Thirteen

The Sun endures it's Celestial Path
So we in chorus tarry on
And in the wake of traveled space
Another year has come and gone

What marks this place upon the line
Of times more ancient than we know?
The will to shed the tyrant's chains
Those who cast their fear below

Who in the seasons chill and burn
Were set to mind and charity
And of one will the die was cast
Our Nation of Fraternity

That with the pen and linen's might
The blood and treasure guarantee
Upon the Alter of God's Grace
Became The Nation Of The Free

So yes, we set this day aside
Count Thirteen past Midsummer's Eve
Remembering the Patriots Brave
Who gave to us our Liberty

The Veteran

For every hero on the stage
On parade or in the grave
With medals pinned and glory flags unfurled

The humble serviceman by scores
Packs the caissons, Guards the doors
Sails sea and sky across the troubled world

Comrades in arms who heard the call
And stepped across that line for all
Knowing well that fate might call their name

They crossed that sword mark in the dust
For freedoms sake and God they trust
And did it not for fortunes gold or fame

So on Remembrance Day give thanks
To veterans past and current ranks
And Praise Eternal God that they were there

Oh quiet heroes, every one
Without your hand, naught would be won
Pray our acclaim, the purest badge you wear

Decoration Day

We woke up well before the dawn
Each last Monday in May
And went to all the soldiers graves
On decoration day

Then in full dress of blue and gold
With sash and badge and pin
We'd clean and trim and place a flag
For all our fallen kin

Day greater then than Four July
We tallied freedoms bill
And cooked upon an open fire
Till all were fully filled

Then more to point the morrows morn
Each generation train
That those with decorated grave
Have not fallen in vain

Spin

In the wind that blows through the cosmos
Is a vibe pitched higher each day
And it drags to the edges the weak and the mad
Spinning faster and faster they say

But as Hesse put forth in Siddhartha
Those who internalize all
Will step to the middle of life's dual paths
In mastery of their inner call

As the lost and extreme on the edges
Fall to sainthood or debauching style
I'll follow the path of the gentle and meek
Everyday putting myself on trial

Ode to John Gillespie Magee, Jr

John Gillespie Magee, Jr penned the poem High Flight.
My humble sonnet for him

Heaven’s Gate

Oh valiant lad who seized the sky
And took to wing with heart in hand
Where combat raged in final verdicts
Thor’s hammer at your young command

While in such mortal combat there
The poet’s expanding spirit soaring
And with that same heart carried forth
Upon the page with love your mooring

The true and brave who shared your sky
Who hurtled through the air and cloud
O’er heath and sea, to save your kin
Their hearts though mourning, shimmering proud

Regret ye not their eyes are teared
When Glory bound to find your fate
Your pen and linen wait for you
Upon the path to Heaven’s Gate

Shambhala

The sun still rises, I still wake
Oh where the Lord your soul did take
I weep alone
And wonder why
Is all we see fair doomed to die

None may escape the reapers blade
E'en the earth, the Lord has made
Where we reside
This little time
Biding for the sweet sublime

The promise made, we tell our kind
Of all reborn in God's Good Time
And e'en the earth
A plain of glass
Where Shambhala will stand at last

Now I will rise and seek my fate
The Dharma's wheel, it cannot wait
Then I will ride
Until it's done
E'er closer to a setting sun

So come my friends, we'll ride abreast
And pray we can withstand the test
Take a hand
Climb aboard
We'll trust the Word spake by The Lord

Questions

Oh questions, questions; Yes young man
Be glad you've come to me
Who've wandered in the stinging rain
And crossed the angry seas

Who has account and access to
The wisdom of the sages
Gathered like the morning dew
Throughout the passing ages

So sit ye here and bend an ear
Then open up your mind
It is not very often boy
You come across my kind

Patience now, you are so keen
To fit it all forthwith
Inside a box so neat and trim
And overlook the gift

So here it is, all in a phrase
For simple ones to know
You're only here a little time
No guarantees to show

The secret then is looking up
And for that moment raised
Have joy the moment's there at all
Eternal God be Praised

And every moment after that
Seek to exude your love
For it is how you tarry here
As how you're judged above

So be you on your way young prat
And keep your eyes a’tweak
Watch, more than judge, the wounded world
And listen more than speak

The Autumn Wind

The Autumn Wind came brisk today
And begged the leaves come down and play
We have to ask our Mother Oak
They answered in reply

The Mother Oak loved all her leaves
And if they played
Then she’d be pleased
She let them down into the wind to fly

Then in the happy wind they gyred
In colors matching earth and fire
As sunshine split the sky and danced
Amongst the mirth and joy

All day they twirled, ‘till evens bell
The wind grew quiet as shadows fell
And leaf and sun then rested
Exhausted from their play

Then Mother Oak bid all sweet dreams
As Mister Moon smiled down his beams
And Night did bed them all away
To dance again another day

Winston

Into the looming dark
My old friend Winston gazed
“Come hither friend and see the light!”
He said with finger raised

So straining hard and squinting then
I saw a glimmer spare
By and by it closer came
Soon it would be here

