Like a mighty oak tree
you were an awe inspiring sight
Respect commanded from your presence
Crooked men were filled with fright
And while I grew, your hand was stern
Your leadership steered our small tribe
Fed discipline and regiment
Came from a past you could not hide
Kept calm and steady under pressure
Always ready and alert
The one who people would look up to
when in fear or if they’re hurt
You were a natural born leader;
Sapient and astute mind
While viewed as witty and gregarious,
approachable and kind
These qualities and human traits
were visible so all could see
You were a brave and valiant man
yet, even still much more to me

They sent you off to war when you
weren’t much more than a boy
Permission was not something asked
when foreign country were deployed
And even though you weren’t commissioned,
rank gave you command of men
So every day tried to ensure
that they would make it home again
You did the best you could, I’m sure;
Was rarely ever talked about
You may have left, but had it with you
And a part did not get out

“Protector” who is watching over
Principle ingrained in you
When duty calls, the first to answer
Shared the ‘code of honor’ too
Just like that hero in the pages
of those comics that you read
So,“Truth” & “Justice” and “The American Way”
were not just slogans to be said
A perfect fit was your career
to those of us who knew you
Always said fell into it
Was something took “for now” to do
While trying to decide a path
Direction in life that you’d take
It’s funny, often life will choose;
Decision not for us to make

And every time you went to work;
That uniform you would put on
Not knowing what you’d have to face
Potential risks and unknown harm
Like ‘suiting up’ to go to battle
Might not leave it with your life
But did not hesitate or waiver
Was your job; Did not think twice
The risks were something you accepted
but in-no-way they defined
The thirty-four years giving service;
Same town lived in and spent time
Relations built; working together
Being there if ever needed
To respond first when alerted;
Helping those who begged and pleaded
Also, if they simply asked
No matter whether big or small
‘Protect and Serve’ - a lifelong duty;
Run to aid those if they called
But this was much more than an oath
Embedded in your moral fiber
Like a coded prime directive,
was not something you could fight or
try denying if you wanted
I don’t think you ever did
Reminder from those comic books
you fell in love with as a kid

You had a ‘Superman’ t-shirt
The one emblazoned with an ‘S’
Would wear beneath your button up
Discretely so no one would guess
You laughed it off as just a game
A type of joke or of the like
While growing up you were a fan
Since you were just a little tyke
I knew for you that there was more
The message you respected too
Face bad guys while maintaining morals and character
A narrative describing you

By definition human beings
Species flawed that make mistakes
A perfect man, not what you were
A task no one can undertake
I know you cared for each of us
You did the very best you could
but discipline, the critics draw
These actions are not understood
Until much later on in life
The child has become adult
Time granting wisdom, with this gift
Deciphering and figure out
Perspective is a funny thing
Eyes opened after having it
With all you dealt with in you life
Amazed you did not lose your ****
A stunning feat that is for sure
What you endured and undertook
Plus, a career and family too
Not one page could write in your book

I only wish, could have told you
Now finally these things I know
Appreciate in ways could not
How passing time has made it so
But that same time took you from us
No longer are you with us here
At least not in a mortal form
My heart though I still hold you dear
Now added to that shirt you wore
You don a brilliant scarlet cape
While flying high up in the sky
And from you bad guys can’t escape
You kept us safe; You taught us well
Each day your wisdom’s guiding me
Impossible to fill your shoes
It's not something I try to be
Instead I strive to be the best
rendition of me possibly
and hope that it will be enough
when looking down, you’re proud of me

So many thought that they knew you
but deep down never did they know
From all of them a secret kept
There was something you did not show
They foolishly ate up your act
To them you weren’t more than a man
Don’t worry dad, I will not tell
but I know that you’re Superman.

my perspective on life
is optimistic, blissful.
while i try,
i really do,
to look on the bright side
where the sun shines.
however, obstacles
never rest
and make life bliss,
with a side of misfortune.

Tend to me
Like a thirsty garden once forgotten
Sing to me
Like a crying infant, pure and innocent
Hug me
Like an old friend years after
Look at me
Like an abstract painting, more complex with each glance
Touch me
Like the the cold steel strings of your guitar
Love me
Like you did before

Is it the face I see everywhere...
Is it the smile that glare...
Is it the mind that is fixed on the first stare...
Or is it the madness that keeps raising its flare...

