Lord lift my spirits
For I have fallen
Into a shadow

A dark abyss
That swallows all
Who dare intrude

A face looks up at shining stars
A child’s wonder in her eyes
A world of struggles not yet seen
A mystery inside her lies

Her braids in darkness shine like gold
Her light amidst the shadowed gloom
Her sweet delight a benediction
Offered to the pale moon

Her past and future swirl around her
Threads of gold and silver weave
Dancing in the moonlit shadows
Some for joy and some for grief

She sees them not, though, complex patterns
Veiled from her sight by time
Her life awaits her through the curtain,
Full of mountains she must climb

She does not fear though, does not know,
Her child’s wonder still holds sway,
A face looks up at shining stars
Glowing all so far away

I fear our world is going mad
This place that we call home
With fires, gunshots, protests, panic,
Chaos rules and we react

Our laws mean nothing in the cosmos
Nature cares naught for our lives
I fear the world will end in fire
Lit by flames of our unrest

A crowded room
The buzz of voices
A scent that you remember
From long ago
Memories rise like ghosts,
The dead come back
To haunt your hard-won peace.
Someone dared to wear
The cologne he wore
When he said goodbye

I, too, sing America.
I am of the brave, one of the free.
They hide my voice behind my too short years,
Yet I speak a truth, and they must hear!
But most ignore the clarion call,
And hide behind their painted doors,
And place their trust in ignorance.
Tomorrow, they must hear my cries!
I'll tell them, they must act, and soon;
I speak a truth, and they must hear!
Nobody'll doubt my vision then;
My age will make no difference, then.
I see the truth that they will see,
And no one more will doubt in me.
Besides, the truth is shining clear,
They'll see it soon, and they will hear,
And they will act, as I now try, for
I, too, am America.

I would have slept enough last night
But for the tears I shed
Oh gentle fingers - leave me not
Go - bar the gates of dread

And turn the lock - my angel guard
To save me from myself
I fear the dawning of the morn
When we must be apart

Dear stars above that diamond spangle night
Keep safe the souls entrusted to your care
And bathe at last in soft eternal light
Those innocents whose loss we’re cursed to bear

For he whose eyes still haunt my waking dreams,
Like stars themselves in sorrow’s endless dark,
And outline mem’ries in their piercing beams
Though we have been so many years apart

Let ope the skies, ye shining beacon stars
And welcome to your ranks a newest light
For though his body may be marked by scars,
His soul has surely never shined so bright

And though no more of sunrise shall he see
Yet still above the earth he loved may be

Picture a wall of glass
As clear as air
but solid as a stone

I stand behind that wall
And the world’s on
The other side

I can see it
And it can see me,
But only through the glass

I can’t touch it
I can’t reach it
I can’t feel.

For that wall is in my soul
And I can’t break it alone.

flower petals softly fall
to land about my feet
and cover up the blood and tears
I know abide beneath
their soft pink silk
is pure and clean
before it hits the earth
but red with blood
and black with hate
as time plays out its curse
and I just watch in silent pain
as petals fall like snow
the blameless victims in a war
that lays our people low

Broken hearts
Broken dreams
Time is all
That’s left to me

Dreams are fragile
They break like glass
Hearts are brittle
And rip apart

Memories are flawed
And pains too sharp
To stand the wear
And tear of Time

And as time flows
My broken dreams
Are swept away
And lost to me

Oh laughing brook
Oh happy brook,
Your smile and
Murmur delights.
Your chilly water,
Ice on snow,
Holds my toes
And feet.

Brother, can you spare a dime?
Have some pity for the poor
You are lucky, don’t you see?
But you are blind.
And though you look to
Find our woes,
You do not see,
You do not care,
You do not know.
You are lucky, but to that
You’re blind.
Brother, can you spare a dime?

I am the lightbulb
That burned out last night
But no one sees until morning

Paste a picture on the bottom
To make it look full
Society’s version of truth

I remember a window,
It was sunny outside;
The autumn leaves
Shone red in the light.
I remember your smile,
Sunny as well;
How innocent we were back then.

There's a photo I’ve kept,
It’s of us at that window,
Grinning as only two children can grin.
You look like you have some great
Secret to tell me,
A mischievous plan in your head.

You’re wearing that necklace you always had with you,
A shark tooth, I think, but I’m really not sure.

It’s been so long.

The years have since swept me
Where you cannot follow.
You’re trapped in that window,
And now I’m outside.

I like to remember you there,
Since it’s better
Than dreaming of doctors.
And churches.
And tears.

Darkest shadow
Brightest flame
Burning passion
Silence, tame

Loving one,
Many times
Broken hearts,
Guiltless crimes

Tears of grief
Shed for him
Sunless ages
Dark and grim

Dawn of hope
Of light again
Wakened life
From silence, then,

Circle closing,
Ending, starting,
Edges meeting,
Brushing, parting

Darkest shadow
Brightest flame
Burning passion
Silence, tame

Thank God for generosity
For kindness and
Compassion

The brotherhood of humankind
Connects us all

The Lord be praised

For this is our guard against hatred
A bond that is older than time
And that no man can break

Compassion can hold us together
When gunshots would tear us apart

My life is worlds away from war
And poverty;
I need not fear for life
Or liberty,
Yet to remember this
When darkness falls
Is still a test.

