Triple Point

Triple Point

Gray sky at the triple point

not snow, not rain, perhaps sleet

vaguery of sunrise

murky as my ruminations

Truth has this way

of slicing open self deception

lancing the infection

draining unnecessary suffering

Through Father's grace

redemption comes

parting the sky

with light again

Poem 19-333y

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, dawn, nature, ruminations

Weep

Weep

Weep for the fallen

for fathers who couldn't connect

death lingers from the fathers

whose lips couldn't form words

Weep where things replaced love

performance replaced relationship

tears bead upon cheeks

of expressionless sons

Weep in final season of life

watching fathers incapable

of speaking what's never been said

as they linger in dusk of life

Weep under generations of weight

disappointments piled high

mixed with shame can't carry

blaming self for broken connection

Weep the heartache untouched

weep in grief for irreplaceable affirmations

weep from gut for unexpressed love

weep in hope to break the generational repetition

19-313W

Modified 19-339

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtandlife, fathers, sons, brokeness

Invitation

An invitation from Father

All the meticulous notes

filter everything

build a case

page upon page

Generations worth of files

binds the sins

one generation to the next

crushing weight

Truth if want free

surrender the file

drop the case

burn them

Scoop the ashes

into an urn

as an offering

holy and pleasing

Placed at the foot of cross

Poem 19-327Z

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathougthsandlife, forgiveness, freedom, spiritual, peace

Rusty Limbs

Rusty Limbs

Autumn's rusty red horizon

atop Illinois River palisades

awaiting snow to strip what remains

awkward nude limbs left swaying

19-315z

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, seasons, autumn, nature

Beet Harvest

Beet Harvest

On a windless day

gray sooty smoke

rises high above

red brick stack

Black coal greedily devoured

by insatiable furnace

boils water

sliced beets marinate

Strips away

sweet molasses and sugar

into bottles and bags

beet pulp and ash remain

19-326y

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtandlife, sugar, beets, western nebraska

Iced

Iced

Another day of iced blades

screech of scraper on windshield

peeling off layer

Sparkle of frost

mixing with beads of water

as rays warm glass

Frosted soul thaws

moistness of truth on cheek

breath deep

Truth brilliant

holy blinding white

reflection of reality

Poem 19-321Z

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

#nature, #frost, #fall, #truth

Fathers

Fathers

As I wait he sleeps

years expressed

with each breath

this is all the time we have

Moment he sees me

his son he brightens

reassured by presence

to drift away again all to soon

Glimpses remain as shadows

lengthen hours into days

once lumbering with life

now fragile

Poem 19-313y

#highplainspoet

about my dad in the waning season of life

Dusty Contrails

Dusty Contrails

Dirt road's dusty contrail hangs in the air

memories drift of thirty years together

smells of grit of fighting for us over time

tastes of talc sticky upon palette

drink of the union of us

Now our children leave dust hanging

as release them from the home

watching as they leave

anticipating when they return

blessing their coming and goings

Each time they venture further

plying the seas of life

ambivalence

joy in their thriving

sorrow in them letting go

Soon we are back to just us

new memories to create

remembering when love was young

once again igniting a new flame

where we left off to raise a family

Time to press into what's been put aside

rediscover who we are

giving you the honor you deserve

tending to our union

after all these years you are still the one

19-201y

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, family, seasons, love, father, parent

Silent

Silent

I've been silent of late

as I ponder broken things

broken people

broken relationships

and my own brokenness

Words seem hollow

like that tree's rotted inner rings

'til it finally breaks in the storm

facade gives way to empty space

time ravenously gnaws away

19-187x

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, brokenness, growth, change

Two-gether

Two-gether

Along the path between us

bare feet hungerly grab

morning's slippery stones

unsteady as land each step

19-233z

#highplainspoet, #nebraskathoughtsandlife, relationship, journey, life, love, adventure

