.

I.               I drank from the well
                 on the road to forever

II.             Juggled a leaf to
                 a forest refrain

III.           Picked up a stone with
                “believe” written on it

IV.           Challenged the sun
                to a dance in the rain

V.             Inhaled a breeze
                 that was lavender scented

VI.             Sat near a stream
                  flowing summertime blue

VII.           Woke up and realized
                  that I had been dreaming  

VIII.         Looked out the window
                 and wished it were true

'

Looking back
on pre-written lines,
folded paper in busy drawers,
laughing at the contents,
thinking of the past
when words came
from someplace else
and meanings felt deeper
than those in this
empty notebook of
spiral bound remnants
stuck in circular hell
staring at me from my desk,
pleading for a friendly pen
to decorate its remaining pages
in something other than
disappearing memories

.

Carolina blues
Drunk again on a Wednesday night
Brown paper bag caressing lips
Liquid courage, seeing double
Four feet
Slouched on a red brick façade
Dumpster diner close by
Rented flat leased to another cockroach
Slurred stanzas
Closed curtains watching
Pathetic shouted from passing cars
Worthless has zero value
Begging pennies
Goodwill socks smell bad
Preaching lies of belief
***** creates colorful puddles
Like poetry
Written in liquor store neon
Fading streetlights glow yellow
Shining down on green with envy
Carolina blues

Quintessential fabrications
Reinforced insanity
Skyscraper accusations
Clouded upper floors
Overhead distortion
Inhaling tainted mist
Waving at cranes
Searching for headlines
Threatening to jump
Once the elevator
Reaches ground level

?

Why is it paranoia
feels so much worse
when absolutely no one
is paying attention
to you at all?

I can’t walk off the illusion
that life dances for those
who refuse to hear the music
but feel every beat of the
hearts they have broken
two steps at a time