Jan '04[Home]

 Special Section

Poems: Thomas Catterson (9/17/43 - 12/1/03)

. . .
Preparing the Inheritance
(a Chinese 7-character ku-shih)


City lights shift both near and far,
as I walk past strangers borne uncaring.
The wind blows me back to sobriety,
allowing me to pen in huge letters:

"Meager talents, I give to my sons,
but, it is all that I have."

For death I'm told ends in emptiness,
which sits better than old and idle.
I don't keep track of my age…
when voices seem to fall from above.

I'm called, the fool with the tools;
bottles of rum within piles of poetry.
I fashion subtle words from all simple,
creating a mind of wonders, on paper.

My last poem is now complete, yet
the sun sets…it's time to sleep.
Then, I half remember I fear sleep,
and fully remember, that…I'm almost SAD.



 Dreamscape
(a Chinese 7-character lu-shih )


With airy steps crossing the park green,
her rainbow skirt…flirted with my manhood.
With pale hands she plucked many flowers,
dipping and fluttering to the mounting Wind.

Dazed, and enraptured, I stood totally spellbound,
when she turned like a gentled wildcat.
Then my flagstaff waved…and soon withered;
My wife, who's immortal…grasped my hand.



 The Rising Of
(a Chinese 7-character lu-shih )


Your lips are barren of cosmetic waste,
and wonderfully moist, as each dawn shakes.
There are no telltale traces of powder,
while nature bequeaths her warming, ontic light.

Daily, I think of you resting softly,
unencumbered, amid the impatient silk surrounding you
Prim, prim before my growing intense hunger;
Waiting for nightfall…amid our living dream.



 A Deaf Winter Way
(a Chinese 7-character lu-shih )


Snow powders the ground in which I walk.
Many pedestrians mill about on street corners.
It seems all traffic has now converged,
while the sky unleashes…and earth accepts.
My breath paints a serene picture, while
the canvas of air…silently enshrouds me.
Quiet, quiet holds me within its grip,
and my ears fail to take NOTICE.


 Tom Catterson contributed memorably to the Jun '01 Vietnam issue (Dawn).
Another of his pieces is scheduled to appear in the Cemeteries feature.—Eds.