Watching Snow

artwork: william marr

Watching Snow

by William Marr

1

As the footprints in the snow

get deeper and deeper

they become harder and harder

to comprehend

2

Falling on the feverish face of

a homesick boy

the snow melts and turns into

a warm tropical shower

3

A sudden toll

of the steeple bell

shakes down

the snow

from the Cross

~ previously published in Autumn Window (Arbor Hill Press) and Between Heaven and Earth (PublishAmerica)

KATRINA

artwork: william marr

KATRINA

            --New Orleans, August 2005

by William Marr

With such a name

of course she had to be

a wild dancer

A slight swing of her wide skirt

instantly sent all watchers

into a daze

not able to escape

nor to tell

if what engulfed the city

was water from the ruptured levees

or tears from their eyes

On the turbid water's surface

there were bloated bodies

querying the sky

with outstretched arms

~ previously published in Beyond Katrina

   (Arts & Healthcare Press)

HOMESICKNESS

artwork: william marr

HOMESICKNESS

    by William Marr

too far from home

eventually all become

orphans

~ first published in New World Poetry Bimonthly

SPRING SNOW

artwork: william marr

SPRING SNOW

by William Marr

I know you love to dream

Standing in front of my window

I watch the snow

swirling in your dream

a sweet smile rippling

on your mouth

How I’d love to place an overseas call

raise the receiver towards the sky

and let you listen in your dream

to the sound of the snow

wafting and drifting

~ previously published in Poems of the World

MOUNTAIN

artwork: william marr

MOUNTAIN

by William Marr

It’s still there

for me to

climb

Looming from the distant childhood

my father’s

back

              

~  first published in Autumn Window ( Arbor Hill Press)

Mona Lisa

artwork: william marr

Mona Lisa

by William Marr

There must be some d-e--e---p

secret

Staring at her smile

a man tilts his head left and right

Beside him a painted woman

wears a wide grin

~ previously published in Between Heaven and Earth

   (PublishAmerica)

ON THE TREACHEROUS NIGHT SEA

artwork: william marr

ON THE TREACHEROUS NIGHT SEA

by William Marr

a broken refugee boat appears

like a ghost

on the tired sleepless eyelids

jolting and rolling

toward the ever-narrowing harbor

of humanity

toward the shore

where lights die out

one after another

~ previously published in Between Heaven and Earth

  (PublishAmerica)

WORDS NOT SAID

artwork: william marr

WORDS NOT SAID

by William Marr

There was something

I wanted to tell the flower

Blooming before my window

she brought me spring

This morning

full of warm gratitude

I finally gathered up courage

and began

You sure are ...

When a pair of scissors

snipped both my words

and her

~previously published in DuPage Arts Life 

CITY WINDOWS

artwork: k.m.chen

CITY WINDOWS

         by William Marr

the higher the window

the smaller

and paler

the face

every time I pass underneath

I always have a funny feeling

something is going to land on my head

a spit

a cigarette butt

a flower pot

or a man

spreading his arms

trying to fly

like a bird

~first published in Chien Kun Poetry Quarterly

AT THE CLOCKSHOP

artwork: william Marr

AT THE CLOCKSHOP

by William Marr

Oblivious of time

the clocks on the wall

just keep ticking

busily going

their own

ways

~ previously published in Selected Poems of William Marr

 (Milky Way Publishing) 

A CLOUDY DAY

artwork: william marr

A CLOUDY DAY

by William Marr

Even with a gutful of sorrow

he is unable to cry

The listless, unopened umbrella

becomes increasingly

a burden

~ previously published in Autumn Window (Arbor Hill Press)

A DREAMLESS NIGHT

artwork: william marr

A DREAMLESS NIGHT

by William Marr

From every angle

I tried to capture your bright smiles

for a colorful dream

Overexposed

the images overlapped

and I had a sweet dark sleep

till dawn

~ previously published in Between Heaven and Earth

  (PublishAmerica)

MASQUERADE

artwork: william marr

MASQUERADE

by William Marr

Walking in the streets

he suddenly realizes

last night’s masquerade

is still going on

Everywhere he turns

he sees a mask

fastened to a face

like a second skin

~ first published in Between Heaven and Earth (PublishAmerica)

CHICAGO

artwork: william marr

CHICAGO

by William Marr

1

dozing off

in the virgin forest

beneath the feet

of Picasso’s strange animal

when suddenly a long yell

TIM --- BER ---

awakens me

I raise my head

and in the sunlight that leaks through

I see the skyscrapers

      all slanting towards me

2

winter day

even steel trembles

so do teeth

red lights burn in turns

at each icy corner

the eyes don’t

warm

on two feet

with two hands

pulling down a hat

and tightening the scalp

you greet the wind

~ first published in Autumn Window ( Arbor Hill Press)

Four Seasons

artwork: william marr

FOUR SEASONS

 by William Marr

Spring

such commotion

it can only be

first love

I don’t recall ever seeing

so fresh a green

Summer

to say that your smile

lights up the whole garden

is of course an exaggeration

but I did indeed see

a flower bloom

at your approach

Autumn

when his wife and children

comb and find a gray hair

on his head

he can detect in their exclamations

an insuppressible joy

of the gleaners

Winter

the colder the day is

the brighter the furnace burns

there is no energy crisis

in our hearts

~ first published in Autumn Window ( Arbor Hill Press)