snow falling while I sleep

clouds bunched up along the coast range
bursting over the ridge with a flurry
gentle touch on trees and rocks and roots
leaving them playfully marred
by the brush of a trickster

Death in the American Desert

Death in the American desert
seems romantic when colored only in words
moulting red tailed hawks
Queen of the Night Cactus
in full bloody bloom
mesas and arroyos
Sonora
seems like the evocative background
of a hundred bright burning and romantic murders
the collage of stark plain colors
and deeds of desperation and bold failure
that could crawl through us
bleeding pleasure
pouring as a flash flood from Spring's rains
as a cascade from the amygdala, center of aggression
to leave us as a cracked blood stain in the dust

Death in the American desert
is suffering for days in delirium
you idiots
you soft white inner thighs
you blistered heels
you cracked and bleeding lips

Death in the American desert
is not a heritage and a badge of honor
it is the dearest fear of the prideful pilgrims of the West
the Leviathan that ate the crops of Oklahoma
and the laggard that trailed behind the ice age
as nothing more than a barren glacial moraine

And the Light Was a Rare Commodity

Upon your face
and your arms
and hair
smiling down
from warmly frosted fixtures
smiling up
from the diminished form of the oil lamp
touching you the way I wish
I could in that moment
the way we touch
in the dark
sigh of privacy
mingled a lone
creature
on a sepia tone horizon
many look on
in desperate jealousy
as we kiss scandal
into being

Love Poem 8

Not much to say to you
as you noisily eat your winter squash
in the kitchen I am in the living room
writing about love and hating
the noise of your roasted yellow squash
even you my dear, can't make that
audibly mushy squash alluring
but other than a few pet peeves like that
you are all right baby
I will just turn up the radio and keep typing away

Love Poem 9

There are ways a good woman
is like a good poblano chili
I explained to my daughter
concerning her mother
at first she scoffed at the analogy
but as I elucidate the gastronomic qualities
of a good chili
she came to agree that it was an apt comparison
good peppers add heat and a robust weight to a flavor
they should bring tears of joy to your eyes
on rare but appropriate occassions
they are lovely to behold
no matter the shape or size
and the smell of a good chili
infuses the whole house with a startling hunger
I left that last one out of the conversation
to avoid any awkwardness

The Difficulties of Loving Amphibians

the skin needs moisture so much moisture
this is hard to accommodate
at times
I am frequently tired
from the doting labors
of bringing her
chalice after chalice of amphibian broth
cleansing her toe webs
with lanolin and aloe swabs
being the gentle hand with the cool moist towelette
I am disheveled as a result
I smell like swamp bottom
and I think I have small algal blooms
in various moist and hidden spaces
she is worth these petty sufferings
and she will extract much more toil over time