The Detour

For decades, his disease 

Has let him linger. Last  

Summer, supposedly his last 

Found him painfully aware 

Of what we all can count on 

His body taxed, he bypassed death 

Then he entered through 

Another door, one they said 

His dear wife  

Would exit on her own 

Their diagnosis was wrong 

Upon release, he parked  

His dark gray Cadillac 

By the suspension bridge 

At Angel Falls  

And filled his lungs  

With floribunda rose    

A Glutton for Joy

A glutton for joy, 

Her table is a feast of choices 

Exotic herbals, cinnamon, saffron, 

Crystalline carafes, 

Flagons of honey and cream; 

Her oven has been busy, bustling, 

Warming voluptuous treats; 

After we ladle strawberry delight 

Onto our octopus tongues, 

We scurry to our seats  

Where she uncorks robust poems  

She has hoarded umpteen years 

From crannies of the internet  

And toothsome books  

She has gnawed on   

Again and again and again; 

We drool as her blissful voice rings  

Truth and celebration, 

Our pens bursting to lunge  

Across the omnivorous page                

Starry Night Part I & II

Van Gogh swirls 
His brush  just right  
He makes the heavens  
Come to life  
The moon’s a  
Mesmerizing sight; 
Some homes are lit  
With candlelight  
The chapel bells  
Are mute tonight 
The starry sky 
Sings its own tune  
Dancing 'neath 

The painted moon  
---

Through the bars  

Of his asylum,  

Vincent viewed  

The starry sky 

Before the dawn,  

In vivid glory, 

Made it vanish  

From his sight  

The mistral wind  

Moaned through the cypress  

Looming on  

The inventive scene  

What voices spoke 

To him with venom, 

Said, "paint a bullet  

With carmine sheen"?                   

Kisses I Have Known

The first ones, the last ones 

And all those in between  

The elementary pecks 

Before I learned the language 

In time for sweet sixteen 

The ones in their father's station wagon 

The practice ones on mirrors 

When I was a little girl 

The ones when the snowflakes  

Circled overhead and swirled 

The ones during intermission  

When we’d play tonsil hockey 

The ones that were slobbered  

The ones I witnessed  

In the darkened Cineplex

The ones that were stolen  

The ones that led to sex 

The ones at the stoplight 
And when we said our vows 

The ones upon my pillow 
Before you were by my side  

The one I'm thinking of right now