it’s quiet
inside the black iron fencing
and ornamental gate

tending a small plot
of perennials
while speaking
the silent parlance
of inscribed stone

when what is
and what was
fondly hold hands
in rumination.

Image Credit:Walter Gaspar

Thomas J Strong Bio

I was born in St. Paul, Mn the oldest boy of ten children. I attended St. Marks grade school and St.Paul Central high school. After high school I tried attending college (3 times) but dropped out and spent 4-5 years traveling. I finally graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS-Chemical Engineering in 1981, got married and spent the next 35 years working and raising a family. I retired in 2017 and am working full time pursuing my muses.