Often conversation carries Us through the day For talking about things is Basic to an alliance Yet at other times, we survive

My spirit cannot be bridled For it is as wild as fire— As innocent as a child And in secrecy, has desires. My body cannot contain it—

Along the way Birds whistle a tune As if to set a mood But I know not what to say. The figure slowly thickens

Sweat is the other garment You wear in the desert When the only water is in the cact… And all but the flies are inert But a cool layer of sweat

You can no more catch the sun Than I can command the rain Yet love is an experience Worthy of anguish for gain.

Flowers in the desert Vibrantly grow forth In yellows and purples Despite the salty Earth And when I think about

Love is many, Water is many And flows aplenty But Fire is one And consumes until gone All but purity.

Oh star – brightest star – That’s first in the sky – I don’t need advice; I just need an ear. Nobody else must know

Let us drink in the sunshine From a cup of globe mallow As would one of palatine Privilege beside God’s throne. Here’s to another springtime.

Weeds as tall as children Partially hide the dusty windows. A long silence hangs Where once promise echoed. Broken glass fills the street—

When long days drag on me And my soul cries in the dark Then I speak my prayer in sleight And He slips it into my jar. Prithee – give it wings to fly up

Thy being’s grace Is pleasant to behold - As beautiful as The jacaranda When its blooms

On Havana’s white shore – With each salt-infused whirl That agitates its border— Every sand is a potential pearl.

El Capitan– you are a joint Within the Sierra Nevadas Of punctuated granite - A sentinel of the ages. Sylvestris partition -

Happy eyes need not the sun For they, like yours, have a light… A cutting light the demons shun That confesses to a kind, ageless… Brown upon brown, they draw me in;