rwhetsell04yahoocom

Count Carl – The Carpenter Knight

My father rises as a knight after the owls gosilent, so he can greet the pied pigeons at dawn.The warm Saturday morning begshim to join knife and blade, each sharpened like a rapier.He stands arms outstretched like Christ’s cross, to be dressedfor backyard battle and transform the wood and steel,to his mind’s eye.Showing no senescence,Continue reading “Count Carl – The Carpenter Knight”

In Cold Blood

Rain falls outside the second-story window,Streaks of water drip unevenly downthe jimmied windowsill.A ladder mysteriously leans againstthe wall of the house where its metal frame popsfrom ice as the rain turns to sleet. The splintered window frame invitesa winter mix to splash the carpet.Two feet away, a girl’s hand lays deathly still,Wet blood trickles inContinue reading “In Cold Blood”

We Are All Connected

From single grains of sandcomes a broadsandy shore. Against the sandy shore, restsa vastPainted ocean. Be a grain of sand, that shapes the shore, to color the ocean. Live as God would have you –connectedwith love and grace.

Silent Suffering

Her mien tells tales of trouble,A grimace of cold goodbyes,A cathexis of wasted time,The image of many lies. A puff of breath from her lips,Precedes her mournful plea,A tear rolls down her cheek,Though no one looks to see. She finds comfort wearing a mask,A bandana that hides her eyes,Her pied cheeks lean on the wall,SecureContinue reading “Silent Suffering”

Redeeming Prayer

My elbows were on my knees,My thoughts lay in my hands,Like a pirate under the lash,This pain was not my plan. I’m alone on this island,Choices I’ve made to blame,By my side for all these years,Then a stranger you became. Shall I live as a bird in this cage,With a skirr of flightless wings.Or learnContinue reading “Redeeming Prayer”

Night Winds Blow

A night of color in smoke and bruise,Arousing sounds of frightening clues,Windswept plains in black of night,Safe, I think on porch in light. Ground covered thick with centipedescrawl o’r my feet as tumbleweedsjump and roll in windy skies,blown from darkness by and by. Brimful seas with coming troubles,Waves that warn with frothy bubbles,Rocks that pullContinue reading “Night Winds Blow”

Halloween 2023

‘Tis not the orange skin of Jack ‘O Lantern,That invites my gaping stare,It’s the sunken black holes of his eyes.Flashing jagged, yellow teeth to bare. A wart-nosed witch sits nearby,Green slime drips down crusted lips,Hee, hee, hee, hee, she wheezes,With darting tongue she begs a kiss. A broom handle thwack to the head,Tossing child afterContinue reading “Halloween 2023”

Exploration

I don’t know what I feel, butI feel,A scratch on my back, or a buzzing saw,A bear’s hot breath, his chasing claw,My rattling brain shouting ping and a pong,Vibration of sound from a Spanish song,A deep kiss.I don’t know what I feel, butI feel.A clap, then a smooth handed slap, aRed painted finger, a sharpContinue reading “Exploration”

The Pitman

Your pike pounds the mountain’s sidesending a flash of white sparks intothe coal dusted roots of your red beardstill wet with sweat like the morning tide.Through deafened ears, you hear onlymurmurs from your daughters as they tracethe deep rooted coal veins of blackenedwrinkles in your withered face. Now, but a mirage of who you usedContinue reading “The Pitman”

The Exemplar of Good

Too much, too much,Of a sunny stroke,It’s too long,And such.The lines of yellow smoke,Were once young,Prettily different.Had not been sung. Now bedraggled with rain and soot,The lines are too long,Leave the good,Just good.Too late, too late,The brightness of light,Buried ‘neath its own weight,Is gone. Too hot, too hot,Vacant sand lots,Screens planted in shapes,With squares ofContinue reading “The Exemplar of Good”