THE PAGE TURNER

I attended a concert by Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax—two legends, violin and piano. But as my mind wandered with the music, I spent much of the concert watching the woman who turned pages for Mr. Ax. Tall and elegant, in a gauzy black gown with long sleeves, she sat utterly composed as they played. […]

WILD ABANDON

This is a short fun poem, with a short fun backstory. I was 22 years old and working the swing shift in a factory – which influenced several other poems, too. The schedule was grueling. The base shift was 3 PM to 11:30 PM, often with an hour of overtime. I got Tuesday and Saturday […]

SPLINTER BED

A few years ago a musician asked to work with me on song lyrics. He was in college so we focused on a college love affair. He gave me images, nouns, and adjectives from his life and I built a story around two young lovers who meet, break up and live apart, and then hopefully, […]

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE DEMISE OF:

Sometimes everything clicks in. Sometimes it doesn’t. This poem is about a week in my life when things went wrong. I was in my early twenties. A long-term relationship ended. A paperwork slip-up led to losing my job in a factory. It was time to leave the factory, but it’s always nice to be the […]

RECURSIVE FUNCTION

A while ago, I was asked to present at a large tech conference in San Diego. At the preconference meeting the rep suggested that we open our talks with a joke, or a poem(!). I thought, “I can do that!” So I started working. Recursive functionality – where a formula references itself, like looking in […]

His fingers grazed

For about 10 years, starting in my early 40’s, I didn’t write often. I was busy and happy; starting a growing business, in a strong marriage, and creating a blended family. But I’d also lost my “voice.” I was no longer an angry young man, but wasn’t yet sure what my new poems should be. […]

The Judge Wore Pumps
& Backstory

It’s hard to look people in the eye whenyour hand and foot shackles drag youdown but you see plenty on the scuffedlinoleum of the corridors checked inschoolroom patterns of light anddark not white or blue anymore becausenothing here is the way it started but isworn by the passing of the prison chanclason your feet and […]

Rocky Peak

Nice to earn the viewfrom my favorite peak againWriting this from one ofmy sitting rocksThis one is at the topIt’s JulyFirst time I’ve pushed itsince April Every time I call my youngestdaughtera few rings go bybefore she answersThere was thatearly morning phone callThe one her fingers remembereven when her brain forgets“Sweetie, I had a heart […]