John Sauls

 My neighbor John came by late and bought me two measuring beakers he bought. He said he would come tomorrow to get the armaryllis and help straighten the grape vine poles. 

Perseverance

I took the tarp off the round mower house to put the outer tarp on the inside due to tears. At first I was lamenting my weak and vertigo state, but I stuck with it and got the tarps up and zip tied. It is a satisfying feeling not to have to depend on someone to help.

When she comes

 She’ll be coming

Johnclarestokes 

Though now she’s riding with her six white horses

To many of us, she will always be coming round that mountain 

In so many ways

Inescapable 

Knocking gently so as not to intrude

Leaving the gift quietly at the hearts steps

Moving on to another down the mountain

When she comes

When she comes

Oasis

 Oasis

John Clare

We dream

Of our oasis

In foreign places

All Our own

Sheltered by palms

A spring bubbling

To water our oasis

Yes

I have longed

For such a home.

Free Fall

 

Off her rocker

 Off her rocker 

We knew she was off 

Her rocker

Since the lithium and

The Sanatorium 

Shocked her

Gave her a flat affect

Never got angry

Steady as she goes

Rocking slowly

Life now but a dream

Can't even recall

The nights she

Screamed.

By Grace alone

 By grace alone...

John Clare

When the big book of life is opened

to reveal the ones to life are written

Did at the dawn of creation His pen

scribble the good ones name within?

He who loved the little one deeply

keeping him from spider webs sticky

taking the web in face freely

just so the blue heavens he could see.

But alas, good deeds as such don't apply

and yes, even spiders achieve saint hood

Certainly in some book its noted a dragonfly

was rescued by Grace alone this one.

First date

 Phlox potion #6

In June of eighty six

When phlox by the roadsides grew

And horses would walk right up to you

One fell head long for some tricks

The magic wasn’t obvious to him

Take a bouquet of flowers wild

Stir in some blue without a cloud

Capture it carefully on Kodachrome film

Don’t say a word just let him simmer

Wait until in Romeo the songs begin

It’s a mystery, but that’s the spell for men

Sure to capture him easily by September.

First day with Melanie

Wacahoota Road

Dane the same

 There is a reason 

Karen you didn't

Know me

Dane never changed

Though you said he did

I did not count

For I was of another class

But had the vote been

Taken

I would have won 

Though inside

Things pretty much

Stayed the same

Kinda like Dane.

Lure us

 Lure us Suwannee 

There is a river that runs

through us

Parts from our hearts into

our furtherest veins

Overflowing at times in rivulets

of tears

Mostly flowing in the joy of

being

one with the life giving stream

of two in a canoe upon the

blue jewel

This chine of love we clasp tightly

The ripple of mine twining with

your bending paddle

til we are in unison of cadence 

taking us in this rivers embrace.

Luraville at Hal Adams Bridge

When the roll

When the roll

Johnclarestokes 

Recently a friend related

staying awake nights

the visage of a friend

gone too soon looming

It comes upon some

Quite early in life

Seems this one was 

quite young

staring into the mirror

at the realization of

earthly me

of eternity

Perhaps this one

had a head start

for as a preachers son

from the beginning

though he was drawing

scenes of boats  

the words of life

infused him

Others not so fortunate

come eventually to the 

mirror or the caskets sheen

the earthly image

haunting them

looming not blinking 

and the alphabetic roll

has just left the A’s

and the B’s, the C’s

are coming up

the class of the living

Await to answer present

to begin their first day

In eternity.

Meme Clara upon this day four years hence laid

to rest in Orange Hill Cemetery

Everything is beautiful

 You’d think some other word would do. It was not supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to be humorous.

I don’t think most even read what I write. It’s just….beautiful….regardless.