I am free!
I am happy,
I am enough.
I am beautiful,
I am me,
No apologies.

There is something
Hiding beneath this skin;
Oh, under it, so far below’
To atoms and molecules,
Flying around inside us.

I guess we’re the deep thinkers,
Senseless dreamers in love with ideals?

We are ideas ourselves,
Just try to catch us; don’t put us in jars; please.
No one has ever
Fully grasped us.

The thing is,
All I ever wanted to be was the one;
But, all I’ve ever found is,
They wanted others.

An idea.

Here
The stillness
Moves near
Keep it close
Don’t let go
What you’ve
Been searching
For
Doesn’t exist
No one has
Everything
It invades
Present
Happiness
Just throw
Away
Idealistic
Notions
Try to be
Here


Now...

I closed my eyes,
And it was suddenly clear.
The Grand Precipice,
On the Edge of the Horizon Near-
As I escaped into
The “Outer Space.”

So far from here,
To somewhere in-between,
And when I returned
I gasped for air
To catch my breath as
It had left.

I watched it all
Come to be,
As it unfolded
Before me
In a series of images
That were all but
Erased upon waking
As if mirages.
Still present,
Yet unclear-
Only to disappear once near.

I felt complete
In this colorful picture show
As it surreally unfolded
Like paper snowflakes
Falling from “Nowhere,”
Unraveling
Through mid-air.

I held on…
If only in a dream.

Violet illumination ignites the sky, high to the pinnacles.
Lifts you up, lost in the stratosphere without a care.
A full range of colors, reflect on this timepiece never lost.
The compass always guides you there.
It will live forever, if you will it;
If you will let it live,
It will,
Live forever.
No spectrum can capture the various impressions
Left to be remembered in full tint saturation.

I must confess that there is no feeling like it—then when
           You wake up
to recognize a place within
your sleeping soul
at rest

sinking low
in deep hues
choose any color
sometimes
one more
or another

how about
cloudless
how about
nebulous

resting
inside you,
is sweetness
beneath
where
life is lived
crawl out of
darkness
some how

everything
you've ever
known
reveals itself

some are sweet
oh so clear
others are nightmares
soon to disappear

oh the fears
take me there to
where they linger
letting go to
slip through fingers

awake now
caught on a
sparkling web
paralyzed  
and alone
and all I see
are
poly-chromed
imaginings

and I confess
there is no
feeling like it

Oh no no no (Don't be afraid to fly)
The night can't hold you there
Oh no no no
Just when it was buried (This fear)
Hope came along,
You entered with her (In sleeping illusion)
In this incubus-- caterpillars conquered glass (Crawled up fast)
Oh no no no (Couldn't escape)
Your stare felt real
She entered out of a door (Recognized her face)
Stood there by your side (A larva grew above her eye)
Then suddenly she left but didn't go far,
An image so supernatural (Lucid).
I began to question
The thin line where
Life begins
And dreams end
Oh no no no

The heart is-- internal machine

Just when it was buried (This fear),
It was dug up in
Incubus

Warm breezes in the night air
Whisper away every nightmare
Stars above in heaven's depths
Blink freely in the dark
Glowing with every promising spark
And during rest in dreams we see
The unreal and our thoughts are set free
To drift and live in sleep
And experience everything so deep
Sometimes waking, wishing you were still there
All that you can do is remember, and keep it near
Unearthly as it seems
Our souls are connected in dreams

Ink. to page,
Splatter,
Scattered,
Matter.

Missing ink?
In this pen.
You stare
Around the room.
Who to ask,
Who to reach
Out to?
Intrusively
Overcome,
Invisibly,
These manifestations
Fester,
Constantly.

Ink running
Down an edge,
Staining
The floor.

no dot for the “i.”

no words for the page.

they refuse to form today.

Lids close heavily
Breathe in deeply
Without opening
Your mouth
In rhythm
so calming
Hands across your heart
Trailing starlight
Chasing sun rays
To touch
Across your own
Face and hair
Believing the outer
Self is a reflection,
Inside-Out.

