.
I drove the spike
that bent the spine,
the screaming left me
at the turnstile
without exact change
and late for the sunset

Slippery tracks added
to the conceit
while the homeless
decorate sidewalks
in spray paint Monets
leaking onto the curb

Cardboard memories
create hardships
in perforated nightmares,
paying cost for something broken
and calling it a bargain

When the conductor signals
a left turn on a straight run
creasing the
permanent press avenue

And billboards say “god is not dead”
until their contract runs out
and the labels
are peeled
for good

Still I stand here
holding the hammer,
swinging between the rafters
in this life after death
revelry

on any night
of the week
that brings each moment
to a dark conclusion

.

The grapes,
dangling from a leafy vine,
an off-season vintage
in well water dreams
where I come out the victor,
the gallant one
who leads her from the wine
to savor the brandy
poured slowly,
steadily
with affection

but

It is just a dream,
as I awaken
to realize
the alcoholic content
does not meet the region
along a hillside vineyard,
dripping into a café carafe
tempting fruits
that are far sweeter
than something
produced
with feeling

.

I saw autumn

reflecting in your
springtime eyes

and knew
as long as I was with you

summer would never end

~

While fireflies wrote

a love poem
on the evening sky

your kiss
wrote one

on my heart

.
Vibrations loosen
the dust on my piano,
releasing tiny particles
into a rectangle sunbeam
dancing about the glass,
while I play sad love songs
on freeform keys,
fingered imagination
frantically moving
levers in never before
heard melodies
with a locked
sustain pedal
holding each note
to gradually
evanesce
into silence,
as the dust
once again
settles

Inspires love,

a rose, maybe
a kiss, often
a smile, possibly
a song, might
a touch, perhaps
a poem, sometimes

you, forever