The path is a dusty one, Tin woman. Be careful what you seek
Take heed of the love you show and the words of love you speak
Feelings are a clouded mirror viewed from a distant smoky peak
They’re not for the faint, nor for the cautious, nor for the weak
What a wicked mystique

Hearts can slowly rust from the rivers of tears that flow in time
Smiles become fissured hills too hard to hold, to steep to climb
Time’s a thunderous rolling drum, not a gentle bell that chimes
Crushing with fearful trembling hands a love free and sublime
What a wicked crime

How many times have I murdered his love in infancy?
So afraid of getting hurt, so scared of what could be
My eyes closed so tight in fear that my heart couldn’t see
The genuine love from the man standing in front of me
What a wicked irony

My strongholds were in place with my defenses strong and tall
He stormed into my heart like a wolf and devoured them all
He destroyed my every hidden place and tore down every wall
But the fearful feeling that I’m not enough, caused me to stall
What a wicked fall

I thought I had shed yesterday like a sloughed skin
But I’m wrapped in the carcass of what should’ve been
A flower picked before its life could even begin
So scared of love’s thorns that I had to pull the pin
Such a wicked end

Now I pay my dues for love left strangled in the grave
The remnant of my failure to be free and to be brave
I sit among the ashes of the life and love I could not save
My once beating heart is now the darkness that enslaves
What a wicked cave

I dig deep into the shallow tomb uncovering my faults
Buried in the casket of my dreams with the peace I sought
Laid to rest with the battles I lost before I even fought
Perhaps my falling star was never meant to be caught
What a wicked thought

Drowned love swims in my veins, with the one I hold so dear
Eyes, they lose their luster and ears, they lose the will to hear
Souls they quake. Hearts they break. Lovely visions disappear
The internal compass ceases to guide. The rudders fail to steer
What a wicked fear

I sit beneath the darkness among a thousand shining eyes
They illuminate my thoughts like pensive twinkling spies
A million tiny searchlights contour each corner of my sky
Revealing my tender crux of weakness as the pain draws nigh
What a wicked outcry

Sometimes healing seems impossible and hope falls out of sight
Sometimes my heart is buried within the darkness of this life
The sun slams shut the windows of my bright and starry night
But sometimes…sometimes there’s a tiny beacon of shining light
What a wicked delight

Even from the cradle of our new budding interchange
I felt what I had never felt with each new exchange
No longer in a numb stupor, anesthetized and disengaged
My apathy fell away, no longer distant and estranged
What a wicked change.

He’s still the same sweet soul as the boy of my adolescence
A smile that lights my world and eyes of bright incandescence
Now every vision is blinded by his lingering presence
Even the air that surrounds me is touched by his essence
Such a wicked omnipresence

He wiped away my tears and brought my heart relief
My hesitancy was shattered in the face of his belief
He robbed me of my sorrow. He stole away my grief
Such a strong valiant soul, such a kind and gentle thief
What a wicked reprieve

He never jabbed the soft and delicate center of my wrongs
Instead he held me close and anointed my ears with songs
He cradled me in his gentle embrace, right where I belonged
He veiled the clouds with his shining stars all the nightlong
What a wicked love song

What a plan of attack he chose to forever capture my favor
With his unexpected prose and his courage that never waivers
With a style all his own, a personality with unique flavor
With his caresses and his kisses that I came to slowly savor
What a wicked quaver

As his voice cracked nervously when he first said he loved me
The way his embrace covered me in a blanket of sweet serenity
The nights have become a dungeon of these trapped memories
My heart is confined within its walls, never again to be set free
What a wicked destiny

Flaws- they claw at the door of daylight, refusing to be ignored
They beat, bash, kick and scream, breaking down every door
I am greater than my defeats. I am stronger. I am more
Than stones flying among shattered glass crashing to the floor
What a wicked war

So many battles to fight, so many pains pulling me under
So many cancerous cells ripping my body and hope asunder
I won’t back down in fear from this life or its roaring thunder
My soul will not be left for dead, for pillage or for plunder
What a wicked wonder

I’m so much deeper than a radiant shallow visual perception
What lay beneath is so much more profound than perfection
You’ll see bruises, ripples of a life lived, upon closer inspection
The sea of love shines brilliant upon its surface and reflection
What a wicked infection

The currents drag me down again every time I reach for air
The rising tide seems too high, the heaviness too much to bear
I struggle and fight to swim but I have no strength to spare
No sign of a lighthouse ahead, deep into the darkness I stare
What a wicked snare

But I am more than a revenant arising from a mortal fall
Each day I climb the canyons that make me feel so small
Every day I trample over spaces where once I crawled
Each moment I overcome obstacles and break down walls
What a wicked brawl

I will surge forth into the mysteries of this night without fear
I will fight without wavering until my final breath draws near
Until I take back what is mine, and every cancer cell disappears
This world that tried to destroy me will know that I’m still here
What a wicked leap year.