Wheels hit
The ground,
Over
And over
Repeatedly
Until
Coming to
An End.
Life All Around,
From
Many cultures
And backgrounds
Unfamiliar, Beautiful.
What are you
Making with bacon?
"Bacon and pancakes."
"Oh, you are shy?"
Just a chuckle.  
Women,
Their bodies covered
Head to Toe
Surrounded by
Laughing Children.
Noodles and
The smell of
Cooking fish
Carried
With a breeze,
On a quiet day,
Unassuming
And simplistic.
In a daze,
Excuse me,
"You have to get off the bus."
"Oh, so sorry."
Tall buildings,
New mazes.
Numbers and Letters
All going to different
Places.
Sad patches
On some streets-
Others
Where people stroll
Merrily, arms interlinked.
"This is my city though,"
The cab driver
Recites after
Giving his personal
Insights
On plights-
Honest and open.
In a small corner
Building
Punk bands play,
And
It doesn't matter
Who you are
As there
Isn't any segregation,
Everyone is accepted,
A man dressed like
***** Wonka
Stands front row...
Another person
Wears knee high
Socks and sandals
Dancing in
A unique way.
All ages, all races.
Different backgrounds.
Various conversations
About many subjects
And no one judges.

Hello…
Introspect?
You reflect inside,
Deep within.
You need subtle reminders
To look out.

Introspect?
Hello…
You hear a person in the distance say out loud,
“This is my favorite place to watch the sunset in the city...”
Introspect, looks out.

It needs these subtle reminders sometimes.
Suddenly introspect leaves for a few minutes time;
And, it’s so sublime to be out of your mind.

To see the snow kissed mountain peaks in full clarity,
Back-lit by pale pink sky so serene.
For a moment, you forget what was going on inside.
The sunset so saturating,
Orange juice might easily be squeezed from its rays.
Then you eye the towering crystal-clear star on the hill,
And for a few more seconds you forget
Introspect.






Hello…

It beats
Constantly
Keeps life
Alive inside,
This heart,
I'm just trying
To get
Back to
You,
It beats
Alive inside,
I'm just trying
To get back to
You
It beats
Constantly
Alive inside,
I'm just trying,
It beats

Took a hand
Not meant
To last

Released its hold
Never looked back

One day, one day
How will it feel?

I’d keep holding
On for as long
As you'd let me

It could be
Real this time
It could be
Real.

Here, one day we’ll meet.
It’ll be the first time,
To catch your glance.
It’ll be the first time,
To touch your hand.
Do happy endings
Really exist?
Would you wait for me?
For the second
We meet?
It’ll be the first time,
To hear your laugh.
I’ll be the first time,
To say hello forever.
You’ll be the one to
Stay by my side
Until the end of
Our time
Together.

Took a jar and reached out
To infinity's vacuum
If only to capture this
And hold onto
Something (sparkling grey)
That one should never,
Hold on to.
Set it free
What's not meant
To be,
Once you swallow
Your lost hopes
Maybe you'll see
The brightest
Spots were never lost.

Jellyfish,
You look in,
You’re
Reaching
But you
Can’t feel, see.
It’s like
You’re
A Jellyfish,
Moving
Along, be.
In distant
Waters,
But you
Can’t
Capture me.
Leading
Me on,
While I’m
Drowning
Here
In
The
Ocean’s
Waters.
Digested.
Carnivorously
Bright,
No brain.
Falling
In the dark,
No heart?
Are you,
A
Jellyfish?

The journey takes and catches you
As the wind sweeps your cares away
Lifting you up in a hot air balloon
The clouds are alive as they pass by
The day is new, the sun is warming too

She was jumping fences
Defenseless
Getting nowhere
A filly
Chased the wild horses
To the limit
Reached the finish
Soon they disappeared
Never to be seen
Into the dark wood
Into the dark
Forevermore
Skins shed on a path
Into what was never
Tethered there
Unbridled fury
Flocks raced to the field
In final glory
Vultures on the move
Consumed in flesh
In fury
Fed their hunger

She was jumping fences
Can't you see
"Can't see you"
It was all for you
Until there was nothing
Left in her that she knew

Tied to the rail
Sunk in the sand
Reached for a hand
Only one was there,
"God, is that you?"

So run, run, run
And don't look back
Defenseless
She was jumping fences
Don't look back
She left something
Nothing to come back to

When it's right
It won't be
Jumping
Defenseless
You'll be lifted
With lightness
Unbridled and flying
No longer
Jumping fences

Many rusty keys,
Sit in a box with
Stories to tell.

