Ambergris -of-honeysuckle--first cut of Summer hay ,- , petrified sap of Georgian pine , she is the epitome of love , salvation , weathered maturity and love enduring ,from a grateful recipient , knowledge of plow ,tilling of landscape, herb and berry ,  and bountiful , left thirsting for  counsel and the blessing of forefather , yea with a mighty countenance indeed !!!!

Night solitude bodes converging pressures , arising to burr and flying flame
The 'Keepers of Wrath' momentarily call the Homeric -
Oaks to attention
A fleeting , midnight memory come to pass
The train bound for Montgomery resumes it's-
journey south , over dale .. Then gone ..
Timekeepers will ring to the morning at
five bells
Scrambled , exhaustive drollery to the sound
of distant thunder

Mr. Hopsons polished , placid pond surrounded by dark green July corn , teeming with mud and flathead catfish , dairy cattle call on clear blue , bucolic afternoons .. Black tadpoles crowd her tall vegetative shore , hoof prints riddle lonesome trails , killdeer chirp atop Elizabeth rose fence lines , paddocks come alive with abundant , fragrant wildflowers of every shape , color and size ..
Beagles cry for their midday meal , songbirds vivaciously work the white barn homestead , Rhode Island Reds gather for Noon feast , Embden Geese patrol East seeking the blacktop , waddle noisily along the gravel drive , forever curious , even a touch boisterous and foolhardy from time to time ..
Charolais bulls command the molasses lick , working salt blocks , lay
without fear beneath tin topped field shelters ..

Shadows would come alive as wind chimes foretold her approach ..The romantic fervor of blustery March nightfall . Eloquent voices echoed at the altar with the collision of 'Natures Titans' in twilight vernal foray ! Western skies aglow in ferocity , every tree at her command !

I cordially invite ya'll to sit a spell on the front porch sometime , eat a plum or two with a cup of black coffee and 'talk shop' for a little while ...

At the intersection of beauty and power , where water falls a thousand miles an hour
Where crescendos of cymbal and songbird meet-
along wooded lanes
A swain before her bare charms  
Bewitched in her thunder* ..

Heavenly host fill Hill Country skies on this night ,
delivering miracles , providing comfort to the oppressed ,
showering a confused , stress laden Earth with hope and
the promise of rest .. Sweet rest .. May Angels swaddle ,
protect and free you of your worldly burden this night ,
committing thy mind to rest , sweet rest .... Good night ..

When offered chocolate grab as much
as one hand can hold
Drink fine liquor till it's all gone
Bask in sunshine all day until it hops over the
horizon
Eat the dewberries of summer without
reservation , make room for good cheese ,
good wine and hot buttered bread on every
occasion
Sample the perfume of every rose in the garden
Take hot baths with Peppermint tea and shortbread
cookies , do it with music blaring , do it often* ...

Where the river was born and bred
'Neath the gird of Appalachia , nurtured from 'The Crag-
of Arariel' .. Freed , to explore the foothills of Mother Georgia -
through hardwood scape and granite juncture  
O'er Red clay valleys , shale to sandstone impediment-  
and piedmont cascade
Bitter travails seeking the 'discernment' of sea ..

Where do honeybees go
after they die
Do they grace and forage a universal
sky
Do they still seek honey day and night
Do they navigate by sun and starlight
Will they continue to entertain us in our next life

Black and gold narrows , regal sunlight
donned in gloaming ocean blue crown
Eventides Mourning Dove soliloquy , perchance
to rest in Heavenly fields of Clover and Cherokee
Rose bouquet , neath the Sweetgum bough along
accustomed , dusky lanes* ....

