Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Frog Community



The little pond is dark and deep

much deeper than you would think.
It is filled with strange creatures
stocked by birds flying over,
dropping their catch
caught from other ponds by accident ..
We would sit on the porch and listen..
about 150 yards up the hill from the little black water..
Just before dark the frogs begin singing..
it always started with one big daddy..
he begins with a deep bass croak..
as if directing the rest of the frog community..
they begin to sing in unison, in rhythm.
All the while,
Lightning Bugs lit up the field as darkness fell upon us.

wkm
Nashville

Monday, June 27, 2011

dominoes

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love is so important..
loving each other..
hugging, kissing, handshakes..
kindness in the face of the human condition.
I an't talking about positive thinking..
or happy go lucky..
I'm speaking of something more subtle..
something like a blade of grass growing up through the dirt..
something eternal and imperfect..
gritty, trying, failing, continuing, doubting, believing..
a Grandmother rocking her grandchild..
without it,
grandkids don't have as much of a chance to love those they journey with..
dominoes.

wkm
Nashville
for JG

Thursday, June 23, 2011

God

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you know when you pray for something?
when you hope regarding some issue?
when you are as diligent and faithful as you can attempt to be?
when you ask so you will receive?
when you seek so that you will find?
when you cross every i and dot every t?
and then you wait?....
I think I know what the silent response is....
God.

wkm
Nashville

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

WONDER


is there something about being alive we miss?

we worry about this and that..

about the self righteous "high calling"...
about Puritan "work ethic" gobbledee gook..
about the responsibility of being called by a Holy God..
What if.?
what if we are called to something very very simple?
to be simple.
To be like children..
as my friend Mark Brissie reminded me..
Jesus encouraged us to be like children..
how?
To never lose a sense of WONDER...
to never let pride or fear rule us..
Paul said he stopped doing "childish" things..
AND I bet you Paul never lost his sense of wonder..
"WONDER"
This is what the devil, the guilt, the hardships of living wants to kill.
The Cross!

wkm
Nashville


Monday, June 20, 2011

The Wineskins

The Wineskins are back together! I have been writing with Jeff the past three weeks.. 

Follow this link to hear some of our tunes... and to read the bio..

More to come..

Click to play The Wineskins:
http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/3358464   

 Turkeys - The Wineskins
 Southern Moon - The Wineskins
 New Reservation - The Wineskins
 Mississippi Faith - The Wineskins

Here is our Fan Page on Facebook.. please throw a LIKE our way if you LIKE.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wineskins/156067664461713

Peace,

Keith

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Querencia

 
there is a need in every single soul for a Querencia.
a place where the mind can rest, create, imagine, be quiet..
it could be a room, a nook, a town, a state, a log in a creek..
I was sitting on the porch of our new place this morning..
the dogs were out in the 2 acre yard sniffing around..
the languid Mississippi heat already making speeches.
It is odd, but it feels like we have always lived here,
like this is the Querencia that came looking for us.
I bought a collection of William Faulkner short stories on CD yesterday..
The first CD has Faulkner's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature..
He had a very rich, wispy, regal, distinguished voice.
His accent very much like Shelby Foote,
an old Southern sing song cadence..
like my Mother-in- Law Ellen.
These things, this place, my Querencia..
 
wkm
Oxford

Friday, June 17, 2011

just one



the dark wind mixed with large infrequent drops of rain..

this morning in Oxford is a little gift..
a bit of cool dark soft weather before the heat comes..
it is coming
this is the kind of weather that keeps you thinking.
keeps you planning how to spend less time in it.
The chimes outside our bedroom sounded like a Tom Waits song..
bang clang bang,,then beautiful tones made their way out of the chaos..
one masterpiece..
just one.
that would be enough..

wkm
Oxford

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Civil War

"There goes Robert E. Lee" --The Band

Some assume we are close to Civil War again..
maybe not..
but it does seem the climate of our fair land is growing more divisive...
but then again,
I only think this when I listen to talk radio..
which is so much cow manure..
but it sure is entertaining.
I miss walking in the Piney Woods without an Ipod..
The south is still battling with rights..
Red Necks, Blue Collar folk still don't want the gov't messin round..
You know what I'm sayin?
I feel a kind peace when I am with friends and family..
when I am writing a song with Jeff,
Maybe we are not close to Civil War again..
we won't need another Robert E. Lee..
or a Lincoln.

wkm
Nashville

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

we are stories

these days keep coming and going
the sun comes up then goes down
we traffic in relations, goods, dreams, God, songs and lyrics
we tell stories
we are stories
my mechanic in Oxford should be a writer,
he never tells me anything without it becoming a story..
these days keep coming and going,
and story is what we have at the end of it all..
songs, poems, paintings, Paraclete, lovers, children, houses, barns, horses, dogs, cats...
I feel a new wind blowing..
new fires old stories..
Tradition finding its way home..
laughing with Angels..
a hard rain is going to keep on falling over me..
When we walk..
the red clay dirt of Mississippi in my book bag..
carry a little with me wherever I go..
none of us know much other than our own individual soil,
and even it is rich with mystery.

wkm
Nashville

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

"Squirrel!"

