The pebble

she picked up a pebble on the beach at dawn

it was heart shaped

holding in in her open hand

she could feel the heartbeat

she put the pebble in her pocket

walked back to her waterfront home

her husband was still sleeping

placing the pebble on his pillow

she got back into bed

drifted off to sleep

dreaming about being loved

being held tight

a loud noise woke her

her husband was sitting up

somebody put a rock in the bed he yelled

he threw it against the wall

she decided not to own up

her husband got up and dressed

there was no good morning kiss

he left the house soon after

she got out of bed

found the pebble on the floor

holding it tight in her hand

no heartbeat

it was cold and dead

it was time to move on

she packed a bag

made a few calls to friends

took a taxi to the airport 

she left a note on his pillow

I gave you my heart

but you threw it away

I am not made of stone

Living on the sun

Living on the sun

Is not much fun

Too hot to get anything done

You never get to put your coat on

Hell on sun is an excusable pun

No nighttime to come

Hot endless days for all not just some

Inhabitants always on the run

Sit down and you burn your bum

Shoot the breeze with your hot air gun

All the snow has melted on the ski run

No need to put the heat on

Impossible to give the cold shoulder to anyone

Every sandwich is made with a toasted bun

Hot affection to be won

Fresh chicken roasted on the chicken run

Not worth it in the long run

Your dreams will all come undone

I am not the only one

Who will never move to the sun

Certainly not in 2021

Finally safe

Oh leave me be

To my own thoughts

Please no more words from you

I need to clear my mind

Purge all the bad memories

Refill my head with unpolluted ideas

Fresh clean images

Pleasant soothing sounds

Melancholic aromas

Sensual sensations

A complete spiritual cleansing is complete

Your ghost has been exorcised

Its safe again to close my eyes

To look deep into my minds eye

Knowing that you no longer haunt me

I can once gain walk miles alone in my sleep 

Content that you can no longer follow me

Its safe again to choose any path I desire

Safe to open any door in front of me

Safe to greet strangers

Safe enough to risk falling in love again

Without fear of being hurt

My heart has stopped spilling rejected blood

It once again beats strong and fast

Finally safe

Mop and roll music

The wind and rain

Is here again

Too windy for a hike

Too wet to ride a bike

Morning exercise is now postponed 

Cancellation excuses not condoned

Forecast to stop raining sometime soon

I’ll ride my bike this afternoon

Filling my morning with routine chores

Doing laundry and cleaning floors

Playing really loud music while I mop

Rocking the house down with ZZ Top

Reflections of life and dreams

I had a dream last night

blue skies and green fields

fluffy white clouds painted in the sky

long hot summer days with cool nights

butterflies dancing over flowers

birds singing and soaring in the breeze

soothing music filled my ears

a never ending long cold beverage at my side

laughing with friends

it was a good dream

I woke up to see blue skies, fluffy white clouds and green fields

it was the start of a long hot summer day

the birds were singing

jazz music was playing

the fridge was fully stocked with cold beverages

friends were on the way over

dreams are often a reflection of your life

especially when you are just living the dream

Riding the bus

on a cold wet Monday morning

she sat by the window on the bus

a wistful look on her face

watching people walk by

mostly rushing to work

none of them smiling

all battling through crowds

the bus lurched in the heavy traffic

she thought back to her childhood days

walking to school down this very same street

she thought about her working days

taking this bus to the office 

every day for forty five years

the bus lurched more 

she closed her eyes

drifted off to sleep

when she woke the sun was shining

her husband was sitting next to her

he winked at her and smiled

she smiled and squeezed his hand

resting her head on his shoulder

she drifted off to sleep again

the bus lurched more and stopped

she was alone on the bus

it was still raining

she got off at the cemetery 

walked to a gravestone

she talked to her long departed husband

hoping he would join her again

on the long bus ride home

be it ink or electrons, they both transmit thoughts

I like to get up early and catch the sunrise

its my zen moment where I am alone with just my thoughts

soon after, I am at the computer writing something

which usually goes out electronically within an hour

I wonder if the readers appreciate the freshness of the writing

would something written last week be less appealing because it went stale?

before the age of typewriters and computers, writers wielded pen and ink over parchment

with no delete buttons or autocorrect,  it must have been a slow task to write a letter back then

were those inked writings more interesting to read than todays electronically processed words?

did the fact it took weeks or months to arrive make the writing mature like a fine wine?

