An eye for leaf patterns

didn’t help in the city

but there were reminders

in the soles of sleeping homeless

and fungal pillars

by the docks.

There’s no context

in today’s moral anguish

to reconcile dreams of flowing hair

in a dancing meadow

but we reach silently

for change each time we choose

to read or sing,

even if it’s not the comforting lullaby

we thought we’d have when we got old.

Trees trapped in concrete

know it’s temporary,

no delusions or dreams,

Being with the air that’s left;

we hold ourselves down

to take a beating and rest.

The symmetrical blemishes

were a blessed distraction

from the gaping wound

where the free spirit used to be.

However did we think

there’d be no consequence

to all the dreaming?

Moving drawings and their whispers

evolving with a thrust of furtive fingers

staying true to the musk beneath

unfolding brightly on the avenue

as it leads into woods and airfields

recalling ancient nonsense

leaving one dark space to fill.

The secret of

pancakes:

love is a myth

buried beneath syrup

and beneath that

is a terrifying void.

A gentle face

throwing shadows on the brick wall

with soft words

of comfort on a sultry night

Streetlights

pouring their own grace

on pulsing sidewalks

but we scatter to a night wind

Fireflies

gliding across waves of fields

bending across night

leading us to a quiet rest