Radio

the message arrived the same day
he was diffidently at work by that time

listening to the news
words he had never heard
words indeed he had never even
listened to

what it meant to be freed
to be silenced of this babble
within him

leaving himself

Cheshire

slowly i smiled
i don't care to
dwell on it
you're thinking i am
able to see
in the dark because
you think
you're thinking
i am a cat or an owl

Night

once he dreamed, a boy, then
night swelled, a consuming
darkness, unblinking
at the spark, the silver, the sprawl

afterward, only the night

Beyond Belief (Almost)

naked flame that was what
she was wearing
reason said it was difficult
to believe in
to think of it
and how all of it
could not be
otherwise
with all the irony consequent
it did not but it almost seemed to
much of the time
really seem to be there

All I Know

This morning I don't know why
She was leaving saying
I did well enough
She'll ask me again
I'll have to tell her I
don't think
I don't know all I know

Perhaps

she had been scintillating, perhaps
in a dream of dreamers dreaming
of her
perhaps the dream, still, was her

she fell silent, perhaps
she was a dream, perhaps
they were a dream, perhaps

Oklahoma, U.S.A.

She saw him just before
Too many, too much
Her hope
Into the dust

A Poem for Stevie Nicks to Sing

Hair, chains, honey
undone, an array
old and sickly
a song.

Fooled by Mirrors

And sometimes that was it
slow and puzzling
a dirty rainbow
allowed to penetrate
dazzling volumes.

Drawing to a Close

for Mary Sprague

"What's she doing?" was the question.
"Making paper black," I answered.
"Is that good?" he asked.
"Better," I said, "than if she
isn't."


T. Renner, "Tree (for Mary Sprague)," 2009, colored ink on notebook paper, 3" x 3".

For more of my drawings, paintings and photographs, visit Tony Renner, Artist..

"Haiku" Posted On A Handful of Stones

Fiona Robyn has posted one of my poems, "Haiku," on her blog A Handful of Stones!

Robyn says that "a small stone is a polished moment of paying proper attention."

"Haiku" is a reworking of a poem, see below, that I wrote in 1979, when I was 18 years old. My notes indicate that it was accepted for publication in a magazine called "Lore-X."

In the Water?

Little darting fish
swim around and around
the aquatic lovers

Passing

As though to avoid encounter
the spirit passed through
the wall
into the netherworld.

Daybreak

In an hour or so
the sun would rise and
her day would begin.

The Past, Remembered

Not too many years ago
well, maybe a hundred
or maybe less
well, sometime

To Not Forget

He remembered at that instant.
A rare phenomenon.
She drew a long, deep breath.

Big Leagues

She bit her lip
thinking that it was a good game.
He smiled, then, glad to be playing.

Carnival

Too noisy to care
His heart
The girls laughing now
The sight of them a shock
The luxury of restlessness

His Head Was Spinning

Dizzy, he pulled levers, flicked switches
light swirled, desired cried
branches blossomed, pistils shuddered

Eggs! No!

He had already decided that the eggs
had to go.
Smooth.
Round.
White.
Unbearable.

Changes

A delicious bedroom door
couldn't possibly turn his
daughter into an outboard motor,
could it?

Listen Here, Partner

To understand one story
told many times
in diverse voices.

Born To Lose

The first man to quit and
go elsewhere
lived for years and years
and years there
and then died, as he would
have done
had he stayed put. You can't
win.

Geology 101

Rivers of doubt
Ribbons of worry
Mountains of pride
Collapse into a mist
of longing

November '54

The cold November of 1954
remains in mind
like a shadow-soul caught
between heaven and hell.

Idea

A good idea would be
an idea that would make
King Solomon ponder it for
no little while.

Good Morning

She woke at the
sound of the birds
welcoming with
their morning song
the rising sun.

The Choir Sings

Having nothing better to do
the robins
formed a choir in a
blossoming apple tree and
sang continuously their
apple tree song.

Satisfaction

An exercise in logic
is satisfied.

His attention
left open for her.

As if she were seeking.

Different Rather Than Difficult

Uncertain, the vital seconds went by
He said unhappily,
"Don't ask me how."
A vague recollection
different rather than difficult
A sudden sense of a picture
From behind her
He parted her lips
And thought finally, desperately.

Huevos

"The sun is striking an egg instead, then?"
I asked
bewildered by this development.

See! Birds!

Glorying in the sensation of swift flight,
the seabirds
dive
down
into
the
sea spearing fish with
their bills and rocket back into the sky.