.

*I said some words
as we stood in the garden
Opened my mouth
while the soil was prepared
Asked something stupid
when new seeds were planted
Knew it was wrong
neath the arbor we shared
Causing her pain
by the daisies now blooming
Hurting a friend
as the daffodils cried
Watched as she left
through the garden gate slamming
Fell to the ground
saw the flowers had died

.

*Outside the walls stood a handmaiden gazing
Twisting her skirt between fingers so frail
Patches of burlap were sewn on the garment
Cut from a sack of a barley oat bale

Oh how she dreamed of the opulent palace
Silver and gold and the finest of lace
Gowns made of velvet with ribbons of satin
She spun around with a smile on her face

As if a princess, her blonde hair a flowing
Blue skies above now the tint of her eyes
Hearing a song on the early spring breezes
Never once noticed the coming surprise

Then saw him on horseback and blushed like a petal
Found on a the reddest of roses that grew
Knee bent to curtsey, feeling embarrassed
Knowing this gesture is what she should do

“Good day my fair maiden, your dance was enchanting”
He said as he smiled, his kindness was felt
“So sorry my prince, I did not see you coming”
Again on the soil before him she knelt

“Rise up,” he said as he slid from the saddle
“There is no need for such formality,
for one of such beauty tis I who should bow”
Saying this he touched the earth with one knee

Once more she blushed like an apricot sunrise
Standing he reached out and taking her hand
Wondered, “What brings you by here on this morning,
adding such loveliness to our fine land?”

“Your majesty, I’m but a servant daydreaming,
Seeing myself quite the belle of the ball
Very much childish I know you are thinking
For I belong far outside this great wall”

He pondered a moment, his chin now he fondled
Suddenly grinned with the happiest glance
“Well now fair maiden, if thou would permit me
Please be my guest at this evening’s spring dance?”

“Oh handsome prince I could not even think it
Look at my dress, I have nothing to wear
Merely these rags and an old pair of high tops
Never to mention the state of my hair”

“Never you mind and I kind of like high tops
Maybe some jeans and a tank top in red
Pull your hair back and it will be perfect
Nothing you’ll need when we climb into bed”

“What’s that you say, you want *** after dancing
Beat it you creep, I’m abreast of your game
I’ll spread these legs not for anyone fancy
**** it, you men, every one is the same”

As he departed, rejected and sneering
She stomped away feeling angry and mean
So here you find such an unhappy ending
The truth is she only had eyes for the queen

.

It was on a wonderful summer morning when
sun warmed emotions met at the intersection of our hearts
Love bloomed in fragrant bouquets of forever dreams
while cattails and lily pads dotted flowing streams of affection
Every winding path led to a place we’d always longed to be where butterflies accompanied us to afternoon picnics on grassy foothills
and lemonade kisses tasted sweeter than lavender honey
Soft breezes sung to us in symphonic whispers
as sprawling oaks reached overhead in canopies of shaded bliss
Blue skies caressed our bodies as we tenderly embraced
the beauty our love had sculpted on the landscape
and all was perfect in my world –

then came winter

.
Sadness drapes my shoulders
in black clouded blisters
dropping hazy shadows
at a bus stop called nowhere
Blank stare passengers
read out of date magazines
as I sit on the first step
tossing quarters at pigeons
having bird *** in the park

I watch as my fingers twist around
a kite string seeking merely a breeze,
arctic or otherwise to drag me down
the potholed one way street
that leads past your door
Skinned knees and a bruised heart
outline the address where
I once felt welcome,
at least the mat said so

When I hear my name called
over barking dogs and lawn mowers
in need of tune up
and as I look above the silhouette
of the man I used to be
I see myself, choking on his dreams
in a "deliveries only" alleyway
littered with false destinies
and realize I am home

.

