Poems

A repository of some of my poems

Wrong Train

I boarded the train to forest rain
But noticed soon the tracks would lead to tundra plains
"Just a quick day trip," he said
And held his hand for pay
But in his face I saw he knew
It'd be more than a day to make it through

Clenched jaw and vexed
At stop 1 I declared I'd get off next, but
2 stops in I told myself I love cold and sleet
3 stops in I felt too timid to speak
4 stops in I paid more fare
5 stops in, too inert to care
6 stops in I wanted off
But far I was and fees were high

What would it cost to catch a train back to the start
And pay the toll back to my heart.

Gangster Planet Paperwork

Paperwork is how the gangsters terrorize
under the guise
of being civilized
Locked out for having wrong-shaped eyes
They claim it's not the curve of my cheek and color skin
But because of an error on line 13N

Stamped and filed, cloaks all defiles
Papers let them starve, cheat, beat
Papers let him terrorize the streets

Please. I need help right now. Not later
They shrug. "Can't help you. He's got papers."

Redwood Magic

You will know magic and sparkles and stars
You will know whimsy and fairy light jars
In the dark of the forest we'll be reborn
In the womb of our island, my unicorn 

Dance with me, darling, under the stars
Whisper me secrets of your world afar
Where the beaches dance with blueberry seas
Where you lived before you came here to me.

******

I wrote this poem in 2020 when bb and I lived in the forest. It was our first home together, just us, and it was the most magical place. We had our own private creek beach, a treehouse, a gazebo, surrounded by old redwoods, huckleberries, strawberries, white raspberries, and blackberries. I made smudge sticks with the mugwort that grew by the creek. A magical "island" in the redwood forest of the Santa Cruz mountains.

 Anchor to the Eternal

My car is parked near the curb
exactly 18 inches. But I'm disturbed
How'll I find Car when I come back

I know!

I make a note of what's nearby to anchor in the scene
'twill help me ot remember where my car is being

4 leaves, a crack, a branch, and puddled rain
will help me find my Car when I am back again.

But when I zig zag back around,
my car is nowhere to be found.
Where were leaves, that crack I saw, the tree branch and the puddle?

I'm all so lost. Confused and totally befuddled

04/19/2021 I conceived of this dream in my sleep and woke up wanting to put it to paper -- something deep, serious, moving about anchoring to fleeting thing when we should be anchoring and orienting ourselves to eternal things. How lost can you be if you choose to root yourself to something that is so fickle? But when the poem came out, it was so light and silly! Bb laughed and laughed at it and asked me to share it with his friend who also enjoyed it.

Confession -- I once saw a little meme -- one of those silly ones that lists stereotypes about each of the enneagram types. This one was how each type is so bad at flirting, and I think the one for enneagram 4's is they flirt badly by sharing their poetry. Wel, once on a first date with a guy, he said something that reminded me of this poem, and I actually pulled it out to read to him. I know -- I was watching myself do it, internally yelled at myself "NnnoOOooOo!!! Remember that meme!" but I couldn't stop myself!!! There was no second date🥴 

Dreaming 

My dream, my dream
I have a dream
Of you, sweet love.
I'm waiting for your kiss

Your breath, your sigh
You are my why.
My love, sweet love
You'll come home soon, my wish.

The bridge, the bridge
I see the bridge
Your path to me
On stars and light and bliss.

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

01/19/2024 This is not quite a poem, but lyrics to a song I wrote. I woke up with it already in my head and sang a version of it with Bb. We were very out of tune with each other, but it's still a cherished memory for me