MISSING THE MATTER

To grieve for something

That was never there

In the first place

Is to miss missing itself

You can’t erase

A vacuum

By adding 

Emptiness

To it

Twice

 THE RANSOM & THE SEQUEL

What if trust was the ransom

for the thing they believed

was being held hostage?

And, what if they gave it

freely, without the oversized 

black briefcase with the snazzy 

latches, might they then see

that there were no prisoners

or captors in the storyline

they’d been telling themselves

like a made-for-TV crime drama?

And, what if 

all that was really needed 

was a good old fashion heart-to-heart 

parlayed between one and the other 

of them where all suspicion got dropped

so that the strangers they’d become

gave way to the fondness and infatuation

they once felt?

And, what if by magic

they found themselves sitting 

side by side in one of their living rooms

with only truths to tell and tears to shed

and nothing, nothing to negotiate?

Yes, what if trust 

were truly in the room 

and on the table instead of 

all the hype and histrionics 

that so often squawked at them,

could they not then call off the dogs 

and the dragnet and just cuddle up 

on the coach before a roaring fire 

with a glass of red wine

and settle into a mediocre movie

just for old times sake?

And maybe, just maybe, 

as the credits began to roll,

hours later, they'd be willing 

to consider seeing, 

on another night, perhaps,

the romcom’s sappy sequel?

 NUCCIO'S GEM

Seeing this blossom bloom

in my backyard

has me feel a bit like a farmer 

when a bumper crop comes in.

So many prayers and intentions

went into bringing this flower to flower.

Oh, white gem: you are

the petaled apotheosis

of what can happen when

we remember our ancestors—

when we honor 

their forgotten stories,

the woundings and the healings 

that accompany them.

It is only when we sing 

to Mother Earth

that she sings her songlines

 back to us.

Without her song and guidance

we easily lose our way.

INSIDE THE CHRYSALIS IN THE SNOW

When the man leapt out

on to the dance floor

at the last minute

he suddenly found himself

standing among those seeking

and available: a singular

congregation of women

AND men, both.

It flew from the hand of

the newly wedded bride

like a motley flock of birds

all different in shape,

size, color and species.

It glided and spun in the air

like another bride dancing

toward her groom. Like possibility

intricately bundled and fully adorned.

The man watched it clear the tiara

of the goddess in front of him

and then quite simply

alight in his hands.

The bridal bouquet did this.

He stood stunned

looking at the most sacred

and voluptuous creature

of arrangement

he’d ever seen or held.

It was a ceremony unto itself

in his hands

under the antlers

and branches 

and mirror ball

artfully arrayed

from the rafters above.

The room swooned and howled

at the catch the man made—

a catch he did not mean to make.

A catch that left him feeling 

like he was the miracle 

that got caught.

All this, and so much more,

took place like a prayer

of new beginnings

inside what looked like,

from the outside,

a village-sized chrysalis

wrapt and glowing in the snow

under a waning gibbous moon

as translucent, sacramental flakes

fell like kisses and blessings

from the amorous stars above.

PLAYING PURPLE

Don't let the child in you

hide out in the hind quarters 

of the horse costume

in the traveling circus troupe.

Your child is better than that.

Let it be the head of the horse

or the elephant

or the juggler's assistant

or the ringmaster.

Please, let it dance

the color purple

in its frilly, sequined dress.

EXTRACTIONS

There is a question

trying to make its way 

out of a mouth. A dentist

is there quickly pulling 

teeth so the question 

has a clear passage 

and no bite in it -- so it 

flies as light as a bird

with a thread 

in its itty-bitty beak.

LEAVING THE LIMINAL

I am ready 

for a good long sleep

and for the mush 

of my mind to turn 

to soup, along with 

the rest of me.

I imagine myself 

a chrysalis. I am ready 

to awaken into a world 

wearing wings.