It seemed so much a phantom
Floating there upon the mist
But as its bearing yielded not
I saw his sat’ric twist

The light was firm embedded
Upon a giant of wrath
And there on either side of me
Were rails that bound its path

I turned to see my world of love
In peril dire and dread
And wondered why I tarried so
When I’d much warning had

Dear Winston tried to make a point
He did so as a Tao
That sometimes peril come as light
And recognize it now

For soon your group enlightenment
May be your abrogation
There’s never peace where justice fails
And giants presage your nation

Ra

Oh, that I with idle jest have marked a shadow
Above the worried brow of any I call friend.
Who would with that same fidelity as Cardinals, red winged,
Set upon a stand of sunflowers, knowing only that their fellowship
Cannot stop the breeze or season
Nor alter in it's Majesty The Celestial Path of Ra.
Where in such place mark the surety that mortal bonds are soon loosed
And all we have is but a vapor,
Left here only to comfort one another in our shared affliction.

Enchanted

We never know when fate will strike
And with what hammer it will bring
Will sorrow fall in buffeting blows
Or light and joy as music rings

For some the burden of their path
Is set the day that life begins
Was Karma there to chart the way?
With tally grim of prior sins?

But sometimes one will slip the veil
And in poetic bliss expand
Then share the light and music sweet
As shimmering forms escape their hand

Then we out in the hinterlands
Will smile and say “I knew them when”
Remembering the gentle child
Who loved us all, and will again

Ode to Tony Snow

A greater man than Irish Tim
Has passed beyond the veil
And left us on the mortal side
To strive and win or fail

But we who hear the masters call
Must walk the narrow way
There is no morrow in this world
There's only this today

So when today is just a dream
Our bread no more to earn
Beyond the gate and starry path
Whose travelers wont return

North Wind

Seething souls filled with self hate
Drew the Devil to the gate
Spawned the water monster dread
Coming west to claim its dead

From the night air came the song
Waking all the slumb’ring throng
And we heard the quiet strain
O’er and o’er the song refrained

“Come North wind and we will see
All good things whar' meant to be
Our bonds tighter and defined
Whittlin' out the justice kind.”

Then the full moon broke the rim
Turned we all to call the wind
Firm Polaris showed the way
Low the song began to play

In the plains and mountains breaking
Earth and air were slowly quaking
Joined we then, North Wind’s song
From the lips of all the throng

“Come North wind and we will see
All good things whar' meant to be
Our bonds tighter and defined
Whittlin' out the justice kind.”

In the night the Doves did coo
As we buzzed the didgeridoo
Mocking bird and Jay awoke
Then Majestic Cardinal spoke

“Hear us now and know the truth.
God has made us master sooth.
Sleepers waken, hear the song.”
All together sang the throng.

“Come North wind and we will see
All good things whar' meant to be
Our bonds tighter and defined
Whittlin' out the justice kind.”

Drained the hate that spawned the gale,
Souls you sold for necklace shells,
Balance like a scything blade,
Sets upon the life you've made.

In this time of Shangri-La,
More than ever, turn to God
"All's forgiven!" Sing the strain,
wicking off survival's pains.

“Come North wind and we will see
All good things whar' meant to be
Our bonds tighter and defined
Whittlin' out the justice kind.”

Now the storm is but a lull
Still your basket's never full
So in Grace present your needs
to the Sacred Heart that bleeds

Ode to Tim Russert

There’s a hole in the world where a good man stood
And a vacuum in his place
Where the wind of sorrow rushes in
O’er the shadow of his face

Left in the wake of his wit and verve
The waters yet are rippled
Now the footprints of a giant to fill
With a loss that leaves us crippled

So who will raise the standard here
Where he fell and left it lying
In a moment please, if you don’t mind
Give us just a pause for crying

Good-Bye Poem To The Professor

Always tout the higher path,
Share the spark you're given.
With gentle hand dissuade the lax,
Press the life you're livin'

Your Friend,
Beto

On The Road

On the road. Like a Dharma Bum
My bible penned by Kerouac
What I have in sovereign verve
Makes up for any thing I lack

Your pillowed beds and comforters
Will make you soft and wake too late
Arise and ride the Dharma's wheel
It travels on. It cannot wait

And though I bed in humble kind
Or lader with the kit and freight
The world is mine and all it holds
I travel on. I cannot wait

Little Bluejay

The nest was too small for you
Newly mated were your sires
And the food too plentiful
Grow beyond the rim you did

So you fell and would have perished
But for one of tender heart
Took the very hat that shaded
Filled with rose petals and you

Then the surrogate nest was lifted
In the old pine tree was set
By the nest twas insufficient
While the elders cried and pecked

Now the dust has fully settled
In the straw hat being fed
Sitting in the sweet rose petals
What a mansion for a fledge

