I am a 71 year old, retired, police and fire dispatcher for the city of San Francisco. I have known from adolescence that I am a poet, but I largely put off writing poetry until I felt compelled by circumstances This moment of recognition was a terrible way to fall awake. I started writing seriously, if sporadically, in 2007. The purpose of building a web site for the poetry is not to promote it, but to acknowledge it by preserving it.
February 17th, 2023 9th Iteration Dedicated to my beloved husband, Floyd Russell Taylor ! Poem ! Since you died, as if you were a god, Say, a Zeus, You visit and put on a guise: ! At first, a petal from a blossoming tree, You landed in my hand While you whispered in my ear: … More February 17th, 2023/9th Iteration
February 17th, 2023 8th Iteration Dedicated to my beloved husband, Floyd Russell Taylor ! Poem ! Comfy on the couch, Tired from being overly, overtly happy, A renegade thought escapes my Id: “Despite the many days like this, Life was better by his side. So much so.” Mind you, no longing, no wanting. This is … More February 17th, 2023/8th Iteration
In Memoriam: Floyd Russell Taylor ! He has turned his back to us To kiss the earth. Yet something of his nimbus stays with us As a blessing. Ascendant, The inherited mark of Cain all humans hide, No longer casts his shadow as he wanders. Nor can he curse (as if he would), And send … More His Emminence
Car Carnival ! Dedicated To: M.K., J.D., D.J., B.B. ! ! What wonders! For hours at a time, they lure our curiosity. Each displays an eccentricity of design no longer dreamed. In their aggregate called a show, they are a tableau to fill a vacant lot, Until the traveling rodeo rides back in with a Whoop! ! Men beautify these wrecks into beauts, Reglaze them with the colors from … More Car Carnival
! ! February 17th, 2023 (6th Iteration) In Memory, Floyd Russell Taylor Also, Dedicated “In Pectore” ! ! ! Having arrived just prior to demolition, As if this were the gift of a scar to mark God’s favor, I was permitted to revisit the wings of the seminal seminary Where I had taken my deepest breath, Where my timid mind began to fly temerity. Distracting furniture had been extracted. … More February 17th, 2023/6th Iteration
! ! ! February 17th, 2023 (5th Iteration) In Memory, Floyd Russell Taylor ! ! ! Since that day, my days have dimmed. By the lookout, daybreak is gauzed by blinds, spliced by slats. They hide the seat where once I sat And foolishly hoped for the impossible. Walking through the afternoon monsoon, Searching for Oz, often, the rainbow flickers … More February 17th, 2023/5th Iteration
! Ghost weddings are practiced in China and other countries to ensure dead family members aren’t alone in the afterlife. They can unite two deceased partners or one living and one dead. ! February 17th, 2023 (7th Iteration) In Memory, Floyd Russell Taylor ! ! I sit contemplating this anniversary. Wooden window slats at half mast, as the … More February 17th, 2023/7th Iteration
* * Our Lady of Honey Dedicated to Michael Karl * * Her black hair is twined at the back. Her dusky skin, a beauty imbued with youth. Her hands composed, She stands so straight she appears tall. It is a stance of respect For those who approach the honeys. All around, the carnival can not conceive of her. * Beauty always intimidates with … More Our Lady of Honey
* From Below, Then Above * The Chile Cookoff at Borderlands Universalist Unitarian Church, Amado, Arizona, November 16th, 2024 For Michael Karl, For Jeff Dixon * We enter the grounds through the church, Which is disguised. It repurposed the premises, Nondescript, as if part of a ranch. No ranch here, Just nature, consecrated as land … More From Below, Then Above
In memory of the interment of my beloved husband, Floyd Russell Taylor, on August 15, 2023 White petals drifting downwardsBeautify the graves of the Earth.Even as spring flies into a summery sky,This whiteness is a lingering emblem of winter,And those who nod in sleep beneath the snow.One year ago, into their sodI commended your soul.Trees … More Drift
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