Sometimes I arise
before dawn
and in those first few moments
I am six again
alone in the endless dark
not quite afraid but
far from mommy and home.
That innocence passes
more quickly this time
with the coming of the light
the radio informs
as the coffee cooks
and I tuck that child
safely back into
his corner of my head:
shh-shh
it’s ok
go back to sleep. mjh
10/27/2005
Listen to tuck
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
like nervous reptiles
skittering among the rocks
safe haven
but never secure
warmed from the outside
animated by a distant source
a shadow freezes and frightens us
we run for the light,
pause, bask,
before slipping into darkness mjh
Listen to bask
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
At Poetica Autowerks, we know
when you have miles to go
nothing gets you there
as rhythmically as a Frost.
While the Whitman leaves
little to desire,
kick the tire
of the new Emerson —
It’s transcendental!
Or maybe some lesser poet
can get you there
if you don’t care
where you go
or how slow. mjh
11/14/04
In honor of all the unknown poets out there, unlisted at poetry.org, unpublished except on the back of envelopes. Write on! The only thing worse than unread is unwritten. Happy Poetry Month to all. peace, mjh
Listen to some lesser poet
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
What about those poems
I never wrote?
Ideas unborn,
left to float
like pollen in the air.
Those unsung poems
coat my throat
and cloud my thoughts
with possibilities.
I wheeze
and sneeze
and blow my chance. mjh
2/9/2005
Listen to Choke (seconds)
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
I never thought
how noisy it would be:
the wind through my feathers
squeaks and rustles
as I pull and release
my wings like
a rower through air.
Pull and lift and fly,
rest and soar and drop.
Now an angel,
now Icarus.
My place determined
by my own strength.
Now rowing,
now sailing through
the breath of the world.
My wings grow larger with every beat.
They become clouds.
Only now am I free
of Icarus’ fate.
There is nothing quite
like going home. mjh
2005? [Previously published on: Apr 16, 2006]
Listen to Going Home (36 seconds)
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
Add this to my totem:
the porcupine —
fearsome
barbed
solitary
all defense
but subject still
to the mammalian verbs:
cuddle, snuggle, nuzzle. mjh
8/26/1997
Thanks to Wendell Lane for taking a word out of my mouth.
Listen to Sharp (18 seconds)
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
Look East
to watch the setting sun
reach across the miles
to brush the mountains pink
with one last caress farewell
as they blush
rose red at nightfall
and sink into gray
waiting for the moon to say
“Hush, be still now.
I am with you til the dawn.” mjh
2/9/06
(with a tip of the hat to Jon Knudsen)
Listen to Blush (22 seconds)
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)