I have always been leery of January
filled with restless spirits
of those who have gone before
but lately it seems
that’s true of every month
so throw off superstitions
and damn you powers that be
let the wolves in
no campfire burning
here in the winter
of my years
I’m ready
other writing
through the night
sometimes one needs
something stronger
than lemon water
to make it
through the night
walls
oh so high
the walls
around your heart
ahead
the sun peeks out
from behind the clouds
crowding the sky
with the promise
of a better day
ahead
and like the sun
my heart peeks out
from behind the debris
cluttering the past
with the hope
of a better life
ahead
the eyes the heart
one looks for words
to express
what the eyes
the heart
would say
if only
they could speak
treasures of a heart
there
buried deep
the treasures
of a heart
watching Irene Dunne
there’s that little laugh
as she confounds
yet another man
in this world
which she seems to understand
so much better
even in those moments
when lucidity eludes
her and everyone else
one still has faith
she will endure
her intelligence and wit
weapons in this risky business
of love and life
evolution
the process of going from
who one has been
to who one is
on the way toward
who one can be
with a nod to Chia Yao
spend one’s life
trying to achieve
a calming of the heart
2:30am Friday evening in Aliağa
the cup grown cold
here in darkness
as I sit hunched
in hooded sweatshirt
on the balcony
gazing at the distance hills
standing guard
leaving me mute
with admiration
Leonard Durso 