The (Un)Fair Sex

They say the sins of the father
visit the sons, but they
don't know women
have more powerful ghosts,
secrets emblazoned deeper
than letters carved in red;
secrets better left hidden
to smolder and flare;
secrets when raked over coals
burn hotter and longer
than the last "I'm sorry"
you'll ever say.



Laughing Gulls

Perched atop the Gulf-front
restaurant, the green muddy water,
soft white sand so different
from the eastern coast,
black headed gulls watch as we shell
out many dollars for a meal.
Ha ha ha, they call. Ha ha ha!



Making Something Out of Nothing

The head can only hold so much
besides the brain, within the brain,
before it spits it out,
an oyster making a pearl,
mulls it over, rolls it between
fat muscles, the mundane
quotidian issues of life,
till finally, one round, pink
glistening thought is formed,
held within a carapace of words:
a rare gem of wisdom
someone understands.



-Barbra Nightingale


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