Poems

The books wait in the storage locker
Holding someone’s memories
Unlocked now by the courts
After much meaningless meandering
Like a chapter out of Dickens
Strangers come for what treasures
There might be in this unlikely place
With secrets sealed in lost memories
The books offer themselves up
Ever hopeful of new readers

Relationships with people and things
Not thought through all the way
The stove looked good for camping but...
The bar conversation was fun but...
The restaurant had great reviews but...
The roofer had good recommendations but...
Consumer Reports liked the car but...
The stock was a sure thing but...
Your money is safe in this bank but...
It will be a light snow fall but...
I meant to tell you but...
It will only take a minute but...
I love you but...

If there’s nothing new under the sun
Life becomes a series of cliches
About birth high school love divorce
Children fathers mothers cousins
Lousy and lovely meals
Mountain panoramas
Desert panoramas
Ocean panoramas
Grimy ghettoes
But maybe each day’s new
Created just for this Tuesday
Full of artistic opportunity
To be whatever you wish

Among love's graces we shall find
The lovely phrase, "I do not mind"
I do not mind that you are late,
That you don't like to rollerskate.

I do not mind your stated goal
To make me eat more vegetable.
I do not mind your morning breath,
You don't mind mine, though it be death.

I do not mind your heart of stone
when you decide to sleep alone.
I do not mind your constant mess
Your changing plans, your busyness.

I do not mind your failing vision
It hides my flaws that cause derision
I do not mind that you're not jealous
You know it's just for you I'm zealous

Sometimes you like to list for me,
The reasons I should turn and flee,
For every flaw you list and find
My answer still is, "I don't mind"

They call us corvids
It must be stopped
We are not clowns
Like the jays
Descendants of creation
We brought the light
To save them
Watch over them
Even now