When night entombs me
In her shadowed cloak,
And stars are far beyond
My window’s view,
My own adversity will
Rear its head
And make its claim.

Then, as the darkness shrouds my mind,
The starlight cannot
Pierce the shadowed gloom
And the pain of others has but
Little light.

And if this makes me
Cold,
Unfeeling,
Cruel,
Then so it is, and so,
Too, are you.
So are we all.
Cold,
Unfeeling,
Cruel.

Flashes of steel and
Whispers of sound
Tramping of footsteps on
Rain- muddied ground

Pounding of heartbeats
And gasping of breath
Small sounds of life under
Shadow of death

Dear future self,
Someday I’ll meet you
When I look into a mirror,
And you’ll know it’s me.
Remember me?
That silly ingenue who
Didn’t understand
The ways of life.
Dear future self,
Please don’t hate me
Twenty years from now.
Sincerely yours,
The past

The tick of the clock and
The beat of my heart
The click of the mouse
As I refresh the page
Results come in and
numbers shift
Red and blue and
Grey

The rain outside is
Pecking
Like a little bird
On the roof

My parents downstairs
Talking
Murmured voices
Hushed

My room’s last summer’s
War zone
Empty land and
Scattered remnants

My heart’s still
Beating
So why have I
Gone cold

The night is silent
Now
The windowsill
Is bare

The bird’s gone home
He’s given up
And left me
All alone

Two different faces
Who am I?
The one they see
Or who I am
They don’t notice,
So I hide
Behind my
Double faces

Dark as onyx
Strong and stalwart
Gnarled by the crashing wind

Leaves of emerald
Turned to silver
Rustling in the mountain air

Berries red as
Roughhewn rubies
Glinting through the falling dark

Alone upon its
Craggy mountain
Keeping watch this night

When the lights go out
We should not fear;
Death is our nightmare.

School should be safe,
Not a whirlwind of panic
About bullets and pain.

When the lights go out
We should not think
"We're gonna die."

Fireflies are fallen stars
Before they hit the earth
Shards of ice engulfed
In heat shed
Gentle light
Flashes of beauty
Amidst the night

Each book’s a doorway to a far off landscape
The pages forming portals to the past
The words are my escape
From the twisted path I take
Walking all alone amidst the crowd

I stand alone within my own safe castle
A stronghold that I’ve built around my heart
I let a few get past,
Think each’ll be the last,
But every one still breaks my heart again.

The books can get me through the solid borders
That keep us bound in time and fixed in space.
They help me to let go,
And find a way to flow
In currents rife with danger and with lies

Society’s a bunch of half tamed creatures
Made wild with desire to fit in.
The books can keep me sane
And counter each new pain
That I incur when I refuse to bend

And even through the pain that this will cause me
I see my future clear and shining bright
Though now I shy in fear
Someone may still draw near
And save me from this prison that I’ve made.

The blanket fog so white and still
Yet cloaked the land this morn’
To guard her from the morning chill
And keep her ***** warm

It clung to flower, branch, and air
To hide the maiden blush
That rose upon her features fair
When sunlight soft her eyelids brushed

The sunlight in the fog that day
Was as a pearl in hue
It shone and shimmered as if lay
Above a streak of blue

The river’s waters wound their way
As o’er her face they flowed
And caught the sunlight of the day
That broke the blanket’s hold

Her cover fled, that tender maid
Awoke with songs and sighs
And over all bright sunlight played
To warm her as she lies

Fractured.
Fragment.
Broken.
Pieces.
Mind awhirl.
Nothing ceases.
Shattered.
Better.
Mind anew.
No one understands.

Some are for a lifetime
Some last but a day
Some will leave for anger
Some will move away
And some will die and
Leave you only lonelier next day

Some are kind and gentle
While some are brash and bold
Each one irreplaceable:
A candle you may hold
Until it burns out
And leaves you cold

A rare few burn eternal,
And they’re magical as such,
But the search to try to find them
I have found hurts far too much.
So we live life lit by candles
That our frozen hands must clutch
Until they burn out
In a rush

No oceans waters wide enough
To douse the fire in my soul
The tallest mountain still can’t crush
The music that will always flow

The spirit living in my breast
Will never bend or break
Though faltering, my heart beats onward
Pouring out in music’s ache

Put guns into the hands of children
Put bullets through their hearts
Soldiers killed before the war’s begun
those who were to carry tomorrow’s flag
Lie buried beneath their elder’s feet
How many lives in the name
Of justice,
Revenge,
Or greed?

The future dies with each of them.

