Muddy's Commonplace Book Two:
My Poems

To My Donald

We do not curse the rose
when its bloom has faded,
nor the sun
when the purple exuberance
of its good-night kiss
dissolves first to gray,
then black.

And so, because I know
that every choice I have made,
every love that I have known,
has made me who I am,
has brought me to the point
where I am on this day--
another day in love with you--
I look back without regret,
all my bleakest nights
a prelude to
the dawning of our love.

~ms~ February 10, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Pendant

shiny, smooth
bespeckled blossom
pressed into eternity
in resin
suspended
on a knotted cord
binding us together
through time and space.

floret frozen for all time
falling comfortably, endlessly,
into the infinite void.
never-fading flower
symbol of undying love.

~ms~ January 19, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Another Grey Morning

Nothing to say,
no words of wisdom.
Feeling of emptiness
pervades my existence
on this gloomy morning.

Light of day
filters sullenly through
rain-swollen clouds.
I wake to grey,
hear the bitter
wind howling.
Shivering, listening
from my cold lonely bed,
I know that someday
my sun will shine
brightly once more.

On the Continent,
time and humanity
rush about,
leaving us savages
to lag hours behind
hopefully waiting.

~ms~ January 20, 2000

Back to the beginning.

From 19 to 5 in Seconds

Bristling with anticipation,
Black fur touched with tan
Kept watch as grey lightning
Ascended the great oak.

The (grown-up?) college man
Chuckled with delight
As death and disaster
Courted the squirrel.

And I (watching from a distance)
Remembered Frisky, and cried.

~ms~ 1976

Back to the beginning.

I Used to Wonder…

Caught in my thoughts
a whispered sigh
Why does my heart go numb?
Will anyone ever love me
for the Me that I've become?

~ms~ February 9, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Timeless

I mind most the folk
careless in love
eyeing with contempt
a mighty treasure

love is
love will be

~ms~ February 8, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Grocery Shopping with My Scarecrow

Though coffee had never been my cup of tea,
He said, "Honey--try it with honey! Try it for me..."
"Do you prefer...?" I asked -- "Of course!" said he,
"But butter is better... Take it from me!"

And so as lightning didn't strike,
We walked the grocery store
With butter in our buggy,
We kept on adding more...

Things that I might never buy
Had I gone to shop alone
Things I might not think to eat
Had he not come along.

More fruits, fresh veggies, coffee too,
Brown bread, green eggs, and ham...
Tequiza beer from far (or near?)
Four jellies, marmalade, jam.

Oh, how I love my English ...man
Who finds it oh, so funny
That if it can't be found with fruit...
Well, he would bet you money...

Shampoo, pancakes, Lipton tea
Salads, dinner plates
Yogurt, oatmeal, dusting spray
Insipid stuff we hate.

Yes, I'm a USA-sian
Where Choice is our motif--
And isn't it amazin'
What one can do with beef?

~ms~ February 5, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Lunatic

raving mad
smiling glassy eyed human
found chortling behind
the coffee house
Bobbing his head
in ecstasy

~ms~ February 4, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Love Bubbles

He sits composing (himself?)
She stares
fixedly, but with love.
Full of secrets,
rapture on her face,
she beams.
Drawn by muddy eyes,
His gaze locks into hers.
Familiar laughter
bubbles from within
as his eyebrow wiggles
and he whispers,
"Ah seenk...
lahk ze Titanic..."
She sputters
in gales of laughter,
billows of love.

~ms~ January 31, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Winter Disrobes

Winter disrobes the trees
Limbs stripped bare
Summer's leaves end in winter's fury
Naked limbs against the snow

~ms~ January 29, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Rainbow

Ribbon in the sky...
Beauty, its own reward, or
fabled pot of gold?

~ms~ January 27, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Sunrise

clouds shimmer
sun's first golden eastern glow
washes across
every being
night is over

~ms~ January 23, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Advice to a Friend

Life is.
simply is.

a richly woven tapestry
with heroes and villains
but mostly full of
just regular ol' folks.
Life is sometimes fair,
sometimes foul,
but always,
Life is.

lose some by the wayside,
but like a juggernaut,
Life rolls on.
no regard
for what Was
or what Could Have Been.

better days lie ahead,
my friend.
hold on to Hope.

~ms~ November 1999

Back to the beginning.

