Through wooden blinds, uneven slats
the sun it does appear
Beyond the storms of later night,
clouded thick of fear

With pleasant breeze of air to flow
and wishing wells so deep
Dreams cast in coins to bottoms fall
that this your heart shall keep

For in this winded poet stirs
a passion constant strong
The feel for words to touch your soul
amidst a summer song

With distant far off tendencies,
to reach is not a chore
So through these words I hope you find,
it’s you I do adore

And I shall take this sunrise glow
with every breath as new
Believing it is sent with love,
to me from only you

Always in my dreams
does this endless fashion flow
When lilies on a water line
bloom in soft colors and ivory whispers
Pushing waves to the shoreline,
where your beauty rests on the warm sand

Caressed by a summer breeze, wispy and cool,
my mind wanders to this place,
beyond the reach of sound
and melodic glances,
singing of this that I feel

Lyrics follow your foot prints,
along the border of desire and hazelnut eyes
painted upon my mind in flavors so intoxicating
As if I have touched you, your skin, like saffron wings
lifting me to an unspoiled solitude

I imagine kissing you, tenderly, for the first time
suspended from a cloud
as my feet refuse to find the earth,
in sight of passion’s grip, wound by silken web
as I melt deeply into your lips

A sensual coast binds us, take us
to enchanting vistas beyond weathered dunes
where we become one, lost within the depths,
pulled by ecstasy’s undertow, drowned in breathless sighs
and salt water moans echoing
along a blushing horizon
    
Fingers entwined, blurred visions become fog
as only two claim this stretch
of beach as our own
Silhouettes among the crowds of peach and burgundy umbrellas,
tending their towels and tan lines,
oblivious to this love I’ve dreamt awake from miles away

My heart exhales as
sandcastles flee the coming tide and
seashells recall lullabies while
shaded by a setting sun’s drizzling heated plumes
vibrantly along the line that steals your eyes
and I fade, slowly back to where I am,
hoping my dreams are your dreams too

.

Someone said, “Hey Stephan,
what’s up with all this love
It seems in every poem
that’s what you’re thinking of

Why are you always dreaming,
why is it you can’t see
That love is just a legend,
a made up fallacy

The world is filled with evil,
don’t you watch the news
CNN or NBC
or others you can choose

Clinton is a liar,
Trump is just a creep
They’ll both destroy the nation
for fortunes that they reap

Murders by the thousands,
death is in the streets
I can’t believe you haven’t seen
within the many tweets

Our water is polluted,
we’re choking on the air
They even have new bathrooms
for every one to share

Prices through the ceiling,
paychecks in the ground
Protesters are screaming,
you can hear them all around

There’s war in other countries
Servers have been hacked
Innocent bystanders
Caught in the attack

Drugs are running rampant,
****** is king
Coming through the border,
such a nasty thing

Little kids are crying,
not enough to eat
Living in the squalor,
sleeping in the street

So tell me, will you Stephan,
what’s up with what you write
Every poem filled with love,
morning, noon and night"

I looked at him a moment
and with all honesty
I said to him, "I’m sorry sir,
were you talking to me?

I was lost writing this poem
for one I do adore
I didn’t hear you talking,
could you please say it once more?"

**He just walked away shaking his head

.

I walk with a stranger,
hollow eyes,
emotionless expression,
weathered skin in drab clothing,
barely breathing,
stoic footsteps,
trudging forth, endlessly
along an empty road,
shrouded in a mist
of indecision,
detours mislead,
uphill directions strain,
muscles weaken and burn,
yet I follow where he leads
because this stranger I walk with
is me

Even in this darkness, her darkness,
when a moonless sky
preaches fear from a pulpit of shadows
pointing elongated fingers

and walls crumble
into a rubble strewn alleyway
with graffiti issues, spray painted threats
on frantic facades dripping

As common sense
hides in sealed envelopes
addressed but not delivered
to neighborhoods in need

while self professed wanderers
linger on sidewalks of
washed out hopscotch scenes
by a raincloud that never seems to stop  

Her beauty shines
in effervescent streams
illuminating a photograph, poetry
and a kind word from quivering lips

caressing my eyes
in watercolor enchantments
and pastel pleasures,
showing me it is not what, but who

For this darkness is hers,
weighted thoughts on soft shoulders
binding wrists in tethered worries,
draining dreams from casted wishes

as regrets rip at the fabric,
folding seams in crooked stitches,
her heart beats to outrun the pain
and still she finds time to smile,  for me

.

