mad cow*

sometimes

I keep my keys

in cold storage

next to the milk

and juice

hardly imagining

that the battery will

last longer

at 40 degrees

it is harder

to remember them

there

though I always know

where they are

when I look for something

to drink

eventually

it won’t matter

where my keys are

after the first time I go

to the store

and don’t come back

on my own…

Barry DeCarli

May 6, 2016

On Hammond Pond

©2016 Barry DeCarli

*“mad cow” is a reference to the

Denny Crane character on Boston Legal

http://www.italyiswaitingforyou-getgoing.com/

a circle broken

since the banishment

possibilities appear

as anguish

not as opportunities

the shunning

the stark sudden turning

away

diminishes the world

obscuring  old joys

a small thing like

averting a glance

making no mention but

at least no longer looking

for blame or absolution

or reason 

a philosophical escape

from anger and pain

a looking forward beyond the void

brings an incomplete rescue

leaves a hangover of hurt

the new normal

a fractured soul, a bent back

carrying the stones, the weight

of scorn

real and imagined

the added burden of disbelief

there is no silver lining...

Barry DeCarli

April 20, 2016

On Hammond Pond

©Barry DeCarli

Draft #6

terror

maybe

our lives are just

too predictable

to appreciate

 a world where someone

would strap explosives

around their waists

to kill people so randomly

we’re told

that if we change our routines

then

they have won

how simplistically we believe

and go about our business

feeling powerless to do more

than make a fleeting offering

of thoughts and prayers

flag lightshows on our landmarks

candlelight vigils

bouquets, poems and tears on sidewalks

maybe

going about our daily lives

is just what they want because

then

they know

we will be too busy

too occupied

to stop them…

Barry DeCarli

March 23, 2016

On Hammond Pond

©Barry DeCarli

Draft #3

Photo from www.telegraph.uk

pareidolia

the face of Christ on a piece of toast
some plaster in Pittsburgh

 a pancake at the Cowgirl Cafe

on the Shroud of Turin

 looking as much like Charles Manson

or Che Guevara
as Jesus

Mother Mary appearing

 between hospital window panes
near Boston

 or a on a tree trunk

in Iowa

 religious Rorschachs 

only perceived by some

ridiculed by others

with a clearer vision

or none at all

camera ready

a few search for a sign

look for hope
in a bowl of corn flakes

most laugh at the phenomenon

this prophecy
 whose medium might be mold,
misty moisture or
burned bread

but others
not blinded
by impossibility
might see a miracle
dancing in their heads

Barry DeCarli

March 11, 2016

On Hammond Pond

©Barry DeCarli

Draft #11

second chances

when

did this ancient wagon

spokes broken
sunk into earth

become a photograph

a landscape

a compliment to nature

instead of a piece of
farm equipment hauling hay
field rocks
burlap bags of rye
seeds of survival

why

was it put out to pasture

to carry only stories

the burden of its history
with no wheels

without words

until now

Barry DeCarli

January 25 & February 26, 2016

On Hammond Pond

©Barry DeCarli

crazing

don’t be afraid
to become more
radical
more misunderstood
to show your underside
that reveals some crazing
a rough side
an uncultured comment
a quirky edge

but prepare
to be estranged
for lesser infractions
shunned after some cruel unmasking
as others serve up
their own emotional bankruptcy

to counter your revelation
your imperfection

their fear...

Barry DeCarli
February 18-19, 2016
On Hammond Pond
©Barry DeCarli
http//www.italyiswaitingforyou-getgoing.com/

fire on ice

from an unyielding sky

her resolute race west paused

here

her fire dances across

the melting ice

her glimmering flames

more than illusion

splash nothing but cold light

flickering  against this wet veneer

beckoning evening

her light lay puddled

in momentary reflection

reckoning this day with twilight

Barry DeCarli

On Hammond Pond

Goshen, MA

February 3-4, 2016

©Barry DeCarli