Silence,
gifted in a synthetic quiver,
placed at the marble steps,
dead of dawn delivery,
horse drawn and cloaked,
shaded in black ash
and mortuary mosaics

A hazy mist clings
to porch lights and railings
as thunder roars in the distance
while street cars find *** holes
to be louder than the
steam engines out of sync
with creaking metal tracks

Air raid sirens tested,
weekly since the last great war
forty years ago, just in case
causing hairline fractures in
alabaster pillars standing tall,
hand carved and stamped,
fingerprint adorned
by a cranky neighbor’s kid
singing sesame street
at the top of his lungs

Wiping his nose on his sleeve,
his hands on his pants (and pillars)
peanut butter and maple syrup,
tossing rocks at the goldfish,
making the dog bark,
pestering the gardener
trimming topiaries,
chasing gophers and
killing aphids
with soapy water
left over from last Thursday’s mess

***** dishes,
banging pots and pans,
slamming cabinet doors,
dropping silverware and the like,
shear madness for a flower man
with two shadows
and many unruly hedges
demanding his attention
as the owner sleeps just above
enjoying his gift of
silence

.............

I guess you just never know
when it is going to happen
one day here, bright blue skies
cool breezes and then ****, gone

What were the thoughts, those thoughts
things you were planning on saying
when the time was right
It was never right, or was it

In a flash, self promises become regrets
wishes end and dreams disappear
if those things still exist
when you don’t

And what is the next step
crying for all of those things
or nothing becomes your world
and the darkness is darker

Free-falling, wondering
if what is left behind cares
probably not, you aren’t and never were
and never will be again

It comes, when you least expect it
You go, when you least expect it
So, expect it……………..

.

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

.

On an island
in the midst of the crowded city street
Traffic lights blink
as colored tear drops hit the pavement

One way signs
all seem to point in your direction
casting aspersions,
via black and white arrows

Sidewalks filled
with throngs of gawking onlookers,
mouths wide open,
peering from the side of their faces

The deepening sadness
leaves you vulnerable to prying eyes
leering at your flesh,
exposed to high rise windows

You hang your head,
chin against your unclothed chest
and you see not one,
but two shadows on the asphalt

Suddenly you are
draped in the finest cloth money can buy,
shielded from the audience
who now divert their attention elsewhere

Turning, you see a friend,
naked, as his clothing now adorns your body
and you feel safe
with him at least for the moment

and sometimes a moment is all that is needed

.

*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

.

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

'

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

The squires stood the castle gate
of sword and shield they bear
Awaiting armored knights to be,
lone sentries now aware

A beating sun of torrid feel
embarked the sky this day
As voices called from eastern heights
in echoes cast away

The entrance braced of timber thick,
yon bridge drawn to the sky
To dare not open for the howl
of woodland spirit’s cry

Banished long ago it was
for evil spells it spate
Turned villagers upon themselves
in angered fits of hate

Yet on this simmered summer’s eve
the squires balked their stead
Hypnotically the whispers called
so deep within their head

Manipulated by the breeze
of kindness floating faux
‘mid promises of purity
as white as driven snow

“They cast me o’er” a voice did sift
“No fault I swear of me,
I mingled not in lone affairs
this promise comes you see”

“A certain few, low cretins all
of lies they sold as true
and pockets lined of purest gold
to do what they must do”  

“I plead a pardon so to prove
my quest is merely fair
In words of mystic wizard speak
I pledge to only share"

"Hear me, on this mystic night
of incantation's win
Stand aside this harbored fear
so I may live again”

In hazy gaze and wild look
the squires sealed the fate
‘pon lowering the bridge of wood
and opening the gate

When once within, the smile gone
as crimson eyes now stare
“I’ll bring this kingdom to its knees,
I will again, I swear”

Then sharpened claws of viper’s speed
released on angered breath
Did slice ensorcelled squire's flesh
to bleed until their death*

To be continued…maybe

.

Standing alone with my shadow,
watching the sun disappear
Fighting the minutes till darkness,
when you’ll no longer be here

During the day you are with me,
wherever I seem to go
But as the evening is starting,
nothing beside me does show

I thought about writing a poem
something with you I would share
Though as I now look to find you
sadly you’re no longer there

I wonder each night what you’re doing,
who do you follow around
As I just hang around staring
at a blank spot on the ground

I guess you are off with another,
while I’m here holding my pen
Once more to wait on the sunrise,
hoping you come back again

Each day brings with it change,
something new waiting,
maybe good, maybe not so much

Everyone views things differently,
sunny days or rain, each
hold qualities that can be either

Regardless of how you take it,
you are never wrong
no matter what someone may say

Just remember this,
you are who you are
and you are special

There will always be those
who try to knock you down
with whatever force they can

Stand strong and understand
you can't be everything
to all people

And neither can they,
no matter how much
they act like they can

.

