Three Poems by Richard D. Houff

 

Shaking Hands with the Dead

    A childhood tale

   

The leaves are quite still

And hold dimpled moonlight in their folds

 

We are fearful of the dark

And the terrible silence beyond our path

 

Our footsteps fall in unison,

Moving forever forward without wavering

 

Shadows appear near an incline

And we lean into one another with ghost troubles

 

Now we can hear water bubbling over rocks

And a faint light appears

 

There is a gentle bend where we can wade

Through shallow spots to the other shore

 

Holding hands, we move into something new;

An adventure with no attached secrets

 

And again, a distant light flicks

Somewhere beyond the empty stars

 

 

Dancing Without Music

Darkness slips

Through empty hands

 

As we cruise and run wild

Through un-sacred streets

 

Dreaming in pastoral blue

We avoid puddles and cobblestone riddles

 

There are missing pieces in the puzzle

Like distant lovers from antiquated novels

 

The books litter my rooms

And we need a new game to play

 

 

Empty Rooms

   

He sits by the window

watching the rain fall

 

He remains silent above

all that would give voice

 

Turning the dial on the current

situation, nothing could be further

than the next aisle

 

Far beyond the cool, and broken

guitar picks, he remains focused

on letting go

 

Learning to move on

Richard D. Houff edited Heeltap Magazine and Pariah Press Books from 1986 to 2010. He is also a journalist that is comfortable in writing both poetry and prose. His work has been published in Academic and Arts Review, Big Hammer, Brooklyn Review, Chiron Review, Conduit, Louisiana Review, Midwest Quarterly, North American Review, Parnassus, Rattle, San Fernando Quarterly, and many other fine magazines. His most recent poetry collections are Night Watch and Other Hometown Favorites, from Black Cat Moon Press (2016), The Wonderful Farm and Other Gone Poems, from Flutter Press (2017), and Dancing on Rooftops, from Homage Press (2019) Czech Republic.