Underwood

Oh grand machine of grand design
I press your keys one at a time.
Pray words take form on rendered wood.
That I will craft them fine and good
With fair intent and understood
The gilded script now fading, wrinkling
Spaced by hand upon the frame
So long ago yet all I see
Is that script staring back at me
The pulp and linen standing by
A pile so neatly stacked and styled
I pray the words will come, and good
Yet all I see is Underwood
Somewhere within my huddled id
The words are there but staying hid
And only one fine gilded word
On ancient frame in wrinkling script
Is there within my frame of view
I close my eyes but it remains
And though I muse of joy and pains
My poor imagination strains
The grand machine of grand design
With keys worn barren over time
Yet every station's script remains
I pray the words will come, and good
Yet all I see is Underwood

Full Moon Haiku

Vernal Moonlight Falls
Blossoms Let Go In The Wind
Shadows Run With Them

My Song

I wrote this song so long ago
The years gone on the fly
I poured my love out on the page
I'm sure I must have cried

I've strung it up and strung it down
And tuned it back and forth
Played it for the crowd and kin
Sold for all it's worth

Now I open up my Martin Case
To give it one more try
The crowd is waiting noisily
They love it when I cry

The hall is quiet and empty now
the lights are low and such
Just sitting with my old guitar
And the tune I've played too much

The wisdom comes upon me now
While sitting in my pain
What you write to show your love
Should ne'er be worked for gain

For then your love is just a tool
To fill your wallet spare
And though your coffers my be filled
Your heart will then be bare

Soldiers Poem

Antietam Creek

How is it now that we are borne

upon a wave of sacrifice,
whose lives were bound for greater things

yet now we pay the price.
And whose firm shoulders turned to bear

the blows for those behind.
Into our foe we press ourselves

as fates grim judgment pares the rind.
And how we think our selves above

things more eternal than we stand,
and bear upon our enemy

with death or life in gloved hand.
Stand not as what great wind may blow,

fore swear, we say we will advance,
as waves of grain encumbering

the field for sure will be entranced,
Against that wind we throw ourselves

for those we have behind.
And fates grim judgment pares the rind.

Pray Justice pares the rind.

"O beautiful for glory-tale
of liberating strife
when once and twice
for mans avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

Going Home

We may not go back and start over

No matter how deeply we mourn

For the world we would find

On our journey's return

Would not be the one whence we're borne.

Ochoa

Going Home

I was just passing through my childhood hometown
And noticed the old school was razed to the ground.

The path I had trod from my home to its doors
Was paved over
and painted
and not there anymore.

Nostalgic, I followed the now missing path
In hopes it would take me someplace in my past.

A place where the sky rang with laughter and shouts
And we chased one another in mystical bouts.

Bouts of wonder and fancy, of Kings and their pawns
But the path to that moment was paved over and gone.

And there in its place were realities pains.
The sum of existence in losses and gains.

And the anguish rose up in my throat in a rush
As my sum was the balance of dreams that were crushed.

I stood on that path now paved over and gone
And my tears stained its paint as I wrote down this poem.

Songbird

I love the re-birth that happens on our hill every year.
The songbirds are starting to come back after two years of decline.

Every spring, our yellow Labrador sheds her beautiful winter coat.
We brush her in the evenings and leave the hair out on the bushes.
The birds then come and take it to build their nests.
You can spot the nests in the green canopy by the yellow fluff.
The joy it gives this dog is amazing, that the bird babies have
a soft bed because of her. She is so gentle natured.

In honor of spring and the songbird’s return, I am reposting this poem.

The Little House That Sways In The Wind

I know you don't know me but I am your friend
I live behind your house,
In the little house that sways in the wind.

I remember the day when you first came to stay
At the house on the corner of fifteenth and main.
I sang you my song and fluffed up my fluff
To show you I’m little but I’m very tough.
I know you don't know me but I am your friend
I live in the little house that sways in the wind.

I watched as you played when the weather was nice
And as the snow covered the ground once or twice.
I laughed as you ran like a cat from the rain
And was sad when you cried from a hurtie in pain.
I know you don't know me but I am your friend
I live in the little house that sways in the wind.

I see you each day that you set off to school
And welcome you back in the mid-afternoon.
I look for you putting the seed out to share
And sing my song clearly so you’ll know I’m there.
I know you don't know me but I am your friend
I live behind your house,
In the little house that sways in the wind.

Stardust

I set my finger in the stardust
And traced a winding line
The path of my ancestors
Tracked from the dawn of time

Sparkles winked as the line took form
And glinted in my eyes
Past and future were one and same
Freedom wakened in my mind

Then all my worldly thought of want
Was set upon the scales
Only light and peace remained
The end of all travails

What wonder then that we are light
And left here all alone
Pray forgive you brother’s sin
As he forgives your own

Then on that day we all repent
We’ll raise our eyes and see
The sky will rend and Heaven return
And we, once more, stardust will be

Solstice Moon

Under the solstice moon
We danced in ragged rings
As dogs sniffed the wind
Their noses in the sky

There the breath of God
Driftng through Orion’s Belt
Took our humble prayers
Through footless halls night

Lo the power washed us
And lifted us on high
Where the sun will come again
Reborn upon the wheel

So Frankincense smoke slow
Float upon the winter air
The tally of our needs
God’s grace to fill once more

