Autumn

The air cools down around me. Leaves fall in patterns while circling my ankles. It's Autumn and the water becomes darker and broods over the loss of summer.

The smell of wood fire is in the air at night and I bundle up against the cold. This beach community mourns the loss of the sea for the next four months and hunkers down for the oncoming winter.

The leaves start changing color, nothing like the intense colors I grew up with, but change nonetheless.

A Portrait of The Artist As a Young Woman

She pushed her long blonde hair aside and nervously fiddled with her rings
a small sigh escaped her lips. Startled, she blushed.
The older woman looked at her curiously. It was the kind of look
that would make anyone squirm.
The older woman broke the silence with a question:
"why are you here?"
The younger woman was at a loss for words. She
could feel them jumbling around in her brain
and worried she would make an even greater
mess of them once they reached her tongue.

She licked her lips and tried as best she could to get the words
out, straight and streamlined while the older woman
waited, a rock of curious patience. The younger woman
could see a growing amusement behind
her gray blue eyes.

The younger woman pondered the question asked of
her. It was a simple question with a not-so-simple
answer. She looked around the book filled room,
her eyes glancing off of framed diplomas.

The sun was setting and nodes of dust were visible
floating in from the window.
The younger woman realized she had no clue as to
why she was there. Life was so jumbled, a
jig saw puzzle where some of the pieces were missing.

She stammered an apology to the older woman
leaving the building and effectively leaving the program.
she knew a new adventure was on the horizon and
knew she's find the missing pieces somewhere out there.

flies of melbourne

the flies swarm the town.
one follows me for miles
trying to get into my eyes.
Oh, Melbourne!
your flies are going to be
the death of me.

I should walk with fly spray
and spray your tiny body
until you spasm and your
body twitches with its last
breath.

I've come to hate you
more than any other living
creature.
yes, hated.
so, keep buzzing around my head.
I dare you.
I now sleep with a
fly swatter.

oceans pull.

"what's the point of this?", she asks
"what's the reason for breathing
if i can't breathe under water?"

she muses on that thought,
mulls it over in her mind
and turns an eye to
the roiling sea
and wonders what it's like
to be
a silent graveyard
full of life,
a turning tide of
simplicity.

turning her back
on the swelling waves,
she lets the wind whip
her hair into knots.
they fall, heavy
against her back
and keep her anchored
to this earth.
the ocean pulls against
her feet
but she moves them out
of reach.

she gives one last look
to the unrelenting sea,
brushes her fingers across her lips.
the salt that lingers is a gift.
she blows a kiss that meets the wind
she watches it fall into the sea
as a wave flips up
and swallows it whole
it breaks the spell she's under.
turning her eyes, she walks
to higher ground.

The streets of our youth

I knew I’d walk these streets and make them mine
Lay claim in the cement.
My initials are written across the footpath
& my front door.
Remembering the first pizza at Bimbos and savoring the
Last.
The gathering of sadness in the oil
Changed to bittersweet on my tongue.
My mixed feeling about Melbourne
Felt like yesterday’s news.
We chose to recall the good times
And forgot the melancholy and lackluster
Events.
We edit our memories, our lives.
The memories somehow become much
More than they ever were, the stories
Grow and we feel yearning for
Those streets of our youth.

The old (wo)man and the sea

Lost in the riptide
Out into sea
Floating
Waiting
To be rescued.

Only, nothing comes
No boat, no search team
Just the infinite ocean
And you.
Just you.

It’s so vast
All of it
Seems to go on
And on
You know it will end.

Both your life and the sea.
The sea meets the shore,
You meet your maker.
But for now
You are one.

These Girls

These girls--you watch them, they slide with easy grace
They fold around corners and weave in and out of streets and alleyways
As if waiting to be discovered. Their hair shines, like a beacon.
But, they don’t seem to care.
They shrug their shoulders and look mildly amused at your passing thoughts. Their
Black aviator sunglasses reflect you looking at them, as you should.
As you should.

