
The dogs sleep in balls
tightly curled next to my chair.
Roses bloom outside.
(April 3, 2026)

The dogs sleep in balls
tightly curled next to my chair.
Roses bloom outside.
(April 3, 2026)

The full moon’s near Jupiter—
as if I can know
what someone else has told me.
I believe and see
the sky unfold around me,
each star in its place
fixed tightly with divine faith.
I know only this:
my truth is only my truth.
The chihuahua knows
he must go into the dark;
I open the door.
He barks at a Great-horned owl
who stares into the cold night.
(January 4, 2026)
by

I make our dinner—
noodles with snow peas and shrimp.
She is not hungry.
We have forgotten
how many times we’ve been here.
Decades of hope lost.
Another year ends—
Our pensions are still enough;
the night darkly falls.
We drink to forget—
Tonight we dance a circle;
again, we are here.
Again, day falls into night.
Life is inevitable.
(New Year’s Eve, 2025)

New Year’s Eve (2020)
All day the rain fell
Soaking the cold winter ground
The year ends tonight
(December 31, 2020)
New Year’s Eve
It’s all too simple—
to watch the clock strike midnight:
Dust settles to earth.
Nothing much ever changes:
we laugh, we sing, then we don’t.
(December 31, 2021)
another year
the dogs bark out back
again the wind ignores them
each to their nature
a warm new year’s eve
ends the hottest year ever
our world is burning
we live deluded
without trust in what we see
shadows form our wall
of course old leaves fall
as easy as the sun sets—
another new year
the wind is only the wind
the sun will rise without us
(December 31, 2024)
The Mundane Patterns Along the Way
another day ends
the night swallows the last light
a new year begins
the old clock rings out
ten minutes behind the time
the night knows no time
fireworks break the light
across the darkest of skies
rain falls to the sea
the morning is cold
leaves have fallen from the trees
for now the wind waits
ring out bells ring in ring out
ring in bells ring out ring in
(January 1, 2024)
New Year’s Day
Day breaks once again;
its unrelenting hunger
devours us all.
My end is my beginning;
my beginning is my end.
(January 1, 2022)
A Few Days Past New Year’s
Searching for something else,
a honey bee dances around my head,
Once, I would have jumped up
waving him away; now,
I shake my head,
and he floats away,
as I will eventually. Now
with less time than I’ve had,
there are no new beginnings
just a slow unraveling.
(January 3, 2020)

another bleak day
what autumn color there was
has returned to brown
(December 2, 2025)

storms rage without rain
like shrouds across the dry earth
trees drop their dead leaves
each night grows longer
one more minute of light less—
incremental death
i’m tired of trying—
too cynical to pretend
darkness has not come
it is ironic
with the weight of centuries
nothing can be done
the sycamore’s branches fall
I fear spring will not return
(October 21, 2025)

earth turns towards the sun
trees abandon their crisp leaves
the kidney wood blooms
the heat in texas
hangs heavily in the air
summer will not leave
lizards sprint sprightly
across the back patio
no rain for weeks now
they warn it will end
even now summer lingers
like a slow sickness
everything unfolds slowly
we are here then we are not
(September 22, 2025)

Just another day:
the children go off to school;
students are gunned down.
by

I’m tired of this life,
but not tired enough to die.
The sun rises, then falls.
(August 15, 2025)

Some days just walking—
and I lean from the earth’s core
like a falling star.
I stand up quickly,
birds, planets, and stars swarm like flies;
I fall to my knees.
Nothing is stable,
yet, I expect the sunrise
as I kneel in prayer.
One hand touches a wall,
the other reaches into air
for something not there.
The earth spins about the sun,
as my fingers lose their grip.
(May 3, 2025)