Shadow with the Light
[4/01/26]
In the beginning were the day and night
Created, both,
And both the Lord named good.
The shadow was not made to be a fright,
But home for stars, for rest, and quietest mood.
Secrets darkness keeps, but secret still
Need not always born of evil be.
Some are protection for the vulnerable, til
Such time as strong-armed fools can rightly see.
Now we think all shadows monster’s brood,
A bait for wrath.
But dark is born of Father's will.
When did we begin to call Night ill?
Black Sheep Blues
[4/02/26]
I miss questions.
I miss burning, wanting,
Caring enough to pick a fight.
I miss when tossing and turning
Felt like wrestling in the night.
I miss when there were angels
Or devils
Just on the other side of the air.
I find I almost miss the lies,
To my surprise.
At least that felt like you were there.
“Mold me, make me,”
I bare my teeth.
I don't want to be forced beneath your hand.
But I still want to be fit
For some kind of promised land.
Butterfly blessing
[4/03/26]
May your metamorphosis be gentle,
Kind to memories of caterpillar years,
Where firefly dreams and chessboard schemes ran bright.
May you feel your wings outspread as you step out of the night
And leave cocooned your worries, doubts, and fears.
You're a wonder – it's not accidental.
Let the lonely shadows pass.
I’m watching sun creep in;
Your grin
Glows like stained glass.
Easter Cohort - by request
[4/04/26]
Last night they were a-hopping
In the hidden magic kitchens
And the pantries
In the burrows
Where the eggs were sitting all in rows –
The bilbies and their wallaby friends,
For Easter time down under.
There were pointed snouts
And twitching tails
And bright dark eyes a-plenty,
Focusing on dyes and paints,
And molds for little chocolates.
All the filling for the baskets
Were their responsibility
For In Oz there is no Easter Bunny –
All his kin come harum-scarum,
Pests and tricksters,
With no time for decorating.
Long tails, pointy snouts
Are friends for sleeping children…
This ladder is too short to reach rock bottom.
[4/05/26]
I can't believe
In a God who values you
Less than I do.
He won't snuff
A smoldering wick,
He said.
But his people will.
A passel of light-drunk crusaders,
Blood in their teeth from the God they ate in vain,
Kicked your heart right to the curb.
If I believed
They were his chosen spokesmen,
I'd expect their lord to smite me too.
I don't know why he doesn't stay their hands.
I don't know why he doesn't stay.
I don't know why.
I don't.
My God,
If you are listening,
Do you still bring life
From tombs sealed shut
By empires?
[4/06/26]
My house sings its own quiet symphony,
And you, conductor, set the music playing.
Come in and stay, the gentle sounds are saying,
In rumbling, whispering, four-part harmony.
I think that I had lost my dreams of roots,
And hoped only for free enough to fly,
Or some small flat with no strange eyes to pry.
But here we are, I've taken off my boots.
I love the book of life we are composing
Settled in our nest, no need for posing.
Matt 13:45-46
[4/07/26]
Under the sea where it's dark and cold
Down the diver's measure
Thoughtless creatures transform trash
To form the greatest treasure.
Mine the oyster shells for pearl
Flesh cannot conceal it
Save the beauty for a girl
For trumpets blown, for lanterns lit
My blood and kingdom for the bride
One gift that cannot pass away
White and shining, found inside
The heart, a picture of our new day
Andrea
[4/08/26]
Angel like Michael, never a porcelain doll;
Now I think somewhere you must be soaring,
Dreaming of goosebump wonder among the stars.
Really, I believe I owe you one.
Every time you broke me, light came through,
And all your words still echo now you're gone.
Morning
[4/09/26]
It's hard to hate in light like this:
Pouring in such decadent libations.
Some people it's still hard to love,
But the teeth of rage are gone.
A little bird calls for cheer.
How long will he be here?
Sheherazade
(Reading "Shadow Spinner")
[4/10/26]
Story within story, she holds the frame in hand.
Her art must save herself and all the women of the land.
She weaves a thousand wonders for a mighty man's caprice—
One thousand and one–she weaves them, until a forced surcease.
She holds her words in darkness like you'd hold a candle flame.
She stops his jealous killing rage, the kingdom knows her name.
Subscription
[4/11/26]
There's a whiff of rot
When we can't own the things we use.
It's death by a thousand cuts even to rent.
They can take it all away once money's spent.
Songs and stories scattered on the wind,
A pain to choose
Which ones to keep today, and which ones not.
The small treasures we want are spread so thin,
Across a hundred piddly troves, it seems.
But once we've bought the package, we're all hooked.
The corporations demand more. We're booked
To pay exorbitantly for glints and gleams
Of our desire. I’ve gotta ask, who wins?
What is the point? The companies will leech us all the same.
Even the programs I write on want in on this shell game.
Absence with an E
[4/12/26]
I miss you, but it's more I miss what I didn't have.
I miss the sound I can't hear of your laugh.
I wish I'd followed up more when I found out you ticked like me.
What all did your heart or God decide for you to see?
I wish I wrote more letters.
I just wish I knew you better.
Twin Tragedy
[4/13/26]
Two girls spin out of orbit, into different sorts of power.
They only want belonging.
They find a kingdom and a tower.
One studious and careful, but with lightning in her veins.
One wild and girlish, muddy skirts,
Stands in high places, seeks the power that drains
Desire's cup,
While her sister finds the vacuum nature abhors,
And grins,
And fills it up.
Binary stars are burning:
Bloody red,
Electric blue.
Wary hearts still yearning
When their Door comes through.
We the Changers
[4/14/26]
You wear the stories as a skin
When they let you in.
Their eyes show you what is
Or what might have been.
Witness me! The words all say,
Whether fact or much ado–
Feel new fingers, let them skim
The page for something true.
Something true, or something wild,
Reaches for your inner child.
Taxing inheritance
[4/15/26]
The state has asked for numbers.
This number was a gift.
She passed carefully, generously
As she had lived.
I was worried if I could even take it,
Because my wings are clipped,
My nest lined with charity
From others in the nation.
A lawman told us go ahead,
No need to dread.
And so I took the golden egg,
So small, all in all,
So great to me.
It gilt my house with her reminders.
One last Christmas or birthday box,
Like shopping with her, hand in hand.
