Your dog once saved my life one night
I’d lost a piece of hope, lost a simple dream
He sat next to me and nudged my hand
Pat on the head, a simple connection
I wish y’all didn’t have to leave
But we grow on and dogs get gray
We’ve lived a lifetime like old hens
Go and live well, a pat on the head
It’s both beginnings and ends
11.28.19
Love has become a curled up mess
Bundled up under all the blankets
Asleep before midnight after a week
Of mountain roads and exhaustion
Of death, decay and code-switching
Of the goodbye twenty years coming
Knowing there’d be tears from men
Who hoped they’d be neighbors again
Never forgetting what brotherhood is
Yet I’ve set the timer for every hour
Flipping an eighteen pound bird
Add cold water, empty wine glasses
Because love is simple- She Needs This
Stuffing-eating holiday so be it
Switch the code, flip the words
I’ll flip that bird every hour
If that’s all a simple man can do
To make this world all right for her
11.27.19
A kid told me about her thoughts
Sometimes they’re dark and scary
Days she didn’t want to keep going
Yet she found the bravery to tell her mother
She’s starting therapy and told me first
I’m a burned-out teacher but at least
That’s one thing I can find pride in
The one time I made a difference