Alpenglow

new calves play
jumpin’ around
horses graze
in fields of green
columbine blooms
crimson and blue
wildflowers pop up
in between

river flows
too fast to fish
as the sun comes down
we’ve got our wish
Colorado
in the alpenglow of evening
each sweet sundown,
Colorado

farmin’ thrives
and ranchers strive
to make the livin’
their fathers did
a finer home
they’ve never known
lucky to grow up here a kid
as the sun comes down
i’m glad we did
find a place in Colorado
another sweet sundown
under alpenglow in
Colorado

thankfully
the wild west
is still the best
a perfect match
for wanderlust
and bravado
i think of the old days
now and then
as the sun comes down
i let it go and i rise again
grateful once to
call it home
Colorado
another sundown,
of sweet alpenglow in
Colorado

maybe this is it
and our lives’ end here
on these dirt roads
in each passing year
the sun comes down
on this small town
and we’re glad it’s so
Colorado
sweet alpenglow
in Colorado

here in the mountains
we left it behind
on the other side of
the great divide
saddled and tacked,
ready to ride
got ourselves
a brand-new motto
as the sun comes down
we lived it up
out West
in the sweet alpenglow
of Colorado

© Copyright 2016 Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks / All Rights Reserved

Moved to Tears

they moved from Vermont
and the Berkshires
south to Connecticut’s shore
moved to the land
of bratwurst and cheeses
to Sheboygan and back
to the Blue Ridge for more

moved to the land
where roadrunners race
where ocotillo grows
in wide open space
south and east
to the land of the pine
moved for a time to old Appalachia
moved to the Smokies
in North Caroline
at last they moved West
in hopes it would be
a move toward home,
and sanity
Utah, Arizona, Colorado
along the great divide
where the air is clear
and the views open wide

if you add up ‘em all up
all the beginnings and ends
the sad goodbyes
to new-made friends
and all those years
of unknown fears
moving trucks
and changing gears
you’ll know why now
they’re moved to tears

how many times
can furniture be stored
or tied on top
with bungee cord
how many moves
can they really make
how many cross-country drives
can anyone take?
how many towns
will they call home
how far can they go
how far will they roam?

oh the packing tape
on each cardboard box
new license plates
new primary docs
when home is
a rental
and a P.O. Box

through address changes
and open ranges
following their hearts all those years
if you asked why they did it
they can hardly say
they’re moved to tears

maybe it’s the new American way,
to follow work where it is today
paycheck gypsies out on the run
crossing the country in search of each one

for the pact is broken now
loyalty long gone somehow
businesses cutting every cost
without knowing all that’s lost

if you add up ‘em all up
all the beginnings and ends
the sad goodbyes
to new-made friends
and all those years
of unknown fears
you’ll know why
they were moved to tears

© Copyright 2016 Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks / All Rights Reserved

A Poet’s Prescription

thank you for sharing
these moments with me
for reading words
arranged
mindfully

a poem can convey
what a poet might say
how they think about life
how it all goes
peacefully pondering
it’s ebbs and flows

here in the present
where the real gifts
are received
true presence is ours
if only we
b r e a t h e

the randomness
of our connection
how you wandered by
perhaps seekers
of joy and wisdom
in time, coalesce
ally

if you’re still reading
in search of a clue
i sincerely hope
i’m getting through

if you’re here biding time
you’ll appreciate
the message and
that some of these words
actually rhyme

here is the thing
a poet might say
as each of us
wanders about on our own
learning and
searching
sometimes astray

poets
recommend
reading
a few poems
on the way

© COPYRIGHT 2016, Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks