CLAMS, GULLS, DELIVERANCE

It came to me

In the middle of the night,

I would save them.

At morning light

I’d run along the water’s edge

Frightening the gulls away.

Each time they’d land,

I’d charge at them again.

They’d shriek about

The injustice of it, but

I’d be deaf to their grievance.

The clams and crabs

Washed up on the beach this morning

Will not become bird breakfast.

They’ll live one more day

Because of me.

If I save hundreds of them,

It’d be like giving one of them

Another year to live.

The plan was perfect,

Magnificent even.

My soul was smiling

As I waited for dawn.

Lying awake for hours

At 5 a.m. my eyes closed.

I was drowning in daylight

As I awoke.  I’d be too late

To save them.

My dream soured,

My soul no longer smiling,

I hope they forgive me.

SOUVENIR

I could not stop                                                           

Spring turning to summer,

Shirts came off

She was exposed,

An island souvenir

From my winter escape

I refused to explain.                                                          

I took her north

Over my heart,

A small gesture

Considering her

Generosity.

A tawny beauty

At home on the sand,

A mystery to me.

My only regret,

I dare not return.

IN THE SHOWER

Is life so sour

Or solitude so sweet,

That I’d sit in the shower

And stare at my feet.

We were woefully wrong

From the damp day we met.

I shouldn’t have gone along

Could have saved rivers of regret.

Today I went fishing

Seeking relief for an hour,

Now I am wishing

I had stayed in the shower.

GOD SMILED

What would you do

If God told a joke

Lose all respect

Give your priest a poke?

What would you say

If God liked to laugh

Double your doubts

Cut your faith in half?

What  would you think

If God played hide and seek

Decide he’s for children,

The sick and the weak?

What will you confess

If at heaven’s door,

“Oh God, I messed up,

Should have laughed and played more.”