clear night

a clear night and I tend
to always drift to the sky
with thoughts and night sounds
less than in years passed
always a dog somewhere barking
outside with smoke and
cold coffee all the warmth
is inside the family is on the inside
hope they all consider me the same
considering only years ago
a complete unknown stranger
suddenly here brought in with a bond
tighter than a rope to walk on

a clear night and bright moon
shining into the street
stars everywhere and nowhere
at once positive and negative
both part of the struggle
call it life and the love
that I am lucky everyday to have
makes me look to look to the sky
and believe everything is possible
the stranger can be a part of the family
his love and the love that brought him here
a clear night for a clearing of the mind...

front step is stone

the front step
is made of stone
even on the warmest
winter night
it's cold under
me when I sit
must be searching
the mind for something
all these nights
no matter where I am
found finally
pick a spot
and collect the thoughts
that accumulate...

this history

days pass
without a thought
recorded as part of
this history
of thought
brought it about here by myself
committed to it no matter
how many days pass
until the next one is put down
under the night sky
and a slight thaw
the sound of the night
is the drip of melting snow
from the roof tops
all through the quiet neighborhood
until the one dog barks
and is let back into his house
days pass
between thoughts
where it used to only take hours
the baby cries where it used to be
silence or the music
that filled the air
with more words
and thought
to inspire and create
this history of words
written continuously
so as not to miss what might
prove to be the most important
thought of all on my grandmother
as the days pass
and turn weeks into minutes
or so it seems...

hanson public library 105

today
decision to take a walk
and advantage of a quiet space
he would've been 88 today
think about him nearly everyday
today
i don't live in his house
but his memories are with me
he read more books than anyone
always reading and eventually
rereading what he might forget
or did
today
all we really have sitting here
among strangers who have their own
today to deal with what are their thoughts
dare i ask or will that create unease among them
today
watched as a beautiful mother loved
her child's child as if her own
and it put love in my heart
there was so much in the room
as i stood at the doorway
it was hard not to be in the way
in a good way of course
today
the cars drive by the window
and long drives through Hanson
as a child come to mind
he lived in the city all his life
he used to drive through Hanson
when he would go out to lunch at his favorite
restaurant in the next town over
memories of yesterday enjoyed
today
on his birthday 88 years later...