The Essential Taj

  He taught me how to read the sky To watch the clouds pass slowly by With wonder what would happen If the blue inundated sun sharpened   To invite fire and breed optimism He made it appear sheer realism Dancing flames make hits and kisses They burn some and the other fixes   Just as well the eternal dance goes on The universe enraptures and moves on The soulful display of youth and desire The existential play of death and fire.   But so long as there is complementarity There will be uninhibited camaraderie Between firefighter and firestarter.    for MoltenIce  

Red is my mistress.  In grace she’s wine red, in rage she’s bloody  with time she’s maroon. In Spring a cherry bright;  in Autumn a solemn splash  blending into fallen copper  leaves in a forest of warm pine  trunks streaked with bronze.  This red is  my mistress.