Mild the mist upon the hill
Telling not of storms tomorrow;
No, the day has wept its fill,
Spent its store of silent sorrow.
O, I'm gone back to the days of youth,
I am a child once more,
And 'neath my father's sheltering roof
And near the old hall door
......
FYTTE I.
'Look at the Clock!' quoth Winifred Pryce,
As she open'd the door to her husband's knock,
Then paus'd to give him a piece of advice,
'You nasty Warmint, look at the Clock!
Is this the way, you
Wretch, every day you
Treat her who vow'd to love and obey you?
Out all night!
......
My father used to say,
"Superior people never make long visits,
have to be shown Longfellow's grave
nor the glass flowers at Harvard.
Self reliant like the cat --
that takes its prey to privacy,
the mouse's limp tail hanging like a shoelace from its mouth --
they sometimes enjoy solitude,
and can be robbed of speech
by speech which has delighted them.
......
And when, in the city in which I love you,
even my most excellent song goes unanswered,
andI mount the scabbed streets,
the long shouts of avenues,
and tunnel sunken night in search of you...
That I negotiate fog, bituminous
rain rining like teeth into the beggar's tin,
or two men jackaling a third in some alley
weirdly lit by a couch on fire, that I
......
It was early May, I think
a moment of lilac or dogwood
when so many promises are made
it hardly matters if a few are broken.
My mother and father still hovered
in the background, part of the scenery
like the houses I had grown up in,
and if they would be torn down later
that was something I knew
but didn't believe. Our children were asleep
......
There once was a man, strong and tall
With a heart that would never fall
He walked with a purpose, head held high
And always looked straight into the sky
He worked hard every single day
To provide for his family in every way
His hands were rough, his back was sore
But he never complained, not once, no more
......
I never should have expected you to stay
When I was the one that left first
That is an unreasonable
And unfair
Request for me to make
But you also never should have expected me
To abide by your commands
When those very same commands made me a cynic
......
Be a father to me
place a hand on my head
keep me rooted, my mind
Oh father, why won’t you let me levitate?
I understand that you are distant
for me to grow above you
but please, that searing shield you carry,
put it down.
Embrace me warmly
......
Threatened blue world.
Rich earth's in His hands,
But, why such disrespect?
I have a hard time at Christmas…
It triggers many memories of old…
Like the time I caught my dad…
‘Just trying on mom’s dress’ as I was told…
He had been drinking the eggnog…
Since sometime earlier in the day…
Then he started singing Broadway show tunes…
Dancing and acting all happy and gay…
......