Eternal Green

A Christmas Eve
Long past and gone
The Yuletide Carol
Of a heart gone wrong

We voyeur here
Old Scrooge and young
The Spirits Three
And the wisdom wrung

As it unfolds
The Carol play
I shed a tear
For the heart once gay

Then as the nails
Of life drive in
And hang the heart
We see all man’s sin

Dear Mister Scrooge
For you a prayer
Your broken heart
Be it mended here

Though stranded be
On rocky shoal
God’s lifeboat sent
Here to save us all

So sing with Joy
And raise the strain
Light trees of love
And redeem our pain

That we like Scrooge
May all walk free
Accept God’s gift
Of Eternal Green

Ode to Albert Gore

All have come
And all have passed
Think thee now are mightiest?
Can you will the rain to fall?
Wind to blow?
Turn spring to fall?
Even with your greatest power
You are less than bird and flower.
In a Lotus of the Indra
We are but a tiny ember.
Soon this age will pass away
Can you will your self to stay?

The Climbing Tree

We ran all day and climbed the trees
Without the fear of falling
But with respect for gravity
And always felt it calling

We rode in cars without air bags
The steel dashboard projecting
On slick hard seats in front and back
With no seatbelts protecting

We ate the food called poison now
And still grew into Titans
Because we ran or rode our bikes
And did our own fist fightin’

We heard an independent call
And hated slavery’s chains
We roamed at will and rode the waves
And suffered freedom’s pains

That one or two were taken out
Pursuing freedom’s verve
Was caution tale and understood
And served to steel our nerve

Yet now the children prattle by
In uniforms once earned
A tear comes to my wizened eye
And lesson hard is learned

The pain that you’re protecting from
Was once a stage of growth
So chose between a man or child
You cannot have them both

The Veteran

For every hero on the stage
On parade or in the grave
With medals pinned and glory flags unfurled

The humble serviceman by scores
Packs the caissons, Guards the doors
Sails sea and sky across the troubled world

Comrades in arms who heard the call
And stepped across that line for all
Knowing well that fate might call their name

They crossed that sword mark in the dust
For freedoms sake and God they trust
And did it not for fortunes gold or fame

So on Remembrance Day give thanks
To veterans past and current ranks
And Praise Eternal God that they were there

Oh quiet heroes, every one
Without your hand, naught would be won
Pray our acclaim, the purest badge you wear

Hope Chest

It seems the only flawless thing
This spinning wheel of sky
So here beneath its constant passing
Ever waiting I

Held safe within a chest of hope
The heart I have to share
Come closer friend and look inside
I have it over here

And there displayed for all to see
The artist's verdant heart
And laid about for all to view
Its thought provoking art

So marveling at the works on view
Their soft emotions shimmering
That floated from the chest of hope
Poured from the heart there brimming

Remember then this wisdom shared
From sages grey and coy
That all the world’s inside of you
And it’s set free by joy

So as the sky and sun wheel on
And constant pass above
Keepsake within your chest of hope
The verdant heart of love

**************************

Dedicated to Kenny, who became a man across the street from me.

Photo and multimedia artwork by Kenneth E Parris III

The Fight

This is a story about bullies and those who are bullied. Sometimes a bully gets his.

The first four and a half years of my life were spent
on Air Force bases in Bangor, Fort Worth and Austin.
When we moved to Bergstrom I was big enough
to wander off by myself when I pleased.

We lived in officer’s quarters but since my father
was only a Warrant Officer our bungalow for six
was bounded behind by a big drainage ditch
and the Non-Com families’ duplexes.

There was a big kid that lived directly behind me.
For some reason he didn't attend school with the other kids.
He was seven but could throw a rock with dread accuracy
from a hundred feet.
He probably turned out to be a serial killer or a major league pitcher.
"He" would wait for me to come out my back door and
"He" would nail me with a rock.
Needless to say I learned to get out of the house and
into the neighborhood to play without him knowing.

One fine October day my mother sent me to the park with
a special treat for a mini picnic.
The sky was the kind of thin blue sky with a crisp dryness
that makes Austin so attractive.
That morning she had baked bread and roasted fresh peanuts.
Then she made her special peanut butter.
The kind of peanut butter that dwarfs duct tape in stickabilty.
You had to be very careful with her peanut butter and eat it slowly.
It would choke a whale if eaten too fast.

So there I was, carefully balancing a slab sandwich
topped with at least a half inch of the best damn peanut butter
you have ever eaten, walking to the swing set park at the end of the row.
The slab sandwich was relatively the size of
a bed pillow in my small hand.

I had just taken a seat on a swing and was formulating the
logistics of eating such a formidable treat when
there "He" was, coming down the ditch, hurling threats and curses.
Sort of like the Jabberwocky in Lewis Carroll’s poem
but armed with a big tree branch that had been
trimmed along the ditch the day before.

I knew I couldn't out run him and fighting an armed
thug twice my size without a weapon of my own
was suicide so I stood my ground,
armed with an open faced peanut butter sandwich.
I was only four but already battle hardened.

