31DEC21
The Willoughby​
​
I'm looking over the Brooklyn skyline
I can see joggers and young mothers
Pushing strollers in Fort Greene Park;
Sailboats glide lazily up the East River
​
As the smell of freshly brewing coffee
Wafts onto the balcony as she appeared
In her creamy chiffon négligée holding
Two small brown parcels in her hand;
​
These came for you yesterday, she said
Placing the boxes on the bistro table; Go
Ahead and open them, she insisted; so I
Opened the first box which unveiled a key;
​
Open the other box, she instructed; that
Box contained another smaller velvet box
Whose contents revealed a shiny gold
Ring; I sat down and studied the two items
​
Lying on the table before me; each gift is
Contingent upon the other, she said; to
Accept one is to accept them both; so, I
Looked up at her as she stood there, the
​
Morning light shining upon her face, a
Cheeky little grin curled her lips; so, I
Asked, what are the conditions? Are you
Asking me to marry you? Let's start with
​
The key, she said; look over there out on
The other side of the park; that high rise
Is The Willoughby and I just bought a flat
On the eighteenth floor overlooking Clinton
​
Hill; the key, the key opens the door to the
Flat; and the ring? I asked; the ring opens
The door to a lifetime of love and happiness,
To my heart and to the life we both deserve
​
The Mirror​
​
I've found myself looking
In the mirror lately; not
The typical toothbrush
Or flossing look
​
But observing,
Looking beyond
The skin, deep into
Whatever lies below;
​
But I'm quickly drawn
Away to the reality
Of my physical
Self; the self
​
I have been
Neglecting of
Late, one I'm sure
Would not suffice to allure
​
28DEC21
Open Doors​
​
I've stared at the door for
Far too long wondering if
It's open or closed; I've had
A small case packed with
​
Some clothes and personal
Items (a couple of Moleskine
Notebooks, an old iPod that
Still works and my favorite
​
Photograph of my son and
I taken in the doorway of
The balcony) stowed away
Beneath my bed for years;
​
But I've never been able to
Muster up the courage to
Walk out the door as I had
All those many times before
​
21DEC21
Louise​
​
Hope comes in all shapes and sizes;
It can manifest in human form or
In otherworldly apparitions;
But you came to me in
​
A dream, flooded in
Sunlight and speckled with
Muted winter light and silvery
Velvet frost; and what was I supposed
​
To do once I woke up and who would
Have believed me anyway when
I told them I was kissed by an
Angel; who would be the
​
One who dared to tell me
That it was all just a figment of my
Imagination, a delusion conjured up
In the unrestrained abandon of my despair
14DEC21
Oregon​
​
I've never been to Oregon
But I have a six-year-old
Daughter to who says
Goodnight to me,
​
Tells me she loves
Me and to sleep well;
She's the last of my five
Children who still holds my
​
Hand, who comes into my
Room to tell me breakfast
Is ready; her childlike
Innocence gives me
​
Hope that the world
She comes to know as
Her own will be less cruel
Than the one she was born into
07DEC21
Hoods​
​
I recently purchased two
Levi's fleece hoodies,
A black one and a
White one; yin
​
And yangish, I
Suppose; soft and
Warm and comforting;
A subtle dichotomy of other
​
Hoods; brotherhood and
Parenthood, adulthood
And childhood; all of
These hoods quite
​
Less comforting,
Much more unsettling
All bubbling over at once
To the surface of my discontent
30NOV21
Groundswell​
​
Trying times
Looking for my
Center while my
Life seems to be in
​
A constant tailspin;
Center, right, left,
It doesn't matter
As long as I
​
Can call it a
Home, call it my
Own, call it a place
Where there is peace
​
And a semblance of
Something familiar,
Safe and far from
The groundswell
23NOV21
Burnt Toast and Other Sounds​
​
I remember so many things about him
The smell of Skin Bracer after his morning
Shave, his smile before he put his dentures in
And the way he listened to me so thoughtfully;
​
But it's the soundscape of his life I remember
Most; the sound of a spoon mixing sugar in
His Sanka or scraping the last few bits of
Marrow from a soup bone; the jangling
​
Of the handles on the highboy that sits
Today in my living room; or how he would
Scrape the burnt bits from his toasted challah
And slurp hot tea from its saucer; the rustling of
​
His daily Yiddish newspaper as he folded and
Unfolded and re-folded the giant sheets of
Newsprint; and the sounds he made from
Visions as he lay dying before my eyes
16NOV21
That One Dark Cloud​
​
It only takes that one dark cloud
