bounce

Bounce

Small ball bounces off patio onto lawn

I had been warned by Daddy twice to hold

Or to put away or go play beyond

gathered guests who heard me told

not to bounce there that way with that ball

and let grandma rest or  they’d all be mad

why is it so hard to throw against a wall

as if a secret power was finally glad

to pass judgement on children and end the fun

in favor of running in street or violent video game

so I sadly set aside my ball, what’s done is done

and moped wishing i had a different last name

with  grown ups who knew kids need balls to throw

if there is any hope they have to grow

Holding at 35

Holding at 35

Country drive incomplete without black top
For some miles we drove and stayed alive
Some smell roses, others will never stop
Class of seventy-six marks thirty-five,
Remembers life was best if we didn’t get caught
In hormonal tsunamis slamming us
Our concerned folks kept saying we ought
Not talk of such things on the morning bus
each one feared we’d feel the temperature climb
heating our unprotected dignity
On a hill five miles away back in time
Wanting to build a grown up community
Yellow school bus shifting on black top still
A Bragg Morris memory from the hill

THUMP

Hearts
pounding,
an audible
rhythm
pulsing, pulsing
blood pumping,
food, oxygen
to every cell
how lives
maintain mind
from today
to tomorrow
to next week
to year before last
souls soaring
for peace and
more thanks
a generic pat
on the shoulder
answer me
answer me
I am still inside
After Kevorkian died
Self-served or
An easy glide
To the otherside
I am happily
living unbound
dying to be freed
no more lost for me
forever found

Memorial Day/Joplin

Memorial Day 2011

Flags And Flowers A Cemetery Blooms

Gestures From Homes With Enshrined Rooms

Recalling Sons And Daughters Who Marched Precise

But Today We Remember Sacrifice

Once Brave Now Rest In Their Saluted Grave

On The Day A Cemetery Bloom

Joplin

We held our breath

Hiding from death

in basements under blankets

arms wrapped around  

whatever is nailed down

and the wind blew

as the cyclone came through

then the calm

and first look at our town

blown away

ART

Do We Fail To Encourage Young Monet
Or Send Picasso, With His Early Work, Away
Or Not Let Da Vinci Paint Something New
Because We Lack A Child’s Point Of View ?

Some Art Has Meaning, Cannot Be Described
Adults Seeking Truth Have Certainly Tried
Attaching Worth To An Ability To Pay
No Art Sold Unless It Goes Home Today

Crayons Or Clay, Pipe Cleaners, Confetti
Children’s Creative Minds Always Ready
Make A House, Cat And Mouse, Water Colored
Second Grade Masterpiece Completed

Parents Altered Reality Of Our Hood
When Outdoor Art Program Was Not So Good
They Spun The Color Wheel Considered Them All
Painted An Abstract Over Graffiti Wall

Thanksgiving Day table set, time to share

Turkey, corn bread dressing, giblet gravy

Cranberry relish, buttered rolls, plus some

Fluffy salad, pumpkin pie all served on

Wedding china, with gold folded napkins

Tradition is never the same old thing

Keeps us focused, many years in a line

My wife is great, makes special each detail

Sliced apples with caramel dipping sauce

Crackers, cheese for who loves to nosh

Our family tells stories of past year

Success, disappointment, roses and thorns

Our grown children are last to speak

Tell of this year’s significant others

Proudly they say thanks for our compliments

Our place is perfect holiday venue

Old recipes make kitchen smell like home

Laughter turns to conversational grace

Introverts join claustrophobics for a walk

Dinner’s nearly ready we stand at table

We pause and remember most recent loss

An empty chair marks Dad’s favorite seat

Table extends for cloud of witnesses

All tell memory from Thanksgivings past

Prayer is offered then each one says thanks

If potatoes are ready, turkey carved

We’ll enjoy our meal then onto football

rabbs crossing

Lost In An October Afternoon Blue    

Color Changes in the Evening Display
When God Takes His Sunset Palate
Paints An Ending For Our Near Perfect Day

Crossing Rabbs Bayou Bridge Near Our Home

Sacred Moments Of Unhurried Wonder

Autumn Moon, Rising Star, Cool Crisp Air

Blessed To Hold Hands In Midst Of Splendor

Long ago here did men hunt, women gather?

Who recorded the early history?

Did children play under the autumn moon?

At sunset did they ponder mystery?

Moonlight Shimmers On The Bayou Water

We Hear Endangered Mosquito Fly By

Autumn Moon Rises Silently Above

Horizon To Honored Place In The Sky

Guardian Of Many Dark Lonely Nights

Soft Light Is A Present Of Loveliness

Shows Forgotten Places Sol Abandoned

Opens Possibility For Hopefulness

Some fear moon as source of insanity.

Others see a marvelous creation

When I see moon I remember phone calls

watching moon, we found, eased separation

Moon is a gift of memories to keep

When Our Future Life Came Too Soon

Our Eyes Were Drawn To Beauty, Simply Said;

Nothing Can Compare With An Autumn Moon

J. Scott McKay