A war movie I had seen once came to my mind
with the Officer ordering his men "HOLD, HOLD, FIRE!"
As he raised his arms to deliver a blow with the branch,
I closed ground and delivered an open palm strike with my right hand.
A hand that was filled with perhaps the stickiest substance on earth.

The instantaneousness of the results was amazing.
The branch dropped from his grip as if God Himself had swatted it away.
He stumbled backwards like a dog that had suddenly gotten a box stuck over its face.
(That’s another story)
There was a long second before he realized what had happened.
His hands began to tear at his face in a futile attempt to
remove the deadly mask of whale choking peanut butter.
The peanut butter had filled his mouth, nose and
glued his eyes open but covered.
He finally got a part of his mouth free and was able to get a little breath.
The low but growing wail that came from that small hole
caused the dogs in the vicinity bark furiously.

After he had drawn another small breath there was a pause,
then a scream so blood curdling that it could be used as a torture device.
He then began to scream "I'm Blind! I'm Blind!"
Wives and Mothers ran to the ditch to see what had happened
and there "He" was.
Smeared peanut butter and torn chunks of home baked bread
covering his face and hands.
My mother helped the hysterically sobbing "him"
get home and 'he' never bothered me again.
The word got around.
The other bullies never bothered me again either.

Lonely Whistle

When the rain's just right and the wind blows hard
From the south southeast you can hear her whistle
Moanin’ low up Cypress Draw in the dusky air

She’s movin’ on to places strange and far
With a poundin’ diesel roar that shakes the earth
Throbbin’ low up Cypress Draw in the dusky air

I stop my toil for a brief sad moment
Listenin’ hard till she’s gone again
The mem'ry floats up Cypress Draw in the dusky air

Some day when the rain and the wind’s just right
I’ll make my way down to those tracks
And lay in wait down Cypress Draw in the dusky air

If I screw my courage up enough
To grab that box car flyin’ by
At a breakneck clip up Cypress Draw in the dusky air

Then I’ll ne’er look back and ride that flyer
Till the sky falls in and the mountains crash
And just my ghost walks Cypress Draw in the dusky air

The Night

Deep, dark, mysterious
The night goes on before.
Dappled on its inky fabric,
Tiny bits of light
Tease of life unknown.
We have such a luxury,
That day divides our Night.
But out beyond our shores,
There is only the Night.
So as I float and dream,
Upon the blessed waters,
I submit to the Eternal Night.
Its wondrous chasm frees me.
For all I’ve ever been,
Or all will ever be,
There is only this one moment.
Floating free.
In the cryptic chasm of the Night.

The grand oaks teach us patience.
Yet grasp they ever for the day.
And muse in ancient verbs
Abstruse tomes, written by the wind.
But in this magic moment
Enlightened by the unfathomable,
The oaks and wind sing a secret song.
Renewing their fealty to the Night.
And I have my martial music,
That I may march into the infinite.
The Night

Ode to Mrs Olson who always had faith in me.

I remember the hat Mrs. Olson wore
As she rode the bus each day
She’d bought it downtown at Woolworth's
I've forgotten how little she paid

But she cherished its presence above her brow
And was whole when it was in place
It was decked with flowers and Irish crochet
And it shielded the sun from her face

Yet under its brim was the sun itself
As she beamed to the world her love
And rode the bus to St Mary’s
To light candles for those now above

I’d sit as her escort and she’d talk of life
While we wended the bumpy miles
She taught me of duty, and Gods Holy Hand
And to always speak sweetly and smile

Then one chilly morning she wasn't aboard
So I queried the bus driver’s thought
And exited there in the middle of the block
He’d barely just got the bus stopped

I fairly flew as I raced to her door
And knocked, but got no reply
I went around back and found her gone
Then I sat in the garden and cried

I smiled and spoke sweetly, how I’d miss her so
To ne’er see again her bright face
And went to St Mary’s when they laid her to rest
With her hat set neatly in place

The Shadow of the Passing Sky

Did you know me?
I was there
Though you only noticed the breeze
Or the sound of water
Falling in the distance
Yet underneath your steps was my work
That all I ever needed was a nod
Or truthful remark, be it good or bad
Still, it was too high a price for you
So I faded, broken and forgotten
To trespass your path no more
It has no consequence
As one retires another comes
The passing wheel of sky continues on
The broken lay in the shadow of its passing
To be known no more

Places

I sat upon my duffle
On the shoulder of the road
And looked back in the distance
At the path that I chose

The places that I’d visited
Some for just a time
Others where I’d tarried
Many were sublime

But there were other places
Where wreckage marked my way
And sorrow fell upon me there
Like water falls from rain

I wished that I could travel back
And start my walk anew
With wisdom that I did not have
When memories were few

But that alas was not to be
And so I rose again
Trekking towards the sunset
As the path was darkening

Then realized the wisdom gained
Was mine to use right now
And felt a springing in my step
Quickened by the Tao

And glancing back to where I’d been
When sorrow had me bowed
I saw the weight I’d carried
On that shoulder of the road

