Verse

I was born to Ray William and Doris Roberta at 2:52 pm on Wednesday, September 16, 1942.  I’m certain that on the 1st of my life it didn’t occur to either of them that a lifelong dream of their first born son would have to wait for a new century, and 29,777 days.    It […]

I February 5, 1915 Without pretence among the most pretentious, Aquarius is in the wrong house. The snow is deep. He is born with hazel eyes, black hair And a stu . . . stu . . . stutter – II Sometime in March, 1918 He sits on a tricycle. No colour yet. Someone squeezes […]

It can be found along the Missouri Riverjust below its confluence with Wolf Creek;Somewhere in the wide shallow Valley.The Assiniboine, Nikota and Likota found it;Somewhere after Big Horn.Bill and Molly found it, too.Doris was born there;Somewhere in 1917.Bill had means. A woman’s man. 50 when he died. The back of his limousine;Somewhere on the high […]

To a siblings touch Beliefs converge Receive or grieve Friendships merge Rest Bequest Reset Beset Paternal lament Nocturnal consent Peace Release No time to regret No time to forget Châz Our entire family shared the same physical characteristics.  Average height, fair complexion and compact stature.  My brother was tall, dark and handsome. Steve drove a logging […]

I see you waiting wantinglyThen slip ajar of the timeless bright.But, I can feel youAs your judgement is cast amidst and beyondThe salty bitterness of my tears Are sweetened upon the palate ofYour grace. My fears savoured by the beauty of all spaceMy ancient bones Awaken to new lightAnd fresh tissue Issued of Seraphim I […]

To gild the lily An endeavor quite silly If the curse of verse Can’t hide in reverse

“A singularity . . . We don’t know what happens after that” Elon Musk with Tucker Carlson – April 17, 2023 The mischievous wink of a recursive loop? Or, is it found at the end of an Artic cycle In the palette of Picasso The silence of the Sentinelese The Red of the Middlemist The […]

Inspired by “London Bridge Is Falling Down” – A 17th century English nursery rhyme and singing game The Kingdom’s Bridge has come unwound. Unwound. Unbound. The Kindom’s Bridge is falling down. My Fair Lady – The Kingdom’s ways have become unsound. Unwound. Unbound. The Kingdom’s ways have gone aground. The Kingdom’s trust cannot be found […]

Ankara’s grief is but the blood of Zwet, and the mystic swirl of Becktic’s breast is well sweetened as Floral begins to weep amidst entangled orbits of the Hermitian Plains. They spin, collapse, drift, expel to sooth the cosmic storm’s refrain for reserve’s retreat to momentarily cleanse a timeless horizon with stateless grace;. /then Whether […]

I am clear, curious, cautious, smooth of Wit with the shallow reach of wisdom’s Innocence. You are the gestation of each moment. Our singularity. Quietly purring To my impatience. But – Are we finite partners posed upon The Horizon’s infinite embrace? Or – A point on the fractal maze Of random recklessness. Notational, generational, probational […]

The land remains warm, fresh and alive Yea, for now we prae life seems to have little meaning and that our voices are no longer heard so, we do not believe the earth will continue to endure and in our time truth will find new light and prosperity – Nay it will be said “Never […]

“In a crises of faith” will virtuous beliefs be uncertain No longer Châz The truth is often found from the bottom up.

I have known them all Sweet, succulent, sour, supreme Warn, fat, some frigid and flat But, they all taste just the same This was written for the only contest that I ever entered. The requirement was to describe this picture in exactly twenty-two words. (22 words) Châz

Without beginning to end Bound only by the flesh of momentum To duel no longer Amidst senseless formations now complete The weight of friendship can be lifted forever – What is that? “The tears of purgatory” For sin? “Truth” But, Truth is not a sin! “True” Châz

Dis-nous Bateau-Lavoir Just below Place du Tertre About Rue Ravignan 13 There Before the fire Save sovereign tenants Windows swell to Divided space Divided fate And sad shutters shake To palettes poised Where Within your cobbled grave They played To mists of blue So, she sat here With patroness grace And, he waited too Dis-nous […]

He went in search of beauty this morning. Earlier, for breakfast, it was pork sausage, eggs basted and buttered toast. The cellulose casing cracked about the roof of his mouth as he peered curiously into the metaphoric adjective on the plate. Whether it came first, after or preceded some precedent was important for no apparent […]