To blot out the sun; to rain on a
Parade or soak you to the bone;
And when the downpour seeps
​
Into the roof and rots the wood,
Small beads of water appear in
Thin cracks in the ceiling that fall
Into buckets and mixing bowls on
​
The couch, already stained by the
Splatter of fallen water; all because
That one dark cloud was unable to
Contain its zeal and whose ruthless
​
Cloudburst simply had to be; that
One dark cloud who banishes the
Rainbow and lingers long in the
Sky until it dissolves into evening
​
09NOV21
Spider's Getting Fat​
​
I've been watching you since
Summertime when you were
Nothing more than the size
Of a drop of ink; you spun
​
Your web so diligently all
Summer long and when
It was finished, one by
One insects became
Ensnared in your
Woven trap as
You scuttled
Down from
​
High up
In the
Brick
Wall
02NOV21
The Last Orange Leaf
​
It sits atop the tallest tree
Perched proudly on the
Highest branch; the
Last orange leaf
​
Of autumn calls
To me in a soft windy
Breath of air, reminding
Me that this delicate moment
​
Is merely a transient scene in
The cycle of life; and I can't
Help but wonder what
Will become of you
​
Falling, eventually, to
The ground, transforming
Into a brittle skin of decay then
Vanishing into a powdery afterlife
26OCT21
Kisses
​
I've had so many dreams lately
Where I've been kissed by
People who I shouldn't
Be kissed by; at
​
Least not the way I
Was being kissed by
Them in my dreams; some
Were friends, others members
​
Of my family; there was even a
Lesbian and a former teacher
Who passed away just a
Few weeks ago; and
​
While these kisses
Were mostly awkward, I'm
Wondering if they were meant
To be kisses hello or kisses goodbye
19OCT21
Collapsed
​
I'd never seen him so forlorn
As if the entire universe had
Collapsed around him; and
It had; I wonder how long
​
She had been contemplating
This and how many times she
Had played the scene over
And over in her mind; funny
​
How all I could think about
Was her, what had driven her
To that extreme and could she
Not have approached that
​
Situation in a different way;
In the end, I suppose I was
Talking to myself, recalling the
Day my universe collapsed
​
12OCT21
Puzzle Piece
​
I've spent my whole life
Trying to put this puzzle
Together; piece by piece
Year after year; and finally
​
When I get to the very last
Piece, it doesn't fit in its
Place; that's the best
Metaphor to describe
My life, laying down
The pieces only to find
They just don't fit where
They're supposed to fit
​
So, now I must ask myself
Whether I keep trying to make
It fit, or do I simply start putting
Together a new puzzle
05OCT21
Pepper Belly
​
It's futile to try and force
Myself to dream about you
Though I try every night while
Falling asleep; at the very least
​
Yours is the last face I see in my
Mind's eye before drifting off
And the peace and comfort
That brings me lasts well
​
Into morning; I suppose
That means the lesson here
Is that dreams, no matter how
Hard one tries, cannot be evoked;
​
But there is an even harsher reality
Seeing that I will never be able to
Share my dreams with you, not
Within the realm of this life
28SEP21
A Daughter's Visit
​
It had been a while,
Five months to the day,
Since you'd last been home;
And what a fine young woman
​
You have become—independent
And streetwise—but with the
Same grace and endearing
Charm your mother had
When we met in Spain
More than thirty years ago;
Your visits, though few and far
Between, brighten the oftentimes
​
Dismal landscape of our lives by
Bringing smiles to our faces
And uplifting our spirits if
Only until the next time
21SEP21
Leverage
​
Fate has a funny way of
Distorting reality; sometimes
It's in our favor, but more often
Than not, it snaps back and bites;
​
But every now and again, despite
Inequity and the challenges we
We face on our uphill battles,
We find the will to carry on
​
And just when we reach a
Defining moment, a precipice
Beckons us to leap into the great
Unknown or return to whence we came;
​
Sometimes we can go back and revisit
The roads we once traveled as the
Past also has ways of redefining
Itself if we are open its truths
14SEP21
Atonement
​
The autumn is replete with forgiveness
Dying leaves fall from trees that are
Reborn in the waning days of
Winter; the air carries its
Breathy remnants of the
Summer in reminders of long
Lazy nights walking by your side
Barefoot in sand still warm from the
​
Afternoon sun; and how many times
Did I return home to find your
Plastic shopping bags from
Mercadona gone from
​
The floor in my room?
