Abiding

Thelonius Monk, “Abide
with Me” – a cigar,
A winter storm, my brother
In surgery in Houston
After driving all night
After two weeks of failed remedies
After sleepless anxiety,
The unspoken, interior fight
Of faith and reason – the shock
Of shock – but now the sax
Is climbing, soaring in jubilation,
The melancholy piano
Underscores it all – helpless
But for prayer we wait alone
A long way away, snowed-in,
Taking comfort as best we can,
Like songbirds flapping in icy wind
Seeking berries to sustain us,
Contour feathers surviving –
“Abide with Me” – “Abide
with Me” – cigar smoke wafting
towards eternity.

Winter

Days are shorter
than I want.

My cousin Bear
told me to prepare

but I was fooled
by crows at dawn

who come and go
as they please.

I am a building
a nest in the dark.

https://dragonpoetreview.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/dragon-poet-review-winter-2016-17-issue.pdf