I pause at the marriage of boulder and river .. Along brimming , turquoise pools where I find my loves reflection ..
River Birches that yearn for their freedom ..The cool recompense of shaded ferns which uniformly line her red clay escarpments ....
Cobalt blue wildflowers ..The cover and color of my dreams paint both shores seemingly forever .. Red , black and green dragonflies patrol the riverbank trails , Pileated woodpeckers and Cardinals exchange their
riparian oaths before Orioles and cooing Doves ..
Cicadas rhythmically repeat whimsical , ancient melodies .. The songs of Utopia charge the abundant sights and smells before me ...

Although my reflection holds me physically accountable , 'tis with graduating , certain unstoppable effect of age that every striation upon this weary face would recall a bittersweet poetic page , life's prose under the tutelage of a senescent , life schooled man at peace with his looking glass ..

Squalls shadow petulant March with outrage ...
The incendiary finger of God striking the fearful world ..
Blackbird covens proclaim their insecurity at tempest edge ,
charcoal leviathans loom , ever radical and ominous ....

Braying marsh hounds of the trembling earth
Thickened pools of black reserve -
retained by copper red blushing , post painterly-
abstracted horizons
The boisterous quagmire dims with-
the passing of Heavens Lamp
Agitated waterbirds swarm to available-
lucidity
Waning apprehension ensues ...

Grey coyote why do you cry such a sad song , are you blue from being misunderstood for o 'so long ?  Repentant for hard days and unforgiving cold nights , have you surrendered to the Winter Moon , are you cursed to perform the same sad tune ?
Cotton tail bunny what a huckleberry indeed , crouched beneath the tall grass , skipping from tree to tree ..
Playing games with the Red -tail Hawks , toying with your reflection in the blue farm pond ..
Carolina Hen , announcing her morning egg . Peckerwoods effectuate the same familiar rags ..
The same glorious stars light the January sky , the Sun falls asleep in Alabama tonight ..

Undulating jade , juvenile days
Cold , salty rain
A seventh floor balcony
The gulls , the pelicans , the
sandpipers and me
Precious memory , precocious with crab bucket and flashlight ,
cut squid , open face reel , Panama
Jack mariners hat
Snorkels and sand dollars , shells , frothy
waters
Daughters , saltwater taffy , dolphins ,
mullet , catfish and boogie boards
Early breakers , soul shakers , thundering surf
The release of material worth
Sun melting into the western world
Gulf zephyrs kiss naked flesh ,
softening the man* ...

Waiting for an audience , practicing every move , critique every nuance , critical eye contact with animal counterparts . Your display of affection is most disheartening , the only reason for you presence ? So politically correct friends can feast their eyes upon a " shelter dog " . A rite of passage like your tie dyed t-shirt , sandals and voter registration ! Claim to be  a PETA activist but your only a charade , a most dangerous psychopath walking from cage to cage ! Who stands before me ? You appear delusional as well ! In two days I'll be sentenced to the backyard , shackled to a tree ! Living off of rainwater and sporadic feedings ! Crying for release , tortured with fleas .. I have found the one ! Any guess on how I can tell ? You've the unmistakable look of loneliness coupled with the scent of depression .. An aroma within your gradient most vivid and easily detected ! The same odor within my cage , surrounding this wounded animal ! You and I will remain side by side , play off each others affections , render great joy to one another and form a bond that will last forever !

Elder Gents studying their cards , a rollicking game of pinochle
on the lawn , Black Cavendish tobacco sweetens the air as they sip on RC Colas , dine on Moon Pies ...
Southern Belles reminiscing over coffee and shortbread cookies ,
young guitar players selling songs , gray pigeons making a living ,
hard at work on the busy sidewalk ....
Retired lovers window shop Main Street , a penny for their thoughts
today at Noon ...

At the reluctant transition of the daystar
Where lantern flies tote the account of murk admitting through Oak quarter
The colored palette of Dusk swallowed by the curve of the Earth
Umber tree line , audial aberrations , the fervor of burgeoning , multitudinous songs before ebony companion Venus
Dove coo , Katydid trill , Mosquito hum trios
Bobwhite Quail give thanks to the dying day , as
reverberating odes do carry from blackened palmettos* ...