And when you finally came
Around again, inconsolably frail,
You confessed your unforgivable sin
07SEP21
Autumnal Musings
​
The changing seasons
Deliverance of pale blue
Skies and cotton ball clouds
Hundreds of shades of green
​
Fragrant aromas and mossy
Emerald ponds with their
Floating nest islands
Of thatched reeds
​
Gentle winds move
Through dying leaves
Which soon will fall and
Blanket the pavement below
​
I will reminisce about my long
Walks in Childwall, crisp
Autumn air kissing me
Kindly on my cheek
31AUG21
To Kill a Wasp (Part Two)
​
We haven't had many visits from
Flying creatures this summer
Which is a good thing;
There are usually a
​
Few wasps and an
Odd bumble bee or two
That make their way into the
Kitchen window in the late afternoon
​
But this morning, as I was about to
Walk out onto the balcony, I
Was greeted by a feisty
Wasp who had made
​
Its way into the house
And was flittering around;
Luckily, brave Marina was there
To save the day (and the wasp's life).
24AUG21
To Kill a Wasp (Part One)
​
I'm usually quite compassionate
When it comes to my feelings
About the other creatures
With whom I share this
​
Existence; and while I
Maintain a long-standing
Contempt for flying insects,
Bees and wasps rate at the very
​
Top of the list of my most hated
(and feared) things; when I
Was a child, we lived in
An apartment with a
​
Hornet's nest outside
Our kitchen window and
We blew through Raid like it
Was going out of style; but it worked
17AUG21
Portofino
​
Maybe it was a dream, or
Maybe it was you all along;
The voice on the telephone at
Two a.m. wondering where I was
​
But looking back on that night, the
Real question is where were you?
I have my theories and if I am
Right, you hitched a ride
​
Go ahead, tell me I'm
Wrong; tell me you waited
For me until well after midnight
At the bus depot but I never arrived
​
Tell me you showed up at my flat in
The Vico Dritto and found her car
Parked in front and a light
Burning in the window
10AUG21
Baba Ghanoush
​
I can't be certain of anything these days
My thoughts are awash with fantasies
And daydreams about Italy and so
Many people I long to talk to
​
I'm becoming more obsessed
With minimalism; fascinated with
The idea of Swedish Döstädning and
Purging all the useless crap I no longer need
​
And for some strange reason I would like to
Fall in love; just one last time, to know
That every emotion I've ever felt
Was real and wholehearted
​
But most of all is my desire to
Learn how to properly grill eggplant
So I can spend the rest of my life making
Baba ghanoush from this delectable purple berry
03AUG21
Blue
​
All of my thoughts lately
Are blue; blue skies,
Blue seas and the
Blue that is you
​
It is clarity and
Wisdom, goodness
And the selflessness
Of your pure loving heart
​
And your deep blue eyes
Are sincere and see
Into the depths of
My weary soul
​
Your blue is my
Strength and carries
Me into the calm easy
Joy of better days ahead
​
27JUL21
Energy
​
Energy in
Energy out
Overbearing
Jeckyll & Hyde
​
Facetiousness is
Not your strong
Suit; not at all
Appealing
​
I'm curious
To know if it
Was really all
Planned this way
​
Or if it was simply
Bad luck; either
Way, it doesn't
Really matter
20JUL21
Rock Bottom
​
I take comfort in knowing that
I have hit rock bottom; though
It was years ago, it serves as
An ever-present reminder of a
​
Time when the fragility of my
Very existence was palpable;
Teetering on the edge of the
Abyss between life and death
​
Then in some strange afterglow
Of a boogie woogie daydream
I came to see that my savior was
Actually myself and I began to
​
Understand that the universe was
Merely the pillow I laid my head
Upon every night while pondering
All of the horrid things I feared most
13JUL21
Stillness
​
Even when sitting still
I can feel energy and
Rushes surging within
The cells of my body
​
In the silence I hear
Every distant sound
Resonating as if the
Sea was set ablaze
Crackling flames on
Breaking waves die
Out in the foamy air
Embers drift skyward
