Love Frames

so many words lost
(Saturday night bed making)
scenes from a marriage

HoCo Royalty

my Homecoming queens
who will never win titles
will still win with me

and what have they learned?
just how to love everyone
from all walks of life

spirit week beckons
dynamic duos, western.
even better: grins.

even behind masks
you can see my girls’ smiles
(it’s hope. returning.)

and the Finger Lakes 
connecting the three of us 
in this Denver school

let’s not forget hats
of the Colorado kind
western girls, my girls

syllables can’t sew
or piece together quilt art
but her grandma can

haikus can’t capture
the hours of work, the cloth
from her grandma’s trunk

yes. a thousand words.
a thousand hours of love
for her granddaughter

in the midst of darkness
after weeks of moment-by-moment loss
today we have a win
a Green Card on the horizon 
of this young man’s dreams

before the long drive,
enjoy the perfect park. shop.
soak up cousin time.

eat your sister’s meal
till the next time you see her.
too long (just too long).

your daughters will drive.
together, we can make it.
we will rule the night.

it’s all we can rule
with the oldest off to school
we can rule the night.

three states, three hours,
a short capital lunch break
before breaking waves

flowing stream, sun bath
is my picture-perfect beach
(dogs and drinks allowed)

more importantly:
teens jumping off the big rock
back to childhood

you can’t understand 
the traffic-less upstate life
till you’re on the road

the road with vineyards
and wineries everywhere 
the empty lake roads

you can’t understand 
waterfalls till you’ve seen these
cutting out gorges

if you knew, you’d know
just how perfect this place is
(it’s carved in sandstone)

but you’re not here, right?
so let me spill this clear view:
it’s a waterfall

it’s a waterfall 
that feeds this glacial magic
(also named heaven)

carrying kayaks
down for a pup-and-paddle
oh the lake, the lake