This one leads
To a door
That hides
Forbidden
Fairy tales.

Be careful,
Close it
Fast behind you,
Or the dragon
Will follow
You out.

Another silver key,
Unlocks
Shattered Dreams
Put back together,
Piece by piece.

This one is
My favorite,
It leads you to
A place to rest
Your head,
It takes you
Away from
The day
And lets you
Hide
And
Find
A peaceful place,
To
Play.

La, la, la
The red sea drifts
On tumultuous rifts
Aging tank subsists
On what's left in the wreckage
Purple reflections
Seen on oily surfaces
& the sky combines
Its blue tones with
The contents raging
& stewing'
In its hungry belly

Lamps hang over a
Ray-less  
Backdrop that saturates &
Mirrors above to reflect
Billions of distant souls
Bleeding love
Crying out
Not to be heard

                          Their soft glimmer shimmers
                                         Over us in the dimness

One day we might welcome
A new way to see
Everything we thought
We knew
Could be

This feeling settles in,
Making itself at home

It's so unsure,
It asks,
"What were you searching for?"
"Never mind, you can't go back..."

You'll never find it,
You'll never know it,
The cycle seems to keep on spinning...

There is something you have though,
It can't be taken,
It's yours alone,
But no matter how hard I try,
It feels like a part of me has died...

Maybe one day,
It will all make sense,
Maybe one day,
It won't.

Right now it lays at rest,
Sometimes it pours out
Uncontrolled,
For now,
I let it lie down.

It hides in the form of
Sleep and regrets,
It lies.

I am only human,
You encouraged
Me to feel vulnerable,
And I gave in
Like a child to the swing,
Blindly following.

I left my blue, cotton tee dress
On your floor, and I...
Didn't come back for more;

You kept calling every night
Not sure why you put up
Such a fight
To take over my mind
When I told you we
Should end it,
See other people,
Move on,
Avoid the hurt
And the pain.
Everything was
Condescending,
Silly string animal puppet silhouettes
On your wall danced
Of something insincere
Like black magic trickery
And licorice idiocies
Mirrors cast in open flames
Meant to fuel a clever game.

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring...
Pick up the phone
"Pick up, I know you're home..."
Ring, ring, ring...
I shut off my phone,
Not listening.

"Please call me back. I just wanted to let you know that you left your blue dress here."

"It's okay.  It's just a dress.  I'll buy another.  It's not worth going back to blue."

Sun dances down
To nightfall.
A storm simmers,
Pressure before
Kettle boils, over.
Rapidly low-lit
Linear outline,
Reignites
Lightning bolt.
Downpour wet,
Opposing silence,
Crashing sounds
Resound,
Not quiet.
Take shelter quick.
Winged dove,
Flies from a
Symbolic hand in glove,  
No need to fight this.
It's Life Force.

Simple Life
Is what I live
No need to impress
Taking joy in this
It's freeing
Like birds flying
Butterfly landing
Rain falling
Ocean calling
Sand between toes
Sun's warming
Eyes opening
Each day
Beautiful music
Waves racing
Hot tea and writing
Resting as day
Is ******* to dark
Waking to a new day
To realize
The gift is life itself
Restarting with each new breath.

Life.
Hot applesauce.
Cold sausages,
Linked to hostages,
Another, then another.
Apostles cowering
As the ground beneath,
Collapses,
The maharajah's jeweled face,
Buried;
Switching between channels:
All blind, all empty.
Cold applesauce.
Rotten sausages,
20,000 Leagues
And no more
Hostages.

All of them
Just want to break
You down
Is there even one
That would want
To lift you
Not see you crawl
Beg and claw
Your way back
To where
You were
Before you
Met them
When you
Had yourself
And knew
Who you were
Staring at a picture
Face void of who
I was before...
Until one day
I got a little
Piece back
It's nice to smile
Once in a while
It's nice to know
I got her back
To recognize
Your own face
And the eyes
That reflect that

Today was a sad day
Reminded of defeat
And how it has
Hit again and again
Mourned some
Cried a little
At how our
World can be
So cold
How humans
Can hurt
One another

299 792 458 m / s,
The speed of light
Continues
To move this
Ship From the
Top
To
The
Bottom
Of a Galaxy.

They say it is possible
To travel  
It in
100,000 years;
However, it would take
Trillions of years
To complete the task
To get there,
Through the
Central Plane-
Come on,
Then let us go.          