I could not pay for what I’d done
However hard I tried
Seems forgiveness is a virtue
That’s best when self applied

So now I’ll greet each traveler
With that same grace I found
And share the wisdom of my path
With those who’ll stick around

I remember when the world was new

I remember when the world was new
And dangling from my every breath
Was the wonder of the summer fields
The life called forth from the very mud
Creation of the wind and sun
Our field was worked and the fresh earth turned
My dogs came down from their romp to see
The cool new life from the tillings called them
With musty sweetness on the breeze
I passed the way on the rippling blacktop
Immortal on my Huffy steed
Gazing off on the brimming life
Then from the tillings, the dogs, they called me
"Join us here and cool yourself"
"Roll with us in the fecund briskness"
"Soon the golden fire will quell"
"Then we will seek our solace elsewhere"
"In new mown grass or water spilled"
I laughed a good dog laugh to them
And set it down in the stream of life
Like a fallen leaf or blade of grass
Then on my way and the laugh adrift
The dogs will find it passing
And laugh as well

The Silence of the Night

I paint the silence of the night
With brush strokes broad and free
On canvas weaved of solitude
In colors others may not see

The sleeping world is mine alone
To fashion as I’m wont to try
But comes the creeping steady dawn
In ribbons on a waking sky

Then as the slumb’ring land bestirs
I set my paint brush out of sight
And wait until it sleeps again
To paint the silence of the night

The Old Man's Drawer

An old matchbook and a napkin ring from a place we went to dine
Some socks with holes and some thin t-shirts that he swore were still just fine
Some old wrist watches unrepaired and a ring that didn't fit
Are what remains of a life well lived that the others didn't get

You may have passed him on his way and said good day and all
And never known how your lives were blessed by this gentle loving soul
Now I sit alone with his memory as the others have gone home
And the mourning swells in my heart and eyes as it settles in "He's gone"

It's for myself alone I mourn for I am left behind
But hoped I'd find him in the end adorned in glorious kind
Then hand in hand we'd wend the way to where there's much to learn
And from who's gate and starry path this traveler won't return

The Highway's Song

In the wee hours on a stormy night
The highway called again
I like home and the simple things
But the highway is my friend

Geese were crying from the waters edge
As the wind blew cool and wet
A lonely dog barked at the sky
My heart and soul were set

I took my tote from the closet top
And flung it on the empty bed
Then fit my world in a Stromberg bag
While the highway's song ran through my head

I left the keys on the counter top
With a good-bye note for all
As I filled the door the geese took flight
And we answered the highways call

Dog Joy

Dogs are, that they might have joy

That in God's service, labor here

Bring us peace, as a child well raised

And love so freely without fear

Photograph

Hello my friend who's always there
Whose gaze does not wander
Nor the edges droop on a perfect smile
Though you left the door so long ago
Still your phantom lingers
On paper, captured 'neath a sheet of glass
It's good to know one's limitations
And me, the limit of your presence here
Still in the face of storm or conflagration
It's you I'll risk my tenure in this borne to save
The others captive, hanging here

Or set about for all to see

Witness time in silent confirmation
Caught in moments now long past and gone
Am I captive also in a box or album somewhere?
Or 'neath a sheet of glass as you are here
And though that moment caught me with a smile
Below the thin patina am I trapped forever
Broken hearted or malicious in my thought
Perhaps the the primitives were right to fear it
With power to take a wafer from your soul
For all to view the dissection

In microscopic examination
Defenseless to the moment for one's self

The Memory Drawer

I pulled a first remembrance from the mem’ry chest
And set it on the table for a while
We reminisced for hours of the time we met
The both of us were sitting with a smile

But soon the sun was setting and the shadows crept
And I returned the mem'ry to its place
Then somewhere in the mem’ry chest, the mem’ry wept
But seems those tears were painted on my face

I looked into the mirror o'r the mem’ry chest
As light was fading softly from the day
Then hushed my tears and counted all the ways I’m blessed
And took the mem’ry out once more to play

The Sunken Road III. Antietum Creek

I was just a baritone choirboy
Followin' orders and friends
In such pursuit, I learned how to shoot
And how to take means to their ends

Then one night the Captain he stopped me
And asked me if I had the stuff
To lead a brave comp'ny of men up the hill
Did I think I was up to snuff?

