"Send Away for One More Day"

I will send away for one more day
to light the darkness when it comes
like the star that follows its path
the little white flower will bloom
alone in the quiet warm moist woods
wanting for nothing because in its
very existence it is perfection
in the light we see this clearly
in the dark we still stumble
knowing all the answers
are following the light

"High Hopes"

goodby february
the redbuds are in bloom
the sun is shining
the wind is cold
50's music is playing
sinatra is singing high hopes
gypsy is asleep
on her sunny red leather
highway 281 chair
a squirrel knows this
and is busy eating an
ear of corn nailed
to her angel patch tree
when she goes out
she will hit a solid point
on that squirrel
be there
high hopes

"Can You Help Us?"

don't play it safe when you write
don't be afraid to rattle some chains
stop writing about what you know
what is pleasant and comfortable
what has dusted your life so far
tell us what we need to know writer
not what we already know
not what makes us feel good
what makes us feel
fill the empty spots
that fill us because
we have tiptoed our way so far
and still don't get it
we need to find ourselves
the part we lost somewhere
along the way to old age
the time when we really
want to know where we are
is now writer
can you help us

"Vultures"

a dead deer
circling vultures
coming from afar
to join those
already eating
road kill called them
clean up our mess
they were doing
what they do best

"Skunks"

driving into the wind
on texas highway 281
the smell of a skunk
smashed on the road
ahead of you somewhere
finds your nose
sure enough as you drive on
there is the dead skunk
my husband use to say
sleeping on the road
skunks must all decide
to cross the road
this time of year
we wonder why
as we drive into the hill country
we see and smell so many

"Mouse Gift"

a little mouse
came to call
so very small
chewed very well
dead we could tell
five feral cats
laid claim
for their mouse game
proud as could be
for all to see
at their porch door
on the mat on the floor
keeping score
there will be more
our praise was swift
for their generous gift

"Git"

I am leaving the city my job and my wife
to go out and live the rest of my life
I have cried aloud at circumstance
too buried alive to take a chance
press on the accelerator to go just go
my excuses written in stone I know
created for me by me so I can't go
clinging to questions answered no
how can I possibly not leave
how can I possibly not grieve
breaking chains of self worth created
those that hold you safely seated
they could not possibly exist
without my constant assist
yes they could do it
it could make them more fit
so i'll just pack my bags
and git

"Large and Small Matters"

man equals one
knowing little
have we learned anything
we have changed
doing nothing
not deserving
lost souls
spiraling down
chains will come
government slaves
don’t need self worth
independence
entitled people
greedy to
find their way
manipulating systems
finding false security
thinking we know
knowing we don’t
Rome fell
look around
we are fiddling
with fire
the claws have found
our destruction
they can see us
kidding ourselves
having forgotten
large and small matters

"ballet d'action

“ballet d’action”


the audience is seated
the theatre is quiet
expectation is in the air
minds are happy
a time of pleasure
is about to occur
the curtains open
ballet d’action starts
the stage and theatre
are dark black and quiet
violin strings
move their vibrations
spinning their webs everywhere
suddenly strings lighted
by bright white moonlight
appear like spider webs
crisscrossing intertwining
above below and around
the theatre and stage
enter glowing white angel dancers
all sizes and ages
moving like spiders
over the webs
their wings emphasizing their plight
of frenzied flight
caught on their own sticky strings
and strangers tricky creations
flowing figures floating and spinning
dancing for their freedom
from the darkness and the sticky webs

"ballet d'action"

the andience is seated
the theatre is quiet
expectation is in the air
minds are happy
a time of pleasure
is about to occur
the curtains open
ballet d'action starts
the stage is dark black quiet
violin strings
move their vibrations
spinning their webs everywhere
suddenly strings lighted
like bright white moonlight
appear like spider webs
crisscrossing intertwining
above below and around
the theatre and stage
enter white glowing angel dancers
moving like spiders
over the webs
their wings emphasizing their plight
of frenzied flight
caught on there own sticky strings
and strangers tricky creations
flowing figures floating and spinning
dancing for their freedom
from the darkness
and the sticky webs

"The Ending"

it is not the beginning
that holds the fascination
it is the ending
the beginning is over quickly
and sputters like a car
that won’t start
the end is always there
waiting
we spend our time
walking on the water
slowly sinking
peeking to see
the next beginning
of the ending

"Not Sure"

I am not sure
I think
I must go
where there is nothing
that blocks my view
a tree house
a skyscraper
probably the seashore
an isolated beach
alone
with no end
in sight