A  jewelry box figurine pirouettes this evening to a familiar song , reminding a Mother of first baby steps , kindergarten and high school graduation ! I will hand down this sweet reminder of the past to my granddaughter someday as well ! ...

Stupid questions require curt answers .. Engage truth , commit thy rage upon rice paper , delicate unlike publican , thespian , braying *** like
painfully obvious , politically charged shadow puppets against a lighted stage !
Unable to fly high enough alongside a chosen group of your peers ?
Perfectly reasonable to light upon placid waters , disappear ..
A pack of coyotes , seeking fifteen minutes in the sun ?
Remain fastidious and occupied with your own backyard !
A wayward mouth that fosters hate and destruction ?
Remove thy tongue , let it locate a new owner !
Adorned with all manner of material wealth , sneering at the plight of others ? Step in the cold , dark woods with howl of bobcat , naked and afraid , relearn thy place amongst your brothers !!

Unfeeling , beautiful things -
deserve our understanding
Paralyzed , disproportional-
traits of character beg basic courtesy
Satin gardenias bring peace followed-
by pain ..
Colors are bleeding through marble tablets-
of retrospection ..
Eroded hands engaged in the fall
Becoming resolute , deserving-
of my permanent agitation

I beseech our galactic neighbors , if they should hear my cries , to rescue the animals on planet Earth and leave man to his own devices ..
Uplifted to vegetarian lifestyles , a world devoid of torture and laboratory testing , wholesale mutilation at the expense of the helpless 'Animal Kingdom' ..
Human beings have been recognized as the ultimate destroyer of all the good this planet has to offer ..
So please if you can hear me today , stop by very soon and take them away !

Refracted images from pools of standing water , tall people and fast cars passing wet crossroads , in this rural , sleepy village I call home . Cirrus hope and reminders that follow rainy yesterdays , storms bound for the churning North seas , to the cliffs of an Irish village later in the week ? To the vineyards of France then off to a Mediterranean beach .. From simple beginnings grow immense dreams indeed ..

Templeton was privy to this poets inner sanctum , the soft voice
of reason in the black hallways of the minds 'Netherworld' .. The keeper
of the latchkey for a castle better left undisturbed , the feline equivalent
to Sandburg , Freud and Nietzsche .. The ear for many a spoken word awarded the benefit of paper and latter day reflection .. A noble 'Mouser of the Highest Order ... RIP Sir Templeton !

I am privy to sensuous flavor and textures
Layers of aromatic forbidden reserves
Allotted delicate free -will gratuities ,
unchartered lanes , open exploration  
I am breathless with quickened skin , longing ...
I love a good peanut butter and sorghum syrup sandwich !

The dancer interprets the music
just as the poet recalls the day
The water reaches the seed
as the storm cloud portends the rain
The oceans are at servitude to the power
of the Moon
The lonely are swayed and led towards passion
by the color blue

I am certain that Hill Country Carpenter bees have brewed the antidote for this poets melancholy feelings
'My eyes will drink freely of this potion as needed',
whenever I suffer from a lack of piedmont scenery ..                    
Whirling acrobats , tedious gardeners from Dawn till the close
of day ..
Challenging surprise guest , staring straight into wondering eyes then
off into the aromatic wind , riding the suns ray's with a grin , happily bound for an afternoon of hard labor once again ..
Peeking into my window as if their calling on a friend .

Monday Night Football will be shown , no announcement on the morning news , women became mothers , fast food will be available , there will be traffic this morning , quiet desperation ,  familiar stories , solitude , joy and grief to others ...Homeless men and women will die today. Affairs of the state will continue and someone will get their " fifteen minutes" ! Ambivalence....Continuity.....

