Poems by Tim Van Schmidt

‘Stoplight’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘The House’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Which Way Do I Grow?’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘The Mighty Earth’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Makes Me Want To’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Spirit Like a Comfortable Chair’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Witness tumbleleaves’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Invitation to Rain’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Ride the back of a swallowtail’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘T-r-U-t-h’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Chained together…’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Skrik (2026)’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Sadvice’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Circle’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘The Mallards’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Summer Creature’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Windows’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Soften Something Up’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘People in My Pocket…and the pocket’s pretty wide’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Charged Grey Matter’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

‘Seeing Paintings’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

https://youtu.be/QGybpJSoMRA

‘If I Must Be Dust’ Poem by Tim Van Schmidt from Stoplight Zen 2026

https://youtu.be/gzoCDESKQNM

Stoplight

Carving Zen moments

from mundane idle…

Motor skips…Exhaust…Roll up the window…

Butter sun touches skin

like the fingertips of love…

Honk…Boom boom…Boom boom

One breath in, one breath out,

slow and easy…

Ha ha…Hey!…Rrrrrrrumble…

Into a wormhole,

I let my mind careen,

finding possible worlds

in the glint of a bead…

Turn signal on…Hands 10 and 2…Stiff and alert…

Oh radiant seconds of pause

IN MY HEAD!!

Itch…Yawn…Light…

Accelerator…

GO!! GO!! GO!!

Summer Creature

Forced air scatters the evening
while strong streaks blast through
the cracks in the leaves.
Confident shadows stand
welcoming the dark that must be.
The breeze is what matters,
lifting the many hands of trees,
depositing dusk as it touches all.
It comes and goes, creature so elusive,
but oh, so complete.

“Canyon in Wyoming”

“One Fine Spring Day”

“San Blas”‘

“In Memory of Betty Shearer”

The House

My head is an attic,
And gray matter the trunks.
Above are beams of decades,
Below, doors letting them out.
The world is a breath
And each room is a lung.
Bones grow like a staircase,
Blood paints chosen words.
The windows are a camera,
The kitchen is a heart.
Lift gently from the foundation
When the walls fall apart.

TVS Poems: “8 Talking Poems” and Photo Art by Tim Van Schmidt

Spirit Like a Comfortable Chair

No longer the calm from the cushion.
No longer the decisive word.
No longer the sparkling eye
That shone on childish play.
No longer moments live again
While the old arteries harden,
Reaching the youth of curious ears
As outside trees are swaying.
Walking, a ghost in a nightgown;
Her wit and chuckle remain.
I dream her voice cradles the night
To whisper that it is alright…
…it is alright…it is alright.

OoB: Opposite of Blink presents TVS and two fingers “Found”

Found

In my pocket is the hand
That gripped the universe and shook.
In my mouth is the word
That love finally heard.
In my shoes the whole earth quaked,
The sea boiled, the sky flashed.
In my eye time stands by
And memory teaches all.
Found in the ruined moments spent
Is the mystery of another day:
In my heart the deepest questions
Lift the veil away.

Makes Me Want To

A flamenco moon insists:

jump, dance, clap,

clack the heels

that trample problems.

It’s all about attitude,

rectitude, beatitude:

freedom

at this latitude.

Witness tumbleleaves

• Their late fall crackle
• crouches outside the door.
• They know when wind favors.
• They blast, they roll with
• the insistence of water.
• If they must wait, they wait
• until you make a mistake.