Kananaskis

Kananaskis

Flaming sky melts into soft lavender

against jagged granite peaks

shadows long upon the face

time is late as sun sinks low

19-224z

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, nature, Canada, Kananaskis, beauty, mountains, summer

Puff

Puff

Each puff inhales death

yellow stain upon fingers

holds death greedily

addiction's gratification as exhale

Can't let it go

lungs raped as light another

choose death in sulfur strike

blow out match snuffed life

19-239x

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, addiction, death, choices

Peaches

Peaches

Serenity tastes

of fleshy peach

plucked yellow red

ripened fruit

Velvety

upon tongue

bite deeply

exploding sweetness

Juice

rolls down chin

dripping joy of

late summer's fruit

19-265Z

#highplainspoet, #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, summer, fruit, peaches, Western Nebraska

Blanket of Gray

blanket of gray hangs low

veil that hides shadows

sun obscured in brume

warmth of life

pumps through my veins

dissipating internal gray

no hiding anymore

come out from the shadows

find new life

19-274Z

#highplainspoet #westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

Grace

a babbling brook of warmth

fills the internal cup

revisiting past with grace

that sees what's been in reality

artist colors upon the canvas

some blustery gray other brilliant gold

when look at the whole

forms one image of journey

grace for today

hope for tomorrow

mercy for yesterdays

blankets who I am

19-305Z

#highplainspoet

Hope Whispers

hope whispers

     in the rustle of limbs

leaves

     lackadaisically float

memories

       dried leaves devoid of color

seasons of marriage as walk on what once was

      now dead

hope whispers

     in the sliver of moon

wondering

       if I am crazy in what I see

beauty

       for me found in ordinary places

that

       others walk by

hope whispers

     softly of restoration of brokenness

where forgiveness

     flows and mercy embraces

undeserved love

     expressed in spite of the pain

remembering

       the good times we have had

19-298y

#highplainspoet

Blazing

Blazing sky awakens

vibrant quaking of Aspens

of impending change again

as shed their summer coats

Invitation cross liminal land

into star filled pools above gaze

penetrating slowly as dew falls

softening path of heart trampled and packed

19-239A

#highplainspoet

Lean In

Lean In

She hangs on his arm

leans into him

bound together

they walk as one

In the cool morning

they glide among the crowd

sparking embers of fire

gloam upon the ground

Arousing hope in all

the young and old

of what can be

once again

19-285z

#highplainspoet

Inspiration - a younger couple, late 20s, walking around at the balloon festival in Albuquerque. So entranced with each other they clung together as they walked. A blissful moment.

Raspberry Sunrise

Raspberry sunrise

dolloped with

blueberry expectations

facing the resistance

of mid-October's gale

briskness shakes

shivers down spine

radiates into core

of endings

and beginnings

layers now cover

what was once bare

skin swaddled tight

once again 

winter's foreboding

19-293y

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraska, #seasons, #nature, #fall, #winter

Crown

Crown

Clothed in vibrant purple

needle thin petals an ornate crown

about bold yellow pistil

unaware of impending season change

Stands in powerful defiance

against forbidding gray

uninhibited by approaching cold

exposure draws in curious eyes

19-272B

#highplainspoet

image (c) b. bucks from the Black Hills

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife, #BlackHills, #Spearfish, #hatchery, #nature