Inspired by: “Down by The Station” 20th Century nursery rhyme & childrens song Down by the station Early one morning There was little Pufferbelly Waiting in the snow. “Station Master! Station Master! Where is my package? Swifty Shippy is at the Cape. I can hear his whistle blow.” “Station Master! Station Master! Where is my […]

The taste of blue is a burnished weed anchored to the anointed mouth of a salty cove. Blue is not wasted on storms of flesh. Blue is the seamless edge of crescent moorings, a curious heteronym, the faith of suspended love. Blue moistens the waters of a distant cape, clings to cobbled memories, waits quietly […]

What is found in the i of the pi, this transcendental ghost in righteous distress which evades indentured minds crusading upon the evanescent continuum of truth. Will pi raised to e reveal To Be as the definite cause or just an infinite pause? Is the root of two an insipid brew seasoned by tricks of […]

Our doors were not made of affectatious Whims, frostless fires or artic mist. Days twisted the same parochial dance. Ignorance bore no remorse, but for years. From my door the shadeless spectre that traces the shadows are still visible, though for an instant; then the sibilant silence whispers on. Today my door will open to […]

Black letters Red Yellow letters Brown, white. Letters with rigid respect Slip through pursed lips To periods pressed hard. Pay not to zee for zed The scourge of circumflex – Let Letters stand tall, Curved, oval stretched to clean, Dotted, comma as expected To abide perfectly aligned Amidst a muted scape. Châz

Fractured syllabus The American haiku Distant seasons cry

the bell rings softly moving ever nearer now the bell rings louder my ear so close to the door your breath resonates softly Châz

Tack The Wind He is strong, confident, resilient. The quarterback of his life. Never afraid to call his own number. Takes pride in living on the fringe. Always certain that he will know when he has reached the edge. Lost now; without direction. But, as an experienced pilot he needs only to choose a heading, […]

I am the hero of Alexandria’s holy gifts. You have seen me. My creator reveals our treasures, then renders what’s due to procure a lasting faith. But, you must come closer so that we may consummate such common cause. My clever and abundant precision may be found, absent undue fare, wherever you are. In the […]

He said you would live But, she said I wouldn’t die Just a paradox Châz

Sleep – Then awake To unfulfilled dreams Châz .  .  . “We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” .  .  .  [so ] “To sleep-perchance to dream.”

For Francesco Petrach Where within the choir’s glow – Where upon the Lordships sight – Where with all the Powers might – Thrones discharge the right to know. Will charity’s mercy forever flow – Will patient prudence reveal the light – Will gratitude take angelic flight – Thrones discharge the right to grow. So, Seraph […]

Inspired from: “Marsyas” By: Mark Strand They watch as the cowskin snaps and cracks across the crusted crease of his barren innocence then slithers to suckle the sanglant lather seasoned of salted red pepper’s boiling brine. They snicker as the cowskin Whistles retreat to The curse of Antebellum praise, The serpent poised – Then strikes […]

OH’ thief of beauty Spare that within an unseen melancholy Restore what’s whole of an eternal soul Requite an empty solitude Your Being that inverts such hallowed silence; Pure be the fluid shallows steep within the whole Set to arouse malleable truth as transient light; Ascend then towards your conscious allure; For pure are the […]

A single tear An earthen grave Justice procures its final slave Faith for the depraved Love be saved Fear caressed by morning’s dew – To chance farewell Thus, to bid adieu

OH’ thief of beauty Spare that within an unseen melancholy Ebb as tide Furtive, no OH’ thief of beauty Spare that within an unseen melancholy Dare to be Icarus Bestow upon bliss Rejoice to receive An ethereal kiss OH’ thief of beauty Spare that within an unseen melancholy Restore what’s whole of an eternal soul […]

Inspired from: “The Powwow at the End of the World” by: Sherman Alexie We have been told to trust a white rabbit for the time of day. We have been told that a mouse swims in the pool of our tears. We have been told that pshalver is safe to drink. We have been told […]

Melting snow Watching grass grow – Makes such slow drift Châz

A morsel of spurious spittle is the first chortle of this audible riddle when adamah’s curt crispy lisp purses the lustful lurch of a petite protozoa. Châz

I found a Penny just one among many so little it’s told from the kind that we fold for some may cajole a fortune foretold what can I say but put it in play perhaps in one’s time something will stay I can pitch it pinch it save it, press it kiss it shine it […]

They say life isn’t fair – But for those who don’t care – They are willing to share – With nothing to spare – I’m a cook without a book – A cuisine often nice – But never to dare – The same recipe twice –   Gardens abound my simple chateau – Bestowing with joy […]

