If these fingers touched ink,
let what flows be
untainted and true;
unsmeared and sure.

If these hands mould clay,
let what is made be sturdy.
Be uncracked,
unblemished
and smooth like porcelain.

If this body pivots upon legs,
let it stand upright and tall.
So no wind could fell it down.
But should it topple,
let no earth will it shatter.

If this mind invites another,
let no thought nor idea
adulterate its own...
For its ways may wind
and meander,
but it is obstinate.

If this heart still beats,
no matter how faint...
Let its rhythm be steady
and unrelenting.
So it might echo
through long days
and moonless nights
to find others like it.

Then,
I may not feel so alone.

I can
remember
everything
about the
last time
I witnessed
your smile.

and if
you could
see how
beautiful
the memory
is,

you would
realize
like me
that there
is never
a "was"
to a
moment
spent
with you.

it lingers
and sings
to me,

to reveal
all of
it's secrets,

and though
I might
meet it
now with
empty
pockets
of fate.

your face
is something
I always
carry with
me,

in deep
breaths
and tender
offerings,

in  true
definition
of what

a woman
can do
to your

soul.

Don't pretend

to be an angel

fallen.

or a star

lost in this

black velvet

night.


I trusted you.

you mistrusted

me. and now

our lives lie

like marbles

rolling in

different

arcs

across your

bedroom floor.


unrehearsed paths

racing each other

to nowhere

imparticular.


emotional outcasts

thrown from

our brief existence

to love's oblivion,


with no

future and

barely a past in

sight.


And in the

morning  light

we are not

what we intended

nor promised to

each other to  be,

we are so

much less.


clowns with masks

broken in two.

rainbows only

bleeding black

and white,

shadows of

what we

used to be ,

seeds never

taking root

in love.

The sin
that stains
our bed.

the innocence
burnt from
our amber eyes.

naked
half dreams
now
burrowed
inside
my soul.


It is a

tomb to you

that I

now live in.

I am
like a
a delinquent
child
running
mad in my

head begging

for the hungry

hounds to

devour me

and get

their fill.


a next neighbor
closes his

bedroom window

in regret

and draws his

shades to sorrow.


he  plays
judge and jury
to the
night's
unrest.

and the
verdict is in.

he knows it

I know it.


I have
lost you.

and the
key has
been
thrown

into  the
deepest
of places.

not to
be found.

or to be
ever heard

from again.

I regret to inform you that I am terminating
Your employment with my computer.
Several months ago you began failing
In your duties; your performance was poor
And sometimes you left work without notice.
Last week you didn’t show up at all.
You refused to be repaired and you refused
To be re-installed, and so I am letting you go.

This week you have taken to sending me notes
That you are the default program and wish
To resume your duties.  I must tell you
That I have hired a Mr. Freeware, who
Shows up every day and does the work well.
Not only does he work, he works for free.
I would not have met him had you not failed,
And so, you see, it’s really your own fault.

You need not ask for a reference.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Hall, HSG