Watcher

i am a watcher
of the heavens
be my sun moon stars
to-night and forever
love me

~ms~ January 22, 2000

Back to the beginning.

From Jane

Your only fear resides with you
in your house your attic
madwoman breathes fire
beast doesn't sleep

~ms~ January 20, 2000

Back to the beginning.

Autumn Ballet

...this very moment
is the best.

blue skies
a cosmic canopy
over half-naked trees
colored like a rainbow
splashed with yellow.
clouds
white touched with grey
glide and sway
making shapes
for us to contemplate.

gentle breeze teases
the trees.
leaves cavort
now skittering
along the ground
now leaping into the air
so many frolicsome gazelles.

only when the wind is idle
do they rest...
...this very moment
is the best.

~ms~ November 20, 1999

Back to the beginning.

Crystal Prison

The sun rises every morning,
but I seldom feel its warmth.
I carry my umbrella
to protect me from the rain
nobody else sees.
I shout at the world
from behind
my soundproof,
see-through walls...
as they observe
my silently moving lips
they suppose that I'm singing
(or mad),
and pay me no mind.

I walk alone
for in my crystal prison,
there's room for only one.

I wait
and long for the sound
of shattered glass.

~ms~ 1977

Back to the beginning.

A Mirror

I am like you, Lir,
Cursed and blessed in one mad moment
Joyously reborn with wonder, hope, and love.

But joy is just one more thing to lose.

To free her people,
Your unicorn left you, Prince,
Weary and alone with sad, sweet memories.
I too have loved a unicorn,
And though haunted by eyes
Filled with green leaves, trees and streams,
No sorrow will live in me as long as that joy.

To have loved a unicorn.
Surely it is the dearest luck of all,
Though the hardest earned.

~ms~ 1977

Back to the beginning.

Rire

I bought a card to send you
to make you laugh
just because
you have the happiest
friendliest most beautiful
smiling face
I've ever seen.

BUT...
the Carrier Pigeon- Pony Express- Post Office
couldn't find you...

So, home again,
my funny little card
lies on my table
and laughs at me.

~ms~ 1977

Back to the beginning.

To Anne

If you cry,
shed no tears of despair--
Let the salty droplets
wash away the hurt and pain
of good times past
the point of no return,
and let them
trickle over a path that bypasses
those warm memories
that prove the good times
once were for real--
remembering all the while
that what lives in the heart
lives forever.

~ms~ 1977

Back to the beginning.

Scratching Post

Sky white and blue--
No clouds,
but white and blue--
Deep January wintery blue,
marked with ridgy white
fingernail scratches.

See them?
Look up where the jets play--
Maybe they use the sky
like cats use a tree--
as their scratching post.

~ms~

Back to the beginning.

Faces

Faces...
familiar, unknown
receding hairlines
premature silvering
blonde silk
jet-black curls...
jaws smacking Wrigley's
jaws scarred from buckles--
or knuckles--
skin of white
of black
and shades all in between
to help us determine
who we walk with?
who we talk with?
Smiles
Frowns
Wet blankets
Clowns...

Our faces are our flags unfurled
It takes all kinds to make a world.

~ms~

Back to the beginning.

On Waking

Another day
Another dream goes by,
Full wind in its sails.
The cold golden sun
Freezes in amber
Moments that will never be.
Another day
Another dream dies
Another hope is born.

~ms~ April 11, 1977

Back to the beginning.

Despair

they listen
(they can't hear)
they watch
(they can't see)
they try
(they'll never understand)

and how can they?

i am behind a locked door
(the key has been melted for scrap)
i am submerged in a frozen ocean
(there is no spring thaw in sight)
i am living on the dark side of the moon
(i will never see the sun)

~ms~

Back to the beginning.

Machete

You cut your way through the jungle of life
And I must choose--
Either to stand aside and take no chances
On being felled by the blows,
Or to open a path for myself
In hopes that our trails may meet.

~ms~

Back to the beginning.

Confusion

Ahead of the world
or behind,
I find
I stand alone.
I don't know
whether to run
faster to catch up
or to slow down
and let the world
catch me.

~ms~

Back to the beginning.

Lonesome

it's July
and here am I...
going nowhere,
doing nothing...
except work.

it's July
and here am I...
seeing no-one,
missing no-one...
except everyone.

everyone's gone
and here am I...
hurting nowhere,
feeling nothing...
except lonesome.

~ms~

Back to the beginning.