If each raindrop took a thousand tears
I still would be a storm
If every sob had a whipspers’ voice
I still would be a roar
And if every minute was an age
It still won’t be enough
I know I’ll miss you
And I know I’ll cry
Yet here I am

The flash of blades across the hall
The cries of “good” that stand for pain
The glint of steel within my grasp
And the smile on my face

These things to me mean happiness

My teacher’s voice soft counsels me
My heart within my chest beats free
My enemy stands across from me
As the marshal calls “lay on”

And I know that I’m alive

The weight of a sword in my black gloved hand
The dance of my feet across the floor
The sound of my blade as it rings it’s challenge
Issued against your own

And I know that I’ve found my home

2/19/20

These are the ways of my people
And this is the land that I know
My home will be always these hillsides
Where waters of ages still flow

But time for my people is passing
Our land is no longer our own
Our children forsake now the stories
Of a past that they never have known

For life all around us is changing
And stories no longer apply
The ways of our fathers are fading
And our children shall bid them goodbye

But these hills will be always my homeland,
Though the waters of history pass,
And stories of ages live after
In the birds and the wind in the grass

When Hope comes knocking at your door,
Asking for a handout in the cold,
Who among you would not spare a dime?
Then shame on you.
For deep inside you is the cold
That you shut out behind your door,
It’s brightly painted wood a mocking light
In the gloomy dusk.
So shame on you.
But each of you who gives as you can spare,
Though it be less than one might wish or need,
If with sincerity you open up your heart
To let in Hope,
Then a blessing be upon you,
For you are Hope.

Only if
If only I
Wishes
Dreams
Are washed away

Tomorrow
Today
And yesterday
Are points on the line
Of time

Sometimes I see
Behind the mask she wears
To the beautiful woman she is.
I wish she could see her
In the mirror
Instead of the mask
She hates

If only she could see herself
Through my eyes

When I close my eyes,
I can almost imagine,
And I almost believe
My sweet, sad lies.
I can tell myself
It’s all a dream,
And he’ll be here
Beside me again.

Six letters, an apostrophe,
A meager whole, I fear
And slight of meaning,
All things told,
As words for one to hear.
I’m fine.

Red ink
Lines my faults
Marking my mistakes
And failures

Black ink
Tells my story
Speaking of the past
And my regrets

Blue ink
Writes my future
Guiding my tomorrow
And today

Smudged ink
Shows my fear
Telling of my worries
And my pain

Inky pages
Are my journey
Shaping who I am and
All I do

Blotted pages
In the book of time

Each day when I rise and I walk out my door,
The world that I see isn’t mine anymore.

The rules are all bent so I can’t see their shape,
And on every street corner I pass police tape.

When you sign onto Twitter, catch up on the news,
But it might not be true, so watch out for the clues.

They say, “Hey, you’re transgender? We can’t let you fight.”
“Oh, you’re black? Or you’re Asian? We’re best ‘cause we’re white.”

If they’re caught in their lies, they don’t overreact,
Mumble “something-or-other alternative fact.

If you glance out your window one night and you find
A torch wielding mob, well, just never you mind.

Join the big three ring circus! Its painted faced clowns,
And its ringleader with his red white and blue crown!

So turn on your TV, watch the latest debate,
And what you will see is the next Watergate.

Or just do what I do, use your eyes and your heart,
Then you, too, can watch as fear tears us apart.

Or maybe it won’t, if enough of us see,
When we all work together, we still might break free.

I may not be quite pretty
And I may not be that smart
But there are things that I can see
With only just my heart

I see that there are always some
Who just don’t seem to care
Who’ll take your heart and rip it out
And lay your feelings bare

But wait and watch and you will see
That hate does not trump light
That threads of friendship and of love
Will guide you through the night

They’ll wrap around your broken heart,
Your shattered dreams renew,
And they are there for everyone,
For me as well as you

Frail blades waving, soft in the wind
A triumph of Earth over Man
Strength from the weakest
Whose whispers are lost
In the tramping of conquering soles.
A tuft of grass springs from the pavement,
Alone between the cars.

The ocean is calm inside of me today
My emotions are cool, collected,
Bluish greenish grey

But the sea is a fickle friend.
Lashing, thrashing, beating
Against the moorings of my boat
As darkness falls

The anchors that I set don’t always hold;
I am adrift upon my inner sea,
As others blow the wind into my sails
That never guide me where I need to go

I lost my only oar so long ago
The wood beneath my my palms is phantom faint;
My arms are weak from lack of self control
And I am lost

The water boils up against my boat
Threatening to draw me down into the dark
From whence I’d not return

But the sea is a fickle friend.
She soothes her storms as swift as they begin
And offers me apology
In sunbeams from the clouds
Instead of rain

Just a guy I used to know
A face in the crowds of time
Never to be seen again
So why am I crying?

Just a thread of life cut short
A tragic slip of blades
Madness is the face of death
That's why I'm crying