Mr. Mandela's Walking Shoes

one pair 

walking shoes

some wear

 

November, 1963

a noonday sun
of Indian summer
and lasting memories

keening

keening of bagpipes/ 
on the White House lawn/

that lost autumn

shining brightly

A flame
upon a hilltop

shining brightly




 

I once had a comrade

I once had a comrade

and again I do

for eternity

Parade Rest

Files of tombstones
at a military cemetery
parade rest

Revolution's End

To the Finland Station --
they rush
to strike a deal -- for iPhones

Remembrance Day

Red
poppies
from a gray
November
- Glory

& sorrow

Roma angel

angel unaware

of her surroundings

blesses us

Croton fall foliage

Croton hedges
in their faux fall foliage
Thanksgiving in South Florida

Godspeed, Scott Carpenter

Aviator,
Sailor,
Explorer,
Godspeed, Scott Carpenter
on your endless journey

Sputnik - October 4, 1957

October skies --
in the crisp air
we see it passing
Sputnik

Silence

her body found
no splash was heard
the river
flows

Rachel and her children

her tears have dried
her cries no longer heard
Rachel remains
gone are her children

for our friend Truman and for us

a smile
that never left him
stays with us
now

thinking of mitochondria

Endocytosis --
engulfing
without devouring

September 17, 1862 -- Antietam/Sharpsburg

a sunken lane --
blood flowing in rivulets
staining fields crimson

Mount Carmel

early dawn -- Mount Carmel

pink highlights on fall's foliage

a call to prayer

11 September 1973

Caida

de la Moneda

sangriento amanecer

11 de septiembre 1973

Past Imperial

pink splotches on a map
markings of empire
and of blood

Isaiah laments

 

 No rush -- it seems
-- to beat swords into plowshares
 nor spears to pruning hooks

 

early morning sun

early morning sun

chin up to the horizon

I stay in bed

The Dream renewed

Not deferred /
renewed /
the Dream 50 years later

neither one misses
Islero and Manolete
horn and steel kill

Denounce sex tourism everywhere

too young for high heels
each step a hazard
she's prey for hawks

Homage to Zhuangzi

a philosopher
lost in thought
so too, a butterfly

George Alexander Louis, Prince of Social Media

Dapper in diapers
the new prince
smiles

Fire and hot ash

Fire and hot ash

Raining from the skies

Hiroshima

Maria Mitchell, pioneering astronomer

she swept the heavens
not the kitchen floor
sharp-eyed Miss Mitchell

School day memories

found in an old notebook
this notation:
--  "wide margins can't hide a skimpy paper."

in memoriam - USS Indianapolis

limitless ocean
around them
sharks, too

Fishing Pier

crowded pier
each angler shadowed
by impatient gulls

World Youth Day

on Rio's beaches
many wear tangas
others hold rosaries

Priorities

derailment or not
she still demands
her bottle

train derailment, 24 July 2013, Galiza, Spain

Cries of the injured
remain
as survivors ask 'why?"

Neil Armstrong on the Moon

his one step
was a great leap
forward

Sea of Tranquility, 20 July 1969

Powdery white sand

no one else around

tranquility

8 Mile Road, Detroit

North of 8 Mile
Green lawns and soccer moms
South of 8 Mile...

Incense

curls of plane shavings
from a woodworker's craft
incense offering

curls of plane shavings
offered up
as incense

 

17 of July 1918, the Romanovs

from the restless sleep
of a summer's night
they drift off to eternity

The Slaughter of the Innocents

Rachel's children
their unheard cries
13 de marzo

Gettysburg -- the fourth day

dawn at Gettysburg
after the last battle
their blanched faces

Gettysburg -- third day

drawn sabers glinting
in the hot summer sun
ready for battle

Cemetary Ridge -- Gettysburg, second day

some wore gray, some blue
on that fateful Ridge
too many wore red

Gettysburg -- first day

on a small hill
flowing rivulets of blood
Gettysburg -- first day

Perigee Moon

perigee moon
summer's cheese pizza
me on a diet

hunter-gatherer

dust bunnies chased
by my new sweeper
hunter-gatherer

Beach ball Moon - summer solstice

beach ball moon
floating lazily above
just out of reach

Rainy evening

rainy evening
car headlights seem to merge
while brakes squeal

afternoon baseball

Unrolling of tarps
by quick-footed groundskeepers
fans reach for beer

Jorge Rafael Videla's transit

old, brittle, dry bones/
found inside a uniform /
a past imperfect

Remembering Jackson State, May 14

 another false spring
 buds plucked before they flowered
 trampled in the mud

May 1 -- Remembering the Martyrs of Chicago

a rust-stained poster
found in an old attic
blood from Haymarket

the new Pope

God himself smiles
as a happy crowd cheers
the new Fisherman

Even the Legless can have feet of clay

even the legless
can have feet of clay
Oscar Felonious

The Pope's Retirement

an early spring breeze
plays with an old man's white hair
freeing the young boy

Lunch date

silverfish scurry
when a desk drawer opens
lunch rudely cancelled

remembering Stan Musial

a branch left bare
from a cardinal's flight
mid-winter sadness

A Migrant Worker's Rest

hands that have labored
for so long, for so little
now folded, resting

Sandy Hook students go back to school

more bagpack than kid
she steps off a school bus
so bravely