Oh, you Devil!

After all that therapy,
I can finally stand
 to see myself.
My horns shine,
 regrown
 from when I filed them down.
My tail twitches,
 untucked
 from between my legs.
My hooves tap,
 unshod
 à la Shoeless Joe,
 how apropos.
My bed blazes
 made
 all ready
 for when I lie down in it.

Kintsugi

A favorite item can't be replaced.

The cup I was -
I liked to drink out of -
is broken now.

Was it my fault?
Was it my faults? -
the fault lines that make it
 so easy to break?

No!
In defiance...
No!
In love... with, of, for myself
In the fire,
I bleed gold
and heal.
Resplendent! 

My faults
No!
My spangles
My Self

Vault of Heaven

Child monk
Full of sin
What does it matter!
blissfully oblivious
God cradles you

A footpath lifts you above the ravine
A gentle breeze kisses your cheek
A tumult gusts in the tree tops
 merely to thrill your
 devilish little heart

Blazen Rites

It was a hard winter
 though it rarely froze
In a pleasant, desperate search
 I walk the entire park
 for respite

A tuft of purple crocuses
 The sniff of a dog
  Little waterfalls
 The bend of the river
Will it be enough?

Intuition indicates the right path
I hesitate, but take it
Such a long walk — for what?
and to go the whole way —
 it's getting late

I reach the horses’ ring
The naked woods are on fire
The bold sun hovers atop the hill yonder,
its rays a kaleidoscopic crown,
as if waiting for me the whole time

Maintenance

I left my apartment windows open
 — I am wild that way —
and the rainstorm ruined the place
 to teach me a lesson.
I caulked the cracks in the plaster
 and found patches from before.
I repainted the walls
 and noticed the hasty paint job;
 the corner’s curves giggled
  as I lay down the painter’s tape;
 my soul felt the healing
  of wet, tender bristles
  on the wood’s latex skin
  over cracks, bulges, bumps, and bends.
This place was alive
 with getting put together
 and falling apart again.
I beheld its incurable quaintness
 and brutal, undeniable charm.
Forlorn, I came to understand
 I would only add my own mistakes.
I lay in bed;
 the walls were mine.
The apartment
 an awning of wilderness.

Verdant

So startled to see
 vibrancy:
the full tender flesh
of the flowers;
proud colors
present themselves
before the overcast sky
faithfully to the sun.
Fragile,
these fall days;
about to tumble…
 the wind wisps about me.
I see a tree struck
 by lightening;
a cloven branch clings to the trunk, 
its leaves at my feet, curling with burning crimson.
I gaze up and blink
at the tree’s green leaves.