treasured letters were carefully wrapped in ribbons stored in a shoe box under the bed

to be retrieved on cold dark winters nights and read again by candle light

I doubt your computer has a file named shoe box for stored writings

its unlikely that you read texts more than a day old

with no crossed out ink on your screen giving clues how hard it was to write

no handwriting style to admire and no wax seal to authenticate

just a sterile text or email to click open

however, the processes of writing and transmission do not matter at all

be it ink pen, letters in the mail, emails, texts or a blog

they all magically place my thoughts inside your mind

Lunar lunacy

The moon floats in a sea of clouds

Drifting through the balmy night sky

Moon beams and clouds collide

A mixologist’s astronomical nocturnal cocktail

Not shaken, not stirred, straight up

The moon patiently awaits for the clouds to disperse

Without shame she brazenly displays her naked glory

The clouds look on in awe

Earthbound cameras click and record full frontal moon images

lunar lunacy erupts on social media

Soft moon porn videos go viral

The moon is totally unfazed

She has no Facebook feed or Twitter account

Her mood is independent of virtual likes

She continues her slow seductive dance over the night sky

Upon reaching the horizon she quietly slips out of view before dawn

New stories flood the internet and moon Google searches fade away

After a busy night of dancing through a starry sky the moon now sleeps

She dreams of those who stare at her distant beauty

As those who dream of her wake up to a rising sun

The car wreck**

She saw him driving too fast on a twisty road, the car was lurching at every turn.  The turns got tighter the car spun out of control and smashed into another vehicle. A sickening sound of metal crushing and glass exploding mixed with a human cry and then……  She woke up in a cold sweat with her heart pounding. She dared her hand to reach out in the darkness and explore beside her in the bed. A warm sleeping body beside her calmed her anxiety, it was just a bad dream.  She decided not to wake him, no point in dragging him from a nice dream just to tell him she had a nightmare. 4am blinked from the clock and she settled down again to sleep. Her body tried to relax but her mind was still racing from the horrific images.  She tried to think of soothing things, honeymoon memories at the beach, sensual massages at the spa, sipping cocktails by the pool.  Each time she let an image flow in the screen of her mind somebody flipped the channel back to a blood splattered wreckage.  Now she saw first responders cutting away the twisted metal from a dying man.  How can a dream continue while I am awake she asked herself.   She decided to get up and keep her eyes open.  The reality of her surroundings will shut out the unwelcome thoughts. She went downstairs and made a cup of tea then slumped in her favorite chair in front of the TV.  She scanned the channels and found mostly infomercials.  Insomniacs must spend a fortune on useless gadgets she thought.  Flick flick –magic weight loss powder, flick flick — vegetable peeler will make your life complete, flick flick–  folding ladder will let you escape from your burning inferno bedroom, flick flick news flash—–  responders rush to horrific car crash.  She saw exactly the same image as her dream, an identical car in the same place. A limp body is put into an ambulance.  “It cannot be” she screams. She rushed upstairs to check on her loved one but the only thing under the covers is the pair of pillows she hugs when he is away.  She runs back downstairs and catches the end of the broadcast.  “police say the driver was taken to hospital in a critical condition”. She is convinced that the car in her dream and on the news is her husband’s.  She decides to phone the hospital, as she picks up the phone she sees the outside security light flash on.  A police car is outside and a uniformed figure is walking up the driveway.  She knows this must be bad news. “please god no, don’t let this happen…..”.  The doorbell rang loudly, she froze in fear.  A voice called out “good morning darling”  Her mind was confused. ” Did you sleep well?  She rolled over and saw her husband holding a breakfast tray.  It was all a big bad dream.  She tried to mask her heart pounding by stretching and yawning.  She kissed him sweetly, no need for his good deed to be disrupted by her bad dream experiences.   She sat up as he got into bed with their breakfast feast.  Pouring the tea into a welcome mug she thanked god for not taking him.  She listened to his sexy voice telling him he loved her,  she smiled and looked into his eyes.   He smiled back and said to her  “I had this awful dream last night honey,  you were in a bad car wreck and the police came here to tell me.. Hey watch out you are spilling that tea…..”

Prisoner of silence

I suggested music

Wake up the day

With some cool jazz

Shake to something funky

But she said no

she wanted silence

No sounds

No talking

So I entered the prison of silence

Left my power of speech at the door

Staring at blank walls

Listening only to my thoughts

Trying to understand

Why she banished me here

Sentenced to endure

The emptiness of nothing

Avoiding eye contact

We both recoiled 

Determined not to acknowledge

The other’s existence

It became a contest

A battle of wills

Waiting for the other person

To break the silent spell

Time slowed down

A ticking clock set the rhythm

I started counting

100 ticks and more

I could wait no longer

I pulled her to me

A forced kiss

She melted in my arms

I held her tight

Music filled the room

We danced out of the silent prison

Vowing never to return