I sit alone atop a mountain
my guitar in hand
peering out over the valley below
beyond green patched rifts
playing in the key of lost dreams
fractured chords out of tune with
decisions in distorted decibels
high volume idiocy wailing
as I telecast amplified questions
which now return to me
in the feedback of my own doing

-
**Sinking slow the mire
Of touted soldier’s stare
Blindfolded, seeing inside
Stood straight of knotted shame
Condors perched waiting
My last cigarette damp
Lips nicotine cracked
Useless circumstances cry
Unforced tears fall
Guns raised and aimed
Bayonets point a finger
Discharged of itchy indexes

Ripping antique flesh
Puncturing vital statistics
Sorrow in tattooed blood stains
My dense skull explodes
Shards of bone fly
Dotting soiled landscape
In a mosaic of lost dreams
Shattered with one foul mouth
Loose like the cannons
Flanking the homeland
As I consume the sludge
Of final foolishness

.

Walking alone
in the heart of the city
Feeling the strain
as the skyscrapers wail
Wondering lost
like a dog with no owner
Broken apart
but still wagging my tail
Begging for scraps
in the alleys of sorrow
Chasing a cat
up a fictitious tree
Crossing the street
against oncoming traffic
Nothing to scratch
no not even a flea
Wondering if
some will reach down and pet me
Show me some love
that I’ve not felt in days
Give me a bite
of their ham and cheese sandwich
Maybe a chip
from that new bag of Lays
I know they won’t,
I can sense hesitation
It’s in their eyes
they can’t see in my heart
They’ll never know
it is shattered and broken
Nothing remains
every since we did part
So here I walk
with no leash tied to guide me
Grinding my teeth
on a discarded bone
A mangy old mutt
who has no one to love him
Roaming the streets
of this city, alone

.
*Just staring out the window
Watching patterns dance upon asphalt
Hypnotized by the rhythm
As the rain keeps pouring down
Dripping in a steady stream from the roof eaves
Forming puddles on the once dry surface
Running off to some unknown location
Absorbed by the earth
And I wonder - why is the sky crying?
Then I look in my heart and see you are not there
And I understand

-
I watched the sun setting
as another ending had arrived
Then I wondered what
tomorrow would bring
Until the dark clouds settled
and I realized that
the fading horizon was us -
there will be no tomorrow

.

This is just another night
Lonely streets and flashing neon
Shadows moving, no eye contact
Brick facades push away steam

Walking slowly on dampened sidewalks
Head hung low wondering
Why this feeling continues, this crawl
Lost within the halls of my heart

Broken lines with no exit
Foreclosed affection in headlines
Written on the palm of my hand
Smearing in tear drops wiped

Yesterday was like a dream
You were mine, smiling, laughing
Sharing a day at the park on a painted bench
Watching silent paddle boats sleep

A May sun glistened on still waters
And birds sung softly overhead
When something was off, out of place… pieces
Our silhouettes slowly faded to one

Watching my sneakers form ruts
Swinging nervously back to front
Kicking dust up in my stomach
Where butterflies change to stone

Waiting for you, a setting sun
Flamed drizzling on my shoulders
Slumped reflections on a westward sky
As I still search to the north

Yes, this is just another night
Followed by just another day
An agonizing repetitive pattern
An agonizing repetitive pattern

-

Across the vast expanse
Heat patterns rise from flat rock
Simmering sensations to fool the mind
Blurring even the recognizable
Into a mirage of nothingness

“Dust coated winds that do not exist”

Blinding hypnotic colors play
Weaving patterns of self doubt
Alone in a misconception of belief
Solitude of unwanted fear
Emptiness worn on a sleeve

“Kaleidoscopic nightmares so very pretty”

Let down, shoved aside, forgotten
Discarded emotions piled in a heap
Broken sidewalks of those I thought I knew
French braided friends…or so I believed
Abandoned on my own crumbling foundation

“Why did I ever believe?”

I see a tiny speck…perhaps something in my eye
Canceling the horizon’s verticality
Moving beyond invisible footprints
Solidifying a view…a smile…waving
As if a drunken crow has tipped over

“Thoughts turn to memories of words once spoken”

Reoccurring images race forward
Sentences of comfort find their way
Down the path to my heart
Realizing I now understand
What she meant…that day…this day

“I run to meet her halfway…her arms are open”

.