Traffic light refraction , glass store fronts pan
the main avenue
***** , bluesy , defeated people in line for liquor ,
beer , milk and lottery tickets
Navy skies grow red to the West , streetwise
pigeons work overfilled dumpsters and city cans
Bus stops return workers from Atlanta , the-
local grocery methodically stripped of its inventory ,
children playing games on side streets beneath working-
yellow lamplight ..
Fire trucks fly by , no one even bothers to look up or wonder why
Porch lights irradiate the Westside , amber hues build -
over the interstate , cars travel South , bottlenecked in the race for home ..

The driving rain is a catalyst
for change , for opening hearts
or tearing them apart , for poetic
muse , for paying your dues , unencumbered
on the golden rail or a first class ticket
to certain hell
The drops tap time outside my window
A trickle a trifle to a deep crescendo
With innuendos of a special nature ,
midnight functionality failure ,
belaying the cliffs of Dover
one wrong move , into 'the Channel'
and over

You foolish beings
You left the safety of the trees with
a plentiful diet of fruits , nuts and berries
You acquired a taste for blood that -
sent you to your knees
Your protein addicted brains developed
tools to inflict pain , to carve flesh ,
introducing your animal brethren to the pang of
uncontrolled , calculated , violent death
Today , we continue to watch from the branches
Thankful for the power of flight
To distance ourselves from your -
destruction with all our might* ..

Chartreuse wind walkers
Traipsing sunny lanes
Painting grassy plains
Locked in airborne rectitude
Melding seasonal swan songs

Windjammer thistle , dandelion and corn furrow
Portulaca masterpieces , solenaceous Princess's
Buttermilk skylight portals of cottony white
and Winter blue
Red leaf Maple with Gardenia perfume

Song of August greenery
Miracle of piedmont scenery
The call of Autumn attainment
Of Red , Yellow and Brown works
Of soft , reflective frosted tincture

Eating grape jelly straight out of the pack
Dousing a cigarette into uneaten grits
Chugging cold coffee with my mind on the TV talking about government like I really give a **** , my right hand on Winston's , my left covering tired eyes , my newfound gaze on that chick pumping gas across the street on good old pump number nine
Waffle House is killing all these losers a little
each time
Obese , short of breath , ******* a little before
six , waiting on that morning waffle , chicken
and eggs with hash browns scattered , smothered
and covered with raisin bread and grits once again* ..

The truck was light blue , camper shell with knobby tires
His leathered arm would hang down the side , cigarette ,baseball cap ,
patrolling his prized possessions at dusk , remembering quite well the timing of each pass as I laid low with my late afternoon snack , clutching a watermelon with both arms !...

Unknown musicians paying their dues
Grill smoke , multicolored blankets , children
riding seesaws , lollygagging on swings , curing my blues
Laughter and celebration ,the smell of Brunswick
stew and barbecue filling the Sunday air
A fews hours with zero cares , a sweet smile and
auburn hair , a beach towel for two , we gaze into
cobalt sky blue
Searching for angels , faces and Presidents
Feeding the nuthatches , the thrushes and the ravens
We're the hot dog and hamburger mavens , we're the connoisseurs of plum wine , brie , swiss and shortbread biscuit , sweet tea picnic table caramel corn cravings  
Holding each other tight in sleepy , piedmont sunshine
Savoring this memory forever* .

Outside defining beauty in utter stupidity , for it changes every second
Playing guitar , but the whimsical melody defies the proper , mechanical method
Allowing thoughts to paper with no mathematical logic , coded messages of the broken hearted , static symbolism out of synchronicity
not unlike basic relationships that suddenly scream bewildered with
newfound intensity* ....

O to be young once more , to welcome each day with a smile ..
Drawn to the kitchen by the smell of waffles , a new day awaiting just outside our window .. Sweet , fresh cut summer grass , each yard replicated the next , fastidious and diligently manicured all the way to Main Street where neighbors would meet ..
Root beer floats and fried sweet potato pies , the band performing on the city square ..
Summer calmed by afternoon showers , the scent of southern cuisine on an open grill filled our city .. June was a magic time to be alive ..