Poetry is my insanity,
sparks collected in closed eyes,
frantic phrases falling
in a spectrum’s pulsating palette,
picturing icicle webs
and chromatic landscapes
blurring in the distance

Dancing to the sounds
of brain cells singing
rhythmic compositions,
ringing constantly
in between hours of
counted pendulum swings
on fingers and toes

Pulling on my heart,
squeezing every last thought
oozing in blacklight ink
and day-glo sunrises
of fruit cup offerings
and psychedelic posters,
depicting moons
fluttering in crayon heavens
driving me crazy
in the best possible way

.

When dark clouds collide and
thunder erupts on shaken stares,
rains fall in unrelenting sorrows
along bramble thorn threads,
screaming leaves crash
into a frozen ground
of broken branches
and disgraced smiles,

as cardboard condos
dot the litter strewn landscape
and graffiti drips
in tobacco stained puddles
at the feet of those
standing in an endless line
for bits and scraps
of the life they once knew,

while sons and daughters
face the monsters drugged
by beliefs conjured
on sand blasted battlefields
and bibles of their own deciphering,
bridging the elongated gaps
between lies and promises by those
disguised in designer pantsuits
with fingers crossed
behind their backs

and children have secrets ******
upon them through filthy fingernails
hiding under bed frames
of rusted iron and disgusting touches,
silenced by the horror
of squeaking hinges
and foot steps in the hall,
crying for mothers who don’t believe,

the tears of a poet will be revealed,
bleeding through the page

.

I touched the field of amber pleadings
with eyes only sure enough to find that hidden light
Long lost in the sea of forgotten grasses,
brown from the sun, parched by a drought,
exhaling diversions as I stand facing time,
expecting faces to appear but hands caught the sorrow,
passing it down to an earth that is baked and sore,
thirsting for more, a longer plain in this universe

Weeping cocoons snug in the brambles
oblivious to what the outside wears,
blend in with the endings slowly creeping
awaiting metamorphosis
as a tree falls, no noise, no energy for that
Rooted in dismay, clogged by last season’s air,
pausing only to capture one final view
of the smoke stacks, brick faced commandos,
circular spewing pillars
where beneath wealth is created
but eternity is shortened at wholesale prices

Grey skies, a constant color
pressing doom and gloom
into the landscape, fitted like wedges
force fed in spoonfuls of ignorance
Gathering place settings at my feet,
stirring up dust, blurring the wishers
wondering where the water went,
dry beds, serpentine emptiness,
spilling into garbage piles where lakes once
reflected the ripples as they slowly left,
as not even mud stands a fighting chance

When on a hill I see them, the youth,
our future, backpacks and bubblegum,
ear buds and sunglasses, well meaning,
looking for the next iphone, not being taught
that an apple is actually a fruit
Reading comic books about heroes,
caped crusaders who will save the planet
(that must be what the S stands for)
one colored page at a time

And I sit in the dirt, leaving my impression
for that is all I have left, no answers that
have not been asked, no solutions
that remain passed over, just a wild hair
out of place in this take all world
as highways trickle across farm lands
and corn fields are as barren as my stare

But there is hope…there is always hope...

I hope

I didn’t know your touch

Weary days of overcast thoughts
fill the hours with empty longings
Collections of petals for counting
she loves me, she loves me not
Wandering the world,
taking each day as it comes
Blinded by destinations,
desolate highways of dotted line futures

I didn’t know your smile

When eyes opened,
drenched in fate’s promises
Marigold fields whispered
on calling breezes
Shifting sunlight shadows
leading a desperate direction,
tempting my senses,
pulling me towards my every dream

I didn’t know your love

But it was there,
lingering on the horizon,
forming ripples in my heart,
caressing my skin
A constant feather tickling,
bringing happiness to a questioning man,
wondering if I should believe,
would it ever come

I only knew that I needed you

Then when you arrived
the truth became clear
As if I knew you all along,
the mirror of my existence,
that piece of me that was missing
I didn’t know your touch, your smile or your love,
I only knew that I needed you
and now I know I was right

Off on a journey of landslide proportions
My plate is as full as I think it should be
Leftover meatloaf does sit in the kitchen
My eyes they are open much too wide to see

I live for these mornings when darkness is shifting
The sun in the east seems to rise with the wind
No telephones ringing unless I am singing
Now won’t you sit down once you choose to come in

Lost on a highway while trying to find you
My days spill as milk that has missed the first glass
Something is funny, a joke you just sent me
One I will place in my mind that will last

