wasting

five reduced-fat

crackers for lunch

and you salivate over

the withered meat

i have become

*Published and performed in the March 2021 issue of Versification

the lake

there’s a lake

i watch each day

in her waves i see

diamonds

stars

and distant planets

i’ll only ever travel in dreams

she’ll never know

how much

she has healed my spirit 

in this life

except when i return 

to the source of all things

and embrace her hand

in thanks

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

let them in

if

you ever feel alone

go outside

and look up to the heavens

those clouds

those stars

are with you in this moment

they’ll share

your joys and aches

if

you let them in your heart

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

first steps

when i started to speak up

i barely recognized

my own voice

as if hearing it for the first time

i had to learn

its cadence and cracks

and let its imperfections 

feel safe

to my own ears and tongue

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

everyday grace

if flowers only knew

how lovely

how special they are

they might develop an ego

as we humans

have a tendency to do

instead they share

their life without pretense

even when they wither

lose their petals

and breathe their last breaths

they do it with so much grace

you’d think a ballerina

was taking bow

after a solo in Swan Lake

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

city of dreams

this evening

i will take

the sun’s hand

in mine

and we shall roam

together

in the city of dreams

expertly weaving

fantasy and reality

until the moon

once again

exits the land

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

unsolved

there’s something unique

about the scent of fall

if i could describe it

i’d guess

a mix of cinnamon 

and brown sugar

or maybe patchouli

warmed by campfire smoke

but as much as i love

an answer

for every mystery

i shall let this one

remain unsolved

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

i dare you

upon rising

from the world of sleep

i dare you

to lift your hands

towards the heavens

and give thanks

for blood rushing

through your veins

for breath coming

into your lungs

and for a mind

that still is able 

to comprehend

the meaning of blessed

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

just listen

it is easy

to discard thoughts

as if they are meaningless

as useful as trash

yet

if you pay close attention 

to the whirlwind of words

circling your mind

some of those musings

after all

might be beautiful enough

to be called art

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

like the flame

hope is a candle

 buried deep within my soul

the flame has yet

to perish or tire

it persists

day and night

and like the flame

so shall i 

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

treasure chest

each day i journey

to the far ends of the Earth

reclaiming pieces of my heart

fractured and broken off

they are scattered among ruins

of temples long-deserted

hidden deep in forests between

seeds of lilies yet to bloom

woe are my feet

from hiking through islands

ravaged by storms

yet there is nothing i won’t do

to become

the person i was when birthed

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

singin’ the afterlife blues

alone i sit

on the surface of the moon

watching my former home spin and spin

as clouds dance across

endless blue

i remember

spending years in a daze

not caring

if i lived or died

but now that i am here

in the audience of stars

i would give anything to run

my hands over spring trees and breathe

in their sweet air

until my lungs said no more

no more

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

give yourself this

it’s okay

to not be okay

nothing about being human

is ever easy

so you owe it to yourself 

to lay down your armor and weep

and no one needs to know

why

those tears were shed

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

in the beginning

if energy can neither

be created

nor destroyed

what if we

are all sparks

left over from the moment

God said

let there be light

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

humble hearts

to be human

is to be

a survivor

believe me

pain spares no one

not even the one 

who marks their door

with the blood

of a lamb

life always has

a way

of humbling

every heart

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

children of light

after the abuse

i burned myself

alive

then scooped up

those ashes

created sculptures

of doves

of roses

and told the match

in my hand

children of light

never truly die

*Performed at Art Inspiring Art (Brown’s Run Country Club) on 8/30/19

I'm happy to announce that I participated in the My Favorite Poem Project, which was sponsored by the Washington-Centerville Public Library on 3/20/19. I read "Book Lice" by Paul Fleischman with Kim Senft-Paras. This was my first time participating in a poetry reading, and I truly had a great time. Many thanks to the WCPL for hosting this event. I look forward to next year!