The Magnificent (Larry C. Green, October 1, 1951- September 11, 2006)

My Father

It’s not safe
no more
You’re not here
Wasn’t safe when you were near
Wasn’t sweet
But now I crave that bitter taste

Delicate

The littlest of things
pockmark thoughts
burrow holes
onto dreams

The thinnest of papery
onion skin
marks me
bluely translucent beneath

This pulsing of red
rushes heart and then head
with its hands upon time
twisting it blind

Can You See Me?

There are times when I wish all the baggage would just fade away

Sisters

All the missteps
All the competition
All the hurt feelings, past betrayals or misunderstandings
To hell with rivalry

And we could just be
like we were

Little girls in love

With life
with our parents
with each other

Not women fighting
for boundaries

Who’s to Say What is Right

Oh how I loved you
My split aparts
My twins

One of earth and soil – my blood
One of heart and night’s bright sky
“I think it’s dirty, rotten”
How they’ve gotten in between

Black Licorice

Black licorice spinning round

I look for you in books

on pages

In the residue of characters

lives and thoughts

In painted scenes

And in the incessant philosophy

of humankind

I see you in children’s faces