Hymns of narrow woods
Tongue of the old mother,
Asking if we remember her ways.

Whispers of Aspens in the winds
Sisters chanting their ancient praise,
Of the vast land in their grasp.

Forest groves around the rivers bend
Reveling in the life water gives,
So they might grow another day.

Into the Unknown,
Wild lands,
Where gods roam.

Mountain folks,
Grasslands where the buffalo roam,
Forest souls,
Jungle dwellers,
Those with salty seas in their bones,
And the desert nomads,
This beautiful place we call home,
Was never ours alone.

It was wild long before we knew,
It spoke to us and raised us to our height,
Until we forgot we were wild things too.

The mountains still speak in silence,
The forests remind us how to breathe,
The seas show us what we need,
And the storms remind us what is ahead.

Where the wild goes,
Our hearts beat and they were never alone.

The hills burned
The blue sky turned dark
As smoke blotted out the sun
Gracing the valley in red dusk
Burning skies
So beautiful tonight
Embers of brush and piñon pine
Nature's destructive light
Raining ash
With gentle might
Dying skies burning bright
Wildfires decimating for new life

Thundering plains
Winding down a valley haze
The heart came to play
But its lonely beat was not met
So the horses came
Trotting in time
They knew the spirit of the wind
And the passion of the land
When the beat is left alone
Listen closely for thundering hooves
Coming to meet the heart
Free in the wildness
The horses come to dance with the lonely beat

If it were one last night,
To write a final verse,
A single lullaby,
An ode or a melody

When the moon shines bright
Or clouds obscure the sky,
While the stars cold light,
Is hidden by city lights

The approaching night,
Bringing Winter’s bite.
A solemn night,
Of final fight

Softly spoken,
By heavenly flight,
This warm embrace,
Of you tonight.

Peace to an anxious mind,
A drop of water to the thirsty throat,
Breath for the drowning gasp,
Of this sacred night.

Sing me a song
Wintry night,
Of death and life,
Bitter ends and sunset lights.

A beautiful silence echoes this night.
Should morning wake,
Perhaps not,
A prisoner of the night I’ll stay.

Winter's tears,
Shed like the dying day
Until the moon rises
And the wolf calls home.
A child dreams,
Walking in certainty of all that never is.

I wonder if the breeze moved slow
Would I know?
If the breath were stuck in my throat
Would I see my life flash before my eyes?
If you were to shout my name,
Would I hear your call?
If I died,
Would I know I wondered all these things?

If I lost you tomorrow,
Would I cry?
Fall apart inside?
A morbid dialogue,
Midnight thoughts,
To make me wonder at night,
About who I am,
Underneath reality,
Beneath this mask I hide.
If I lost you tomorrow,
Would I feel what I deny?
Perhaps this is life,
Knowing better and setting grief aside,
Or I’ve lost touch with what makes me alive.
The former is a warrior’s mind,
The latter a child whose cry died
Neither describe the emptiness inside
Nor the midnight thoughts.
So I ask myself one more time,
If I lost you tomorrow,
Would I still be wondering what’s inside?

I like you, I really do
I don't love you yet
Maybe some day I'll say that too
For now take it slow
Because my rivers run deep and are full
I locked them away a while ago
It'll take some time and proof
For me to let them run through.
I'm learning how to love again
Please be patient.
This is the only time I'll say sorry,
For this person I have become.
Easy darling this path is treacherous
But the destination is worthy of you.

There is a head over there
Careful where you step
Oh yes, watch out for that ditch
Horrid place, lost a night or two in there.
Mind the flying imagery
They'll pick you up and take you for a wild ride.
Like that skeleton over there?
I'm working on its flesh.
Books are scattered everywhere
Feel free to pick one up and read
There are copies of comic books, history and poetry.
There are a couple of dead horses over there, beat them if you like.
Don't let the ghosts frighten you
They are characters who haven't quite found their heart beat.
Don't stray too far
There are a few wars here
****** things you aren't ready to see.
Sit down and have some tea
Let me tell you how you came to be.

Like a painter with a fresh canvas
Oils waiting and brushes ready
A writer uses words to convey,
The feeling of a spring day and the heartache of a lover gone away.
Stripping the feeling to write what is overflowing inside,
A writer writes.
On a later day if they chance upon their work they read what once was said
An emptier version of themselves now that the feelings are dead,
The words are hollow until they read the stains,
What wasn't said and left for imagination's sake.
To write and never know if you'll feel the same,
A hollow pursuit to tether a writer in place.
A reader becomes what the writer said and more importantly didn't say
They feel as the writer once did,
Passively undertaking words from another's heart.
A writer dies a little in each write but come the day when the body goes,
They come to life.

It’s starting new,
Or so I hope.
What made me bleed,
Broke me in two,
Crept inside and stole my warmth,
I sincerely hope has gone away.
My mind was taken prisoner,
Left to rot,
In a place it never wanted to be,
Now this pit I must ascend,
If I am to reach the person I intend.
I’ve forgotten what it means,
Life is nothing to me,
Only a responsibility,
A duty to those around me
And the shell of who I used to be.
Now at this starting place,
An end and a beginning,
I wonder if I have it in me,
I’m not as fresh as I used to be,
And I’ve remembered what haunts me.
Here I start and here I die,
What remains is inside,
Potential
Do I get up and climb,
Or seek wisdom in stride?

Like a little lone puppy seeking a home
In memory and history
Catching attention in little things
A scent of laundry detergent in the breeze,
To remind of youthful summer breaks
A song playing from another day,
Reminding of a time and place
A taste of another's drink,
Reminiscent of a lover who has gone away
Go on home pup and wait for me
I'll come along later and we'll play
For all the yesterdays and todays