woman in a starbuck’s window

woman sits in a starbuck’s window

looking, searching, waiting, watching

is it the thing that watchers

in an  Edward Hopper painting

wait, search, look, watch for

does she know

who she is looking for

who she is searching for

who she is waiting for

who she is watching for

I wonder if the subjects in

Hopper’s pa...

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the old woman  in the upstairs window

the old woman’s cottage

out in the woods

on a small dirt road

was a mystical place

for the boy and his friends

they were told by

other boys that a

ghost lived with her

they got a glimpse

of her once when she

went to the well

to draw a bucket

she wore a long black dress

and white hair down to her wai...

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the old men and the bamboo house

I happened upon two old men

walking down a dirt road

while I was photographing

in the mountains in Costa Rica

I asked if they lived nearby

yes, they said

I asked them if I might see

their home they said they

would be honored

as we neared I could see

it was very humble

built of Bamboo poles

that had been split do...

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black cloud a’comin

when I was a boy

I saw a cloud coming

towards our house

racing across the fields

black as my mama’s bible

would it become a twister

or simply bring rain and wind

I called mama and daddy

we rushed to the storm cellar

daddy brought his flashlight

mama brought her black bible

the storm did not become a

twister only rain an...

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The crazy old woman on Bloody Creek Road

the boys were told

that the old lady who lived

at the end of Bloody Creek Road

was either evil or insane.

some of the boys said that she

stole children and cooked them in her

oven for her supper

others said she ate snakes

while they were still alive

one day they decided to

find out for themselves

they ...

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a Hopper in the making

I photographed

three lonely men drinking coffee

in  a coffee shop

how did I know they were lonely

they were straight out of an

Edward Hopper painting

like the people in “Night Hawks”

the light coming in the windows

reminded me of several of his paintings

of women looking out to bright light

that flowed in but brought no relief

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Our log cabin

you always loved to hear the rain

on the tin roof of our log cabin

in the foothills of the Adirondacks

morning light would come

we would awake

listen to the rain

lying in each other's arms

listening to the loons on the lake

welcome the new morning

another log added to the old fireplace

we would welcome the morning

in our own special way

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the day he was born was

a windy day in march

mama told daddy to go

to town to get the doctor

the cottage had no telephone

no running water

fronny was a neighbor

who lived over the hill

she told daddy she

would stay with mama

daddy did not have a car

had to walk to Congo road

to hitch a ride to town

when the doctor and daddy

arrived at t...

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the old kitchen tin box

the old kitchen tin box

of matches

brings back fond memories

it hung on the wall

above mama’s stove

the matches were used

for many things

to light the stove to cook

the family meals

to ignite the oil lamps

at night to light the house

to break and splinter

to make a toothpick

to light the wood burni...

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poet's dilemma

staring at a white sheet of paper

can be frightening to a writer

or it can bring joy

that is if the words start to flow

okay, I am staring

where are the words

fingers long to write

come on words

materialize

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little four room house

little four room house

had an old tin roof

when it stormed

rain made wonderful sounds

for the boy

lying in bed listening

daddy said it sounded like

a cow peeing

daddy resented

the rain on

the tin roof because roof leaked

daddy and boy would have

to climb ladder to attic to

empty the coffee cans spaced

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four walls

lying

thinking in the dark

four walls do not

make a room

a room needs a floor

and ceiling

four walls

a ceiling

and a floor

four walls with no door

can keep others out

but keep you in

a door

an invitation in

or

an exit out

try to decide

which is best

door or

no door

or roll ov...

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someone’s forgotten cottage

walking in the woods

I discovered

an old deserted cottage

weeds and thicket grew all around

the windows were gone

old curtains blew in the

breeze seeming to enjoy their

almost freedom

old chairs sitting in front

of the cottage wasting away

in the rain sun and snow

if I look hard enough might

I get a glimpse...

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woods filled with snow

I walked through woods

as they filled with snow

a winters walk to fill my lungs

with cold december chill

I came to a small rise

one that I did not know

where did this hill come from

how was I unaware

I looked for familiar sightings

but found none

nothing seemed identifiable

I walked to the edge of the hill

and p...

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windmills

the old windmills

in Spain, slowly turning

large cloth blades

turning and grinding

ancient grains of the past

lined up in a row on a hillside

waiting for Don Quixote

to mistake them for giants

with his sidekick Pancho

he attacked them

only to get his lance

caught in the canvas blades

thought he had been tricked

by an evil...

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a pair of old cowboy boots (1950s)

Kenny and I always wanted

a pair of cowboy boots

there was no money for such

a childish wish

one day walking

in the woods

we stumbled upon a trash dump

someone richer than us

had discarded what

we considered treasures

we found old comic books

an old alarm clock

that worked, once we banged

it ...

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eyelids and earlids

beauty from color

shapes

scenery

glimmer from a lake

all lost with eyelids closed

birds songs in the forest,

symphony of city car horns

beeping to a crescendo

cooing of a morning dove

breathing of a lover

all lost with ear lids shut

is one better

to loose than the other

one would have to ask Helen Kell...