Inspired from: “The Man on the Dump” & “The Snow Man” By Wallace Stevens  Hey Wallace I see them beating on the lard pails. Everywhere. Below that toothed moon. Gazing amidst the mist of carbon’s haze. Their pockets empty, sleeves pressed to precision, chopped pants low, each with a vision on their own pushed up […]

All that is Yours has been denied – Denied once, denied forever – I have dispatched profits – Sacrificed My Spirit – I pray for naught – Honour those who beget them – Take not what I have given – and which belongs only to Me – Revere the treasure of your neighbour – Respect […]

A treacherous course the cerebral craze Which offers clear praise For a pure ventured gaze My boat was adrift Fast was too slow Slow was to fast It takes a sailor To reach The ball of the mast Such delicate delight her dutiful ways From lips thru the maze For a pure ventured gaze My […]

The terrestrial rush Of a quaint lunar blush No matter reposed Smooth fracture disclosed Feint glimmer of truth Reality exposed To compose such upon The terrestrial rush Of a faint lunar blush Saturn retreats Mariner expires Venus repeats Jupiter retires Uranus does least Neptune conspires To compose such upon The terrestrial rush Of a faint […]

Inspired from: “Mock Orange” by Louise Glück The silken radiance of your toothed moon Reaches gently through the leafy loins Of my floral flank to linger amidst The orange mist of a bloom gone too soon. I feed lightly upon the seasons But reach deep for safe sleep – That I may forge with comfort, […]

For Billy Collins & Carolyn Forché  His thumbs and fingers ripple across the keyboard of the smartphone with incredible ease. If only I could pick my nose with that kind of efficiency. It just takes practice I guess. Every so often he stops and stares at the screen. Is he composing the next great American […]

. . . . . the end of the world, an anchorage, a quiet haven, the navel of the earth, the three fishes that are the foundation of the world, the essence of pancakes, of savoury fish pies, of the evening samovar, of soft sighs and warm shals and hot stoves to sleep on as […]

You are a stroller, walker, wanderer, idle and dispassionate observer of the  vulgar and sullen sceptre of human repair. You will back-up, swerve, curve, climb or descend to near or far, but never to go straight and rarely slow, to step outside the alien apathy of the freshly colonized collective hubris of modernity. You have […]

Born of the release from ancient moorings So sweet the taste of an incorporate tether But for the mother’s abundant breast Came forth to renew a maternal test Soft was the joyous wake A rapture where only some would go The blood of marrow lined a fettered drape Cast beside a celestial glow A distant […]

From: Une Sparo Let not be the confusion of subtle minds Tis distaste for mine, not but for love May thee alter when such alliteration finds Or, risk sway the order of Zeus above? Venus gives rise a course of impertinent cheeks Bearing or bending the needle hath come Fate suffers not as it cravenly […]

From “Aubade” By Philip Larkin The cru that brings the flickering light towards the soundless dark, a bitter stare Another night of your palsied fright – Another aube closer – to being There. Fear not friend a sudden wake Or the rapture where fools seek to go Neither song, nor flight will angels take – […]

Above – This is the third most densely populated city in Europe. The Haussmann buildings stand close. Miles – miles – miles and miles. The high ceiling ground floor “mezzanine” for shops. “Noble” second floor with balconies and rich window frames. Third and fourth floors with poor window frames. No balconies. The Fifth floor is […]

“I’ll kill him.”, he said hand on his hips Four-score and six a sobering sight It pursed the brow and quaked the lips – I summoned my best to be terse but polite. “The cheek is soft both left and the right” “Between his eyes, I hate this man.” “The still of the night serves […]

Your being that inverts such hallowed silence; Pure be the fluid shallows steep within the whole Set to arouse truth as a malleable form of transient Light; Ascend then towards your conscious allure; For pure are the precious gifts too procure Bring forth the quiet restraint of permanent sight Bring forth the quiet restraint of […]

Personal Man Seeking Woman I am lean, probing, “a child of Cancer” – Given to modest spirits; the sensorial fragrance of distant shag. You are slight, sassy, smart, sensuous. We will dance beneath the innocences of a dark moon; bathe in the essence of oleaceae; bond endlessly adorned by the lustful drift of sweet jasmine […]

Liberté, égalité and fraternity. The inalienable rights of all men some said. But, They replaced the tripartite motto with Robespierre’s head, a forty square metre apartment, bright orange walls, a shower curtain in red with the faded image of Marilyn Monroe. Châz

