State Mental Hospital

A sound structure in architectural
beauty and ruin,
Lovely grounds overrun by weeds,
Narrowing trails through forest,
The farm now fallow and wild.

Ghosts of place move on,
Legends vandalize experience,
Peace remedies chaos,
Kindness cures brutality
Bound to no restraints.

If facts are fake poetry proves true,
Patients shine with health,
Society suffers lunacy,
Institution disperses,
Madness finds proportion.

Homemade Wine

The best thing about homemade wine,
Drinking it at the right time,
When the grape is in Madre Vino
And the moon in its libration;
When the chimes are bleeding
And barrels breathe into ullage,
The finish in the beginning—
The beginning in its prime,
The sunset of your labor
Steeped in field grape red–
Nights of happiest dreams,
Warmest tones, touch and taste;
When the body of the wine
Fills spirit to the rim, it is ageless;
When wine spirits the air
Like spring mornings, it is ageless;
When drinking from the barrel
Inspirits time with roundness, it is ageless.
The best thing about homemade wine,
Drinking it at the right time.