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howler monkeys

our Costa Rica hosts took

us to their ranch in the

jungle for a weekend

a ranch house on a small island

a river running around each side

a swinging wooden bridge

crossed the river to the house

we walked, swaying across the bridge

carrying our things from the car

suddenly we heard a loud screaming

sound which sounded like an e...

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little NYC hotel on 23rd street (1980s)

our little

leo house hotel

on 23rd street

was operated by Sisters of St. Agnes

an old time hotel

an elevator with

brass  scissor gates

operated by a nun

separate hot

and cold faucets

a bath/ shower/bath

clad in white subway tile

a crucifix over our bed

spied on our lovemaking

blessing our ...

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scary night sounds

he hears the night woods

soft sounds as well as scary

different from day woods

he lies in his cold bed

in cold room

hears frozen trees

grinding against each other

in the cold night wind

a hard unpleasant sound

hears distant sounds

far away in the hills

is it the sound of a wolf

or a coyote seeking a mate

owl...

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the tattered old man on Christmas Eve

snow was falling hard

as the old man struggled

through the deep drifts

on the country road

light shone from a

a farmhouse window

the old man smiled seeing the glow

it was a candle

the widowed mother had placed there

nightly since last Christmas Eve

a year ago

a man was found

frozen along this same road

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summer nights 1950s

curtains hang lifeless

awaiting breeze that does not come

whippoorwill sings 

hot and sweaty song 

it doesn’t feel like singing

boy hears whistle’s blast 

of a night train 

slowly crawling its way

through the country side

breaking the silence at each crossing

ambulance sirens scream

through hot night air

transporting wounded

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mystifying rain forest

years ago we discovered

a small hotel

at the edge of the rain forest

in Monte Verde Costa Rica

we arrived late afternoon,

bought cheese, bread

and a bottle of wine

we sat in front of a large window

in our room overlooking

the forest

the owner told us to do...

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six word poem

how do you know

I don't

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thinking of a poet

in a new england village

an old man wandered

the road towards me

thick crop of frosted hair

snowflakes started to fall

he shuffled along

looking here

looking there

a flight of geese

flew in a perfect V pattern

south

he watched them disappear

then walked

towards me slowly

a bit confused

hello ...

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Selling Christmas Trees and Roman Candles, 1950

My older married brother, Willy, asked Kenny and me if we would like to help him sell Christmas trees. We said, “Sure we would love to help.”

Willy had gone into the woods and cut a number of cedar trees. We were going to sell them out of the back of his old Plymouth station wagon and an old trailer. The NAPA auto store...

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christmas bubble lights 1948

aunt madline and uncle marvin

were rich, they lived in Memphis

had running water, indoor toilet

and a big black car

they visited us each year

on their way to hot springs

to soak in hot water mineral baths

for their aches and pains

one year they brought us their old

string of electric bubble lights

ones that bubbled u...

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christmas past 1947

when I was young

christmas was special

for a boy in a small home

that  could not afford

a big christmas

my brother and I walked

through the woods

looking for an evergreen

to cut for our tree

we finally found one

but it was spindly

few branches flowing from

its skinny trunk

we cut it and dragged

it home through the...

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ain’t ain’t a word

boy told daddy

teacher said

there ain’t no such word

as ain’t

daddy just

looked at him

told him to

tell the teacher

the word was used

by this family

a long time before

the teacher was born and

will be used long after

she has gone.

             boy thought to himself

 I ain’t going to tell her

                ...

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kite and boy

a paper kite

flutters in the wind

making wonderful sounds

back to the boy holding

the end of the string

kite dips and smiles

at boy and dances

little jigs as its string

is held taut

boy smiles back

a strong wind begins to blow

kite string breaks with a snap

startled boy looks up

and sees kite start to

fly in erratic patterns ...

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Shadow our  cat

communicates with us

he realizes that we cannot

speak cat so he watches

our human behavior

and uses it to communicate

with my wife and me

if his food bowl

is empty he does not meow

he just goes and stands

by his bowl and stares at us

if he is ready for bed

he goes to the bottom

of the stairway and stares at us

until we join h...

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afraid of the dark

afraid of the dark

but only at night

brave during

the light of day

very brave

afraid of nothing

except a nest of

ground hornets

or poison ivy

at night he would

run in the dark

always afraid of

what was following

never thinking

about what might

be ahead

he did not want

anyone t...

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the sound of the sun

lying in bed

he hears the sun rise

forest full of trees

trees full of birds

birds full of song

he rises, feels for his cane

shuffles his way outside 

to the warmth of the sun

and orchestra of birds

turns towards the rays

that he cannot see

opens his ear lids and 

smiles at the morning

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a gull or an angel

watching a gull

catch an up current of air

higher and higher
until it was so small 
I could not see it

maybe it was an
angel returning home

or a gull who was
seeking freedom

wonder if gull knows

kris kristofferson’s

poem line

“freedoms just another

word for nothing left to lose”

or knows jonathan l. seagul

who loved to fly

was a ...

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