24

24

seconds

ain’t long,

but it’s all

you get.

It’s got to be

enough.

Root it Out

If I have walked with falsehood;
my foot hastened
to deceit;
then
let me be weighed
 in a just balance;
let God know
my integrity.

If my step has turned aside
from the way;
my heart gone after
my eyes,
if any spot has stuck
to my hands,
then
let me sow;
another eat;
let what grows
for me
be rooted out

Root it out
Root it out
Turn it over
No matter how tall
No matter how green
No matter the flower
Or color of the fruit,
Go ahead
Root it out
What grows for me
Root it out
And just
Throw it on the pile
_______________
Job 31:5-8

Ames Story

I leaned forward
 as I sat down
My shirt was wet with June –
from running afternoon
 suburban errands
in a weak AC’d old car
still leaking freon
into the ultraviolet ozone hole
between
God’s green earth
 and her nearest
star.

I leaned forward
 as I sat down
in the big old armchair,
trying hard to avoid any
 human contact
with good upholstery –
as my mother might want,
but never expect,
 from her husband-dear
after a long day
of hand-nailed carpentry
on the lime hills near
the lake.

He smiled,
eyes wide –
like yours and mine
 once were –
and came up close,
 his face to mine,
to get a better look
 under my cap,
then went to play
with the small toys
and puzzles on the
green-pegged lego table
beside his mother.

She encouraged him.

Hey buddy,
let’s show grandpa andy
the book we found
at the library.

Amesy, Ames!
Where is your book?
Where’s your new story?
Maybe it’s in the car -
or still outside?
Should we look?

He turned, nodded –
smile, yes-but uncertain.

She encouraged him.

Amesy, Ames
Let’s go look
together.
Let’s find your story.
Come with me –
hold my hand.
Let’s go look.


It was a short story;
full of color –
a poet’s biography.

In the Name

Everyone knows my
memory’s poor;
It’s not much good,
But here it is.

There’s a man on the corner
Holding a sign,
Asking for help -
A blessing -
Lord know what he needs.

Lord knows, everyone knows,
My word’s not much good,
But here is His.

Bless you in the name
Of the Lord!
Be blessed
In the name of the Lord.

She’s sitting on a cooler
Holding up a hand,
Calling to me
A blessing.
Lord knows what she means.

Lord knows, everyone knows,
My name’s not much good,
But here is His.

The Lord bless you;
all of yours!
The Lord be with you
And keep you
Safe from harm.

Blessings of the Lord
Be upon you!
Bless you in the name
Of the Lord!

_______________________
For Jane and her Grandpa
They are both busted up today.

58 On the Way

My love -
I'm sorry I woke you
with the light above
the coffee maker.
It’s all I could find
with curtains closed -
in the early dark matter,
before the sky was full
and the cup was empty.

Forgive me.

Anyway –
You ever think you’d
turn fifty-eight on the way
to Phoenix,
Sierra pickup packed
in the parking lot
of a hotel in Santa Fe
 that is, like us,
forever, still and always
under construction?

Don’t leave me.
___________________

Psalm 119:130

The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple. (ESV)

On the New Job

Congratulations again, friends,
on the new job –
on the new home,
on the new place
you ain't even been in, yet.

Hope we see you again, friends,
one day up there –
in that new home,
in that new place
nobody’s even been in yet.
_____________

On our friends Brian, Keri, Cate, Wes, and Gus going off to Olympia, Wa.

Take It to Charley's

There's something wrong.
It just quit making noise.
It’s not talking to me
like it used to -
like it did
when my hair was long
and we were working.

I’m going to take it in
when I get back
from Colorado.
I’ll take it to Charley’s
when I get home.
He’ll know what to do.

We used to go together,
everywhere, and some.
It all made sense to me -
I think to you too.
Yes, it did.
When my hair hung long,
you and I were working.

I’m going to take it in
when I get back
from Colorado.
I’ll take it to Charley’s
when I get home.
He’ll know what to do.

_____

Brooks Martin lamenting a lost love