Black and White

South Carolina –

a black policeman gently helps

an elderly white

supremacist at flag protest

out of blazing sun,

guides him to shade and water –

a study in black and white.

JDG

Truth or Fiction

Curiosity

might have killed the cat,

but it could very

well save me. Should I run with

what I think I know,

or should I pause, breathe, question,

breathe again, and see

if the tale I’ve been spinning

is a fear-born fantasy?

JDG

Reveille

Was it a greeting

or a scold, that outpouring

of early morning

bird talk? Was it addressed to

me or another

early riser or was it

just a strong commentary?

JDG

Open Windows

Stories are also

windows to the soul and what

we see depends on

the story we view it from.

Are our stories ones

that unite or divide, love

stories or yet more

hate-filled tales raising harsh flags

of unending bitterness?

JDG

In Transition

It’s not a matter

of shedding, of sluffing off

what no longer fits,

though that, indeed, may take place.

It’s more like watching

yourself be slowly dissolved

with no assurance

there will be anything left.

Though you may hope for

a metamorphosis, what

if at the end there’s

only a puddle and no

wings and no bright soaring self?

JDG

Out Of The Silence

A stack of pages

torn from magazines, arranged

like an hour glass –

a strange image arising

out of the silence

as I contemplate the word

“complete”- the image

itself a mixed metaphor

so much like life itself.

JDG

It Takes Two

I’ve shown up, but no

poem has. For now it seems

the muse and I are

not on speaking terms. If I

bide my time, perhaps

she’ll show, but if not at least

I know I made time for rhyme.

JDG

Memorial Days

Each and every day

may we honor those who gave

their lives defending

our country by providing

needed services

for those who also fought and

returned home with lasting wounds.

JDG

In The Silence

Out by the cedars,

the dawn not yet come, two deer

wait to greet the day.

Unable to sleep, I stand

waiting too, grateful

for their silent company

in the slow pulse of this night.

JDG

A Golden Surrender

Every year my yard

ignores my sage advice and

invites those pesky

dandelions to settle

in, saying Nature

knows more than I can even

guess. This year, with a

nod to my aching back and

knees, I give in and say “yes”.

JDG