hushed whispers

when they thought we were asleep

the elders went to the place of hushed whispers

to tell their stories and sing their songs.

but we weren't asleep

and we would carefully sneak to just within earshot

and we would listen and memorize the words the elders spoke

so that when we became old

we could share the same stories and songs.

of course when we became the elders

our stories and songs were different because the world had changed,

but we repeated them in the place of hushed whispers

as the young ones listened intently.

12/18/2021 

another day

the waves of sleep wash over me and i drift away

to run aground on the gentle shores

of a distant land and another day.

there i will find my memories,

in the land where i found you,

on the sand by the sea with the wind and the surf,

in a place known to only the few.

i left my songs and my poems there

by the shore of that gentle sea,

that you may one day find them

with your memories of me.

    10/25/1990