​
I plant my feet firmly
In the cool damp sand
Desperate for stillness
Or a moment of peace
06JUL21
Tuesday's Child
​
Tuesday's child is full of grace
I walked you to school today
Your tiny hand in mine and
Teardrops in your eyes
​
Tuesday's child is sensitive
And warm; aware and
Vibrant, full of life
And curiosity
​
Tuesday's child
Is loving, caring and
Brimming with joy; she
Lives in a world of splendor
​
Tuesday's child is the very
Embodiment of all that
Is good in the world;
I rejoice in her light
29JUN21
Juanito's Married​
​
I've known you since
You were a little boy;
I've kept the invitation
To your first communion
​
Put away in a box of
Mementos alongside
Cherished memories
Of your dear parents
​
A photo at an outdoor
Café in Granada; and
What good friends they
Were and still remain
​
And now you're married
All grown up and your
Mother's pride and joy
And a fine man at that
22JUN21
Sole Survivor​s
​
You and my dad have a lot in common
You're both sole survivors; you've both
Lost your parents and siblings and you
Must live with the memories that remain
​
I can't imagine having to bear not only​
The loss, but spending the remains of a
Lifetime mourning, grieving and looking
For consolation that can never be found
​
And they say the pain subsides over time
That the years bring acceptance and the
Understanding that every life eventually
Relinquishes itself to the great unknown
​
But I suppose that doesn't make things any
Easier; or does it? Perhaps it's in keeping
The memories of the dearly departed alive
That makes our own mortality self-evident
15JUN21
Hawks​
​
There are men who would wage war
Knowing that any war waged would
Lead to the deaths of innocent people
And destruction of unparalleled extent
​
Yet these men who sit high above the
Masses in white-washed privilege are
Far removed from the reality of those
Who struggle to even simply survive
​
But hawks prey on less fortunate beings
Those enfeebled by misery and loss and
The decrepit failures of society; a world
Where justice never prevails for the just
​
And the war machine must toil on; the
Generals strategize, and one day soon
There will be one solitary soldier to be
The first one to die in the next great war
08JUN21
Dust​
​
There is something calming
In watching dust floating in
Rays of sunlight; tiny white
Particles dancing in the air
​
They flitter and flutter about
Swaying in unison, moving
Around me, through me, in
Syncopated rhythmic grace
I breathe them in and they
Fall remorselessly, a veiled
Veneer of dead skin, mites
And traces of the universe
​
I watch as the dust collects
Upon my desk, landing on
The surface in contempt of
What I plan on doing next
01JUN21
Pet Peeves​
​
The wind blowing open my jacket
Smokers at the bus stop on a rainy day
The guy on the tram without a face mask
Too many rectangular pillows and square cases
​
The dish towel where the hand towel should go
Finding just one egg in the egg basket
Joggers who spit out of their noses
Every single song by Dire Straits
Brown shoes with blue suits
Gelatin in Kellogg's Pop Tarts
Always seeming to get the floor model
All the ways the Dutch mispronounce idea
​
Sports segments on television news programs
Arugula or cherry tomatoes on top of pizza
Sirens on the first Monday of the month
Sand where it's not supposed to be
25MAY21
Landlocked​
​
The full moon pulls the tide
Towards my drifting emotions
Sweeping them out to sea amongst
The relentless currents of the undertow
​
By the time I realized it had all been a
Dream, the waves reminded me that
I was landlocked and what I had
Once desired had gone adrift
​
But the ebb and flow of my
Destiny would guide me to your
Port of call when, at eventide, your
Gentle breeze would kiss me goodnight
​
And there I was to remain, alone atop the
Infinite precipice, as wide as it was long;
An unfamiliar place where journeys end
And time is a remnant of our solitude
18MAY21
June​
​
I like the sound of June; the feel and look
