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*I see the sky
through barren branches,
twisted and bent,
grasping at clouds,
naked in the light,
swaying overhead
on winter’s chilled breath

Below me
in the slumbering earth
deep roots
hold on to the soil
beyond yesterday’s footprints,
burrowing for life, stability,
far from peering eyes

Running my hands
across the coarse bark,
craggy imprints
sculpt memories
of bygone seasons
when saplings dreamed,
when I dreamed

As I gaze upward
following the patterns,
crooked lines,
knotted intersections
all with their own purpose,
each a piece of the whole,
embracing the elements

I realize that life
must have a meaning
whether reaching or searching
and though I feel alone,
desolate within my own forest,
I now know that
the sky sees me too

-
Ink

Splattered
Caressed
Spilled
Coerced
Guided
Spun
Picked
Woven
Imagined
Felt
Bled
Sighed
Cried
Laughed­
Offered
Shared
Drenched
Spread
Heated
Smeared
Dreamt
Drained
Truthful

Poetry

.

Look at you cowering, haunted by fiction
Shapes at the window of menacing tone
Tearing your hope into shreds as you lie there
Gazing at ceilings and feeling alone

Afraid to put both of your feet on the carpet
Hands neath the bed will be slicing your skin
Each tiny noise a volcanic eruption
Stalking your mind, it’s about to begin

Puddles of stench line the gutters of nowhere
Terror the class that has taken a seat
Staring at clocks on the faces of buildings
Waiting for dark so their bellies may feast

Appetites strung on a line made of nightmares
Low in the middle from gathering weight
Clouds overhead cast a blanket of secrets
Hiding the moon in its delicate state

Claws on the ground carry wings carved of leather
Eyes crimson red dripping stares at the door
Paint if you like for an X tells them nothing
Only when feeding they’ll even the score

Shadows on avenues lurk past the railings
Low tenor moaning their late evening song
Hide in the corners, but still they will find you
Cry if you must for it won’t be too long

Peer from the covers, your fears they are waiting
Calling your name in an echoed refrain
Lapping reflections from water so stagnant
Remnants of filth tossed about in the rain

Know this my friend, in a term used defiant
Answers aren’t penned in some book on a shelf
No fancy title with gold colored letters
All that you need can be found in yourself

Break free these chains that are holding you tightly
Open your eyes, there is so much to see
Breathe in the air for the sun it is shining
Shake off the rust and be all you can be

Always there’ll be someone bending the darkness
Pulling and dragging each star from the sky
Show them your wings spun of pride woven fabric
Give them a smile it is your turn to fly

You can beat anything you set your mind to
No matter what someone else has to say
Hold your head high, watch the monsters now fleeing
This is your time and today is your day

.

*Straight from my anchored heart,
somewhere off the coast of your beauty
Floating on salt laced breezes,
waves of seascape affection,
mother of pearl wishes
sealed within a glass bottle
follow the tide to your feet,
nestled in the cool wet sand

Inside rests sunrise words
expressing my love in
unyielding ocean desires
on the crest of your island smile,
written in my trembling hand
of deep fathomed longings
and coral reef dreams,
for your eyes only

-

Here within this narrow space
Deserted long the thoughts of youth
Age has crept its promised steps
Casting forth unwanted truth
Grasping wishes long since gone
Dissipating shadows reek
Stinking little wants and needs
Masking everything you seek
For this end does call your name
Chase the years now falling fast
Futures fade among the mist
Yesterdays collect your past
And as roses wilt the stem
There upon your box to die
Pictures those who stayed at home
Sending cards that wish goodbye
Hear the gravel close the gaps
Shoveled fill above your head
Shout until your throat is raw
No one listens to the dead

.

Shadows preach unending nightmares,
bent fingers probe the minds of the innocent
Scratching beneath surface rust, corroded meanings
Torches burn long faded eyes staring
into an inferno of expected fears

As I crawl, slowly, silently
along a night shrouded path
of sharp pebble and dried blood
caked existences snuffed out
ash and dew mix, a’stew in deep dish demons

My silhouette, outlined grey thread weavings
trap the fumes and stench
of last night’s vanity in pockets
filled with good versus evil
and tiny lint fragments of hope  

The horned one, painted in crimson glare
Standing tall, this breathless beast
jagged teeth, rotted flesh clings
like goat cloth on twisted branch,
thorns gouge, children weep endless

I raise my bow, shoring my aim
Straight this arrow of my lone chance
To quell this deadly dreamscape,  
slay the evil that forces men to their knees,
women to pieces of discarded disgrace

With one closed eye, I find the heart,
if blackened charred remains can be a heart
My hand trembles slight, release, flight – hit
The creature wails an unholy noise, echoing despair
through countryside canyons ablaze, collected back to hell

And clouds part, clear skies appear
Grimaced faces re-gather smiles
warmed by sun beams dancing on daisy fields once more
Stealthily I take my leave, due west
My task has only just begun