Some words heal
Some words sway
Some words leave
Some words stay

Some words calm
Some words soothe
Some words swear
Some words prove

Some words smile
Some words sneer
Some words hurt
Some words cheer

Some words stop
Some words flow
Some words tell
Some words show

Some words whine
Some words scream
Some words pout
Some words dream

Some words heal
Some words ache
Some words give
Some words take

Some words praise
Some words shame
Some words rave
Some words blame

Some words love
Some words hate
Some words help
Some words rate

Some words sing
Some words cry
Some words lift
Some words sigh

Some words rhyme
As you can see
But all words work
In poetry

.

*Hypnotized by this
perfect vision drinking in
the afternoon sun,
I can hear sultry sighs
along the garden wall
calling me closer

Falling prey to the aroma,
intoxicated breezes
flow from a sundial’s smile
shading the hour
my heart falls deeply
into her soft petals

A thorn slices
the boundaries of my skin,
releasing blood in
crimson shades
of this fragrant rose
luring me with her beauty

Careful around her stem
I still worry about my flesh
until I realize the pain felt
is worth the scars
that I now see
spell out her name

.

The front yard of her home,
no white picket fence
just a cement curb separates
where she sat with the Crayolas,
she received last year when she turned seven,
63 to be exact
(the umber one lost under her bed months ago)

A hot sunny day,
colored wax puddles blend
with butterflies floating
and tiger lilies swaying like an orange banner
at the VFW parade

The ice cream truck sings in bells,
displaying pink cones
and rainbow push-ups,
but she is not in the giggling line,
dollars stretched for treats

The summer breeze flips the pages
of the mother goose coloring book
Images blur together as fairy tales
fly by, waving farewell
while her impression in the soft green grass
slowly disappears

Red eyes droop on sagging skin
her worried mother can’t breathe,
calling her name in coarse tones,
repeating, hoping, repeating
as another slate gray day passes
in her shattered world
of melted crayons
and lost innocence

.

*Cross water stories
beckon with pictures of auras,
glowing symbols of that dream
cast aside long ago
on a wayward stone,
flushed of soft banks
and cattails swaying
in synchronized movements

Winding down some unforgotten stream
where rivers meet oceans
and waves conjure thoughts
of rhythmic bystanders
wishing you well
as you float to that island,
where days last forever
and heart shaped seashells
bloom amidst the sand

Where the footprints you follow
are hers leading toward you
beneath a Mardi Gras sun
beading sweat on glistening bodies,
sun tanned symphonies
wallow in the warm breezes
while aquamarine desires
coming with the tide,
drench you with love

.

I flipped a quarter and called heads,
then watched as it hit the ground
and rolled through the grate,
staring at me from the bottom of the drain
like a charm seeking its bracelet,
still crying because the clasp broke.
Taking a seat on the curb as the sun
began setting at the west end of the block,
I felt long shadows gathering at my feet,
swallowing me in darkness,
but still the coin glistened, mocking me.

The next morning I was awakened
by the sound of your alarm clock
through the open window two floors up,
when I heard him say “good morning”
and you closed the blinds.
Then glancing down into the sewer again
I saw a note where the coin had rested
in your handwriting that told me
something I had already figured out,
“It was tails, you lost.”

'

*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

.

Spun in a windstorm of caustic insisting
Plastered like mud on the walls of Pompeii
Frescos of joy before charcoal was misting
Writing in ash, catastrophic display

Poetic spittle once cast to the broken
Scribbled in diction now smeared in the rain
So many follow yet nothing is spoken
Below these skies with the cherry red stain

There in the distance a magpie is flying
Scavenging wings while you shout from the ground
Above a truth midst the unending lying
Circling nightmares of places you’re bound

Can it be art if it’s not as remembered
Past of the days when you ****** in the snow
Spelling your name as your mother was watching
Turning in shame as if she didn’t know

Damning Picasso for changing direction
How can a nose sit so far from the face
*******’s spilled paint way beyond your detection
Charging a gallery, demanding your space

