The Sky is Blue
I walked the dark tunnel in shades of grey,
followed my friends’ voices into the day.
What is this brightness, warm upon my eyes?
No longer caged, my hopes, my … Read more
Hope
Our Ukraine
The war in Ukraine, a tale of pain,
Mobilization, preparations for war again,
Initial engagements, battles fierce,
Crimea taken, hearts filled with tears.
Escalation, the fighting intensifies,
Separatists supported by … Read more
On Winning the Game of Life
The game of Life has origins of perennial
debate. Tales of Romeo and Juliet,
Big Bang theories, and Milton Bradley reprints delight.
The Game of Life in board game form … Read more
A New Year’s Prayer
If I could make a wish
(any longed-for dream at all)
I wish for you
the awakening
of your tenderness
toward all beings
on this
our fragile planet.
Let our … Read more
Take heart
Ukraine! Your flag of cerulean blue
and sun-gold says sky’s the place
where the improbable reigns: clouds
and things with wings. Who’d have
imagined such a fertile
thirst as sky?… Read more
Still here
Lying in bed
On a hot August night
Listening to the crickets sing
Through the open window.
I feel profoundly relieved
At hearing them again
In our midst
Because as … Read more
The Direction of Home
The snow remembers once it was fruit,
steps taken in the direction of home,
stems poked out, embedded ice homed
in a … Read more
Where Are They Now
In 1967 I hitch-hiked to Belgrade.
My friend and I would take an overnight train
to stay with our Albanian friends
in what is now Kosovo.
Until then we … Read more
Shackleton’s ship is discovered, March 2022
they have found a wreck, and what
is proud of the seabed
was not designed for war but crushed
by ear split ice
why not design warships, tanks
to … Read more
When Will the Sun Explode?
Everything you love will probably be lost…
— attributed to Kafka
I write this on the shortest day of the year,
the … Read more