“Nothing More”

The memories are counted
The lobster boats are moored
Riding horses mounted
I’m ready now, I’m sure
  
The moonlight is now waning
The sunrise softly near
And
All those years of searching
Have somehow found me here

A shadow valley poet
Back alley troubadour
Though questioning I know it
It’s that and nothing more

Yes  
To turn around is ancient
To look behind is wrong
To walk ahead persistent
Is all that’s to be done

For
The days have been my challenge
The nights have been my friend
Still  
I’ve somehow found a balance
Somewhere near the end

Of
A journey filled with laughter
Adventures filled with strife
Hidden in the chapters
Of a long and colored life

For
I’m a
Shadow valley poet
Back alley troubadour
I know you know I know it
It’s that and nothing more

I walk ahead uncharted
To find the golden cure
And go home open-hearted
Down paths unseen, unsure

Where maybe sins are counted
Then cast off to the wind
And horses once more mounted
To run free, wild again

Where  
We’re all once more anointed
By the hand of One on high
With
Direction new appointed
Where heart and soul abide

For
One more crazy shipwreck
And one more crazy climb
And one more crazy heartbreak
Through
One more crazy rhyme

Then
The sun will once more warm us
The moon will once more shine
The sea will once more calm us
In this life of space and time

Yes  

I’m a
Shadow valley poet
Back alley troubadour
I know you know I know it
It’s that and nothing more

“All that’s left is Dust”

Down around the bend
Closer to the end
All the letters neatly penned
No more gardens left to tend

It’s just the way it goes
Dreams come to a close
New homes for old clothes
One last picture show

And the
Treasures are just stuff
Keepsakes are just junk
Heirlooms turn to rust
And
All that’s left is dust

We
Ask for one more day
Something more to say
One more friendly fray
And then
Take it as it lays

But the
Treasures are now junk
Keepsakes are now stuff
Heirlooms turn to dust
And
All that’s left is rust

Yes It’s a
Long and winding road
With
One more turn to go
A never ending show
That never ends you know

Then
One more happy high
Another tearful try
No more wondering why
And
So long, adieu, goodbye

Yes,
My  
Treasures are now stuff
My
Keepsakes are now junk
My
Heirlooms turned to rust
And
All that’s left is dust


Down around the bend
We can’t escape the end

“Maine”

I’ve been hunkered down
In the great north woods
And here’s what I will say

It’s harsh, it’s cruel
Beautiful and good
A uniquely different way


It’s the famous rocky coast
With foaming crashing waves
A quiet walk along the beach
In amber autumn days

It’s ice and snow and sitting
Waiting out the storm
It’s stocking up the woodpile
To keep the fire warm

It’s the sun and shadows softly
Dancing through the trees
Voices from the distant past
Whispering in the breeze

It’s ghostly souls from yesteryear
Walking well-worn paths
Generations long removed
When the journey was the map

Maps of struggle, maps of time
Of where a heart once stood
Maps of life’s rambling rhyme
Of what hard work made good

It’s family, friends and loved ones
And what’s been left behind
Hope chests from the “great north woods”
For young ones left to find

And find they will as time goes by
And life is handed down
From hidden, hardened, weathered lives
In shadowed pine tree towns

It’s one more time the wheel goes ‘round
And fills another mold
Then sets it down out in the snow
To winter through the cold

This is part of what I’ve seen
Gazing at the stars
In the silent, distant, northern nights
In the miles I’ve gone so far



I’ve been hunkered down
In the great north woods
And here’s what I will say

It’s harsh, it’s cruel
Beautiful and good
A uniquely different way

Faces

I’ve got my hat, I’ve got my gloves
I’ve got my leather boots
I’ve got a chord wrapped tightly ‘round
The anchor to my roots

And though the wind will sometimes howl
A high and mighty sound
If I’m straight of sight and soul
I will not run aground

The days are getting shorter
As I rumble down this road
And as each hour passes
I lighten up the load

Yet sometimes in the dark of night
I wake up with a start
And recognize the faces from the
Places in my heart

Faces from my childhood
Friends from far away
Lovers from another time
Who went their merry way

Faces who once shared a drink
And spared a little time
And listened to my tale of whoa
Of “can you spare a dime?”

Brothers from the battle lines
Of up and out the door
Who gave it up just one more time
To get a little more


Faces in my dreams at night
Who’ve long since gone away
Who’ve only left an inkling
Of what they had to say

Faces I remember
Faces I forgot
From places where I stood my ground
And some where I had not

People who have claimed their spot
By the twinkle in their eye
People from my heart of hearts
Who’ll never say goodbye

They’re all there in my treasure chest
Of faces from my past
Monuments to life’s refrain
Of “sturdy, built to last”

So

As I hunker in the woods
This frigid winter dream
I sometimes look outside the door
To see where I had been

And

The faces in the memory book
From long and far away
Come to say hello once more
And settle in to stay

When the wind comes pounding hard and fast
The cold cuts to the bone
They ask me just to say hello
And tell them “welcome home”

“America”

They’re coming from the hills
They’re coming from the fields
They’re coming from the streets
They’re reaching for a feel

With sweat upon their brow
With callous on their hands
With love inside their hearts
With strength they need to stand

And

They’ll give you what they have
They’ll tell you where to go
They come from where we are
They come from where we’ll go

Like rockets in the sky
Like eagles in their flight
They’ll take us on their backs
And
Lead us through the night
Into the dawn

So

Tell me it’s not America
On the move again

Tell me it’s not America
On the loose again

America

On the move
On the loose

Again

“Let Him who has Ears Hear”

I walked through the night
The moon shining above me
Thought I heard the whispers
Of the ravens cutting ‘cross the sky

I climbed to the crest
I stopped to drink from the river
Heard the coyotes barking
Lonely at the moon

And they were saying

Let him who has ears hear
Let him who has ears hear
Let him who has ears hear


The path led me on
Past landslides and ruins
There he was waiting
Like a ghost from deep inside my heart

I looked into his eyes
And saw visions of tomorrow
Then he was crying and I asked him
How to stop the pain

He said

Let him who has ears hear
Let him who has ears hear
Let him who has ears hear


I stood near the edge
And looked out into the distance
There I saw angels
They were coming to take me away

I turned and I saw
The Lamb standing on Mt. Zion
Then I heard music
As if harpists
playing on their harps

and they were singing

Let him who has ears hear
Let him who has ears hear
Let him who has ears hear

“Since You Were Here”

I’ve seen two thousand sunsets
Since You were here
I’ve climbed two thousand hills

I’ve rode two thousand horses
Since You were here
Two thousand times been killed


I’ve heard two thousand bells ring
Since You were here
I’ve walked two thousand trails

I’ve known two thousand joys
Since You were here
Two thousand times been nailed

And
In two thousand moons since You were here
The stars burn bright
As we take every chance we get
And
While the tide turns and the night fades
You left us a shadow
We never can forget


I felt two thousand breezes
Since You were here
I’ve smiled two thousand times

I’ve shed two thousand tears
Since You were here
Two thousand times been blind

I’ve touched two thousand hearts
Since You were here
I’ve tried two thousand ways

I’ve fought two thousand wars
Since You were here
Two thousand times been saved

And
In two thousand moons since You were here
The stars burn bright
As we take every chance we get
And
While the tide turns and the night fades
You left us a shadow
We never can forget
We never can forget