Skin of men

 the skin of men

is thicker than steel

there are few things

more impenetrable 

but you know

there are some things

that find a way in

zinc like

mixed with kitty

Moon hope

These are the days of expectation

I think we even place hope upon the moon

To do things like make us swoon

To expect a Sandhill to make intersection

Can for one moment in stillness mute

allow the dim glow be our only absolute

Moon rise of 1/15/22

Alligator Lake

Dolphin sons

 Sons of Dolphins

Johnclarestokes 

If I told you our sons were

dolphins 

you’d dismiss me as

the eccentric 

I’ve been since two

but I tell you

they were

how at home in liquid

blue they were

how graceful the kick

the flutter

the stroke

I tell you they were

dolphins

Little Windy

 Little Windy

John Clare Stokes

Do you remember when

on the beach that day

you stood before the wind

storm coming your way?

What did you see

within those furious swirls

while others fled the sea

and gathered their little girls?

Do you miss your boisterous friend

now that calm has come?

Do you ever long for the wind

and just cry some?

The other day as I stood

this fleeting wind howled past

I stood bravely as one should

and waited his terrible blast.

But at the last moment a calm

as I stood in stillness alone.

A wisp said, for you I have not come,

for the one who stood strong I long.

So little one, if you hear,

your old friend seeks you still

The girl without the fear

Laughing in the winds thundering peal.

Blue Origin’s

 Blue Origin’s 

John Clare Stokes 

At 2am it arose with the approaching January birthday

 nearer to seventy than ever imagined

with the moon there staring down 

that eye in the sky that went  from a slit of a wink

to a wild open glare

It brings this draw to set things in order

to set the old cane mill into motion

perhaps for some future generation to turn

to get on with the last chapter of my Revelation

make sure the chickens have ample shelter and feed

rid the yard of the clutter of years

Bikes, canoes, kayaks set adrift 

As if these things will matter 

today seems a good day to choose the asics running shoes

(though the runner cannot run)

light for the  journey left

the weather shows a sun by noon

then the sign of wind

then cold again 

half the cats cry to go out

the others wanting in

which Roscoe will we miss upon this 

journey which we will begin?

Peggy

 "Down In The Valley" with Andy 

Down in the valley the valley so low

Hang your head over, hear the wind blow

Hear the wind blow love, hear the wind blow

Hang your head over, hear the wind blow

Roses love sunshine, violets love dew

Angels in heaven, know I love you

If you don't love me, love whom you please

Put your arms round me, give my heart ease

Give my heart ease love, give my heart ease

Put your arms round me, give my heart ease

Write me a letter, send it by mail

Send it in care of, the Birmingham Jail

Birmingham Jail love, Birmingham Jail

Send it in care of, the Birmingham Jail

Build me a castle, forty feet high

So I can see her, as she rides by

As she rides by love, as she rides by

So I can see her, as she rides by

Down in the valley, the valley so low

Hang your head over, hear the wind blow

Peggy and Andy with Opie

This was the girl Andy should have kept

The nurse who could sing and cook

Not that prudish teacher Helen

Who said she couldn’t even cook 

leg of lamb

Loves divine

 Good

Johnclarestokes 

She gave me a “good”

with an A plus for the book

of a boys high school poetry

illustrated with the Peter Max

like moons, Saturns and stars

And I cannot even recall the

English interns name or grade

But I rank her the best teacher

I ever had.

In Sopchoppy Sand

 In Sopchoppy sand

Johnclarestokes 

Pulling aside to abide

If for a fleeting moment

Peeling back the present

Seek me where I hide.

Pulling in to mend

The sweet balm of remind

Pour it o’er one more time

The old scrapes are yet open.

Pulling up to reconstruct 

Just how it all once began 

Down to the boy in the sand

Refusing for supper to run up.

In the sand of Sopchoppy I sit

In the sand of Sopchoppy I remember it.

Sandhill song

 Sandhill Song 

High above and far away

I heard the faint beginning

of a song

Circling ever so slowly

As if awaiting me

They lifted northward 

Leaving me

With their song

A wish

 A wish 

I know not who she was. We only passed twice upon the beach. We stopped and spoke about the man up the beach in a bathing suit in the freezing surf doing yoga and shadow boxing and swimming. She walked a long way north. I went up to the second floor to the deck. Returning, she abruptly stopped, turned her back to the ocean and threw something over her left shoulder. If it was a wish for a better future, I trust it included all of us. There is not enough salt in the ocean for that wish.

And he walked with me

 Southern Living

The conversation 

Madison

“And he walked with me”

“And he talked with me”

“And he told me I was his own”

And the joy they shared, as they  tarried there,

None other has ever known.

Wild Nights

 Wild Nights-Wild Nights!

Were I with thee

Wild Nights should be

Our luxury!

Futile-the Winds-

To a Heart in port-

Done with the Compass-

Done with the Chart!

Rowing in Eden-

Ah, the Sea!

Might I but moor-Tonight-

In Thee!

Emily Dickinson 

Shrimpers off Crescent