Swift you be sensuous sweet silence. Will you come to dispose of your quiet repose. Oh, Oh, Oh the moments of quiet refrain, a timeless breach gives chance respite to Echo’s dins, or a Helios grin. Swift you be sensuous sweet silence. Come now to dispose of your quiet repose. Oh, Oh, Oh the moments […]

Inspired by: “Little Miss Muffett” Songs for the Nursery (1805) T’was a cuddled bare Buffett On the brittle brisé tuffett, Braced only with pledges of hay; Along came brash Chieder, A clever insider Who said all you need is some clay. Therefore bare buffett Wanting no longer to tough it, Set about to gather a pence; […]

Running from the wind Chitter to remis Running from the wind – A fractured face Running from the wind – O’Man on pace Running from the wind – Hate let pass for fare Love bequest The haunt of Mère Running from the wind – Despair a cratic maze Hope a fool be crazed Running from […]

Hey, Sweeney – It’s all at the beginning Cleanth, Surrender your syntax Blackmur construct through Joseph’s watchful eye to disconnect mindful meaning in blasphemous contempt of temporal relationships. They delight en p’resence de a’bsence. Glimpsed Spender today. Says you have fallen prey to Conrad; Cannibalism and the dark magic Of the materialist corruption of civilized […]

Remembering Dylan Thomas As all time dwells so comes the gentle night, From the breach of Pandora’s breast a breath so gay; A moment précised for faire knave save his fond plight. The bards’ cristened knight bids Icarus take flight, Thus dew to the waters clear port bare astray; As all time dwells so comes […]

The talking stick, also called a speaker’s staff, is an instrument of aboriginal democracy used by many tribes, especially those of indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast in North America. The talking stick may be passed around a group, as multiple people speak in turn, or used only by leaders as a symbol of their authority and right […]

I lay on a striped drape laced with painful colours of a obscure fruit with deep roots in a language that my mouth won’t make. It settles in sabled solidarity with origins that gaze to the edge of infinity’s mist somewhere more, or less, beyond what I can see. The waters swell pitch and bright […]

Inspired from “The Snakes of September”, By: Stanley Kunitz Our roots now deep within the quiet refrain of December’s stillborn renditions that course fugitive for distilled moments given of time’s patent for fresh reserve. Soon new buds will browse the first chill of January’s virgin mist that binds our tethered limbs as we begin to […]

Inspired from: “Groundhog Day” By Richard Eberhart  The hill berths fresh forage where grasses Trace succulent to mornings early din. Nearby a putrid lamb curdles a tall jar, Neither christened nor cracked, while a Groundhog’s soul muses upon the Fragrance of Spring’s new daisy that Tilts upon a single beam, here to fro, Then winks […]

Come share with me sweet Sage The flickering delight as Angel’s Trumpet shares Datura’s beauty; This window breaks the blinding fright. Remain close sweet Sage To gather safe from pestilent Chimera As they dance to the flame of shimmering truths The crude songs of real kind. Born from comet’s flight Socrates stands bare in Pantheon […]

The breath of Adam burrows abreast a fertile crest, to breach a barren furrow, to bare deep to stem the caryopsis husk and the root of the vine – Raise then the ascendent spirt within a leavened prost to be devined by communion with an ancient Host – Or, does the flame from the oven’s […]

Would it be impertinent for the waters ebb to resist reaching for the embrace of celestial authority? Harmless compared to many things. Surely it shares power with those matters influenced by its strength, giving free birth to the pellets and pebbles that sort themselves pleasantly about its fervid flow. Back then forth, Back and forth. […]

I It seeds the chase to find first froth of undying grace. II Patients . . . patients . . . patients. III Suddenly, the flight to crowded light. IV Sands descend with virtuous requite. V Patients . . . patients . . . patients VI . . . . patients . . . patients […]

Remembering Jane Taylor, Judy Garland, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole & Louis Armstrong Twinkle, twinkle little star Though I no not who we are – I cast about your endless sea To find the truth I search to be. Twinkle, twinkle little star I often fear that where you are – Within your dark and distant deep, My […]

Inspired by Robert Browning Don’t mind the bell for it bids to foretell, by the jounce rattle of the ring, that within this port will course bits of despair which bring the timeless waste of precious ware to rest upon these shelves seen both here and there. Perhaps you have come with thought’s of another, […]