Poetry anthology 1
Saturday Waltz
The melody from town
Reached me on the mountain
Laundry hanging on a tree
Promised I would ignore the notes
Shook my head as I went for a swim
The water was deep and blue
Sun warmed my cold tender heart
A shiver struck me raw
As I watched clouds dance above
Mesmerized by the tempo and flow
Coffee on the fire warmed my heart more
Oh no... Felt my feet start tapping
Saturday Waltz calling me
God give me strength to
Call on a pretty girl
The one you know is in my heart
Truck driving down the dirt road
Dang hit a rock
Tire flat nerves grow
Now I will be late
I promised my heart
No more ones who won't
Go skinny dipping in moonlight
Or dance with just a laugh as a tune
Saturday Waltz almost done
God must not be working tonight
My courage drown in whiskey
Maybe this heart is too old
Last round and last song called
Front door creaks open
Someone must be lost
No one from around here
She was on the way to Missoula
Felt the call to stop at this Livingston
Knew no one at all
Her thirst was for a strong whisky
Saturday Waltz turned in Tuesday
Before we knew she said I do
Swimming in the deep mountain water
Dancing every night to laughter
Ghost in a campfire
The creation of the campfire
Fun little puzzle to find what burns
The need for that fast trigger
Something than can get hit
Ignite and set the rest ablaze
The need is the start small
It can be an art to look at the log
Break it down to smaller kindle
One may just gum the wood apart
One can see the hidden seam
A careful hatchet like a surgeon
New cracks to break this problem wide open
The kindling is reconfigured from the whole
Parts are stacks to reveal a chimney
A way for the old to transform
Solid to flame to ignite the human bond
Do you believe in a secret sauce
There is a jar of bits of shavings
Parts that did not serve
Parts soaked in our past pain
Parts embracing to set you free
With a click the fire is lit
Time sits to watch in sync
Music shifts with shadows on the lawn
Without knowing sun says goodbye
The campfire changes into a siren's call
The night covers with a star quilt
A universal truth exposed
Away from bustle of busy lights
The peace of stillness
The canvas of truth above
A ladle of life being poured over you
CRACK an ember flies
Reminder life can burn if ignored
SNAP is a noise the rings down deep
A whisper says trust, share what is you
Stories and experience danced the night
A symphony of life as charted in the stars
The dipper above asking for more
In a trance of comparanoia
The empty seat of life is viewed
What have I missed
Where could I have explored
Ghosts of what-if wanted to scare
A tactic of the past trying to change the fire
As with life the POP of campfire knew
THIS MOMENT IS LIVING
Never has the What-if Ghost ever won
Dance in the fire is not a long side it
Ghosts can sit at the fire
Participation is determination of your strength
Truly Only Love as the firemaster can say
More wood, more flames, more presence
The beauty of friendship woven in flames
As the night grows larger
The star quilt heavier with dots
The conversation of friends filled
Love smokes into life
A campfire marked a moment on the soul
Ghosts can scare but never control
At this moment I am living and I am alive.
Life is fire. Your love is the fuel.
Unconditional apple crisp love
Cold wind came down the valley
The stiffness of the air harden me
All my worries came to bloom
This land was tough
Yet my desire to be impenetrable
The land always provided
Bounty of the fall harvest devoured
A trail in snow
Map of his past hidden in a cabin
place where pains and trauma
the marks of mistakes never seem forgotten
The open land
Freedom to roam
A memory of a night
Big as the summer dipper in the sky
there were lessons that summer passed on
cooking with love has no measurements
every apple has a chance
every apple is beautiful to the core
every apple has a seed
to plant and be forever more
wash the dirt off
wash the past away
this is going to hurt
we need to pull the old way
tender and gentle
not all are the same
curvey, bumpy, rough
it is a story to unwind
the love is in the seeing
the trust is in the knowing
A bruise, a spot, a little rot
i am not afraid
i see the magic
a little of you will do to my heart
Naked with all the world
a sharp knife cuts you wide open
not one, but twice but many more
the heart of the apple is exposed
the best part is how to cut it up
big or little
long or short
each bit has a part to play
the tartness of life is not enough
extra lemon is for the punch
cinnamon is the tonic for long loving
mixed by hand, tender a bit of mess
Like a quilt of love
brown sugar and oats cover it all
this apple crisp is a dance of love
served in a bowl
shared in the red sunset
no words spoken
topped with a soft smile
In the cold bitter of the night
The knowing each of us
Has the best inside
Imperfections do not hinder
Character is given
Apple crisp is unconditional love
Illustrations by Breezy Cutler
