He touches

He touches my head.
The river is cold and angry.
The walls, the air tell me stories.
Sad is not allowed.
He is optimistic.
I look into his eyes
and the river flows outside.
He touches my head.
His hand tells me stories.
Intamacy is not allowed,
pain is a language.
This place is cold and angry.
He touches my head.

B

Take 1/2 a pill 2 times per day

The vessel

The spiral

The spiral echoes from the dead
A dark empty vessel
Torment abounds
The yellow bottle has my name on it
The clouds move
I reach for something to grab, hold
My soul is calloused
Like a mouse in the wheel
The spiral echoes from my head
I have dug many graves
A dark empty vessel
The shovel has my name on it
The world spins
I try to turn off my thoughts
My brain is corrupted
Bacteria on the edge of the dish
It calls out to me
Take a deep breath, close your eyes
You are not alone.
Some graves are shallow
The spiral echoes from the heart
A dark empty vessel
Torment abounds

B

To see everything and nothing

the sound of laughter
loneliness
to touch without
to see everything
and nothing
the wounds call out
they appear in the winter
a reminder of emptiness
they once summoned
illustrated
she checked my pulse
and touched
to see everything
and nothing

B

The Envelope

Why do these things fill my head
Can't make them go away
The sun reflects off of everything
Close my eyes
the sounds of nothingness
I touch his head, smile

I see the leaves dance in the breeze
Can she see my face through the clouds
The clear sky, like glass, reveals
The cloud yells out to me
It wants to be touched
put into an envelope and tucked
into the wound
She uses it like a kaleidoscope
It feels like heaven and nothing

I touch his head, smile
and close my eyes.

2009
B

Thanksgiving- the act of giving thanks

“You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late”. Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week is thanksgiving and many people will gather with family and others to share a meal and time together. Many will travel great distances to be with others, physically and emotionally. For me this is the holiday specific to being grateful, kind, and thankful. I try to acknowledge my gratitude daily. If you are a reader of this blog or you know me personally, you know that I have much to be grateful for. Our daily schedules sometimes supersede our ability to reflect and be grateful. I spend time every day looking into the sky. I enjoy the beauty of the clouds. I find comfort in looking to them, acknowledging them, watching as they change. This is something I am grateful for; they represent something much larger than myself and my life.

I will take my children on thanksgiving to a local food pantry and work, serving those in need. This is practicing gratitude. This is teaching my children to be thankful. This is teaching my children that the needs of others are more important. This teaches my children to understand the practice of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving- the act of giving thanks

During the holiday take a moment to live in the moment, be silent, listen, look, be grateful, and say thank you!
B