The shadows from the towering buildings and twisting shapes up above fall
like mazes on the sidewalk that lead to nowhere,
so I choose not to follow them

I don't know down which street I should be going

I sense the woman on the sidewalk across from me;
the street opens up between us in a giant yawn, and I keep her in step;
it's the time of night and the type of dark that can put anyone on edge-
alone, downtown

The woman walks with purpose,
maybe it's just a mask to shake off the loneliness of night,
maybe it's a purpose she's never been able to find in the daylight;
I cross the street and close the gap between us, the gap between us

She carries an umbrella with the tags still attached - holding the umbrella
like a weapon against the shadows and the stench of the shadows;
to her,  I'm just a shape to sidestep to avoid confrontation, just a part of the street sprawling around her;
the stench of my breath wraps around her like a blanket on a hot summer night
until she wakes up in a sweat and kicks me off

We reach the next corner, and I turn the other direction;
as the gap between us grows, I hear her breathe again - the air around her more bearable
as she gets used to the stench

It's late, and I know I'll have to catch the last bus to make it home 

I've never had to wait for a bus my entire life,
but I guess you have to start somewhere

Birds are things unconvinced,
They fly because they fall -
Because they've tasted the sea

They rise, rise like persistent weeds
Pushing through cracks in the clouds,
And I wonder what they wonder.

I would be a bird, but flight leads to fall,
Just give me the wings,
That's all.

The fiery gates of moments past
Await our doomed entreat
To walk the steps long placed before
In shadow and in heat,
'Cause destiny has holds on men
That men shall never keep

And shores of blue and crystal skies
Shine brightest in the dead-man's eyes,
An inch from death and miles from breath,
Forgotten thoughts men have not kept

And so with skeletons they will keep,
Through tears of joy and bitter weep,
Through nights of endless, endless sleep,
Among the shadows and the heat

When shadows are frosted by dust on the wall,
The heavens haze over and birds turn to fall.
When Man's faulty darkness is thrown back on a whim
To men hunched in darkness feeding birds to their kin.

When land has an unrecognizable face,
A carpet of corpses who fight for their space,
A question that should have been solved with their deaths,
But defeated things seem to argue who's best.

A lifetime may pass under Scrutiny's war,
And light may dissolve into legends and lore,
And stories of children who once roamed the sea
Will soak in the sand where they lost what could be.

As time tides the trial of time taking life
Water will wash clean the blood of the knife
That once drowned a bird and damned it in strife
Then cursed it for falling one warm, shadowed night.

The Universe lies end to end,
Or so I have been told,
Its corners edge 'round ev'ry bend
In Heaven's fathom fold.

Yet all that we will ever see,
A single puzzle piece
Of yonder ages made anew
As Man paces 'round as Destiny's fool.

Some faraway universe promises gold,
Aside God's throne,
Or so I've been told.

Opportunity
Is a single droplet of water
In the fruitless desert
Of missed
Opportunity

I would tell you first -
First of all, I don't smile
As much as I should.

I can't remember
Why it was that you moved me -
Smells on my pillow.

The cool slush of tires
rolling over puddles sounds just like
waves falling on waves in the distance.  

As the sound gets closer, as the cars rumble
just out of arms reach, I tune out
the music coming from
the radios and
transport myself to that beach.
  
I stretch my leg out,
as if to dip my toes
in the surf.  

The unforgiving floor beneath me is
transformed to warm sand
that comes to life, wrapping
around my feet like a blanket on a cold, wet
afternoon.  

God,
what I wouldn’t give for a good book
right now.  Anything to pass
the ‘unforgiving minute.’  

Because, just dreaming of waves
isn’t enough.  
The sound haunts me and wakes me from a quiet sleep.  
As they beat a cadence on the
helpless sand,

the waves are a constant reminder of time

and its limits.

To see is to know
To know is to understand
To understand is to live
To live is to die
To die is to soar
To soar is to fly
To fly is to fall
To fall is to die.

If only time would stop its course,
If only for a day,
If only we could live as kids,
If only I could stay,
But sunsets are a time of joy,
They show us what has been,
If only time would stop its course,
If only

Catch a blind fish
Tangled in your net,
Like chewing gum in a child's hair,
Wet, salty morning air.

A sour breath hangs over this city
Like the deep exhale after battle,
Gunpowder rots on my clothes,
Lamps sag overhead,
Casting halos in puddles on the sidewalk,
Leaves float by,
Collecting dust,
And the air is spiced with carelessness,
As I walk down the rain-soaked streets of my childhood.