Dating Dance

"Is you is or is you ain't", that's what I really want to know.
Just as I thought you were loyal you found somewhere else to go,
Should you decide to keep this up, I'll find other rows to hoe.

Why People Write Diaries

Pen
Paper
Diary
Thoughts for the day,
What some people say,
Happenings on life's way,
Contemplations to convey,
To recall so that one can weigh
The course of one's life, how it displays
A shape and a flow that one can survey

Untitled

Broken promises
Are what I remember --
The end of summer

Gate of Night

Dark
Shadows
At sunset
Growing longer
As night approaches
Memories grow stronger
Slowly the past encroaches
While shadows merge with each other
Past, present, future become porous
A prelude to sleep where our dreams flourish

Procrastination

Warm
Summer
Afternoons
Under the sun
In the oak tree's shade
In the month of August
The plans for the day I've made
No longer appear so robust,
Perhaps I shall allow them to fade --
A sudden dry wind is stirring the dust

A Single Blossom

Santa Cruz Harbor,
The sound of the barking seals
In the morning fog

Summer heat pushes people
To the California coast

Watching the sunset,
Newlyweds are holding hands
On the balcony

A power outage has occurred,
But nobody seems to mind

The moon is rising
Over the distant mountains
In the cool fall air

She adjusts the thermostat
To a much lower setting

"We should concentrate.
We are blowing our budget.
Where is it going?"

He puts the folders away
And gazes out the window

Relentless winds blow,
Whistling through the power lines
Past the frozen pond

A diner prepares coffee
In the early morning light

The hawthorn blossoms,
White, with a tinge of yellow,
Bright against the leaves

She plucks a single blossom
And places it in her hair

Quarrels End

Quarrels End

August afternoon
Unintelligible chanting
From the temple

It was hot yesterday
But not so hot today

Sun on the sidewalk
Shading his eyes with his hand
On his way to work

The coffee shop costs too much
And gas prices have risen

Two lovers talking
On their cell phones in the night
Watching the moon rise

In the late September sky
A few clouds in the north-east

A shipment of clothes
Made in some foreign country
Arrives at the store

Just in time for the first snow
A feral cat finds a home

Surrounding the park
New developments emerge
In mountain shadows

Power lines sway in the wind
Together with the branches

Apple tree petals
Spread across the yard and street
Quickly disappear

I can't even remember
The reason why we quarreled