no abandoned dream

enraptured gasps
from smoky, burnt-out corridors
sing sweetly
and leave me
alone-
in a place of quiet comfort

no subtle swell buoys my head
but the bygone dreams
of far-aways
and never-beens

another sun has come to clear my mind
and dust its belongings:
silly abstractions and forced fantasies

no silent soul sings here
and no abandoned dream
will rouse me from empty, fitless slumber

but without regret
I wet the page-
and all that have turned before it

so let the wind stir in me
my joy and wonder
for the perfect unknown

no sweet surprise

the broken morning lies in wait
bleeding into impatient afternoon
with muted vigor
no innocent dawn did birth this day-
no sweet surprise its guiding hand
the whisper-like rustle of familiar trees
tickles the ears
but no more comfort do they provide than a photo
of some lost
and forgotten feeling

fog

a daydream’s worn-out welcome
cools and steeps in itself like undrunk tea
time turning bitter
the subtle, enveloping warmth of once

rising hopes fog the eyes and glasses
with fleeting, sentimental melodies
leaving no mark but the memory
of vision obscured

a quiet shiver

a quiet shiver
peaceful, even, brief

a gift from above
as the pale moon, wreathed in heaven’s own breath,
bathes the earth in sublime luminosity

her silver crown of ice
spills across october’s ink

each glimpse of light
is a dry and distant kiss:
for chilling skies
and tired eyes
and unladen arms, surrendering everything

bygone

dry brown leaves applaud nervously,
ever mindful of the wind’s capricious heart

it pounds in me and beats my wings

i fly within as days exhale,
blowing dust from holy, bygone dreams

a world without music

the worn refrains of waning days
and changing ways
spill ever onto life with inky wetness

each verse a curse,
drawn in breathless voice
on ashen tongue-
falling as dry, dusty leaves
beneath the pale, autumn moon

On the Other Hand…

A Golden Opportunity

Miami Hurricanes AD Kirby Hocutt announced tonight that the new football Head Coach is Al Golden.  I’m excited about the hire, personally.  Many Hurricane fans don’t feel like a man with a losing record as a Temple Head Coach is right for UM.  To be perfectly honest, I’m a bit bummed that we carted off Randy Shannon so soon.  I have tons of respect for the man and for what he stands for at The U.  Regardless, it’s time to accept that a change has occurred, and go with the flow to support the Hurricanes.

With regard to the hire, here’s my take: Al Golden and his 3-4 schemes brought the University of Virginia’s defense from bottom of the barrel (Top 100 out of 121!) to solid (Top 20) in three years as DC.  The year before Golden was hired as HC at Temple, its football team went 0-11.  His first year it went 1-11.  Second: 4-8.  Third: 5-7.  Fourth: 9-4.  Fifth: 8-4.  All out of a program that had won just over 1/5 of its games the 30 years prior to his coming to the school.  He’s a stellar recruiter and a guy who can make the best out of the recruits he does get.  He’s a motivator and a disciplinarian.  He’s young, talented, and loves the game of football.  He sounds like our kind of guy.

Al Golden isn’t a ‘home run’ hire.  But hey, neither was Howard Schnellenberger.  Or Jimmy Johnson.  Or Dennis Erickson.  Or Butch Davis.

Go ‘Canes.

Expectations

"The players say Randy- you're a fine man- what a good coach you would be..."

Since the 11th, and going into this Thursday, it’s impossible to visit any ‘Cane blog without encountering a large contingent of ‘Fire Randy’/'Ditch Jacory’ soldiers. Let’s stop and think, shall we? It’s very easy to fire someone. It’s not very easy to build a (once great!) rickety program back up after years of personnel mis-management, much less shed a ‘thug’ image. At this point, I find it very hard to agree with someone who doesn’t like the ‘direction’ of the program. Going 5-7, 7-5, 9-3 (albeit with two bowl losses- but the difference between Cal and Wisconsin is that one lost to NEVADA last week and the other is expected to contend for the Big Ten title. Draw your own conclusions.) in consecutive years is called an improvement. Losing by 12 points on the road to the #2 team in the country is better than losing by 24 points on the road to a VT team that didn’t pan out to be great after all (look at the Chokies in 2010… Do you guys want to trade our loss to OSU for their loss to JMU? No? Shut up, then.) Maybe the ACC sucks this year. We can’t change that. The only thing we CAN do is win football games. Yeah, I’d have liked another National Championship. Yeah, I’d like an Orange Bowl win. But let’s hold onto our fair-weather fan pink slips until midway through January. If you’re going to be a Monday morning quarterback, at least wait until Monday.

Go ‘Canes.

ten to the third

a piece of time is starkly set

filled with promise and warmth

frozen shadows lie in peace

smiling forever in graves of glass

.

newborn memories fade and fall

strewn upon nighttime’s broad path

weary eyes beg for nourishment

seeking new life in painted past

.

strokes of the mind flit fearfully

smearing the subconscious with clockwork fantasies

draw from waterlogged memory

sculpting life with prints pristine

.

marred with soiled soul

life shatters fragile walls

true beauty spurns shutters

lies in wait- growing gracefully