summertime supper

potato chips and

French onion dip, sunshine, and

fresh watermelon

A Letter to the Predator

Dear straight Christian friend,

When you post a picture of
a burning gay pride flag online,
I am not merely encountering
an expression of an opinion.
I don't simply see a person
making a statement
about an issue.
I don't view it as
an individual "deeply devoted
to a faith based on mercy and grace"
taking a stand amidst a culture war.

I see my friend
advocating -- and perpetrating --
violence against me.
I feel threatened
and frightened
and sickened.
I see -- with my own eyes --
my friend proclaiming
to me and the world
that I am worthy of abuse.
I witness my friend
declaring me fit for
gasoline
and matches
and burning flesh
and torture
and death.

I see that my friend --
my "loving, compassionate, Christ-like" friend --
is not, in fact, my friend at all.

-- Your gay neighbor

(summertime snow)

summertime snow
cottonwood seeds
float, flit and blow

Women and Spoken Word and Brunch! Oh, My!

Ladies, join us this Sunday for Go Girl Saugatuck's Spirit Sunday Brunch!  I will kick off the spoken word presentation with a set of my own and help to facilitate an open mic session thereafter. 

 

Sunday, June 5, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Isabel's Market & Eatery

310 Blue Star Highway

Douglas, MI

 

For more information about the entire women's weekend and lineup -- including the brunch -- please visit Go Girl Saugatuck.

PRIDE Poetry Reading

I am happy to announce that I have been asked to read my poem "My One Wild and Precious Life" at this year's PRIDE Poetry Reading, as a part of Holland's 2022 PRIDE celebration.

Wednesday, June 1, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Herrick District Library

300 S. River Ave.

Holland, MI

 

Please join us then!

Go Girl Saugatuck: Spirit Sunday Spoken Word Brunch

I am pleased to announce that I will be the featured poet at Go Girl Saugatuck's Spirit Sunday Brunch next month!  I will kick off the spoken word presentation with a set of my own and help to facilitate an open mic session thereafter.  Ladies, please join us as we celebrate our souls!

 

Sunday, June 5, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Isabel's Market & Eatery

310 Blue Star Highway

Douglas, MI

 

For more information about the entire women's weekend and lineup -- including the brunch -- please visit Go Girl Saugatuck.

(Diarrhea)

Diarrhea:
An ugly word to spell;
an even uglier one to expel.

(The tree bark gleamed)

The tree bark gleamed
with fresh raindrops as
the squirrel scurried home.

Two Faced

A man doesn't obsess

over his face.

It is what it is.

He doesn't even give it

a second thought.

He was born with that face,

was raised with that face,

and grew up with that face.

He went through grade school,

middle school, high school,

and college with that face.

He dated with that face,

started a career with that face,

and formed a family with that face.

Everyone who's ever met him

knows him by that face.

He never reached an age when he was

asked, encouraged, or expected to begin

covering up

his natural, "God-given" face with

moisturizer,

concealer,

base,

powder,

blush,

eyeliner,

mascara,

eyebrow pencil,

three shades of eye shadow,

lip liner,

lipstick,

and lip gloss

every

single

day.

He never hides his true face.

He doesn't spend hours each week

covering his face early in the morning

and uncovering it late at night.

He doesn't spend years

distrusting his real face,

building a life, a career,

a family, a self,

based on a lie, a fake, a coverup.

He doesn't spend a moment

wondering if his actual face

is acceptable

without a full-fledged makeover.

He didn't learn how to

abandon his true face,

distrust his bare, naked face,

disconnect from his real self,

or disassociate from his true face

in order to create a completely

different visage

to present to the world.

He trusts his face

and relies on his face

without even knowing it

or thinking about it.

He just moves through the world

as his self,

with his true, natural, real, actual face,

without fear or worry.

He does this without even a thought.

Meanwhile, a woman

is expected to do the exact opposite --

to model to the entire world

that her true, natural, real, actual,

"God-given" face is unacceptable

and should only be

seen in public

when it is 100% altered --

to become

quite literally

two faced.

(morning tea after)

morning tea after
the morning rain
drop after drop

(excited to finish the book)

excited to finish the book;
sad to see it
end

(My spouse fills our house)

My spouse fills our house
with the scents and sounds of home --
homemade sourdough bread and Tina Turner tunes.

Without a Honk

There were four
of them -- four
graceful geese
gliding over 65
North as the four-
lane interstate
backed up
farther and farther
south. In the midst
of the two-accident
Tuesday morning
turmoil, just as I
began to grip my
steering wheel
in frustration, I
saw the quartet
breezing over
all four lanes
of traffic without
a honk of their own --
so soft, so peaceful,
so content; so intent.
I watched them
split into two pairs
and continue on their
January journey,
as I adjusted my
hands and then
my attitude, without
a honk of my own.

(finishing the last)

finishing the last
glass of eggnog with the last
book of the year

In the Company of Angels

I keep the photo in a box,

the box that my grandmother

gave me one Christmas,

the box that holds a single

glass angel ornament with golden trim.

I tuck the picture

underneath the angel

for safe keeping.

