The Green Grass

The tall pines sway 
in the light breeze.
At their well manicured trunks, 
short, sun scorched, grass 
await the evening shadows.  

Dry, clay earth, in small
crumbles, lie in neat piles 
as they were placed by 
the tiny jaws of ants.
  
The rain came and the ants 
drowned in the hole that 
took so long to make.  

The grass turns green and 
nothing moves anymore.

End of the World

The end of the world came 
this morning; but.
hardly anyone noticed.  

The pale blush of the sun 
attracted no attention.
  
The katydids stopped and, 
the innocent waited 
in anticipation of change.

Age Without Beauty

Seeing is not believing when 
the ragged corpses of the days 
are laid to rest.  

A walk in the sunlight, a stroll in the rain, a brush with the wild wind - 
these things are not timeless.  

The bountiful harvest, the roll 
of the ocean, the yawning 
of the sun, and the passing clouds - 
these, also, are not timeless.

Ghost Train

I can hear the train’s horn 
blow in the distance.  Three-second blows, 
three times.  Like a ghostly thing, 
I know it is there and I can’t see it.  

It sounds monstrous with its engine running 
and its wheels pressing the steel. My imagination 
sees it black with a ghostly engineer. Its cargo 
are souls collected upon its route.  

I am glad it is in the distance.  I wonder where 
it will take them as it speeds through this night.  

The rain comes softly as the ghost train 
fades into the distance.

The Meter Men

The Meter Men come to get your soul.  
Their grey uniforms, sweaty and smelly, 
hide their long, drawn faces.  

The dirt on the bottom of the rocks 
never dries and the flies feeding on
the blue moonlight are full.  

A train stops by, but they don’t get on it.  
Your soul longs to get on the train, but the 
Meter Men are there.
 
A bell rings and the Meter Men leave. 
When will they return?

Just Walk On

Just walk on.  Memories hang like an anchor 
around your neck but just walk on.
  
Bad or good, make them stay in their own 
dimension and just walk on.
  
The heart will slow down just to gather up 
more of them but just walk on.  

Your soul doesn’t care about memories, 
so just walk on. 
 
Your spirit flirts with them 
but just walk on.  

Just walk on.