The glow and whispery breezes; the smell
Of laundry hanging on the line and birds
Dousing the skies with melodic concertos
​
I was born in June, on the cusp of summer
In the waning moments of the spring; but
I never celebrated a birthday at school or
Brought cupcakes, goody bags and punch
​
I would spend the summers in Los Angeles,
Or on the shores of Lake Delton, Wisconsin,
And weekends in the Dells drinking root beer
Sleeping during Tommy Bartlett's Water Show
​
I lost my grandmother one June, welcomed the
Birth of a daughter in another; my life has begun
And ended so many times in the month of Junius
When the rose and honeysuckle are in full bloom
​
11MAY21
Letters​
​
I found the letters you wrote me years ago
And had to stop for a moment to ponder
Why I would still be holding on to them
And to the memories of times gone by
​
As I read each letter on its yellowing
Sheet, I tried to imagine you at the very
Moment you wrote them in your pink robe
Sitting alone at your mother's kitchen table
​
It's funny to think how very close we slept
For all those years; our bedrooms both
Looking out over the alley where we
Talked for hours in the gangway
​
I know why I've kept your letters
After all these years; it's because we
Were the true embodiment of the love
Only young hearts can truly comprehend
04MAY21
The God of Abraham​
​
Of course God is a white man
Who else to master the art of
Decay more masterfully and
Triumphantly than He who
​
Has wrought all but the
Total annihilation of humanity
From its earliest days; who has
Fomented only death and sorrow
​
Certainly not a Black man, who
Has known oppression; or the
Benevolent Brown man; or
The Woman, whose love,
​
Nurturing and compassion
Foster all that is good in the
World; there is no blessing in
The fury of the God of Abraham
27APR21
Changing Air
A few days away will do us all some good
Changing air and scenery in forest green
No matter what the forecast, I will linger
In the pleasure of calm, quiet and light​
​
If I can muster the wherewithal to get
Out for a stroll, to walk with no other
Purpose than to move my aching body
It will have all been worth the trouble
​
And if I can remember how to breathe
Free from the confinement of my mask
Inhaling ever so deeply that I am, with
Every new breath, reborn and renewed
​
And should the stars feel so inclined as
To dim ever so slightly so I may sleep in
Darkness in an oasis of serenities with a
Tranquil mind, gentleness and composure
20APR21
The Real You
I seem to have have lost sight of you;
You and so many others who have
Seemingly transformed right
Before my very eyes
​
At first I thought it
Might be me; but then I
Realized that snakes shed their
Skin and the day turns into night
​
For some time now I've had this
Burning desire to ask you why
You can't be as nice to us as
You are to everyone else
​
I once knew the real you
Or so I thought; those were
Our salad days; when we were
Younger and so innocently carefree
13APR21
Sun and Air
I can only sit for so long
In the sun and air; until I
Become overwhelmed by
Memories of you and me
​
The sun on that picturesque
August day in your parent's
Garden; cool sea air blowing
In over Mediterranean waters
​
Lying on the soft grass; stroking
My hair while I slept peacefully
Dreaming of what life could be
Like together, you and I, as one
But the tide came in and washed
Away the castles we had made
Illusions drifted out to sea; gulls
Overhead, squawking at the sun
06APR21
You Can Only Stare
Waiting beneath the streetlamp's glow
Our eyes met in the reflection
I wonder what you saw in me
Upon your closer inspection
​
Sparks dancing above
The tram's clickety-clack
You can only stare at me
And I can only stare back
​
I crossed the street alone
Asked a boy for directions
To a place I'd been before
He couldn't hear my questions
​
You appeared in the darkness
Tapped me gently on my shoulder
I strolled around for an hour or two
Before the night became even colder
30MAR21
The Plotters
Amidst the stale smoke and B.O.
