Not so old that
Memories of back yard playgrounds
Or manual typewriters
Have faded
Even I remember
Saturdays in the library
Wide eyed about ‘Life’ magazine
And even when the TV was turned on
‘Bonanza’ was as rough as it got
We all have kind of jumped on
A different band wagon now though
Book learning seems to be what Google is for
Sports seems to be about who is the best
And not who is having fun
Are my best friends only on ‘Facebook’
Can’t I still send a birthday card?
But one thing that hasn’t changed
And won’t change.
Everything still has an ‘Off’ button.

FXC 9/17/16

Don’t know when
The doubts crept in
Was there a Santa Claus?
A God?
Little did I know
That questions
Would swirl
In my head
Forever, now.
No confusion though
With the religiously
Indoctrinated
Either you followed
What they believed or
You went to hell
Or were beheaded
What a God that would be.
Seriously though
Peace, love and good works
Seem to be what is best
About mankind
So for now I’m okay being
Unsure.

FXC 9/5/16

Amazing day it was
Friday
Running errands
One more to go
Needed my toe nails trimmed
Thought of my Mother-in-law
Who often mentioned
Maybe going to a nail salon
Gave her a call
The opportunity
Came at the right time for her
And off we went.

Who would have thought
I would know more than ‘Mom’, I was
Quickly peppered with easy questions
“Do they take credit cards?”
“How long will we have to wait?”
But then we were in
The decision of who would go first
Was quickly settled by the proprietor
I would go first

The shop was particularly busy Friday
To my right were two ladies
To my left with a space between was another lady
Really for a minute there was quiet
Till “Mom” was seated next to me.

So nice to be with women
With men we might have sat for hours
With nary a word
With women though
Social connection was a necessity

I was pumped to be there with Mom
She was my ticket to conversation
Soon enough we found Mom was in conversation
With the woman on her left
The lady to my far right identified herself
And her 92 year old Mother sitting next to her
We discussed what brought us to the Salon that day
The 92 year old Mother told of her husband always being
Brought to the salon while he was living
She though was also have her finger nails done

Mom spoke up that this was her first time
At a nail salon
Oh the joy of shared experiences
Twenty minutes
Of one time strangers
Finding commonality
In nails

What a day
What a Friday
We will be back
Mom and I.

FXC 7/3/16

When did I hold you last?
Not today, I know not today

Running, running today

On endless errands

No I know, not today

But yesterday?

No not yesterday

I would remember

If it was yesterday

It had to be Thursday then

Could not have gone that long

Without your glance

But oh no, I remember

It was not Thursday

I was promised to so many others

On Thursday

Not going any further back

In my mind

As I can no longer wait

To hear the magic of

‘PaPa’

I will see you today

Thank the Lord!

FXC 6/25/16

Alas the night
The inevitability of laying down
To rest, to possibly
Bring back, rejuvenate
One old, worn body
But the hope of sleep
Is elusive
Anticipating pain
And then some pain
Shooting out of the dark
With no warning
The night so long
Becomes even longer
Will it ever end
Will the dawn’s light bring comfort
More like dawn will
End the dread of pain
Pain is there but
Daylight distracts
The morning offers hope
And hope is all I have

FXC 6/1/16

Morning!

As the night slowly ends and
Morning begins it’s arrival
Heralded by light
Creation seems most probable
Each new day is such a possibility
Of hope and dreams
The previous day
Wiped clean
As if it never happened
Freeing the soul
To begin anew
I can ask no more.

FXC 5/28/16

Don’t know really 

How things 

Might have been 

If I had not met you 

Never really 

Thought about that

It seems as if I 

Have known you 

All of my life

In my mind you

Will always be 17

Though now we move 

More slowly

As time tells a tale 

On our face

I can’t go back 

Hoping to

Make things better

I understand 

So much more 

Clearly now

Your love for me

Was always without reserve

So many years 

In a hurry 

Only now I realize 

This moment 

Is our only moment 

To cling as if our last 

But this is your 

Birthday!

The day 

That has made 

So many people 

So happy

So you see

My need to hold you close

I can’t lose you

Can’t take that chance.
FXC 5/19/16

Saturday morning?
Yes, yes I know is Saturday morning
The yard sale listings are laminated
On the kitchen table
Occasional check marks
The rising time does not indicate
The serious nature of Saturday’s agenda
She awakes when the mid morning beckons
A desired chocolate roll
Providing the elixir to begin
The weekly crusade
Finding that one item
That has been missing
In our house our life
A new experience or object
Set to transform us
I ride along as Sanchez would
Happy to be with her endeavors
Oh, oh the first sale
Begins the ascent
To Yard Sale heaven
But today, this Saturday
I knew would be different
For weeks I had been hearing
About a crib for the new Grand daughter
Why, why didn’t I understand that
Some Saturday, probably this Saturday
I would be carrying a crib home
Her anticipation revealed by
The moisture on her upper lip
Should have told me that she
Knew exactly where his crib might be
Ah, and then the Holy Grail,
Prominently displayed in the driveway
Bright, bright white
Shiny rails
And of course it was purchased
For $500 just a few short years ago
Yes, yes, my hand reached for my wallet
$40 now leaves to secure this purchase
Happy as a lark
She hides her joy
Already though I see in her head
Visions of how the room will look
With new paint and decorative wall hangings
Really though I am not to blame
This woman really just exists to cause joy
How well I know that
And am so grateful
Till next Saturday!

FXC 4/24/16

A guest room, an extravagance
While the children are with you
But once they are gone
The room becomes a symbol
Of elbow room and the ability to host
Family or friends
Or so I have heard even a Mother-in-Law
There was a time it was used as a bedroom
Later maybe a man cave
But a man cave doesn’t fit into the image
Of the freedom that a Guest Room does
And so it was created
Painted, newly furnished
Spotless, no dog allowed of course
But then the TV in the master bedroom
Was too loud, played too late at night
Channels that had no meaning for a man
Asleep by 9.
Yes, yes, eventually the temptation of the
Guest Room became too much.
Ah the quiet, the comfort of more room
The Guest Room,
Still in the middle of the night
When all the lights had been turned off
The master bedroom with the allure of
Femininity would like a magnet
Draw me back, back to softness and warmth
That I by myself could not know in
The Guest Room

FXC 3/22/16

Such A Short Time

This time we’ve had
I thought it would be for much longer
Visions of long conversations
Lingering touches
We’ve certainly known passion
But the sweetness of this time
Alone
I have always craved this time alone with
You
I knew we could not last like this
The flame so bright, so hot
But oh, how I basked in your warmth
Needed to just wander down memory lane
Remembering our youth
The joys, the sorrows
I thought this time would last so long
So many conversations we had but
I wanted more, more of you
This moment you needed
To heal
But as a butterfly
Emerging from her chrysalis
You came forth
And almost in mid thought
I could see your mind racing
To another
To a grandchild unseen for too long
To a dress that just needs to be finished
To a church calling to help save souls
To a yard yearning to be molded
I’ve always known you were mine to share
I’ve reveled in your beauty, your joy,
Your seeming endless energy for life
For giving of yourself
I accept that I have been selfish
That I wanted you all to myself
I’ve known, I really have
That it is only in letting you be free
To love
That your rainbow
Colors my world
This time alone with you
Had to be finite
Butterflies need to fly away
I know that now
Bittersweet this moment
I love you!

FXC 11/14/15