What would it look like...
From the inside,
Traveling
To the other side,
Surpassing
Space and Time…?

Chills run up
Your spine.

To go any further
Would be impossible.

This trip is
Completely
Off the grid
And
Out of reach,
Unless
Scientists
Reach a breakthrough,
So
Evolutionary.

Will we ever see it?
Most likely, never.

Darkness has the same
Speed as light,
And this leads me to
Think that
They are fighting
All the time.

Glowing:
In
The
Dim
Abyss.

Breaking a barrier-
Only to be
Meshed together.

Only one life,
Live it
Or keep
Waiting,
And
Regret it,
Never lose
Sight of
What gets
You lit.

Everyday
no matter what's going on,
Just find a little place in you
To stay warm &
Escape the darkness
That sometimes
Is this world.
Everyday
no matter what's going on,
Find a little place in you

Eyes fixed on the desert stretching its tired body across the earth

Years fly by and before you know it you are no longer staring across the way on that one certain day,
It's ten years later, twenty, thirty, nearing the end, and you think,
what will I be...

Will I be forever living in a dream,
and is all that surrounds us not what it seems?

Cold rush-
Wind gust,
He limps
Along
With an old
Wooden cane,
On a Bridge
By the Bay-
Talking in a low
Voice,
Singing
A song,
Of true
Folklore.

"It all washes
Up on the shore."

Tales
Of Fights
And Trouble,
Followed by
His love
Of long ago
When
Mermaids
Still
Came ashore.

Skin hangs
On him,
Aged and scarred,
But once
He was young
And spry.

He sings,
"I remember
The day the
Mermaids died."

When I close my eyes, I see diagonal lines
Frozen in this place, space, and time;

I wonder if they can see
Are they more than sheets;
In imagination,
Are they more;

Souls within,
Hearts pretend
Windows to another world
Inverted and bound by
Thoughts,
Lost in another place
Lost

It's so dark tonight.
Turn your light on,
Alright.
I can see it shining
All the way
On the other side.
It's so bright.
When this life,
Is over
All that was once
Together,
Will reunite again
In Quantum
Entanglement.

Come back now...
Come down
To Earth,
Somehow.

One day,
When this
Is all over
You'll find
Your way
Back
To where
You want
To go...

Just look up
For now
And listen
Closely
Only to
Be led
Back to
What
Was
Lost
Or never
Was.

Time flew by
When you
Placed your hand
In mine.
A smile
Would remain
The whole time.
Nothing could erase it.
Nothing in this life.
My fingers danced
On yours,
And suddenly
Darkened skies
Said goodbye,
Sunlight out shined
Shadows.
The next moment,
I felt
Your comforting
Embrace
& love erased
Everything
I once knew,
Here in this place.

Snow laces
Blossoms so bright,
Coldest of winter mornings
I can see your morning
Light shines its light,
Hold its petal
And believe that
Love is real,
Love hurts
Love is kind
Love is never
Impossible
Love is light
Love is life
Love is always
Right

Make believe that
There is more,
To this than
Meets the eye.

Make-me-believe.

Love to many
Is so many things
Right now
To me
It's watching my
Sweet baby
Kitties
Dora and Raven
Sleep

They are curled
Up & comfy
Warm and
Snugly

I'll always
Be their
Protective
Mama
& they
Love
Unconditionally

You shouldn’t have to change
Who you are

Stay true to you
No matter how hard

Someone's always
Gonna want to
Change you
Don't

Close the gap,
Own yourself
No one else
Vice versa

If it’s meant to
It will find you
In between
The pages of
Your masterpiece
Words should lift
You up
Not break
You down
Make you smile
Not the other way
Around

Accept you
All of you
Ups & downs

If it’s broken
Let it be
If it’s tattered
Set it free
We all
Only get
One story

What matters most
Holds no value
On this earth
Genuineness
Tenderness
Connection
Loving words
Let go of material things
They've got no true meaning
In the end
We all serve our "purpose"
In worldly terms,
It shouldn't
Consume our souls,
Will we ever
Truly know it-
To love
To smile
To laugh
To feel
To cry
To hold
To know
Organically
That we held on to something real
While we were here

Oh, sweet lasting melody

Come and carry me
Up to heights reaching
Towards sunlight

Here, right now lifting
To heights reaching
Towards a day so full
Of  hope, full of breath
To breathe some life
In the form of songs
Sung out loud

Danced down
To the merry-go-round
Horses whirled up & down
Spun in circles around
Lifted off the ground
Then gently back down
Lights of many tints
Blended delightfully with
Sugary songs that sounded
Of Childhood memories
And tasted of cotton candy
Kisses on the carousel ride

The spaces 
Where seconds 
Pass.