Different directions do flood visitations
We make the most of the time that we spend
Each day does pass even though I won’t let it
Oh how I wish that these days would not end

Living in love as an angel walks with me
Lighting the path of the places we go
Bringing our lunch in a tan wicker basket
Sending forth visions that ebb with the flow

Can you believe the direction we’re heading
Found in the middle where dreams they do lie
Symphonies play us their finest collection
Gardens of color to meet every eye

Bluebirds will sing if you listen so closely
Sonnets of love with each flap of their wings
Melodies float like a dandelion seedling
Filling our hearts with the vestige of spring

Colorful leaves gather out in the driveway
Nature born tapestries falling for free
Catching a glimpse of the seasons a’ changing
I am so thankful that you are with me

I feel that I must have picked the right numbers
Winning this jackpot of love you present
Six lucky numbers in some random order
This most precious prize for the dollar I spent

Now if you promise that you’ll never leave me
Standing alone on the corner of shame
Hands in my pockets the coins I am jingling
Asking the sidewalks to tell me my name

Then I will live like a king in a fountain
Splashing your love all over my face
Wet from the shoulders on down to the fashion
Happily laughing so free in this place

Love is the answer to all of my systems
Blood that does flow from my brain now to start
Keeps me alive as it carries affection
Straight from your smile to the depths of my heart

You are my flower that’s constantly blooming
Sending a scent that just drives my mind wild
Perfect your petals that brush past my fingers
Soft as is satin or the skin of a child

Look at me here as I stand now before you
A man who’s been placed in a magical cage
Not an illusion but truth in the making
The secrets revealed on the opposite page

Waving a wand is like dancing on sugar
It may be sweet but you stick to the floor
Nothing will change by that rod you are swinging
As long as you’re stuck to the one you adore

I caught the rose that the singer neglected
Funny how some things in life never change
Happily taking the gifts we’ve been showered
Closing our eyes when the moment is strange

Out of the fog or a misty concoction
That filled up the space that our lives occupied
Connecting our hearts like a staple on paper
Formed by the tears that the two of us cried

This is our fate so that we may enjoy it
Holding our hands in the face of the storm
Calling out windows to motorists passing
Pushing the button to sound the alarm

We are in love, the headlines are reading
Two hearts as one found atop of page four
If you are adding, the decimals point us
Straight down the path that we’ve been looking for

You on my arm is my medal of honor
Proud of our love is what I do foresee
Always, forever and days in between us
And longer still as your love covers me

Soften my heart with the heat of your passion
Brighten my life with the light of your smile
Color my dreams with your wonderful beauty
Live with me here in a magical style

I lay here in peace for I know that you love me
My heart beats for only the thought of your touch
Heaven must miss you, the skies must be lonely
For you are my angel, I love you so much

From slumber, kicking out the last of my dreams,
only to find that they do not end
For there to greet me, words on a page,
a welcome, a smile, waiting as I lift my eyes

Orange sherbet skies paint my windows
above yawning tree lines at the end of a dirt road
Persimmon outlined shadows
dance about my walls inviting me to look

I grab my cup, hot but needed, step into my shoes
passing through to morning, taking a sip
I find more beauty than my eyes have seen,
while birds flit from branch to branch

The air is cool, unusual but so very pleasant,
heated days form in my memories of yesterday,
when cool springs were no match for the flamed heavens
yet perfection now touches my skin

And I see, before me not a morning, not a brilliant sunrise
but you…your words, your touch, finding me at a distance,
telling me that this day is ours, beyond horizons
Gazing south to north, for the beauty of my day is always you

Melodious tides serenade along a foam dipped coast line,
we drift as a single composed symphony,
seduced by a pounding surf, its sensuous rhythm pulsates
flooding our hearts, aching to collide
in the tempo of a lone torrent’s embrace

Scorching August passions seize the moonlit sand,
palm tree shadows dance atop sultry weathered dunes
of lemongrass and saw palmetto,
on saltwater breezes moaning our names, mellifluously
from a distant cantata's horizon

Warm dark *** skin intoxicates, I stagger,
lost in hypnotic topaz eyes, reflective pleadings
of deeper desires sought, fingertips probe sun softened locks,
nightshade tresses, mingling with a rippled surf
as stardust illumines moist swollen lips, parted  

