Prairie Sea

Dreaming of my past,
lying on a hill of yellow grass.
A waist-deep sea
that rolls with the winds.

I'm overlooking everything
but I lie on my back to the sky.
I'm laughing at all things
without remembering why.
My hair interwines
with the blades and stems of grass.

My presence is lost
in this open plain of life
and sounds so rich.

The sun slips away
in a violet change of sky.
I'm floating with my arms stretched wide
in my prairie sea.
I ask the symphony of crickets
in the cool hours of the night
to remind me I am still here
for sometimes
in the ocean of stars above
even the moon escapes me.

Land of October

It is the days of brown grass
and naked trees.
The wind brings the aroma
of burning fields and wood
to please me
as I walk in the backyard.

My jacket is zipped
and my hands are in my pockets.
I think of the other places
I have seen and enjoyed
and some of the foreign streets I have walked.
All of these experiences
do not amount to the same
as this moment I spend here
walking up this gravel road
talking with my father.

The sun is sinking
in a red circle
below the waterline
of the prairie horizon.
The ocean of fields
stretch beyond my eye's reach
and I hear only nature
and the wind in my ears.

This is the land of October.
The season of the dead
of quiet cool winds
leading nature to sleep
before the ice and snow falls.

^

Biography

I am a professional engineer for a major aerospace firm in Los Angeles. I have been a poet for three years and am an active reader in the Los Angeles area. I am a native Kansan who draws from my rustic upbringing to find simple truths and beauty
in the smaller facets of life.

These two pieces are from my first collection chapbook available by request.