The Blink
Of
An Eye
Never 
Phasing us,
As we
Forget to
Breathe.

Monotonous.
The Day,
Fades.

Stopping
For a Second,
To look at 
Our hands,
Fingers
That move,
Miracles
That go
Unnoticed
As we rarely
Take the time to
Acknowledge
Them.

A silent gap
Between
The music...

Does anyone
Take
The time,
To listen
To it?

They unfolded
More and more...
Her wings
Separated
Naturally
On a
Hot, summer day;
No more.

Chrysalis faded,
As she surged
Forth,
Monarch landed,
On what was
The caterpillar's
Sustenance,
It once nourished
New life.

Short lived
In stages,
Then:
Winter's face emerged,
Early that year.
We saw our
Breath in
The air,
"Look,
What is there?"

Behind the
Frozen Lake,
"Here lies
The Monarch.
May she rest in peace."

Motionless in an
Icy tomb,
It looked like
She was captured,
For nature's
Museum
Across
A flower' s
Bloom.

No longer
Gliding-
Only to die
In the blink
Of an eye.

Our time here,
Doesn't last long.

Say no more...

Is she somewhere
Flying?
Bright and Free,
Dancing in
A world
Beyond belief?

Say no more.

Slopes
Covered
In snow,
Now melting,
On this peak,
Just
A suggestion,
Awakened
In the dark.

It sinks
Into
These lungs.

A beautiful song,
Lamenting
Something
Never lost.

Heat
Pouring
Into seams
And soil,
Going
Far
Beneath
The ground,
Continuously
Until
Losing steam.

Quickly recovering.

Your hands
Tracing
Mountains,
A curved
River invades
In an
Overture,
Overtly
Aware,
Wanting
More
And more.

No cure.

Drink
From
The fountain
Until full.

And this
Monster
Lives inside,
Awakened,
Fully alive.

One thing
About
Monsters
Though,
Is that
There
Are
Many types,
And some
Live
Within us
All.

It's not always
A bad thing,
To fall.

See more than
What is said

Instead
See within

To what
Is shown

From inside-
Out in emotion.

Never poured
My coffee
Without
Cream
And
Sugar,
Until
I
Discovered
A new
Comfort
In
Savoring
It
In
Its
Untainted
Form,
All the
Sips
Of
Roasted
Warmth
To
Enjoy,
Every
Flavor
Note
Dancing
A tango
On
Taste Buds,
Morning
Cup
Delights.

What moves you
What is it
Is it a song or longing deep within
The way you feel a beat
Suddenly lost in it
It takes you
Somewhere else
You can’t
Even see
Could be
Outside your body
Not in your mind anymore
Hits you to the core
You could be happy
If only for a little while
It’s the best time
Swimming in your thoughts
Does it bring you to a spot
That helps you mend your brokenness
Or, maybe it travels on a breeze
To calm the storm within
Perhaps, you’re taken on a journey
And wish it'll never end
What moves you
What is it

Lost, you're lost?
You only
Walk in the dark?
In the park...
Your loss,
When it comes
To me, you say.

Wanting a fantasy
To bring bliss,
In this real life.
All you want
To do
Is “Play.”
Then you vanish, always.

Clear azure
Throughout,
It’s like the
Sun won’t sink
Into this soft
White sheet
As it floats
On a breeze
Hanging up on
Invisible Fishing Line,
And all I can see
Is a tunnel on it,
Upon it,
Shining partially in,
Not penetrating.

I can’t see
Through to you,
Past apathy,
Words fading,
Never truthful.

Keeping me on
Your hook,
With a worm
Filled with
False promises
Fading with time.

Holding the reins,
That lead to
Empty ends
And “Play-Pretends,”
Forgotten…
Trying so much
To dissolve
This Tunnel Vision,
To see past
You.

You’re the muse,
I can’t let go.

Why? I don’t know…