Scattered wavelengths
from a worn out speaker
cracking with each unbalanced bass note
Finding my brain on overload
and a slower heart beat
out of tune

Static the union,
tuning dial gone, volume at high
glowing in the corner of cobweb melodies
lingering on a distant shelf
now sinking lower in this
roadside armchair

An empty bottled fortress
collects the pain at my feet
glass brown soldiers stand,
bottle cap mementos flip
like dancing beans on a folding table
painted Dos Equis green at El Mercado

One more for the road
a staggering venture
along crooked dotted lines, weaving nonsense
two at a time, smirking
snickering like a prideful ending
mimicking the way

Still the static, white noise,
foaming seas on wavelength casualties
and the trees cry, when birdsong of night
haunts with a sound
interrupting the dance
of the beer container guards
and I tap a painful toe

.

A green park bench
and my shadow

slanted to the field
watching pigeons form a heart shape
among clover and dandelion

seeding my thoughts
on a steady breeze

lovers walk holding hands
swinging arms and bracelets
happy go lucky feet
flip flops and sneakers

and I toss popcorn
stale but they don’t care
(I didn’t like the movie)
fine feathered friends

A green park bench
still only one shadow
wishing there were two

.

Hide behind those rooftops
Staring down upon the crowd
Tossing little messages
You dare not say aloud

Looking over shoulders
Every shadow that you see
Assuming something lurking
Like a long lost refugee

Stir the *** of sewage
That along the street does flow
All will know the truth is there
In spite of what you show

Spread it to the audience
Or anyone who hears
Fuel the mass confusion
As you amplify their fears

Silence can be golden
Though it’s not your chosen art
As a stone that cries for moss
the rolling soon will start

Clinging to a chimney
Spewing signals made of smoke
From the fire down below
Conspiracies now stoke

Leave these happy people be
They’re none of your concern
Questioning the same as me
When will you ever learn

.

*If I call to you,
above the crashing waves
boisterously gathering
on a rocky coastline,
like a trumpet in the mist
cutting through the fog
signaling a safe passage
to my heart,

do you hear me?

If I send out echoes
of promises made
and lifeline affections,
floating as a buoy,
a vessel of desire
reaching for you
on these stormy seas,

can you hear me?

If I am left stranded, marooned
in the silence of my tears
alone, without you
on a desolate island where
seashells have no names and
tides retreat from the sorrow
of my broken heart, pleading for you,

will you hear me,

please?

.

She called while driving

needing directions
I offered my assistance

I smiled when she said I was the best
personal GPS ever

then she smiled when she realized

all of my directions
were leading her

straight to my heart

.

Shaking a fountain pen’s
syrup from fizzing wounds
scarred with another’s words
misspelled of meaning
flavored in temperance
swallowed with pride
flowing through a straw
of sugar-free regrets

.

I saw autumn

reflecting in your
springtime eyes

and knew
as long as I was with you

summer would never end

Drenched in the sweat of the victim’s last downpour
Seeking the air that is hidden from view
Pacing a dock that extends past the ocean
Turning off dreams that are passed off as new
Chasing a wave till it runs out of water
Wrapping a cloud as a cloak on my skin
Jumping in deep, caught on anchors now falling
Feeling the sea fill my lungs once again
Gasping for breath that is sold on the boardwalk
Gazing above as the sun licks the ground
Washed up on shore with a note in a bottle
Thoughts swept away out of all that is found

the world is your oyster
take the pearl
and I’ll just lie here in the sand
an empty shell
once again

.

That barren branch
high above this desolate space
Crooked shade designs on a dying earth,
bent and twisted of past sunlight’s reach
Naked to the green-less world
Rough hewed collections
of ant trail pathways
and rot of all that was good

Once filled with life, happy on the breeze
Summer fashions of leaf pattern wishes
Vistas of blissful post card greetings
Bearing fruit of friendlier times

Now rests in solitude’s wicked grip
Knotted and splintered bark winding
to a fool's ending in winter’s calling
Cold fingers on gray-cast skylines
dying of desperate missing,
fading into a bleak sunset
Disappearing somewhere beyond the dark,
that barren branch – me

.

*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

.

*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