The Eclipse

It was called a kiva
a circle of carefully
placed stones that was
now but a desert artifact 
for wondering minds to pause
and reflect of those who long
ago stacked one heavy stone
atop another in what must
have been a quest to quell
fears of the unknown
and if not making the mysteries
known
then creating an answer that would
prove to work for some
and the others just
had to embrace their fears
until the moon passed
from the face of the sun
and the light of day
would shine 
and fears no more
as sun light 
would illuminate 
what the eclipse
had hid.

Morning Broke Again

Morning broke again
and the peek of sunlight
chased ever longer shadows
across the desert floor
a Joshua tree's shade stretched
for what seemed a mile
and distant mountains too
cast longer shadows still
before their slow and long retreat 
until at exactly high noon 
the geometry of darken ground
disappeared for but a moment
and how long ago
did minds that thought
discovered what was 
always there
mathematics
waiting to be discovered
to measure mountains too
with foot against foot
counting long shadows
and short ones too
some minds calculating
while others simply wondered
which came first
the math 
or the mind?

The Poetry Book

It was a thin book of poems 
that a long ago librarian 
thought an excellent addition 
to the collection 
even though she opened 
the newly arrived book but once 
before dipping her crow quill pen 
into the special white ink 
to pen a Dewey decimal eight one one 
to the thin spine 
that tried her patience
that sultry summer afternoon
in July of nineteen forty one
then the library card 
and envelope typed and glued 
inside the cover
and later the poems were squeezed
between two larger books
and then forgotten
and for over half a century 
before finally touched again 
by human hands 
and then dropped into a cardboard box
which was later stacked 
among the others in a basement
to await 
an annual used book sale
although the poems
were still 
unused.

Invisible Thoughts

Have you ever seen a thought
with your own eyes
before it escapes
and becomes
an idea
that makes
you blink?

In Common

But for the circumstance
of sunlight beaming across
the ground at sunrise
the forever hidden fossil
would remain lost
but now cast an eerie shadow
that I happened to see
and later the anthropologist
said it was one of us
from so long ago
that if I were to meet
this former soul
today
that all we'd have
in common
would be some older
soul that walked too
and watched the same
sun rise each morning
and breathed the same air
and most likely
enjoyed
barbecue.

Taking Flight

The stream runs swift  
as I step   
atop the first large rock  
of many   
that lead across   
the swirling water  
like   
a tightrope artist   
my arms outstretched   
tremble  
at each step  
the rushing current  
reminding me   
of   
a false step  
yet half across  
a final dash  
no time to tremble  
I leap to ground  
only   
to find  
right behind  
my son   
balancing  
on the last stone  
camera   
in hand  
above the whirl  
snapping a shot  
of a deer  
now no longer near  
that I missed  
in my haste  
but later saw  
startled  
in the photograph  
of a leaping man  
outstretched arms  
as in flight  
the deer   
staring   
at the farfetched   
sight.  

Cycle -- Take 2

Some times
I find myself
some where
on the straight line
of time
always trying to stand
half way
between past and future
yet my mind rebels
and never seems to find
the exact middle
tittering and tottering
my thoughts go
tug at the past
grab for the future
I hold both
and in that brief moment
I realize
it is a cycle
all the time.

Ode to Jimmie Rodgers

Out the train window
the desert in the fading light
rushes past as I rock and roll
to steel wheels hanging tight
to steel rails holding to wood ties
from trees long ago felled
and lumberjacks no more
carry axes or manhandle
whipsaws in forests
and darkness falls
the whistle blows
to warn forgetful men
and women
that when the stars shine bright
trains know no other way
than straight and fast
rocking and rolling
to long gone hillbillies
who once sang songs
that are
now but memories
to old men
staring into
the dark
desert night.

4/28/12