Jack Mashman

Time waits in the shadows
at the edge of sleep
shrouds the enchanted lake
ancient wisdoms
...

Holders of the keys of power,

You sit in your fat offices
Sprinkle a mixture of God institutionalized
...

Come out of the sea
remember to cover your middle
brush the scales from you skin
take two steps forward
...

Angels weep for me on certain days
Women walk in twos and threes
on jaded streets at noon
pot bellied men trail behind
...

I seem to stare through transoms
Through half opened doors.
Behind these doors I sense a presence,
Two shadows move in the twilight
...

I saw two children in the light
One was pretty, her hair was fair
She flashed a smile so good to see.
The other child was lean and dark
...

The Pelican meditates, motionless,
His beak is buried in his chest.
Like the city dweller, in the midst of throngs,
He manages to remain aloof.
...

No one told me of the long nights
or the solitary nature
of one in a crowd
the body ill conceived
...

The sun glories in what it does
carnivore consume
in nature's pursuit
only man
...

Dawn ruffles the newspaper
Coffee brews a golden anniversary
We nibble on toast
Separated by a common morning
...

Death was darkness, or so I presumed,
It could just as well have been light.
I was running down a hospital corridor
My breath was a sickly ether
...

Sometimes
I feel a sense of loss
for those who have no home
who wander the streets
...

Think of me sometimes
when I am gone
just naturally
...