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i don't believe in betrayal 
or hate or jealousy or avarice 
or passivity among friends..
I believe in picking up the phone
in sending an email
in response
in loyalty in forgiving in words
in fixing the broken sink
if dogs could talk they would say one word at a time..
"Squirrel!"
"Out!"
"Truck!"
"Go!"
"Eat!"
"Now!"
"Sleep"
"Bellyscratch!"

wkm
Nashvegas

Monday, June 13, 2011

story

these two write us
these two call us
these two teach us
these two sing us
story

wkm
Nashville

Saturday, June 11, 2011

dry lightning



The dry lightning

the rumbling thunder in the distance
sitting outside with my son, wife,
his girlfriend Cara
, wind is picking up

blow wind blow
it's coming
the rain is inching closer
but it may not fall at all!

Blonde on BLonde
Sanctuary
As I lay Dying
Sound and the Fury!

The weeds blew across the road
purple flowers blue and gold
Can you fall into this scene?

Have you walked the isle?
Have you bowed your head?
Have you confessed your sins?
Can you hear what I said?

Our dogs came inside with us
We let them sleep in our bed
They barked when the storm came howling!!
But can you hear what I said?

Have you walked the isle?
Have you bowed your head?
Have you confessed your sins?
Can you hear what I said?

Taste the bread
Drink the wine
Kneel before you leave
and take not serious your time

Pray for those who do not seek
pray for you yourself cause you are weak

The dry lightning
the rumbling thunder in the distance
sitting outside with my son, wife,
his girlfriend Cara
, wind is picking up

blow wind blow
it's coming
the rain is inching closer
but it's ok if it don't


wkm
Oxford

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Cruise


The laughter from the outside lounge drew him..
he saw her standing alone near the railing.
She looked bored, a blank stare out into the dark endless sea..
He walked over while he lit his cigarette..
"Would you like one?'
"No thank you, I have my own."
She looked up into his eyes and smiled..
"How do you like the cruise so far?"
"I hate cruises..it's like being trapped in a bad dream."
She laughed..
"Then why are you here?"
"I was hired to do three shows a night on the upper deck,
a private party musician, failed singer/songwriter from Nashville."
She took out one of her Nat Sherman Naturals,
he lit it when she put it to her lips.
"Why are you in this bad dream?'
She released a fine silver cloud of smoke,
"The company I work for sent four of us, 
a reward for our sales, we were the top four rookies over the past year."
He bowed and congratulated her..
She laughed and returned his bow with one of her own.

wkm
Nashville

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Lancelot the Quarter Horse


Growing up in Central Mississippi,
I was an only child.
My imagination was my playground amidst and within the surroundings..
Horses and dogs were my brothers and sisters..
they were unconditional in their love.
I blocked out the sadness I felt the day we parted.
Today, for some reason, it came rushing back to me out of nowhere.
Sam the Hound, Lady the German Shepherd, Lad the Collie..
KoKo the Shetland Pony, Lancelot the Quarter Horse, John the Palomino..
In one day they were no longer in my life,
and I never saw them again..
All because my parents could no longer live together..
the damn divorce..
It hurts even now to think what my dogs and horses must have wondered..
What happened to them?
This life is a gift to all of us,
it is a shame how we sometimes treat it..
and the scars we carry are somehow the very things that make us who we are..
for good or ill..

wkm
Nashville

Monday, June 6, 2011

After Bill


the song ended as the candle melted away
the scent of Pine filled the room
the steady rain sang upon the metal roof
she poured a glass of wine and walked over to the sliding glass door
A portrait of William Faulkner watched over the den where she stood
her daughter called down from upstairs,
"Is daddy coming home tonight or tomorrow mama?!"
Estelle walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up,
"Your father is dead dear, you are dreaming again."

wkm
Nashville

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Rain Shower


Sitting here listening to the rain,

already missing you...

it's just a rain,
no high winds, no lightning,
a little thunder off in the distance,
but listen..
on this hot humid summer day in June,
it's a simple rain shower..
some graces only come through storms
through the sporadic chaos of "This"..(selah)
but then there are those mysterious moments,
when it comes as a simple rain shower..
listening to the sound of the rain
already missing you....

wkm
for R
Nashville

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Cicada Blues


Female Cicada attach themselves to trees after having sex with the male Cicada.
They lay their eggs into the bark of the tree.
When the eggs hatch they fall to the ground and burrow down to between 1 and 8 feet under the earth..
They live as Nymphs from between 13 and 17 years underground..
They burrow up at an appointed time and swarm,
singing their song of freedom.
Their life span is about 6 weeks above ground.
Then it begins all over again.
The Cicada Blues.

wkm
Nashville

Friday, June 3, 2011

To Something Else


I don't believe anyone who says they never doubt.
Someone who is always "fine".
Joy and Happiness are two different things..
and Joy doesn't come from knowing something is right,
Joy comes from a humble understanding,
an understanding that He is greater than my faith or my doubt..
Darkness and Light
one can't exist without the other..
then you have to change the name of day
then you have to change the name of night
to something else..

wkm
Nashville