A sower
     A seed
A root
     Of the tree
A forest is the poet

A harvest
     A trove
A cherry
     Of the grove
Sweetness is the poet

A feather
     A wing
A flight
     Of the spring
A sparrow is the poet

A swarm
     A bee
A buzz
     In the tree
A sting is the poet

A puzzle
     A haze
A fog
     In the maze
A mystery is the poet

My eyes rest upon the darkness of a moonlight stroll
I’ll savor the silence of the night as it falls upon my soul

I’ll nevermore lay my eyes upon the midnight sky
Without the heart-stirring release of a tender sigh

And the gentle company of sweet recollections
Recalling moments of us as flashes and reflections

I’ll share my gaze upon the stars with these blissful memories
My soft voice calls out to you. Can you hear me in the breeze?

My head will rest upon the silky pillows of clouds for a while
In the darkness, can you feel my hands? Can you see my smile?

Can you see the stars blossom in the shadows of the night?
Hold me in your dreams until the moon falls out of sight

Until the stars disappear to sleep inside the light of day
The solace of your singing voice keeps my darkness at bay

As the sun coaxes the moon away from its lofty position
Your eyes melt into light like a prism cut with precision

I’ll trace the outline of your smile the stars have drawn
And I’ll see your face sketched on the canvas of the dawn

Darkness tried to break her, to fill her world with grief
Her height of faith and depth of love were stronger than this thief

Her wounds were cleansed by the tears she cried
There was more to her than met the eye

In a relentless quest for justice, she would swiftly rise
The pain that was her prison, would meet its demise

Her heart flourished with hope. She made her choice
She gave her hidden feelings a purpose and a voice

She stained the pure white paper with ink until it bled
until every wrong was made right, until every tear was shed

A new day was born as a glimpse of light
A new craving to live. A new will to fight

free from the garments of trepidation she wore
Not bound by chains of despair anymore

Upon her knees with her heart in a humble place
A new destiny greeted her as a tender embrace

never again to be broken upon the floor
She was free to fly, free to soar

From fallen ruins, infinite it seemed
was born a vivid enlightened dream

The sun arose within her, a new light upon her path
She departed from darkness, turned her back to wrath

surrendered to the gentleness, the calm of a fresh start
ascended uncharted skies of kindness upon wings of a softened heart

She climbed above the shadows, God to be her only guide
The clouds far beneath her, the luminous sunlight at her side

no longer wrapped in shame, fighting to survive
full of peace and tranquility, fully awake, fully alive

new goals, new visions, new mountains to climb
her deepest scars erased forever in time

The odds stacked against her were overturned
A fresh urgency for freedom burned

Her eyes widely opened, she dreamed the sweetest dream
She reached forth to boundless heights, her life had been redeemed

A beacon on the horizon, understanding captured her sight
inspiring her heart to open, inclining her fingers to freely write

her soul to fully share, her spirit to liberally fly
Her hands to grasp a second chance, giving life another try

Kindling a flame from an inner spark, she ignited a fire to live
sprouting from the ashes with a tireless passion to give

The world left marks on her cocoon. She never asked why
She simply spread her wings and emerged a butterfly

Formerly hidden in darkness, she had a future clear and bright
She paved a road to hungry hearts like a ray of hope and light

no looking back to troubles of her past
too busy caring for the downhearted and loving the downcast

Her future unknown, uncertain where this trail would lead
she measured every thought, every motive, every deed

every word which fell upon her lips, every expression upon her face
sifted through eyes of compassion and benevolence of grace

Her speech delivered truth to anyone longing to feel
unraveling statues of stone with love, unique and real

She met the need of those who hungered for a heartfelt word
Through tenderness and compassion, refined purpose was seen and heard

Gentle words breathed into them new life delicate and sweet
penetrating unreachable hearts, from stone she paved a street

Affection and forgiveness softly fell upon their ears
hidden strengths coaxed with lyrics of a balladeer

They basked in her sunshine to warm their troubled hearts
The world, an empty palette. Her life, a work of art

no need to be common when one was meant to be rare
Fulfilling her purpose became her strength. her life. her air

She breathed in the sunshine, warmth, light and rays
reflected upon lonely souls to brighten their darkest days

Her glow simply an inner light, resounding in echoes of hope
filling a void in empty hearts, lending a hand to help them cope

Her heart beat to the consoling rhythm of a generous melody
serenading prisoners of grief, setting their fragile hearts free

She reached forth with generous hands to a world full of need
an advocate for the weary, she’d speak and intercede

anchored by sincerity to calm their troubled minds
She shared the treasure of a heart, virtuous and kind

She heard the slightest whisper of need escaping a broken soul
She saw the diamond, the person’s worth, beyond a life of coal

Drops of tenderness fell steady as a gentle spring rain
enveloping the world in solace, a refuge from pain

They defeated darkness and radiated with newfound light
With strength renewed, they emerged, eagles taken flight

Former lives passed away with freedom to begin again
The sky’s the limit of a hopeful dream that began as paper and pen