Alice Jumped

our seasons touch--
your fingers frozen from winter
brush against my Australian sunburn.
northern hemisphere meets
the other end of the world
where nothing makes sense,
and water flows the other direction.
alice is down the rabbit hole,
she didn’t fall
she chose to jump.

ryan adams

had this in my head all day. I changed a lyric:


Up here in the city feels like things are closing in
The sunsets just my light bulb burning out
I miss VIRGINIA and I miss my family
All the sweetest winds they blow across the south

youth in motion

Sometimes I miss
My youth
Long gangly limbs
Small hips
Smaller worries
Wishing to be older
To start life
Not realizing
Life is happening
As you sit
Yearning.

tongues in their place

people have been speakin' tongues in my head
oh, why did I get out of bed
oh, why did I get out of bed
walkin' on down the street
tappin' a beat
yeah, tappin' a beat

even the lyrics seem outta place
replacing tongues in their space
with tongues in their place
this may make me seen insane
but it's all just the same
if i'm going insane.

The Other Shoe

Watching the other shoe drop
Is quite the sight.
It teeters and totters
And finally falls

No one can ever seems
To catch it.
They just watch, dumbfounded
At how far it falls.

My Pink Tongue

My pink tongue
Is caught behind my teeth
My words unable to form.

I watch your eyes
Dart from side to side
Looking for a way out.

I never remember
Saying “forever” or
Even giving you a time frame.

Your eyes tell me otherwise.
I wish I could unglue my tongue
And tell you that you’re free to run.

29

8.28.09 29


You must know I still think about you
I know you think you hate me and think
I should take the blame on my small shoulders.
But it just doesn’t sit right. The blame isn’t
Used to my narrow shoulder blades.
It can’t find a niche. You don’t seem to understand
My body isn’t made to take your shallow words
And growing guilt.
My frame is like a dancers and I’ve danced around
Your steady blows for too long.
I never let myself feel grief for you,
For the death of our relationship.
But the ending was mine.
Once the blame slipped the rest of
The way off.
I left it sitting in a pile,
Deserted. and
I walked away.

Last Night

Last night you made me dinner.
You smiled at me as you slid
The green beans on my plate.
You used to love cooking for me
And today it’s become a chore.

Last night you wouldn’t let me go
You held me like you thought I’d run.
When dinner was over,
You surprised me with banana splits.
And today you left without saying good-bye.

Today I realized it’s been months since
Last night and that today
Has been a long time coming.
I ran away just like you thought
I would so many nights ago.

The Torch

When I realized it was over,
Really over, I think.
I put the torch I had for you
Away. But, not too far out of
Reach. It was in the closet next
To the umbrella I never use.
Right by the door where I could
Find it when I was blinded
By your smile, by your words.
Where I could reach when
My brain failed me again.

American Blues

For Nancy Kate.


American Blues. you hear them in the
Oddest places. Shoe stores,
Shopping malls & zoos.

They spill out of alley ways
Follow you in the liquor store
To cure what ails.

Especially in the liquor store.
It’s like Ella is following
You down the aisle.

Singing: “Baby, grab that Jack”
Reminding you to double up.
Her notes drifting, lingering,

flaunt & flair

I’m eating chips in bed
Not thinking bout
How life ain’t fair.
Life is anything
But.
But, it’s got flaunt
And flair.
It twirls about
Right before you.
Taunting and taming
You and your lofty
Dreams.

waiting, always

I grit my teeth &
Grind my feet into
The ground
And smile
Like it was always
Your idea.

Please & Thank You,
Yes, and ever so kindly.
“Here’s your tea, sir”.
I cringe inwardly
And smile, inexplicably
Forcing down dislike.

Look 'Ma, I new poem!

I watch the houses spin by, twirling in my passing vision.
I close my eyes and I’m even further down the tracks.
I choke back tears.
Mind you, they are not tears of sadness or loss, even.
If I let them roll down my cheeks,
Their warm bodies would meet the collar of my shirt,
The curve of my lips—if I let them fall they would fall for the love
I hold. They would fall in happiness.
I’m home again.