The words I spoke to the Captain
Haunt me now many years past
"I'll lead where you say and we'll carry the day."
My chance for glory at last

So I called the men 'round in the wee hours
And boasted of my new command
They looked at me stark out there in the dark
Now I held their lives in my hands

We all went back to our billets
And gathered our meager effects
Then penned letters home to those we had known
And wills of our final directs

The dawn broke cold and remorseless
Our breakfast was bacon and tack
Then I led with a hymn of bein' home again
And our spirits were better on track

We mustered in front of the others
And formed in orderly lines
Then bravely struck out with a soldierly shout
As the sun rose over the pines

Halfway up the hill no resistance
So we all broke into a run
Our colors were stiff in a crisp morning wind
You’d almost have thought it was fun

Then the first volley busted our rapture
And brought us all back to our roots
But we dared not relent and redoubled our bent
As if we had wings on our boots

The front rank was startin’ to stumble
And some were cryin’ and prayin’
As lead and sorrow fell on our troop
Like water falls from rain

We'd all been pressing hard forward
When the bugle blew recall
So we parried our tack and all doubled back
Yet we still continued to fall

I picked up the colors a lyin'
Where the troop who was sportin' them fell
I raised them again for the faith of my friends
And we all let out a loud yell

It seemed like an eternal journey
To make it back down to our kin
I fell to my knees and begged the Lord please
don't send us back up there again

I turned to rally my comp'ny
And found my self standin' alone
They were still in the field that would not yield
I was all that was left of my own

Then the captain called me a hero
That honor was mine that day
But I wasn't much proud and I wept out loud
'Cause my troops were the ones who had paid

The battle was done in a few days
And a truce was called for a while
To gather the dead all shot up with lead
And bury them soldierly style

Pinned in the backs of their jackets
Nestled there in the fair ferns
Were the letters and wills, hair locks and bills
Stamped for their own self return

Now that the fightin's all over
I went back home to my call
I remember my men when fall comes again
And the others who served with us all

So don't take for granted your freedom
Remember that some here were pressed
And how brave comp'nies of men fight for you
And charge you not for their deaths

I was just a baritone choirboy
Followin' orders and friends

Memorial Day

I called to them but they were gone
Yet still I hear their crys
Of Rebel yells and cannon shells
Then silent bye and bye

So it is that we are born
Of Patriot Rebel kin
For us the shackles torn away
Moved forward from our sin

From Kings we came, slave and master
Down to brothers in the end
Tightly grip the thread that binds us
Lest we be torn from the limb

We alone of all the nations
Shed our blood for freedoms call
So Gods' blessings do abound us
Save us even when we fall

Ner' forget the ones who've served us
Honor every end of May
Cheer the brave and weary soldier
Here at home and far away

Easter

Gethsemane, we found our Lord
Bleeding there from every pore
And taking then the bitter cup
to save us all with Holy Love

Betrayed there, came they for his skin
Since Judas satan entered in
Thirty pieces was the weight
That seeming sealed our Saviours fate

But railed He not against the field
By Grace the severed ear He healed
Then borne away and roughly so
Yet anger did our Lord not show

And in the Temple of his Father
Blind men sent Him to be slaughtered
Still He did not raise a hand
And went forth Sacrificial Lamb

So to the roman governor
The mob proceded through the door
But Pilate found no fault in him
And saw the special soul within

Then rioting, the mob did chant
Give us Barabas, kill this man
So Pilate turned Barabas free
And beat the Lord relentlesly

So showed the visage marred to them
And washed he then his bloody hands
A wooden cross was bound to Him
Whom Pilate judged was without sin

To Calvary with whips and cords
They drove our Savior on before
In weariness he stumbled such
That Simone the Cyrene helped crutch

So on the two did bear the tree
That to it nailed our Lord would be
Then cried out did the King Of Jews
"Forgive, they know not what they do!"

Then gambled did they for his cloak
And to the Heavens Jesus spoke
Abba, Abba can't You see?
Why has't Thou forsaken Me?

Then in the sky a Heavn'ly Host
Appeared and Christ gave up the Ghost
So in the tomb they laid our Lord
And rolled a stone before the door

Then three days hence was Easter Morn
And Christ arose in flesh reborn
Salvation now was fait complete
With nail marks in the hands and feet

Mark we this day and waiting brave
That He arose mans soul to save
And so to all my kindred say
"He comes again, prepare the way!"

Palm Sunday

On a colt, the foal of a donkey
The King removed the veil
So tell ye the daughter of Sion
He comes, prepare the way.
Then laid upon the road there
Were garments, palms and faith
Hosanna in the highest
The King reveals his face

The multitude told the city
Of Galilee they say
From Nazareth by the sea side
He comes, prepare the way.
Then laid upon the road there
Were garments, palms and faith
Hosanna in the highest
The King reveals his face

Then went the King to the Temple
And wept he for the fate
T'was carried upon his shoulders
He comes, prepare the way.
Then laid upon the road there
Were garments, palms and faith
Hosanna in the highest
The King reveals his face

The Death of Justice

Fitzgerald! Fitzgerald! your fearful trial is done;
The lie has weathered every rack, the scalp you sought soon won;
The jurys out, though they're in doubt, the kossacks are exulting,
While follow all the comic tale of Wilson, grim and daring.
But O Karl! Karl! Karl!
O the swelled and manxome head!
Now mocking truth, justice lies
Fallen cold and dead.

II.
O jury! dear Jury! rise up and take the bait;
Rise up! For you the shite is flung, for you the kossacks wait:
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths, for Scooters scalp a'bringing:
For you they wait, the seething mob, their eager faces turning.
Here Jury! dear jury!
It's Rove that's in your head;
It is some dream and woven web,
Fitz prays your logic's dead.

