
The flag draped
Cargo as
They loaded it below

Oh Django

I heard you again today
Between news stories, and
Instantly I recognized
Your loving touch
That always goes
Straight to my core
A chance meeting
And one that
I cherish each time
That sweet silken tone
Of your long slender fingers
On those strings
Teasing that sound from
A plain wooden shell
It dances to my ear
Like the taste of
A late summer peach
Flows over the back
Of my tongue
And I am there
At Club Le Hot
In your dark
Exotic presence

"Happiness is a quality of mind
It is something we possess within
If we do not have it within,
Nothing outside can give it to us,"

Paramananda

Morning Coffee

As I sit
With morning coffee
The calm and peace
Of my existence
Is disrupted by
The madness of
Murdered children
Scattered body parts
And dead soldiers
Juxtaposed with
Little turtles
Swimming lazily
And Coltrane in the air
Thoughts of the people
Whose lives are
Shattered by
The madness
Will they ever
Find a way back
To any kind of peace
Or pleasure
In a morning reverie

The golf game continues
The turtles still feed
Geckos scuttle beneath the leaves
Birds nest with their young
And I finish my coffee