Fallen:

leaves litter the ground

like the books spread across my desk

cluttering the streets and the lawns

like the trees are trying to tell us something

like these notes are bound to help me

remember something that I've lost

could it be that our lives are echoes

riding carelessly (or meaningfully)

on the late-Autumn wind?

are our lives meant to be

nothing more than a slight

(or definite) chill 

surging through the air

like a current pulling back the sea

or slowly washing over everything?

frantically written messages

scrawled across pages and pages

desperately trying to win a war

that's been fought for generations

convinced that the trees

are trying to tell us something

if I were falling helplessly

twirling in the late-Autumn wind

would you stop and watch me fall?

our scarfs, our jackets

our sweaters

are subtle reminders

of the mysteries

locked away

with the colors of the season

if you came across me

laying poignantly on the lawn

would you sit and wait with me?

nights spent in libraries

tracing out histories

convinced that the trees

are trying to tell us something

convinced that I can find

something that I've lost

wading through streets

filled with dried leaves

like fallen soldiers

days getting shorter

nights getting colder

and cozy homes awaiting

our safe return

kept safe by our scarfs

and our jackets

if you stepped on me

would you savor the sound? 

Jimmy:

Jimmy 
eats his cereal
cold and dry
spooning it in
by the mouthful

soggy cereal
never hurt a soul
but Jimmy likes
his cereal
dry and cold

Sarah:

sarah
has a boyfriend
with shiny teeth
and a big
big smile
and he's
everything
she thought
she wanted
he's clever
and smart
and funny
and charming
and buys
her flowers
and diamond rings
and someday
they'll grow up
and they'll
get married
and live
happily after
forever
and ever

Fish:

she was 
the fish
that got
away

she cut
herself free

and I
watched
as she 
swam
so close
to the shore

she 
belonged
in the water

where she
could breath

but for
those few
moments
she had 
her eyes
on me

while
she swam
by the shore

without
a hook
in her 
mouth

without
a line
pulling
her in

she 
was free

then
she turned

she swam
from the shore

along the surface
of the mountain lake
down the stream
down the river

all the way
to the sea

Puzzles:

there is a puzzle

in your eyes

with pieces

spread

chaotically

across the tabletop

your words

slowly forming

a connect the dots

that flickers

like the stars

hung in the heavens

with intentions

bound by riddles

whose solutions

change 

according

to the weather

amid 

color coded

questions

and responses

rehearsed

from self inflicted

failures

there is a puzzle

in your eyes

with pieces

spread

chaotically 

across the tabletop

and though

you've destroyed

the box

and hidden

all but the bluest

of the pieces

I still see

everything

perfectly

Ponies:

she asked

Santa

for a pony

because

she thought

little girls

were

supposed to

Christmas

morning

came

the pony

came

she could

hardly

contain

herself

she was

so happy

she probably

could have

cried

sure

she asked

Santa

for a pony

but she

didn't really

expect

a pony

she didn't

have

any pony

food

or bedding

or a shovel

to shovel

pony poop

with

she didn't

have

a barn

to put

a pony

in

or a brush

to brush

the pony's

fur

'don't

get me

wrong'

she told

Santa

in her

new

letter

'I really

wanted

the pony

and I really

liked

the pony

but

I was

wondering

could you

maybe

take it back

because

even though

I wanted

a pony

I don't really

need

a pony

and I certainly

don't know

what to do

with a pony

now

that I've got

one'

but

Santa

can't take

presents

back

it's not

part of

his magic

he can give

and give

and give

and give

but Santa

can't

ungive

a gift

Time:

time drifts by like a gentle summer's breeze whispering to everybody that everything is changing meandering down the streets across the fields and through the woods twisting and rolling and quietly humming to itself its song goes something like this: 'I am your one true enemy and I am your only friend only I will forgive your debts only I will kill you I am the only one who will ever, really, love you' yet, time is doomed to wander the earth all alone and as each summer fades he brings the chill of another fall and as everything changes he is constantly reminded that he will always be the same the source of everyone's joy the cause of everyone's pain