untitled poem

I met Tampa's poet laureate James Tokley Sr. on Saturday night at the Lights On Tampa event. To my shame, I didn't even know that Tampa had a poet laureate. Tampa just doesn't seem like an arts-oriented city to me. It's more like a mow-it-down-and-put-up-another-condo-building-or-McMansion-community kinda city. So, I was quite honored to have met Mr. Tokley. Now, I'm not a poet on his level; some people may think I'm not a poet at all. But the girl just keeps on writing anyway....

10/23/04

here on a quiet sunny afternoon on a florida autumn day i listen for

whispers of the northwest,

shadows of my spirit, memories of my childhood

in the sun i am lost, in the forest i am found, by the waters i am saved,

amid rocks i am home

the past is known, the present felt, the future a dream, a wish, a hope

time flies by on the tail of the winds

this face is no longer young and for that a certain sadness

here in the florida sun i await my destiny as i search for the path not taken

through books, through friends, through God

i am only one but there is no other like me

my catlike spirit stretches to reach the beyond

there must be something better on the other side of the fence

there i can be free, free as anything bound to earth....

sometimes you can leave

but what is left behind

is what should be.....