CRADLE

nobody special came
but everyone was there

death is an obligation
coffee with two sugars some cream
a close shave
memories tucked neatly away
love letters written by a fallen soldier
tied together with twine

tears turn into raindrops
nurturing a wounded heart’s hard dry clay

newborn shouts a first cry
they will all smile eat cake drink tea and lemonade
then in the downy crib the babe
blue eyes fixed on a withered tree
through the cracked glass of a dark day
a black storm approaches over shadowy hills
its branches death’s fingers reaching out for you and me

the child too someday

not seeing his father now resting in a coffin
poor son falls asleep among the quiet mourners
hushed by a distant lullaby

down the road beyond church at our cemetery
taps blow a sad bugle on the wind

weeping a downpour of rain

I was born across the bridge from Boston, Massachusetts, in Cambridge, as July 4th fireworks exploded over the Charles River, just a stone’s throw from Harvard University. At age two, my family moved to Somerville, Ma.,where I was raised in a rough blue-collar environment, playing many sports. In 1998 I relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, I work among special needs children and teach martial arts. Poetry began in high school, but took off in a more dedicated way in later years, along with resuming music studies, guitar. My poems are published in various anthologies; including Impressions, Prism, and the Mighty Voices Of Thunder Series, sponsored by the international poetry website, “Allpoetry.” I was a featured poet in Lyrical Somerville February 2015, a Boston based publication, as well as being an “Editor’s Front Page Pick,” for the month of March 2016 on Allpoetry. A defining moment that contributed significantly to further interest in writing was a First Place Award from the International Poetry Fellowship, for my poem, “Among Fields of Cotton.” Presently, I am happy to have the opportunity to explore various forms of poetry with Mr. Bruce Isaacson, Poet Laureate of Clark County Nevada.