Off the Ground

Charles Dickens whispered, “On the ground”Meaning and significance? Mr. HartSits back and thinks in terms of legal precedenceThe message in…

The Road’s Been Long

The road has been some sort of songLonger than the 45 I thought it might beCloser to the beginningAnd winding…

Not this time. No. I’m done with all of that. I watched. Closely. I always do when I sit in…

“What do you mean, you give up?” “I’m telling you, it’s not what I expected. It’s too hard.” “When you…

“Hey, Lanning, you look younger every time I see you.” I look up and see an older gentleman smiling down…

“If you can’t play for us,” Jan says in an encouraging voice, “you know you’d have a tough time on open…

The little girl’s eyes were riveted on the four objects her father placed in front of him on the table.…

Of course it must be “you” Even though I think of your ashes As a collection of what you were…

My mom’s ‘ukulele, a Martin, very rareSits on the piano she also played The ‘uke was her favorite instrument There’s…

After all the crying and cursingAfter all the anger and griefTime had the time to heal the woundBut what followed…

My dad would have been 105 years old todayHe died in 2009 at age 89 in a nursing home He…

You were the only one I ever huggedWho made me feelYou were closer to me than I was to myselfIn…

Legs crossed, they sat bent over the creaking teak table, the top worn from years of scrubbing. The fare was simple,…

I’m happy to say that my 6th Lt. David Chan Hawai’i-based mystery, The Case of the Curious Car Accidents, is…

I am long past wondering if teachers have affected my life. That is the way it is. Some to a greater extent,…

I have two American flagsBoth tucked up tight in black framesTriangular shaped to hold them foldedBut still recognizably red, white,…

I was a shy wannabe dancer, one who has no rhythmBut then I met you, infectious boogie-woogie flu A dancing machine…

To be that fool for love every timeAnd a slave to it just as oftenHow funny I remember afterwardO blind…

It was that twinge you get, a quick spine shiver, like when you find an object that turns out to…

I smiled as I put on the white cotton gloves. All of us were required to wear them because the…