she dances in moonlight

Photo by Djamal idohou on Unsplash

she dances in moonlight

her costume feathers

the colors of the oceans

she dreams of places

far away from this

concrete jungle

 - Written for Poetic Aside November 2026 PAD Chapbook Challenge Day 11

we should have more time

we believed we had more time

that the clock would slow down

for us to savor the sun

instead, time picked up 

her pace and twilight was

waiting around the corner

let us sing more songs

to the evening sky 

before the ending comes

- Written for dVerse Quadrille #259 and Writer's Digest 2026 November PAD Day 2

before autumn departs

the sun dips from the sky

earlier now, leaving us an

indigo sky before darkness

takes over

trees that once serenaded us

in red, orange and brown

now shed their leaves

dropping their veils

mornings no longer warm

but now have a crisp chill

we bundle in coats lamenting

the departing of the season

- Written for Writers' Digest Wednesday Poetry Prompt #805

smoke screen

tell me this: 

were your words ever true

or just a smoke screen

hiding your true intentions

you said all the right words

and did everything right

to ensnare hearts and minds

pulling the wool over eyes

you played the game

all too well

- Written for dVerse Quadrille #258: Screen, Your Screen, We All Screen

7:00 AM

he came into the diner

to nurse a hangover

with greasy food

she was sitting in a booth

drowning her sorrows

in strong black coffee

their eyes met

he lazily smiled 

she sipped coffee

at the counter 

a waitress counts down 

the time left in her shift

outside the October sun

peaks through blinds

in her pocket

she carries words in her pockets

to lift her spirits when fading sun

sours her mood

when she wishes to write poems

to the moon and stars

sometimes she needs to wipe away

fallen tears

she squeezes those words in her

hands and smile

- Written for dVerse Quadrille #257: A Pocket in Your Poems

the lovers

"The Lovers" by John Atkinson Grimshaw

Courtesy of Picryl.com

in the early light

they embrace not 

wanting to let go

forbidden love keeps 

their hearts aflame

in the midnight hour

yet in dawn’s light

they remember their place

is not in each other’s arms

they depart solemnly

holding onto shared kisses

that will fade in sunlight

- Written for dVerse Poetics: Through the eyes of John Atkinson Grimshaw