Sonnet to Dave on His 72nd Birthday (in iambic pentameter)
In ‘fifty-two a baby came along To add a gentleness to what we had: The geeky girl who thought her brain was strong, The cocky son who followed every fad. He had a special place as Grampa’s prince, The godson…
Labyrinth
To love Is to enter a holy labyrinth Without a map. There will be wrong turns, Retracing of endless winding steps, And dead ends. Why, then, enter and endeavor To plumb the maze? “If only I could find,” I thirst,…
All I Want for Christmas
With what amazing grace he did appear A spark, a gift, a seedling to behold. His future and his inner life unclear When he was just a precious hour old. His mirror neurons and his mother’s gaze so full Entangled…
1973 Poem to My Husband Jack
loving you is like having land- scapes—thousands of them—to live in and look at. i get oh end- less views of the same scene, and certainly endless scenes. i love you. i love you when your sky is clear, and…
To Andy
Heaven was a midnight chat with Andy On the Grand Canyon rim. I can see you: The chasm is darker than the dome, Both mute, an unsung hymn. As I lie on a sandstone slab, the star-salted sky Outlines your…
To Kathy on Her 80th
After Eve and Adam left their primal home, Eden fell asleep. And while it slept, it dreamt, And conjured up A future gardener. Such a one Could plant a unity, a blend of earth and heaven As existed long ago.…
The Church Bells
I miss the bygone bells, The bronze deep-throated Sunday thrum That synced with the vibrations of my heart And called me out of time. O hark. The weekday Angelus, in sounding noontime pause, Pressed gently on the reset button Of…
Whimsical Belated Couplets for My 50-Year Valentine
If true love had worn braces There’d be a lot more smiling faces. For every Barbie there’s a Ken, For perfect breasts there’s easy men. The overbite that marred my grin Was proof against a facile win. But I found…
Four Blessings
In a soul winter’s night emerges desire (When bleakness is steeped in the dark) For the warmth of a heart to kindle a fire Of caring, if only a spark. Four prayers, four blessings I ask To brighten an inner…
2023
Think about it. For 364 days Each one begins a new year That has no number. With each dawn I hope That I will act A bit more wisely today Than I did in the yesterday now gone. The days…