Heebie-Jeebie

Heebie-Jeebie

Brooding clouds slowly crawl

as tempest mixes hazy ochre

until stain consumes horizon

Spitting bolts from sky to ground

static tingles upon sticky perspiration

a heebie-jeebie shiver radiates down spine

Raucous thunder booms rattling teeth

Spider lightening weaves web against angry gray blue

Stiff wind whips the sheets of rain

19-189z

#highplainspoet

Yesterdays

Yesterdays

Sorrow of yesterdays

a veil of inky fog

leaves a moist icing

upon the psyche

Until remember hope

breaks the dawn brilliantly

spills golden rays as

stone rolled away

Tomb emptied

waking up in

love's cottony embrace

redemption's power

19-174y

#highplainspoet

Hero

Hero

Sorrow troubles my thoughts

when I realize all we're not

nor ever will be in this life

When I was young

I idolized you

now I just grieve

Why did you stop

growing and risking

shriveling in your skin

There's so much

I want to know about you

locked away in your shell

Each choice you made

walled off your voice

'til silence is all that remains

Too painful to broach

or unfold all the past

shrouded in your shame

So in the years you have left

I press forward

you fade upon the horizon

Memories remain of long ago

when you were my dad

and hero was your name

On the other side of this life

on that day

we'll be restored

19-162z

#highplainspoet

Drinking

Drinking

Sweet spring nectar addiction

Poem 19-152y

#highplainspoet

Pace and Wait

Pace and Wait

            -i-

Anxiety paces the floor

footsteps ever echo

down darkened hallways

ever looking for light

            

            -ii-

Peace waits with me

thaws icy memories

walks with me

to the other side

           -iii-

Anxiety paces the floor

repressed buoyancy

always held under

can't catch a breath

            -iv-

Peace waits with me

pulls me above trauma

out of the riptide

to rest on freedoms shores

            -v-

Anxiety paces the floor

taut spring suppressed

overwound emotions

cortisol wreckage

            -vi-

Peace waits with me

volcanic emotive release

bears my burden

never forsaken

Poem 19-152z

#highplainspoet

The complexity of being human and trauma experienced. There is hope, peace, and healing. Matthew 11:28-30

