My attempt at a golden shovel below: Original Line from ‘the Rape of the Lock’ by Alexander Pope (Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul)   A bounteous gathering of lovely charms With floating eyes, which are about to strike Among the cloud…

Thought it looked good, fresh clean, in a glass bottle, know what I mean. Cold to the touch, hoped you’d like it so much Cut a huge piece of cake chocolate of course Poured into a glass, check date and the hour Drank a big…

Pray Continually   People, people everywhere, rambunctiously await aweing days of morning.   Years go by, fleeting moments, centuries. Great rulers overturned, worlds change,   nothing sustains. Yet one by one toddlers grow, smiling, immune to destruction,   nascent beings hinging upon kind words, clear…

I became an expert on the meaning of shame realizing what it means some twenty-five years ago, if you can believe that Back then, I still had hope that you and I could become we though I had doubts, I did my best to resist…

HOUR EIGHT Lines from ‘Mirror’ by Sylvia Plath Tonight the caustic wind, love, Gossips late and soon My tears like vinegar a tender breeze whisper some thoughts, tonight I am a coin silver- the mighty chunks of my unripe dreams caustic corn husk in an…

Here is my attempt at a golden shovel: Line from ‘Marginalia’ by Richard Wilbur <<Things concentrate at the edges; the pond surface>>   Some day I acknowledge relations, not things Is the important belonging to concentrate? The mourning and cries are nothing at Their loss…

If you could see inside me you might glimpse the fire blazing Smoke confined to the inside, carrying the flames off To the four corners of my psyche, producing a nervous But persistent quiver that breaks the tension Of keeping the sadness at bay, of…

They watch us eat, quarrel, make love, sleep. ~ Of All the Highrises, Cathy Park Hong, Engine Empire In these sparse rooms, grief hangs like a bland painting. The ones with heavy shoulders, they work shaking hands through their hair. The small ones, the ones…

    I had “No Ordinary Love” as Sade would say before I met you. Describing a love like ours deserves a context and a place. Even though space and time need not rhyme. Your heart and mine bonded before we knew. One night. One dream….

The original line of inspiration is “Fire! Revenge! Death to Kings! Life to the new world of the heart’s dreaming!” from On the North Sea Part II, by Edward Abbey. Atop the hills they stood like beacons warning of an approaching fire, All across the…