^

I rise with a start and begin the routine

Waltzing down the stairs



And the pain is there

Like a beacon repeating



Stark and clean

In the October air



And the pain is there

Like a beacon repeating



But I relish, for now,

Each sprain and tear



And the warmth that awaits

And my lungs filled with air



Now each creak and pin

Make alarms sound within



But the pain is a friend

That will ward-off the end



With each crunch and stumble

I resign to the fumble



I’m thankful I’m here

Despite wince and tear



I lean into the pain,

The pulp, and the fear


^

The bustle and the tedium
Are things I need escaping from
Yet time speeds by and still have I
Not planned a foray ‘neath the sky
To places that I know will put
My careworn brow back where it ought
To be.  And so my torpor worsens;
I begin to draw-back from random persons
I give up as I’ve done before
But freefall further.  What a bore
I have become...the quintessential
Flawed human… (how provincial)


It’s time to make the drive up north
To face my demons and burst forth
Upon the beautiful scenes I’ve seen
In years gone past, blue, brown, and green
Across sacred Adirondack waters
I must lead my son and daughters
Set up camp and sweat and think
Stoke the fire, pray, and drink
Climb and swim with nonchalance
This head and heart need renaissance
So I say, …and so I need to do
But I’m crippled from this moody blue

~

Vast...
Nigh unknowable
Quilt stretching out over incalculable
  intervals and distances…
Pulling. Churning.
Alternating between different frames
  of reference
Spinning me nauseas


Look at our local surroundings
Such activity above!
Mere minutes before the untrained eye
Takes notice of
The movers,
Slowly wandering across the speckled expanse


The fire has receded into its undulating
  orange-gray hideout
The satellites are so numerous now…
And the red-orange glow illumines
  your cheek, your neck, and your
  flyaway hair.
A distant owl
A dog’s hollow cry rings out echoing
  off of the hill
Sending this gang into high alert

•


Enough, enough and so to sleep
Without a dream or answer deep
From the Cobbler’s castle keep
My longing makes a leap

Awaking with such laudable strains
Abounding audible in my brain
Meaningful morsels, muck and mane;
The not knowing is such pain


Are all these songs that I get in the middle of the night coming from you?
Your subtlety sometimes is like a blinding light. What’s a boy to do?

Messages that the songs convey
Will sometimes drain my doubt away
But then again the very next day
“It’s artifice”, I’ll say

When will my longing cease?
Have I spent enough time on my knees?
Do I have demons to release
To hear the holy breeze?
...
If feelings weren’t just chemicals
Arriving in their ports of call
If they were tangible at all
I might avoid this fall

--
Reach out and touch the space
Right here, behind my face

I’m opening the door
But it don’t work no more

I am a
  mess of nerves…
Exposed and weathered at the curves

But the one who’s blessed
  ...is the one who serves
So here…have some hors d’oeurvres

--
I ask that you would calm me down
Gently bring me back around
To a place I once had found
Quiet, holy ground

This rhyme scheme is strained at best
And draws attention to my jest
So please just hollow out my chest
And give me holy rest


Are all these songs that I get in the middle of the night
Coming from You?
The way you leave it all so hazy just ain’t right
…Is that you comin’ through?

And here we are once again
Pen in hand, with a hollow longing
Sing of wanton joy and hope
Coping. Can you see the string?

Fling wide the windows, and,
Candy coat the sour parts
Tarts delight and frighten us
Fuss and fret about these starts...

And stops.

And there is nothing
More to say about it
But I could go on all day

I hold a picture
With your face upon it
And that's my means to get away

I can't offer you
The things that he can offer
There is no tranquility

But there is one thing
That you can be sure of
You can always come to me

And we can fly around the sun  
And we can...
And we can travel to the other galaxies
A supernova passes by
And we can...
And we can stop and see the
Sun
     ...flowers
The sun
     ...flowers
The sunflowers that we see


You bet your life
I would not trade one night
Or day we had together, you and I

And when it seems
As though we're in for nasty weather
We'll take shelter from the sky

But I can't offer you
The things that he can offer
There is no tranquility

But there is one thing
That you can be sure of
You can fly away with me

And we can fly around the sun
And we can...
And we can travel to the other galaxies
A supernova passes by
And we can...
And we can stop and see the
Sun
     ...flowers
The sun
     ...flowers
The sunflowers that we see