Sonnet # 47: God bless the friends

Sometimes you need a friend who's really solid;

who's calm no matter what your crisis is,

who's there for you in times both rich and squalid,

for birthdays, Mother's Days and Christmases -- 

All those moments when life fails your expectations

or gifts you with unpleasantness undeserved.

They listen without judgment to your frustrations,

and snuggle close and murmur "Why, that's absurd!"

So here's to all the rocks that keep us steady:

a toast to those who don't freak out at tears,

who know just when to tease us, and when we're ready

to laugh again, and when to honor our fears.

May all those folks be blessed with sun and flowers,

and may they find safe shelter from life's showers.

Sonnet #46: An occasional gambol

We dance along the edges, you and I.
We browse at the intersections: no extremes,
no drifting from the center, into low or high,
but striking some equilibrium in between.

But subtle movement's movement, just the same,
and I can see you heading toward the right
so I glide left to counter.  It's all a game
we play to maintain balance and delight.

Such delicate machinations have their charm,
but just to add excitement, today I'll leap
out of this frame we've built, just to disarm
you; just to spice things up -- it's a way to keep

us on our toes, our relationship alive:
love needs an occasional gambol in order to thrive.

Sonnet #45: What we can't see

A mirror, flat, reflective, never lies --

except, of course, each image is reversed.

But life's reflections (unlike water's, of skies)

are rarely flat; more twisted and diverse.

Curved surfaces, both convex and concave,

organic, elemental and ubiquitous,

exaggerate, stretch, mask, and misbehave,

seeming both crisp and accurate while deluding us.

Each path we take has its own bends, and coils

around back on itself from time to time. 

Those twists and turns each have their counterfoils,

which then help build each personal paradigm.

We can't assume that what we see is right:

each human's bent, and that distorts our sight.