What I fear most
is a lack of collaboration
mind, body,
spirit, if it exists,
bowing out at different times
Dad did it right
sang to me
the day before he died
mind still clear
walked and talked
and only lay down
to give us a heads up
it was time to say
so long
I fear being unable to
walk or talk
when my mind is sharp
unable to say,
I love you
Take care of each other
Feed the dog
Think I’ll die now
Or worse
fogged forgetfulness
to grieve my missing mind
not knowing if the person who says
“I love you, Mom,” is really my child
or an imposter
To strike out in anger and frustration
at visitors who don’t want to be there
or the caregiver who changes my diaper
I fear wanting to die and being kept alive
I fear lingering until friends and family
hate themselves for contemplating murder
I fear there will be no compassionate partner
to pull the plug
What I fear most
is a lack of collaboration.
First published in Chachalaca Review
Black dog
wiggles her feet in the air
snuggles her nose
against my naked arm
soft animal with kind brown eyes
Halloween hued butterflies
whirl and rise
animals whose beauty
enchants my eyes
His obscene mouth
calls humans animals
belittles both
provides permission
for the mean kick
permission to regard
person as pest
alien
other
black
brown
immigrant
woman
trans
Palestinian
Jew
me
you
Published in San Diego Poetry Annual 2018-19
We wait for the rain
Sit on the edge of the now
Shoes sit by the door
Cold and blustery
Across world, death in churches
Our Mother Earth grieves
Yet in this morning
The hummer sips her nectar
Flowers bloom their hope
(Image: Louisiana Zombie Afternoon, by Jenn Zed (UK) 2018)
Pistol packin’ mama
smoking’ dad
dressed you in pink taffeta
confined
behind
glass
trite knickknack
in their curio cabinet
don’t be like us
be pure, be pink, be perfect
When life’s earthquake
breaks you apart
but all you knew
becomes the glue
who ya gonna emulate,
learn to hate?
It’s too late
fated
to be
what they created
don’t be upset, statuette
Am I blue?
you’d be, too.
Accepted and posted On Line by Ekphrastic Review
My altar: Eclectic is my middle name. Karma? Heaven? Nothing? Remembrance for a short time?
Endless?
All that stands beneath the sky
will someday wither, fade, and die
so let us hold this life so dear
and seek adventure without fear
love and laugh and banish sorrow
it all will be a dream tomorrow
Although I know they’ll come an end
to your life, and mine, my friend
perhaps a bit of my bad rhyme
will be remembered over time
or cause a thought to rise again
from some young wiser poet’s pen
Prompt: Endless
Dancing on the Moon
Do you see me
dancing on the moon?
That slight young girl
long hair whirling
lithe body, leaping, turning
full of mysterious magic
for a brief moment
sure of herself in the world?
See the deep blue night
that empty beach
iridescent waves?
She sings Mr. Tambourine Man
reaches to touch the diamond sky
bare feet
circus sand
life’s swirling ship
not yet tested by storms
Do you see me?
Not these wrinkled
knobby hands, aching bones
Not the crone of the broken mirror
of the unsure step
Do you see me
Dancing on the moon?