It is the moment that is still there...
It is the feeling of being in the air...
It is the eyes dark brown or it needs a layer...
It is the boundary I can’t get in there...

Wait! Maybe It’s over, the thing that was never there...
Drizzle can’t make the mood same everwhere...
Silence is cuddling the night with soft music in ears...
Ufff! It’s again the same face as soft as a dove layer...

Can’t make the entry in the light until it is nice to be in a dark share...
Light is stolen long back when it was a naive player...
The same face is the thief which is still that fair...
Go on with the life where ever life gives you a happy flavor...

It is the same face I see everywhere...

Like flies to a window
I am disillusioned.

Like damp wood
I crumble.

Like ice
I melt.

Like a blunt pencil
I am futile.

Like light
I die.

Like a story
I end.

Read Backwards

What seemed like
a long ride of
growling diesel
up a slash of road

cut into an
unforgiving cliff

dissipated
once we gleaned
that ours
was not to battle

but rather
to refer the case  
to a higher court

and now up here
in Taormina

the the sky is clearly blue
the air so sweet and light

the streets are ruled with
beyond what we thought was gold

they're platinum

and the Cannolis

are to die for

I'm not "smart" like them.

I'm not "bright" as them.

I'm not "confident" like them.

I'm not "beautiful" as them.

I'm not "someone" like them.

Can you just accept that?

I don't like crying myself anymore

-Said myself in the mirror.

keep your eyes closed love.

           e     t      
       m           i
    o                 m
s                        e  
                            s     all you have to
                                                                ­
                                                                ­ l                  is to what the sound
                                                           ­      i            n
                                                  ­                s           e
                                                               ­          t

                                                              ­                               v
                                                               ­                         a        e
                             ­                                          of the  w               s
                                                               ­                                       
                         ­                                                                 ­            tells  you
                                                                ­                                        to do.

I write
a little life
littered with
the broken bits
of split
and distorted
reflections
I recorded
and reported
as reality.

Do you need me?
Or do you need someone?
There is a difference...

Countless journeys you make
For someone else's sake
Sharing world's of wisdom
But of someone else's kingdom
Silent you remain
Never ask for any grain
Taking burden of answers
for the questions you never ask
Bearing everyone's pain
But never have any complain
If all seem gone
You never left me alone
Because when the world don't listen
You are always there for the coalition

Undressed me with his eyes,
I weakened him with mine.

birds ran today
never flying
never dying

i've risen
from the depths of my despair
i've chosen
you still of my love incompared
i've written
the stars of mine
and you, you've not shared
i've been hurt
of the times you weren't there

i'm forever lost
by you
i never knew where

my eyes is open
for you
for real

Before perfidy of rhyme wears out
Quit blaming your governments
Get them weary with a shout

Cows milk comes from cows?
yeah
in your dreams,
milk comes from machines
hidden deep in factories

they call them machines cows
as a convenience
it makes you think of past experience
and
gives milk a pedigree,
see!
milk's not what it used to be,

it's not from cows no more.

pictures on a green screen
cows in a green field
behind the scenes
big machines
churning out
milk

We don’t need validation
To be ourselves

It’s the kind of sadness where your rib cage
Contorts
And twists and
Snaps.

Depression doesn’t float through my veins
It crawls through my bones, with dagger hands
And winding movements.

I cannot breathe.

And yet there was nothing taken from me.

If you would just talk to me
I have words
but
I don't think they're worth speaking
Poetically muted, I'm on pause
Take a breath
Take a second
It's fine
I'm fine
Just a normal response
to my love
Is to become
Discarded

Wish you nothing
But a happy version of you
Because I...

I’ve been limp-wristed for the past year,
after I broke her mirror with my paws.
I fell into it palms-first like a dog,
and she just watched.
She said, “I sure saw that coming,
you never look at where you’re going.”
I said, “I’ll give you something
to whine about,” and left
my bloodstains on her flooring.

Look within?
See your imperfection.
After facing this.
You'll find pure satisfaction.

Look within?
Before you, you'll see your only true friend.
Be you woman, be you, man.
Our lives are within God's hands.