Bootleggers on Sunday evening  ,  a little pink house on Kelleytown Road !  Waiting by the cattle gate , taking money  , calling back to the house via radio ! Waving customers through , one by one , driving by the shack without braking once , trunk wide open , in goes the whiskey , slammed shut , out the back gate , and off they went !  Sheriff Donald didn't seem to have a clue , alcohol sales on late Sunday afternoons ? For forty odd years this house became a legend , Councilmen , Deputies and Mayors knew of it's existence ! Cars from distant counties all over the state , flying up dirt roads leaving dust in their wake ! It was surely without doubt , the entire county convinced that the Sheriff drew a months salary on Sunday evenings !

Pitiful October sunbeam
Warm nutmeg concoctions
Visible morning tide breath , cherry cheekbones ,
gas lamps , golden leaves o'er cobblestone
Silvered gardens , blue eyes hold pine grove
reflections , knitted scarves , Fair- day candy apple
obsessions
Magenta Dusk , harvest time orb , funnel cake
wisp in the fleeting , western Sun
Barkers , musicians , cider and ale
The windy pull of nights clutter , the Autumn wail

Color the Wood Ducks skating the waters with
any shade that comes to mind
Imagine the River Birch mindful of the stream
in any shape you like
Paint the late Summer night with watercolors
as yet unknown
Call the wonders of the world before you as if they
were your very own* .....

Guitar buried in effects
Women mired in makeup
Men wrapped in ego
Woodwork dripping with shellac
Seafood dipped in breading
Carpet drowning in dust
The baptized cleansed in water
The son copying the father
A publican garnering trust
A 62' John Deere seized with rust
The dead becoming dust
A poker hand royal flush
An over and under combination
A gods abomination
Traipsing the woodline for a spell
A five o'clock trip from hell* ...

Revisiting caricatures held in green grass ,
Super heroes and Presidents , monsters that defy description
Chasing crane flies and grasshoppers , battling the Viet Cong
with a broom stick , running for quick relief from summer heat ,
selling Kool Aid by the Dixie Cup on Empire street ..
Period cars with teenagers fly by to the music of Jimi Hendrix
My time will be soon , very soon indeed ...

The young will shade their fallen progeny
The land traveller is halted by the sea
Revolution will eventually fill every street ..

Tiny Tree frog stuck to the window , looking quite philosophical , working algorithms while waiting on supper , keeping to yourself quite repose and educated , playing mind games with Mayflies till your hunger is satiated* ...

To  Gulf Shore , my temptress , a dying poetic salvo and wish
To be cast into warm waters , whence I first appeared , declaring ,
We've the shore of Pensacola for all eternity .........

Children dash for mother on picture postcard
afternoons
Crossing guards whistle instructions to -
Friday drivers on the move
Friends wave goodbye from the big yellow bus
Dogs act confused over the afternoon rush
Basketball and hopscotch take over the streets ,
soda pop and candy , little league athletes
Friday night football , Saturday mornings at the mall
Movies in the early afternoon , teenagers 'hanging out' at the game room , waiting for their ride home ..
Late night phone calls by the light of the Moon ..

There was a void in my perception ,
an opening where the Sun appeared
I thought it was a crack in my fragile world
but it proved to be a doorway instead .. I smiled once again ..

I pondered the gravity of worldly existence along
the mountain bottom .. Reaching for the summit in vain ,
only to turn with a view of the valley below ..
I rejoiced at my unaware , improving condition ..

Disce te in hoc mundo ,  ( Learn thy place in this world )

O , the weight of thy recompense
In battle with brawny hardwoods ,
sovereign of twilight seas , invoking
ghost in the house of love , the mercy
of Old World Gods from resplendent kingdoms
Lantern of the midnight harvest
Celestial , storied , jaundice provider* ....