Shapes in the Clouds:

all this time

I’ve been 

afraid

that I was wrong

that you

were just

a change

in the wind

that we

were just

shapes

in the clouds

Tangled:

somehow

you got tangled up

a line

disoriented

askew

looped around

itself

you let someone

pull some strings

you even tugged at a few

now 

your tangle

is all tied up

knots

pulled tight

throughout

and you will likely

never know

for sure

who's hands

are most at fault

a mess of threads

stuffed inside

your heart

out of sight

but never

out of mind

distracted

guarded

and

a bit ashamed

afraid you've

just about

run out of time

your hands

your perfect hands

tracing strands

and picking

at knots

trying to undo 

the damage

racing against

a silent

clock

but that thread

that perfect thread

bunched

tied

knotted

and disheveled

shines bright as day

in the most pleasant hue

its color all that ever

mattered

In the Midwest Twilight:

in between these hills

that stretch out

like a sea

of dirt and leaves

in the valleys

and creek bottoms

in the twilight

nestled neatly

among these trees

there is a magic

lighting

lightning bugs

so they

can speak

in Morse code

to the stars

carrying

the crickets'

serenade

to the moon

ushering

rabbits

safely

from shadow

to shadow

as foxes watch

calmly in the distance

while I

pass by

in the dusk

in the woods

between these hills

outside my front door

Reverse Memories:

when I think of you

I see Thanksgiving dinners

with your family

surrounded by

more food then we

could ever hope to eat

Christmas mornings 

and afternoons

spent leisurely

enjoying the colors

of decorations

and used wrapping paper

torn, wadded 

scattered across

the living room floor

the smells of potpourri

candles

breakfast

and dinner

blending together

with lights lit

for one last time

before they're put away

disgraced

after a week of disuse

Halloween movies in the dark

sitting next to each other

laughing

because it's better than admitting

that we still find children's Halloween movies

unsettling

as we sit a little closer

waiting for the next round of

trick-or-treaters to come to the door

so we can admire their

aspirations, manifested

in costume

on this, the night when they

can become anything

rewarding their

ingenuity

with

compliments and candy

your smile

beaming

as you sit in the pews

wearing your Easter dress

looking forward to the impending

warmth of summer

and to a more immediate

Easter dinner

us 

on Presidents Day

trying to decide
how to spend
our

Presidents Day

Fourth of Julys

Memorial Days

New Years

when I think of you

I see us

together

for all the times

when people choose

people most carefully

together

on holidays

in all of these

memories
in reverse

Bound:

tying these 

feelings to words

is 

the only way I know

to make them 

real

to make them 

tangible

to make them

last

Tim and the Rain on the Glass:

Tim watches the rain
slowly gathering
on the glass

rivers
waterfalls
errant splotches

pooling
gradually

then ebbing
in their own
particularly
way

before another
flood breaks
across the window pane

the lights of passing cars
racing across the fractured sea
scattering copies of themselves
caught for this moment
in a kaleidoscope of tears

muted colors filling the spaces
with a palette of grays and greens

Tim is mesmerized

as he tries
to capture
the vignette

to grasp the way
the lights
and colors
are transformed
by the
rain

Tim breathes in slowly

listening to the drops
hit the glass

delicately drumming
hypnotic
doldrums

sight and sound
flowing
through time

until
Tim decides
to go watch TV

Confounded:

we are isses
thinging

waves
mattering

light
lightly
lighting

all confounded in time