Thomas Paul [Wordwulf] Sternerhowe

Short Take I remember the first meal shared with my new friend the passion and mystery of ensuing conversation I close my eyes and find the face I found then lips speaking and eyes telling more I heard the wind blowing through the portal of the soul of my new friend saw the vision of a life lived outside my own What comfort we found in sharing divining secrets and constructing soft word pillows to bear the tears of our grief Time makes shadows danse the shifting lines of circumstance My friend lies before me in a kaleidoscope of memories behind me in the fast stop. of real time. I appreciate the time we enjoyed can't help but wonder.. ..why?       Top of the Page. Philosophical Ping-Pong As a much younger man I loved to watch people even went so far as to interact with them which was a mistake Fascination and mystery are bound to fade upon application of philosophical device when the game is joined pale ashes as a result are absolutely guaranteed you lover of humans Mystery still existed for me though not so much in a sense of 'what' will happen but 'when' will the lid blow its proverbial top At this stage you know it 'will' what we call the philosophical three W's As an example I remember whiskey bar quarters dropped in the latrine the patient wait for my fellow imbibers to get the mark of the man who would fish them out As you can imagine what follows may get a bit bloody which leads us to our next related field of study the three C's confrontation, criminalization and inCarceration which I shall expound on and upon the posting of bail, bond and bait       Top of the Page.

Twenty-seven Raven Westward faced the Sun a jagged lit horizon stone fortress Earth black eye on black... blink tell ya what he thinks Magick is the providence of aeon Gods too tired to blush yet this one who sees it all wonders... do you Still believe in parlor games and chance meetings cross Moonlit path first toss sevens and elevens Man makes boxcar spaces snake eye guilt a three sided cube plants ribbons on winners shame on the rest Thus spake the raven when my face was tree bark made love with the wind War in the city burned me down chased my brothers from my hair they are making circles whose reptile voice cry Our armor is wing and backs to the sky       Top of the Page. The Thin Woods The Sun made spaces through the trees I watched shadow rays jumping limb fingers reaching clouds quiet moving slowly cross the sky Watching them was like blinking without closing my eyes Some days time stops for me I notice things like the horned owl that day perched high against the sky I love those thin woods near my Colorado home where a boy can just be a boy even if he's fifty years old       Top of the Page. The Nether Somewhere between nightmares and sweet dreams the owl has flown me away I cling to her breadth of wing drink the night with her eyes descend in a fair swoop exalt in the rush to kill I ride the swift currents wing tips say pft pft pft as I fly against them, heading home There is blood on my breath and quick night in my eyes somewhere between nightmares and sweet dreams       Top of the Page.

For more of his poems, go to pages.prodigy.net/sterner-howe/_wsn/page7.html.

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