The brain trust is gathered round
Plotting their next big something
On the day after nobody knows
​
They sit there on a plastic couch
Five-day shadows and filthy hair
Arguing to get their point across
In some language nobody knows
​
The man with the underbite stands
Pounds his fist upon the IKEA table
Sees me in the reflection and points
I'm a lone silhouette nobody knows
​
Perhaps they were plotting revenge
Or to return home to their families
In some desolate urban wasteland
In a forsaken place nobody knows
​
23MAR21
Slowly
I've been listening to my breath lately
Telling me its stories about this and that
Reminding me of all the places we've been
All of the moments we've lived so passionately
​
But today I noticed something curiously different
A silence in the space between each breath
Not a silence which is devoid of sound
But one with a low harmonious purr
​
And in that extraordinary quietude
It occurred to me I was standing alone
Trying to remember where I had come from
Who had sent me here and what was I to do now
I was suddenly overcome by a perception of clarity
A whole life suddenly unfolding before my eyes
Everything I had ever seen, heard or believed
Appeared before me in a burst of wonder
​
16MAR21
On Everyone's Mind
I've been taking a lot of taxis lately
Working long hard days until late
Unpredictably inclement weather
A longer bike ride than I'm used to
​
They always ask where I'm from
Why I'm here why would I leave
It's the greatest country, America
You haven't returned in how long?
​
And the thing on everyone's mind
The one topic that always comes up
The nightmare that keeps on giving
Is the man who shall not be named
​
How he's still causing such a stir
Inciting sordid petty conversations
Thousands of miles aways from it all
In a place where politics is blissfully dull
09MAR21

SCHÖNKE
Perspective
I would love to have been a
Fly on the wall during those
Sessions; hearing confessions
All the unanswered questions
​
Trying to imagine the perverted
Ideas he planted in your heart
How he turned you against me
To reconcile his own suffering
​
I've often sat wondering about
You riding the bus home; there
Sitting quietly in the presence
Of strangers; deep in thought
​
But not about me; only how
To rid your conscience of me
And the memories of our life
Festering with tragic bitterness
02MAR21

The Boxroom
There are few stories I have yet to tell
And there are some I'd rather forget
I've had hardships, but hasn't everyone
Moments when we all but surrender
​
My ordeal began with a perfect storm
Global recession and a failed marriage
Trying to keep family and business afloat
Sinking deeper and deeper into despair
​
With rent to be paid and groceries to buy
Choices had to be made and tears to dry
The loneliness was long and insufferable
No solace or sympathy to deaden the pain
​
I packed up my things and sold the rest
Hired a boxroom on a dusty mezzanine
Peed in a plastic jug, slept on a latex slab
Or in the ER on those hot summer nights
SCHÖNKE
23FEB21

The Last Laugh
It all started with a book my brother gifted me
At the Hôtel de Saint Germain on the Rue du Four
Marooned in the lobby in the summer's incessant rain
Paris in July, crowds of tourists, the noise and stale air
While lightning flashed and thunderclouds clapped
We sat in quiet comfort, reading and talking about life
Sipping tea and daydreaming; plotting our next adventure
To England, my Lionheart, where I longed to spend my years
​
I sat in devout concentration reading Max Brod's book
About his visit to that aquarium with his best friend Franz
And then I read the line that would change my life forever
Kafka talking out loud to the fish behind the glass tank
​
"I like you better that I no longer eat you," he muttered
Words that resonated deep within the well of my being
Then, on that first day of August some thirty years ago
Tasting flesh one final time, the last laugh lost in drawn butter
