THE DATE

She laughs

a little too hard.

She tries a little

too much.

She is supposed to be out

enjoying this thing.

But she can’t stop thinking

of him and how much she

wishes he were here,

instead of this guy,

who makes her laugh

a little too hard.

She laughs

a little too hard.

She tries a little

too much.

She is supposed to be out

enjoying this thing.

But she can’t stop thinking

of him and how much she

wishes he were here,

instead of this guy,

who makes her laugh

a little too hard.

 Dreams

The stained glass

picture that is my dream,

shatters to thin, gossamer

shards as I as reach

up from sleep

grabbing at them, trying

to keep the picture in tack.

Too late, they dissolve,

sugar candy in my hands

and slip back into that shadow world

that is the nether

regions of my mind.

Bubbling just below the surface,

just out of reach

the images entice me,

tantalizingly close.

I turn to look and they

wash away,

chalk pictures in the rain.

PAPER HEART                                                                                                                              

I take out the paper,

red, pink and silver.

I lay out the best, small scissors and                                                           

freshest glue.

I carefully fold the colored paper

into two neat halves and slowly cut

the  paper heart.

And then another and another.

With the glue,

I place them together, delicately.

I create the perfect, beautiful

paper heart.

I hold this to you and you take it

and tear out a small hole

in the middle.

You hand it back to me

and smile – sweetly. 

I am left with a tear in the middle

of my beautiful, beautiful, heart.                      

They are old,

they are young,

they are middle.

They dress in all grey colors;

neither black nor white,

just faded shades of

everything.

They sit in the train station

and watch TV or sleep;

they don’t take the train.

The trains come and go

on every hour and  the half.

The people dump out in gabbling gobs then,

get sucked back in through

clanging metal doors.

The men sit and stare;

happy couples run and grab each other,

then say teary farewells.

Teens, in groups, walk arm in arm,

 chattering parakeets.

The men sit with stony expressions.

People drink coffee and eat ice cream.

The stores open and close,

the people go home.

The men sit;

they don’t take the train.