yer a monk

swear angry
fuming
kick cursing

...yeah losing it

"why you mad
  yer a monk"

spinning ice cubes
around this whiskey glass
chasing a tasty IPA

"you drink?
  but yer a monk"

neglected duties
procrastinated prayers
temple dog naps

"thought you were a monk?"

yes - a tired monk

guitar case songs

those songs
battered up sheets
simple lyrics
chord progression goodness
left loose - ready
tucked under my guitar
the good ones
the bangers
strummed out big and loud

a temple dog poem

24 hour news cycling dread
spiced up hot
with twitter spitting spite

unplugged
  unfollowing
wandering forest trails
with the temple dogs
before the summer heat

Compact Discs

used to dial into talk radio
seeking voices
on this cross-country haul

now it's just hi-fidelity
sun-visor tunes
bags of beat-up
garage sale cds
ready to sing again

remnant forest poem

still a forest remnant
a deeper trail
past the newly dug swail

a few last white pines cling
hemmed in tight
by million dollar
cul de sacs dreams

I sit
let the temple dog
explore twisted old roots
and fresh rodent holes

away from top forty ear hits
24 hour news feed buzz
and wicked twitter wars
yes a forest respite still

long weekend

long weekend work
pulling out rotten deck beams
robe thick covered
in swirling sawdust motes

nail creaking crowbar sounds
pounding sledge hammer bangs
axe thunk plunging into wet rot

goldfinch sings sweet
in thick pine boughs

a ditch

a remnant - a ditch
draining an old swamp
behind new million dollar homes

night foxes wander up the sides
kids build walk the plank 2x4 bridges
couple kinds of frogs
brown toads, and maybe a salamander
tucked down in the rocks and mud