"Cut and Paste"

go where do what
see who hear what
who do I want
callings that could
perhaps fill my cup
the mystery is my mind
that won't grab hold
of just one thing
one place one person
what's over the hill
a dilemma for some
wheels for feet
a call not for all
must be answered
at what expense
wishing empty dreams
won't do it won't work
jump the gun
cut and paste
mom says it's
all in a days work

"No Reason"

there are those who are driven
like the shapes formed
one flake at a time
when the wind blows
the dancing snow
randomly forming drifts
against the sides of dwellings
or in the middle of nowhere
for no reason
that is where we need to be
where there is no reason
but to be

"The Time Had Come"

the time had come
the power is off
the mountains are still
the woods is quiet
the cities are silent
the earth is smouldering
highways are crumbling
fires are burning
the sun obscured by smoke
the hills hold the survivors
stunned by their disbelief
what has happened
we were told of this
perhaps too many times
for too long
so we fell into denial
laughing our last laugh
looking for something
to help us remember
how we got to this end
with no tomorrow
as we walked through the rubble
left behind on a devasted planet
looking for a sign of life
as we knew it
we found the photographs
wet, torn and stained
strewn about in the wreckage
of the home sweet homes
showing us what was
where we had somehow survived
in a lost world
of the innocent and guilty
how could we not have known
the time had come

"Wrong Place Wrong Time"

I am throwing balls at the lever
that will release the seat
the person in the cage
is sitting on getting them wet
as they suddenly fall into
a tankful of water
the only catch is
I am the person on the seat

"Lost Youth"

I sat down to write
the answers to my questions
I didn't need to
they were lost along time ago
there was nothing there
I felt disconnected to everything
edgy agitated frantic
there was a wall in my head
that said you can't write today
you don't want to
yet the voice in my head said write
I screamed I can't I am losing it
all I want to do is write
something profound no more dribble
something for posterity
but my mind won't go there
I'm not clever enough or smart enough
I just started to write at 70
an old women possessed
I should have started
when I was young
in my teens and twenties
when I was much smarter
and knew the answers to the
questions that haunt me now

"Granddaughter Hadley Jace Milnor"

it's easy to say
you are on your way
and if it's ok
will be delivered today

oh how you did try
you came when ready
we heard your cry
and all held steady

so glad to see you
entering so well
even when new
we could tell

a bundle of joy
for all to see
like a doll toy
cute as can be

so small and sweet
a girl joyful to see
to all she will meet
is what she will be

from your first squeal
we welcomed you gladly
you are loved a great deal
new baby girl named Hadley

"The Woods"

the earth is spinning
its ocean of tears
the woods hears it
shouting to deaf ears
something is off center
closing the door
to our survival
somewhere there is
a disturbance in the force
around our planet
an earthquake is shaking
a tsunami is drownding
a fire is devouring
a plague is killing
a hurricane is blowing
a tornado is roaring
droughts and floods
hungry people knowing
not knowing not stopping
not loving enough the gift
we were given to hold us
the earth that is crying out
telling us to listen
man has lost his balance
his place on the planet
as he drives into its destruction
mother nature is telling us
without the woods
we will not be
listen to the woods

Girl-Hadley Jace Milnor

waiting waiting waiting
nine months or so to be exact
wondering wondering wondering
would you be a boy or a girl
would you have hair
how much would you weigh
who would you look like
what time and what day
would you make your entrance
well the waiting is over
you slipped into our world
and with in seconds you had us
wrapped around your little finger
on february sixth 2009 you arrived
Sheri Bailey did the pushing
Tammy Murdock was the doctor
Grandma Diane and Dad Nick
helped you along as you took
the first breath of your new life
Aunt Sarah and Grandma Milnor
arrived shortly after
it was a beautiful warm day
in a dry drought strickened
San Antonio Texas
at North Central Baptist Hospital
you didn't know anything about that
or the terrible economic situation
or wars or that the first black man had just
been elected president of of the United States
we all thought you were beautiful
you took to nursing like
a fish to water
when I held you for the first time
I knew you were full of joy
and that it would follow you
all your life
when your dad spoke to you as I held you
your eyes opened and your mouth and tongue
began to move like you were trying
to talk to him
you must know how much you are loved by
those who have been charged with your care
we will remember it is a priviledge
for us to be able to love and care for you
even when we are tired, you are crying
and maybe we are to
we will watch you bloom like a red rose
and do our best to guide you
with love and patience
Hadley Jace Milnor growing up is a challenge
God loves you from this moment on
and has a plan for you already in place
we hope you will know His love
and that His Grace will guide us
and you through your entire life