St. Petersburg Zoo

The monkey cackles from the tree tops,
at the crowd waiting below, like in a zoo,
but what a zoo this is without the walls
and free to roam the suburbs of St. Pete,
as he’s done happily for months.
Every now and then, just for him, a show.
Below, Moms and Dads and kids
and closer by the guys and gals with bright
yellow signs on dark blue jackets,
with guns of sleepy shots meant for the
elusive Rhesus in the trees .
(They are the funniest of all,
so full of their own importance).
Every monkey should have
the pleasure of such a zoo.

No Guarantee

No Guarantee

I watched carefully,
Every move he made,
This oafish fiend
Manning the register,
Saw him carelessly toss
A meticulously selected
Bartlett pear in the bag,
Just as he picked up
The can of tomato sauce.
Rabbit quick, I rescued
My treasure, gently placing
It atop the spinach
In the other bag.
How did it happen
That my perfect pear,
Lovely freckled yellow,
Light blush on the hips,
Come home with a cruel
Gash across it’s belly?

A Prayer for Bettina Joseph

Five years old looks eighty in Haiti
A scratch becomes a death sentence.
A budget crunch in the land
Of plenty of milk and honey.
No money for nonessentials
As flights to hospitals,
Only for orphans already paid for.
Have mercy on the souls of those
Not saved by televised concerts,
Texted dollars and PTA cookie drives.

Early Morning Haiku

My fat turtle moon

Canopy of dancing light

Greet the soft blue dawn.

Wisdom of Rain

This morning before dawn

I listened to a conversation

Of the rain that said to me,

No matter what you people do

In what ever name you know me by,

How ever many die in that name,

The sound of rain falling

From this laurel tree will not change.
　
　
　

The Poet/ for Pablo Neruda

Making love with words
Bread for the soul flows
From pockets of love
A river of stars in the sky
Earthly bodies could do no justice
To the way every syllable caresses
Pulses through the senses

The moon of your mouth
Spills silver throughout
This small universe
One knows without knowing
Senses without feeling
The deepest river of all
Courses through the canyons
Of life's essence..

The Alchemist

　
If on a winter’s night

I came upon you

Lying in the snow

Heart turned to stone.

I’d take you to my breast

Brush snow

From the brow

Creased by care

Kiss your mouth

Ignite the fire melt

Your frozen heart

To beat in synchrony

With mine.