there is a world
out there
beyond the window screen
and as he feels
the breeze brush his face
on this mild winter day
he wonders
what would life be like
outside the safety
of this house
and the cat
looks back
at me
as if I had
all the answers
to all the questions
in both of our heads
other writing
the volumes in my heart: for Jimmy
there are some mornings
the call to prayer
resonates
after a long illness
or a hardship endured
but at no times
more than these
with the passing
of a beloved friend
for words fail
to express
what the Ezan
does for me now
it speaks the volumes
in my heart
a bird: for Rabia Kip because I said I would
a bird
she says
a bird
to soar
through the air
spreading wings
as free
as the feeling
beating
in my heart
empty canvas: for Rabia Kip
the tubes of acrylics
the brushes
the ideas the images
forming inside
her head
all because
an empty canvas
will give her
no rest
Saturday night, January 4, 2020
a blinking street lamp
my only companion
beckoning this tired body
up the hill
toward home
in answer to Su Tung-p’o new year’s wish: no holding on
there is no holding on
to the night before
dawn breaks
as dawn always does
and we find another year
has passed beyond our grip
older, yes
wiser, maybe
but facing another year
long as before
with whatever hope
we can muster
to get through
all the nights
and dawns
ahead
yes, my name
the cold wind blows
as these old legs
head up the hill
and in the moaning
of the wind
I thought I heard
my name
as if from a great distance
a hilltop maybe
perhaps over water
so distinct it sounded
in a voice
I could not recognize
but my name
yes, my name
calling out
to me
oh little boat
have courage
oh little boat
riding the current
on this raging river
heading out
to sea
unfinished business
it can be called
unfinished business
though business
is not the word
I would prefer
the letters unanswered
the phone calls ignored
those messages unopened
on apps neglected
’tis the season
these take on
an urgency
they lack eleven months
a year
the past the present
converging once more
and I must consider
what to leave behind
what to take forward
into the new year
waiting
just outside
my door
some dreams
there are some dreams
that waking
brings an ache
to the heart
Leonard Durso 