Harmonic waves wash atop entwined silhouettes
nearing a crescendo, a pinnacle of pleasure,
where secrets are revealed in half swallowed sighs  
on this coastal haven when voices sing in
throaty whispers of impassioned ecstasy

Now as heated breaths hover beneath the moon’s glowing stare
we too build and recede, feeding our amorous desires
as the fading night relinquishes its hold and dawn cracks the sky
Our tide becomes one, our union remains unbroken,
our love, eternally bound by the melody of the sea

.
Your dream that you just told me about,
where we went dancing on a frozen lake
in the middle of July
watching fireworks explode
beneath a canopy of linen scarves
raking leaves of orange and red
while new daisies bloomed
under the fresh fallen snow
coating the sandcastles we had built earlier in the day
beyond the dunes and circled in flip flop prints
in the fresh concrete sidewalk
poured outside of your neighbor’s house
on a Saturday in the rain,
catching candy thrown from a parade float
of paper flowers and moving dragonflies
parked along side the dinner
as we shared a chocolate milkshake
and a slice of pie?

Did we kiss at anytime during your dream?

If not, can we fall back asleep again?

.

I sat there gazing upon a tree
when I saw a moth resting on the bark
Its wings were similar in color
with the trunk of that old oak,
I suppose to create camouflage
from predators, but I saw it
And then it saw me…

an hour later I didn’t have a shirt

.

Here, as the dark city glistens,
rain pelts unsuspecting sidewalks,
filling cracks and running gutters
Disguising potholes in black,
snickering as they wait silently
to startle the next drowsy driver to pass by

Neon reflects in puddles of discontent
while high rise lights
flicker in kitchens above where
cold water seems to be the answer
as groggy eyes fiddle with leftover decisions
making more noise than can be heard

3 am, desolate, just a few cats
rummage in alleys for unsuspecting rats
and other rodents who have sold their dreams
for a temporary high, plastic bag desires
that come morning will seek revenge
as hands once more will be out promising redemption,
counting brown leather wing tips and Prada heels

I stop at the old library slated for demolition,
tracing the lopsided heart with our initials
that I carved into the brown brick
as you kept a look out so we wouldn’t get caught
Laughing at the dust that gathered on my shoes,
Telling me it would be forever
not the dust, us
(the dust is still there)

Lonely is a state of mind
for those who stagger these concrete caverns,
unable to sleep
Finding opened eyed nightmares
resemble those that they now run from,
hoping the next corner holds the key
to the past when nights were spent
under warm covers, in soft arms,
not walking alone, not dying, not
here, as the dark city glistens

.

Where from this the door now ******,
creaking screams align the mire
Loosened shadows cough the dust
within a world now set afire

Worry gathers in the mist,
along a crooked staircase rise
Nooses hang from rafter’s twist,
while portraits gaze through swollen eyes

Atone the stench of fevers past,
sweat does stream of wallowed reach
From moors the lines of wretched cast
in lessons taught but not to teach

Break this bread in mirrored shards,
slurp your lime serrated drink
Write as if a napkin bard,
any thought with which you think

Last, these days of sorted lanes,
walking chains and lockets bore
Weakness in your heart now claims
of a time you lived before

Stare the darkness now you keep,
forcing out a sad regret
You shall sow the fear you reap
as the night collects your debt

...

There on the corner it stands
Black thicket jacket
Tightly fitted nightmare
Hemmed in borderline madness

Dancing on a fractured curb
Slightly off balance
But never falling as its prey
Watches on, hypnotized

Wavered movements
In sprayed graffiti howls
Wrench a stoic moon
Against fevered night skies

A coin is tossed,
Shining under the streetlight
Rotating on its edge
Carved lines fluctuate

As steak dinner lockets
Hang around the alley
Whistling at red painted fingernails
Leaning in open car windows

Waste finds its place here
Among the silent, the grey
Brick faced contractors
Belly up for the feast

Table cloth capes
Splattered with last week’s gravy
Brown stains sliding past
Iron gate exits

Yet there is no exit
No entrance, no sidewalk
Or city street to sleep in
Cardboard box condos

In this realm nothing exists but it,
Clutching the unsuspecting
Drinking fear on the rocks
Icy glares in frozen glass

So, wander if you will
Past the crow’s stare
Beady eyes searching
A crooked pathway, and you will see

There on the corner it stands

.

She stole my heart
and tried to hock it,
but the pawn shop
wouldn’t give her
anything for it
because it was
broken

Feeling bad
she tried to
give it back,
but when she did
I stole hers,
she still has mine –
it’s fixed now