III.
The Fitzmas did not snag him, his lips are pale and thin;
He's free to walk and talk the talk that Nancy's off her ken;
The case is finished safe and sound, its cozen closed and done;
From hoax and tripe and closing's shite awaits the object won!
Exult, O Times, and gull, O Post!
But I with mournful dread,
Walk the rue where justice lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

The Study Group

They studied restudied and pondered
Then postulated in prose
They offered recommendations
That only pertained to those
The poor poor rabble and scrabble
They offered naught of their kind
The high and lofty elitist
That wander round practically blind

Hold Onto Your Love

The nest was empty so it seems that nature had it’s way
Oh how I loved to watch them frolic there among the leaves
Yet in that frolic vigilance was ruling every move
And those forgetting that were first to go

Ever waiting there are those to catch unguarded bliss
Careful now or Christmas lights and love will rended be
We teeter on the edge, hand in hand traverse the blade
Hold onto your love this moment passing

The sum of what is true, that all there is are we together
It’s sad that some amongst us cannot see
I decorate the tree to mark the beauty of the moment
When God sent here a lifeboat for us all

There are those who’ll rend the very fabric that enfolds them
And there are those who sew the ragged edge
Still every morn the brightly feathered nest in bliss amongst us
Knowing well in time it will come down

Hold onto your love this moment passing
Mark well the path along the Holy Blade
Remember Christ came for us all and frolic vigilantly
Hold onto your love this moment passing

Lucy Ramirez

The desert air cooled quickly as the sun sank behind El Paso. "I should have brought a jacket." grumbled the short man. The taller man got down off the backhoe and moved quickly to the back of the Suburban. "Shutup!" he barked "Help me with the package." The two men pulled the bodybag from the back of the SUV and tossed it into the hole. Then they threw in the half dozen new car batteries and a small time bomb. The tall man returned to the backhoe and expertly filled the hole. After the backhoe was loaded on the trailer and they drove quietly away there was a distinct thump where they had been digging. The tall man smiled and said "Call Shrum and tell him Ms. Ramirez has gone to Mexico."

Reading the sunday paper was interrupted by the clatter of his cell phone. Bob Shrum swollowed hard when he saw the caller ID. "I have to take this honey." he half apologized. The voice on the other end was almost jovial "Mr Shrum?" Shrum paused a long second "Yes it is." the voice continued "Mr Shrum we tracked Ms. Ramirez to a dead end. Apparently she has gone to Mexico."
Shrum muttered a terse thank-you and hung up immediately.
"Anything wrong dear?" Anything wrong!? After all this time she still hadn't learned not to ask that question.
"No honey. I just need to pass a message along." Shrum hit number three on the speed dial and somewhere in Austin a cellphone vibrated."
"Ben?"
"Hello Shrummy; what's the word?"
"She's gone to Mexico"
"Excellent. I'll call Danny."

Best Friend

To AJ and Kin
sincere condolences

The joy explodes from off the couch
My bitter day assuaged
Though I am torn with worldly pain
My puppy's heart is gay
And like the Savior of our souls
Wicks off the mantle coarse
My dog loves me as He who came
With all its heart and force
But as the passing days wheel on
And to the earth returned
The collar and the bowl remain
And lesson hard is learned
It's for ourselves alone we mourn
For we are left behind
Until the ones that left us here
Return in Glorious kind

Ode To Protein Wisdom

I have an F-N-F-A-L
It's chambered 3 oh 8
I keep it clean and shiny
and trained upon the gate
With which repellent attributes
to keep my foes at bay
That they may not abuse my dog
or try to turn him gay
Yet you with pen and rapier wit
dissect your manxome foes
or ban their ass and banish them
to Eschatons foul hole
I will not mourn them nor lament
to us they are as dead
But it's OK, they're just away
on Duncans open thread

Memorial Day

I stood on the hill over Arlington
Where my fathers before me were lain.
And thought of the peace in my green backyard
That they bought for me with their pain.
The score upon score of their brothers,
Still loyal in ranks beside.
Will march into Heaven in soldierly rows
When the Bridegroom calls his bride.
The sting of death does not touch them now.
They’re sleeping and waiting for God.
In the green, green hills of Arlington
’Neath the nation they saveds’ fair sod.

France surrenders to Itself

France surrendered to itself at last
The thugs have ruled the day
And if you think that's not the fact
I've swampland in the Bay.
Where you may build your castle fair
To be so near the shore.
Where nature thence
Will take thee hence
Any we will be no more.

To Son In Laws

Gentle spirit; favored son,
Wife and daughter you have won.
Dare not break the faith you've sworn.
Lest the shortest hair be shorn.

GRACE

GRACE

Come the North wind and we will see,
All good things whar' meant to be.
Our bonds tighter and defined,
whittlin' out the justice kind.

Drawn by hate upon the gale,
Soul you sold for necklace shells,
balance like a scything blade,
sets upon the life you've made.

"All's forgiven!" Sing the strain,
wicking off survival's pains.
So in Grace present your needs,
to the Sacred Heart that bleeds.

Beto Ochoa