The photograph captures

the Christmas that you

spent with us 18 years ago

in Nashville.

This is the first Christmas

that Grand is no longer with us,

and the first Christmas 

that the two of you,

complete strangers,

will somehow keep each other

company.

Teatime

every sip
every drip
a present
to yourself

watch it steep
inhale deep
stealing moments
for yourself

black, green, white
pure delight
with a friend or
by yourself

Thanksgiving Traffic

Three miles in an
hour and a half --
bumper-to-bumper
interstate congestion and
stomach indigestion,
angry drivers with
hungry kids, no
exit in sight, and
no explanation.
Arrivals delayed;
hugs and hand-
shakes on hold;
dinners postponed.
It was easy to get
irritated and impatient,
until we saw
the white sheet
on the ground.
Suddenly, we were
thankful for the
fume-filled air that
we were breathing.

Ginger Ale at Grandma’s

When I drink ginger ale,

I think of my grandmother,

who always had ginger ale,

White Zinfandel and leftovers

in the fridge at her house --

the house with the 

bamboo in the backyard

and the pool table in the basement,

the house with the fireplace

and long reach matches in the living room,

and the bedrooms that my father and uncles

grew up in upstairs.

When I drink ginger ale,

I remember her contagious cackle

and raise my glass to Grand.

morning tea

like the allegiance of a faithful friend

like the familiar hand of a lover

like the loyalty of a family pet

(The tree bark gleamed)

The tree bark gleamed
with fresh raindrops as
the squirrel scurried home.

Summer Simplicity

As summer begins to
close her eyes in
exchange for fall's
awakening, I want
to remember these
days; what it feels
like to slip into
sandals, and hop into
the car without a
jacket and drive to
meet some friends
with Tennessee's green
hills in front of me and
the sun on my back.

(fresh tomato slice)

fresh tomato slice
memories from my childhood
a summer garden

(Marriage is)

Marriage is
telling each other
what to do with our sores.

Co-written by Rebecca Davenport

Poem Published in PRIDE Guide

I was very pleased to learn that my poem "My One Wild and Precious Life" was recently selected to appear in this year's Holland PRIDE Guide.  Take a look at my piece on page 13, as well as poems by my fellow poetry contest winners throughout the program!

(a cardinal and a bluebird)

a cardinal and a bluebird
sitting on a white fence
suddenly feeling patriotic

(In my mind, you will)

In my mind, you will
always be 45, strong,
capable and kind.

Thieves of the Temple

My afternoon walk
was interrupted by
a vicious scene --
two black turkey vultures,
two agents of death,
two dark figures
hunched and hovering over
an innocent squirrel
in the middle of the road,
devouring every bit of life,
shredding every fiber of flesh,
mutilating every scrap of dignity,
annihilating every piece of providence,
poking and prying and picking and
pecking and plucking and probing
until the body was nothing but a hollow carcass,
just like my parents do to me.

(summertime snow)

summertime snow
cottonwood seeds
float, flit and blow

(Golden:)

Golden:
A grandmother's love,
like the arms of the sun

(After the funeral)

After the funeral
I searched my inbox
for any messages I still had from her.

(Outside my window)

Outside my window
a bluebird convention in
full swing, wing to wing

(a fine Sunday morning flapjack breakfast)

a fine Sunday morning flapjack breakfast

including one, petite pancake

for the pup

The Life Span of Love

from having butterflies
to sharing houseflies
to watching fireflies in our twilight

One Fine Day

Note: I wrote this on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2013 -- a triply historic holiday.

On MLK Day,
inauguration day,
on the day
that a gay
Cuban-American poet
read a poem
to America,
I am moved
to tears
in the sunlight
of my study,
thankful
for the sunshine,
my books, and
the partner
our dog, cat and I
await, who will
join us after work
on this fine day.

Some Things

Some things
silence the
professional speaker.
Some things
stump the
international intellectual.
Some things
paralyze the
confident wordsmith.
Some things...

(last glass of eggnog)

last glass of eggnog
on the last day of the year
last sips; last seconds

(Christmas cat)

Christmas cat –

bedside greeting

begins with a pounce

(ban on "bored" meetings:)

ban on "bored" meetings:
espresso, shortbread cookies;
jazz records on low

(colors flirt with)

colors flirt with
the morning sky
horizontal rainbow

(Sometimes the best way)

Sometimes the best way

to love your family is

to steer clear of them.

(listening to a song you wrote)

listening to a song you wrote

while driving around in the town

where we met

(cat in a frenzy)

cat in a frenzy:
from the window --
watching falling leaves

(driving into the)

driving into the

sunset to vote on a warm

election evening

(eyes widen)

eyes widen:
brilliant, cranberry-
orange-colored foliage

(The tree bark gleamed)

The tree bark gleamed
with fresh raindrops as
the squirrel scurried home.

(prescription to beat)

prescription to beat

the blues: increase

daily musical intake 

(the leaves mimicking)

the leaves mimicking
the sound of raindrops in the
wooded autumn hills

(The attention whore)

The attention whore
demands your intentness but
does not give you his.

(First day of autumn:)

First day of autumn:
Reading on the porch with a
roast in the Crock-Pot.