Who better than us know our plan?

We can play games.
Just live in denial.
But every second, every minute God in control.

Look within yourself?
He makes us face reality.

I felt the throb
of genuine
happiness
jolt me
back to life

When days are naught, the cycle repeats

I stare in the sky, into the deep blue sea

As I drown in memories of joy and pain, never do I regret in disgrace

I all alone stand in my outcast state

Awaiting for my next time to awake

And look upon myself and curse my fate

If you could read my mind,
You’d see a thousand papers
Filled with broken poetries
And deadbeat proses
Full of woeful verses
With mournful pieces
Of unfinished stories
That are yet to be written
And failed to be spoken;
If you could read my mind,
You’d hear horrible screams
And earsplitting weeps
From shattered dreams,
Kept in a nasty notepad,
Scribbled on a bed
Of bloodstained words,
Ringing in my head.
If you could read my mind,
You’d see the shadows
That lurk within me;
You’d hear the bellows,
Screeching the words
“I’m tired,”
“I’m a failure,”
“I’m stupid –”
I know it sounds stupid,
It’s pathetically foolish
And seems too *******.
If you could read my mind,
You’d feel the tears
I had ever failed to cry;
You’d see the people
That make the weak weaker;
You’d see the monsters
That consume my head;
You’d hear the hollers
That failed to be freed;
You’d see the heart
That still bleeds and bleeds.
If you could read my mind,
You’d see the face
I’ve failed to show back then,
The face I’ve faked back then.
If you could read my mind,
You’d see a character
I had ever failed to become
If you could read my mind,
You’d be able to read
A book you never wished
To touch and read,
But sometimes I still wish
Someone could read my mind.

my mind is sometimes like a white noise machine,

         there is a near constant sound, that only i can hear

it is no hallucination, so i think, as there is a logical

         explanation. you see, i hear what is called tinnitus.

it's the ringing in your ear that you can sometimes

         hear. it can sound like television static, or a faint

ringing noise. for me, it sounds like water from a

         running tap, sometimes it is ringing, or television

static. it is loudest when i am alone, and only gets

         louder as seconds tick by.

Waiting for crossroads
One day you'll find -- there's no path
Crossroads all the time

she soaks herself in his hurt
and it d
            r
            i
            p                
     ­       s                
                         o
                         u
                          t

of him
ever so slowly,
infecting her.
all she wanted was for him to be
drained
so he could live without pain
but now, she thinks
living is pain.

i anchor
myself
to the back
of your mind
you wish
me away
but here
i still linger

You tend to me
in a way
no one else has before,
letting me grow
anew.

got to eat them as they darken
reddened ruby to black constant opal
berries will rot quickly if you don’t
or they’ll taste real gooey and wierdy
if you let the drupelets’ colors get
unsynchronized like summer and fall

...why am i telling you this?
because i learned that the hard way
and the days go away in the gleam
heavy showers and peak-a-boo sun
the east barely bracing for the storm
and the sweetness decaying like the leaves

There's beauty there,
willfully beyond my reach,
yet ever so near.
It's light reflects
upon my eyes
and consumes
all clarity.
Not mine,
not free;
nor shining for me.
Still,
there's a skip
a rhythmic beat
within.

all my life
i've been preparing faces
to meet the faces that
i've met

friends
family
the man who delivers newspapers
at our doorstep each morning

i've laughed at their silly jokes
as they tossed their heads from side to side
in naive stupidity and their sheer ignorance
a pompous lot, the human race i tell you

i've acknowledged their staunch morals
and tried to make them my own
as they scorned at the girl in a skimpy dress
and chewed on mutton bones gluttonously

all my life, i've been trying hard
to blend in
with people who've shown me
that i don't belong with them

and tonight when i shed gallons of tears
i have only my bed and pillow to share
i've learnt that my sadness
is my very own

I love him
I tell myself
I know that
We will be together forever
I don’t believe that
We could be separated
My thoughts tell me that
He’s the love of my life
Sometimes my heart lies and says
I could live an eternity
Without him
Like my friends say
“We’re perfect for each other”
And you can’t tell me
He’s not the one.

Now read from bottom to top.