The Authenticity of a Gossip

Lean in close —
against your better judgement,
of course — listen to the talk
of wild nights,
full-tilt indiscretions,
justifications and temporal promises.
Try to back away —
after all, this is really
beneath you — but linger
a moment,
wait for the balance
of the tale,
where doubt met pain,
disillusionment begat heartbreak,
and love was never
a variable in the equation.

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9/11 Morning

I sit alone on the deck
with my coffee;
the first Sunday of the year with a cool
breeze and low enough humidity
to enjoy being outside.
I watch a smattering of birds
flit among the trees,
a butterfly or two traverse the yard,
the occasional reluctant sound of a day
beginning drifts through the trees.
I try and focus on the present,
the quiet, the peace,
try and grasp the significance
of a date,
and attempt to resist anger,
hate and worry.
The first tree to have turned is the one
most fully engulfed by the kudzu;
there is significance to this…
Leaves fall by ones and twos,
a slow drift through the quiet
of the morning.