SCHÖNKE
16FEB21

In Pursuit of Greatness
Playground warriors
Sidewalk superheroes
Sandlot survivors
Pelés, DiMaggios
​
Kick a ball, bat a ball
The beautiful game
American pastime
Crackerjack box
​
Little boys in snappy uniforms
Daddy's unfulfilled dreams
But my boy's different
A cut above the rest
​
In constant pursuit of greatness
Fast cars and wads of cash
Pretty girls, Jacuzzi swirls
Fame that never lasts
SCHÖNKE
09FEB21

TETTERO
Freshly Fallen​
I was never one who longed for winter
Unlike my childhood friends who yearned for it
Eager to run to the church mound to play war
Or a pick-up football game at Green Briar Park
​
I was more partial to spending my time indoors​
The warmth of home, the clanking of radiators
The feel of tall shag carpet beneath my feet
Tomato soup, grilled cheese and hot cocoa
​
I would spend afternoons alone in my room
Peering out the window into the back alley
The sound of snow crunching under car tires
Shovels scraping against the icy pavement
​
Freshly fallen snow piled high on the porch
Little crisscrossed slits where the sparrows land
Flurries twinkle in the streetlamp's yellow glow
Dreaming of spring and the season's first thaw
Luminescence​
It only takes a few short seconds
For eyes to adjust in the darkness
Switch off the lamp and draw the curtains
Sit beside me on my grandmother's bed
​
Clandestine meetings on warm afternoons
Summer gingham caressing your salty skin
Innocence so pure it glistens in the shadows
Pounding hearts and long fragmented breaths
​
We drove the winding roads with the top down
It was a few years later reunited as strangers
You no longer looked at me with loving eyes
Your voice still asking when I was coming home
​
I never got the note you left me there
Only ink-stained sheets of crumpled paper
Stuffed into the mailbox like the morning Trib
Like yesterday's news, never afraid of tomorrow
02FEB21

SCHÖNKE
26JAN21

TETTERO
Behind the Glass​
​
They say age is just a number
Memory, an obnoxious inconvenience
How could I forgot your birthday
Or Carole King's last name
​
I try to ignore the subtle nagging changes
Sleep away my angst and apprehension
Suck my teeth and laugh at my own jokes
Whatever it takes to reel in my faculties
​
Aging is the cruelest game
No rules, no winners, no rewards
Only aches and heartbreaks, loss and loneliness
The forgetting, the forgotten and the woe
​
I made a promise which I could not keep
To never think of you again that way
To hide the memories behind the glass
In the inner chasms of my moldering mind
Exposed​
​
Bare and raw for the world to see
The soul exposed to vicious disdain
Stood alone destitute and decayed
Bereft of any earthly pleasures
​
Harboring resolve beneath pure blue skies
Nothing remains of yesterday's news
When we were young and innocent
Unencumbered by life's misapprehensions
​
The bark peeled back on a dying tree
Revealing its inner soft fleshy bast
Smooth and white like creamy skin
Dripping remains of morning dew
​
I looked for you once in the dry riverbed
Nearly drowned in tear-smothered grass
You appeared on the knoll dressed in black
Carrying your life in a small canvas sack
19JAN21

SCHÖNKE
The Passage of Time
​
X
12JAN21

CARDOSO
05JAN21

TETTERO
The Waning Season​
​
It seems forever since I lasted strolled the avenues
The waning season's monotone glow
Continues shining in the cold evening air
Illuminating dancing branches on leafless trees
​
The streets are silent and clean
Absent of humanity and glee
Vagrants and travelers introspective
Innocent bystanders guilty only of their reality
​
There are spirits drifting above the brume
Ringnecked parakeets nesting near the Hofvijver
Chimneys belching dank plumes of smoke
Choking the city's constricted lungs
​
The spring is waiting in the wings
Patiently it hovers high above the cloudscape
Bidding farewell to souls succumbed to winter's affliction
While life and death hold claim to the same flickering lights