The Sea

I’ve been trying to get here all along   To the END   Walking a new trail is like reading a book Twists, turns, surprising perspectives Memories are summoned Like ghosts in the wind And I read myself into every word Every footstep And I just keep turning pages And walking Eager for the conclusion And yet I somehow hope The End will never come   Today I found it here   “END OF TRAIL”...

She is the one Who first loved me enough To show me I could be A better man than I was   And you can imagine How that worked out... Can a man with an inner-tube And a cooler full of beers Turn a stagnant pond Into a mighty river Just by jumping in?   And yet… She is the one Who continued to love me enough To try to chip away To grind and...

In the home where I grew up A porcelain monk lived on the kitchen counter Belly full of cookies Admonishing us not to steal Back when the house was full of sneaky fingers   I saw him enter the kitchen one day 30 years ago Something clearly wrong Part of him had vanished Struggling for the words To tell me that my grandpa was gone His father The pastor The preacher Thou Shalt Not Steal...

I was made in California Born in Disneyland With a busted lung And a broken set of wings So it’s been foot on the ground And wheel on the road Up and down In exile ever since To a cold and distant shore Far from the evening palms And citrus mornings Roots bound In the floor of the van Stunted growth With a beautiful view Has been my holy rolling   Double yellow Single broken...

What day is it now? How long has it been? I miss my lover and my friend And while I know that it’s not quite really a sin I’ve now fallen in love With a very light wind Someone to speak with This breeze she is mine We’ll speak with each other And we’ll speak in rhyme While my body’s become A negative space Where flesh used to be And what once had a face...

“Will this be your first?” That was my first stupid question for them I’m not very good at this They were a beautiful young couple Watching another perfect Southern California sunset From the edge of a crumbling cliff Over the mirror of the sea Clearly expecting A green flash I’d just finished drinking 3 beers That’s not exactly the usual for me But I was with good friends that day And it sometimes goes that...

It’s the end of the west It’s the setting sun It’s a train-wreck that’s only just begun   It’s a crowded bar It’s the law of the land It’s illicit activities obscured by hot sand   It’s a war at sea It’s the first shots fired It’s victory in sight, though not the one desired   It’s a shift in the wind It’s an outgoing tide It’s the last man standing as the captain died...

Part I: She Found Me   I saw the ocean’s waves Advancing like an army to war I heard each marching wave Perish in the cannon’s roar Each one a soldier of the sun Born of water, and nothing more   I saw the howling wind Performing calculations in the sky I heard the voice of the wind Reciting computations cold and dry I saw it carrying the zeros From the problems facing you and...

Look out of any window… Dividing the morning And the evening And the day into thirds   What’s a window but a box for the sky? And what’s the sky but a box full of birds? And what’s a bird but a box for our dreams? And what’s a dream but a box full of words?   And what’s a word but a box full of meaning? And what does it mean to be a...

Who of us isn’t a word about to be spoken to a friend? A ship about to leave the local harbor? When the anchor is pulled We’ll sail into a new tomorrow As dark and unknowable As the deep   Who of us isn’t question asked in earnest? A fishing vessel on the open ocean? Lines cast and waiting To bring in a harvest To feed the world Maybe today   Who of us isn’t...