A New Day
October 4, 2017Gilt by a setting sun
This side, this shore
Estrangement
August 24, 2017Heartache
Emerges unsummoned
From the subconscious
Takes up residence
Down low
In the stomach
Until
Nothing else matters
A simple question,
“What’s wrong?”
Brings a flood of tears
Washing away
Much of the ache
Leaving behind
Deep sorrow
Confusion, longing
©2017 Thomas W. Cummins
Dancing Rose-Gold
August 18, 2017It’s that time of year again.
—∞—
Each morningEarly
As though awakening
The lake
Comes alive An opening movement
Two ducks
In formation
Quietly chatting
Whisk by just above the water A single gull appears
Overhead
Looking, searching
Its wings
Pink with the rising sun Far off
A loon begins its day
Black-green head
Sharp, wet bill
Glistening On the bunkhouse wall
A dance
Rose-gold reflection
Sun grazing the water
Finding its way into the room A noiseless waltz
Sometimes partnered
Leaf shadows
Gentle
In a morning breeze
© 2014 Thomas W. Cummins
That missing something
July 29, 2017Sitting at a table
Our group of eight
A crowded restaurant
An awareness
Of my not talking
Not listening
Gazing out the window
Feeling detached
Indifferent
An unknown
Unarticulated
Longing
For what?
That missing something
©2017 Thomas W. Cummins
I watch and wait
July 16, 2017—-∞∞—-
Thundering, blowing rain
A squall
Wind-whipped leaves
Vegetables in the prisoners’ garden
Planted in the housing unit yard
By the fence
While a desolate place
Nurturing rain
Growth
Symbols of life’s hope
Grace overcoming bleakness
Pushing aside despair
Sheltered under an overhang
I watch and wait
Far from the chapel
Where men also wait
Four locked gates away
I watch and wait
© 2017 Thomas W. Cummins
By the Roadside
June 6, 2017By the roadside, miniature volcanoes
Erupting
Grain of sand by grain of sand
Tumbling
Down the slopes
Forming
Fuji-esque cones
In the tiny calderas
A hole
At the bottom
Leading to where the ants live
Cool
Sheltered
Sizzling hot asphalt a foot away
When dusk arrives
A refreshing coolness
Covers the road surface
Creatures great and small begin the perilous journey
From ditch to ditch
Hoping against hope
An occasional car whizzes by
©2017 Thomas W. Cummins
In a dim light... 