Photo laced albums of cellophane pages
Developed by hand in a room with no light
Look at these kids and their digital stages
Feigning creative, it just isn’t right

Does this explain every tactical action
While you count blocks as if streets don’t exist
Pulling a woodpecker’s tail to get traction
Hiding the reason you just can’t resist

You say that art can be all that we’re thinking
Then in the same breath you say it’s not true
Often we wonder if you have been drinking
Make up your mind, it’s the least you can do

You are all artists, yes you who are reading
Writing your words that you put on display
Spilling your heart while emotions are bleeding
It breaks my heart when I hear someone say

It can’t be art, all those losers are dreaming
Seeing and clicking and sending and such
Downloaded images, videos streaming
When the truth is, you are just out of touch

:

*Though sunny the days of cloudless expanse
in fields lowly rutted with fear
Down footprints of mud in a circular dance,
a garden now beckons my dear

A wood picket fence and a hedge overgrown
beyond an old gate bearing rust
That cringes and creaks near the wicked seeds sown
about northern winds once were ******

Vines cling an arbor in strangling grip,
creeping like worms neath your feet
Proud of their thorns and the flesh they do rip,
souring fruits ever sweet

Step into this realm where petals now bleed
with faces apart from the norm
On barbed wire stems of a nevermore need,
now cast of an unending storm

Awaits there child with a part in her hair
and roots tethered deep to the ground
A bouquet of pain offered up, if you dare,
in silence she speaks without sound

Come follow this path of a nightmarish dream,
where nothing that lives ever dies
But hold tight your tongue for she hates when you scream,
the girl with the blackberry eyes

.

Driving by,
lost on a side street
directly in the middle
of where I never wanted to be

Clamoring at the expectations
strewn along the curb
between the broken dishwasher
and empty beer cans

Where neighborhood gnomes
painted gaily colors
wave as if they know me,
but I ignore them – sort of

There is one though
with a hollow bookish smile
that seems familiar
or is it the tulips

A wooden staircase,
worn planks in a grey stain
lead to an entrance where an ornate
metal light fixture sways in the breeze

Your porch used to look like that
but this door is standing open
behind a welcome mat with a clover,
wish I hadn’t lost that rabbit’s foot

Maybe I am lucky after all,
just found a spot with ten minutes
remaining on the meter, forget it,
it took me fifteen minutes to park

The empty passenger seat
still holds your form,
at least I can see it -
Corinthian leather never forgets

A speed bump at 40 mph
rattles me back behind the wheel
when I see the bank clock flashes 5:00 pm,
still offering a free toaster

And that’s it, another Sunday afternoon
wasted as much as I am,
spinning my wheels
with just enough gas to get back home,

alone

.

The last petal fell,
shivering on winter's cold ground
and looking up at the now barren stem
asked, " Why did you let me go,
I was the one that stuck with you
when all of the others left,
leaving you alone to face
the coming frigid season?

The empty stem, leafless,
void of its once lustrous color,
waving in the chilly winds answered,
"Don't worry, come spring I will
have many new wonderful petals
adorning me, making me
beautiful once again."

"I know, but none of them
will be me," replied the last petal
as it died.

.

Not knowing
chokes the imagination,
draining all common sense
Thoughts spin desperately
as vacuous emotions
paralyze actions,
restricting sensibility

Lethargic expressions
wander the mind
searching for answers
While minutes become
hours that never end
on days you wish
you didn’t exist

Pathways once trod
now retraced, examined
of every “what if”
step by agonizing step,
seeking breadcrumbs
leading back to a beginning
long before now

Darkness plays on sunny days,
every shadow startles
in breaths not taken
for fear that this is it,
falling on your knees,
pleading to the sky,
tell me

I can’t stand the thought of
sitting on a street corner,
writing on the curb
with white chalk in the rain

Outlining puddles
in runoff contaminants,
bleeding into the asphalt,
following cracks and crevices

of the last poem I wrote
in permanent ink,
when the sun danced
across her smile

and my words
brought blue skies
to the pages of
my heart’s desire

I hate chalk…..