Blue

Blue

Sorrow numbingly sings

 like rain dancing on tin roof

Heavy sky steadily cries

 thick dampness oppresses

Late Spring in Nebraska

 in a Seattle mood

Leaves one wondering

 where has the sunshine gone

Perhaps it is time

 to walk in the rain

Allow the chill

 to wash away pain

Allow dandelion puffs

 to paste themselves upon each shoe

Breath deep the earthy

  aromas unleashed

Grass waste high

 soaks blue denim

Bleeds out color

 not meant to carry

Saturated hoodie lays heavy

 weighs upon shoulders

Exchange dead weight

 to feel life in drizzle

Knowing tomorrow's blossoms

 are within today's loneliness

Pick up the pen again

  purge heart of blue ink today

19-137z

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Imprint

Imprint

In walk just placed

children's hands press deep

gray wet cement captures 

Imprint in father's heart

etched upon cellulous memory

as cures, color fades to sepia

19-133y

#highplainspoet

Breath

                           Breath

                            -i-

Inhale gusto of babbling water on swollen banks

tossed to and fro in Spring's raucous flow

Exhale stale silence of what was

a bier adrift on somber current goes

                            -ii-

Inhale brilliant rays of morning's light

angles that penetrate as waves filling inlets

Exhale life sucking darkness

low tide pulls hard drawing debris

                           -iii-

Inhale joyful sound of child's first gasp

life fills lungs upon day of birth

Exhale grief of miscarriage

cold death of unformed life

                            -iv-

Inhale damp softness

as potter forms clay

Exhale vessel cracked

heat of fire exposes imperfections

19-135A

#highplainspoet

Center Pivot

Center Pivot

Quiet rests lightly upon the land

sluggish chill of late Summer morning

serene purr of pump motors

Pivot gun ratchets continuously

droplets play upon corn stalks

they rustle like paper in the wind 

18-248B

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Expanse

Expanse of a Nebraska sunrise

  watch dawn's subtle light unfold

splashes across the cottony sky

  new hope's expression for today

19-039B

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Kindle

Kindle

Father's gift of you

Thoughts of you kindle

as dawn breaks in glorious ways

beauty of sky

draws thoughts of you

First bloom of alfalfa

awakens awe of love for you
sight of beauty stirs me

reminds me of you

Wafting sweetness of fields a'bloom

soft aroma's embrace

deep into my lungs

the way our love fills

18-041z

#highplainspoet

Gray Clouds

Gray Clouds

Dirty gray clouds

as smoke stained walls

gloom hangs thick

Spring stolen away

Snud, snow and mud

glom onto boots

a Winter zephyr

scurries through

Green blossoms cloaked

thick in soft white

prairie weather unpredictable

as bask in afterglow of storm

19-120y

#highplainspoet

Psalm 19-120A

Psalm 19-120A

Wake this morning wanting

  more of You

  empty space longing

  for Your tender touch

A breath of Your presence

  upon my cheek

  knowing You're close

  soothes my anxious heart

Sweet surrender into Your arms

  lost in giving and receiving

  comfort so desperately need

  found in Your loving eyes

19-120A

#highplainspoet

Virdant Prairie

Virdant Prairie

Dawn hugs low
  long shadows of Spring
Rich green pastures
  shimmers in young light

19-115z
#highplainspoet
#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife
https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Old Oaks

Old Oaks

Bark callous and thick
deep ridges of course skin
sloughs off confirms death
budless branches stand stark

Once young and tender
pliable in fierce winds
now arthritic and stiff
totters to stay upright

Roots once gripped strong
now let go adrift in soil
unmoored stands at angle
old oaks fall hard

19-116z
#highplainspoet
#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife
https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Liminal

Liminal

Somberness oozes out
  memories blend cause such doubt
Unnecessary suffering runs deep
  in liminal space between wake and sleep

19-115A
#highplainspoet
#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife
https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Buried

Buried

Clanks and rumbles rises next door
memories bulldozed down
dilapidated farm flattened
back into the prairie

19-107z
#highplainspoet
#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife
https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Softness

Softness

In gray moment before wake soft memories cuddle

peace washes with desire in morning dews renewal

infused with warm hope of rest in her loving arms

floating upon buoyant grace drifting freely in joy's depth

humbled by your mercy's tenderness like a father's embrace

overcome with your kindness safe as a child resting upon mother's breast

to know and be known secure in who we are as lover and beloved

19-106z
#highplainspoet
#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife
https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

At Sunrise

Fall's brown brush

paints North Platte River escarpment

clouds mauve and gray

against aqua blue sky

Touch of snow

frosty's coat

reminding seasons change

beckons renewal

Clarity as look out

cool wind caresses

soft flesh cheeky rouge

canvas changes as sun rises

18-308A

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Silenced Inner Critic

Pen loosens in hand

  mind relaxes

spilling words

  mental spring discharged

Processing and sorting

  culling the day

lessons learned filed

  shared inner critic's notes

To create again

  upon recycled chaff

'til inner critic

  no longer takes notes

18-306B

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Father's

Father's love

  expressed in us

Awakens hope

  silences fear

Christ in me

  hope of glory

18-353A

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Inrush

Power's inrush

  surge magnetizing core

    ushering light

      displacing darkness

        powering family

18-353A

Inspired by energizing two transformers at a new substation.

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Ugly Cold

Ugly Cold

They move gracefully

  pausing as we watch

  four deer measure me up

  as I soak their beauty in

An ugly cold

  softened by elegance

  as they move off

  leaping the electric fence

As quickly as they appeared

  they disappear into brown grass

  before sun breaks the horizon

  invisible once again

18-341A

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Words crawl off the page

ink floods the wells of eyes

stains the mind

Paints tired images

shadow memories

redrawn gray matter

19-083z

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com

Resistance

Resistance

One of those mornings of resistance

where don't want to sit down and write

because of what I might discover

beneath heartache what'll be uncovered

Heart aches in place of trust

that faith is all that binds us

strands so damaged from all the years

Value's been wrapped away in fear

Heart droplets of tears

drip ruby red clear

wondering if we'll ever be free

to love as created to be

19-096z

#highplainspoet

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife

https://www.westernnebraskathoughtsandlife.com