The sun has risen,
can you hear?
the songs of the morning birds.

Life begins to wake,
the gentle breeze,
blows softly against the trees.
A lovely view awaits.

The orange sky,
the feeling of life!
a beautiful sunrise it is.

some people's footsteps are loud
they want everyone to know that they have entered
or perhaps they have no reason to hide
They strike the ground first with their heel
you can always hear them approach

but mine?
my footsteps are silent
I glide across without a sound
no one needs to know that I am here
I have reason to hide
I tread first with the pads of my feet
you will never hear me approach

I used to draw on my arm all the time
Nothing big or elaborate
Just a triangle
One triangle
Then I wouldn’t hear the end of it
Everyone complaining
Ink poisoning
Future punk
What’s next, a motorcycle?
So I stopped
I stopped drawing that little triangle on my wrist
Right above my pulse point
But with it
I
Stopped
L I v I n g.
A triangle was supposed to be the strongest shape
It was supposed to make me strong
But I wasn’t even strong enough
To let it stay

I don't love you
But I love you so much
I am trying

I
wish to
make you proud,
but its never going to
be completed because I'll never-
ill never ever be enough, will I?

Kindness

Be a little kinder today
Offer more patience
Give a little more
Love a little deeper
Smile a little bigger
Hug once more
Appreciate what you have
Let those feelings lift the world out of darkness
Keep the faith
Kindness has power
Believe

Telling you I miss you
won’t make me miss you less
but my god how much I just
want to tell you
that I miss you
when I breathe in
when I breathe out

tawny leaf-littered
autumn's cold chill
amber sun, filtered
one tree, one hill

smoky-water rains
water scented earth
heart-loss pains
worms unearth'd

bristled seeds drift
sunset winds, rest
fluff and dust admidst
a heaving chest

sun-warmth falter
cloud coats gold
body upon an altar
everything turns cold

If I jump will I take flight
If I fall will I be rain
If I ***** will I wake up
If I don't know then who's to say

Some days, it’s a hunger
a deep pull from the stomach,
not for food, not for water,
but for something unnamed,
something just out of reach.

It’s in the way the morning air feels electric,
like possibility itself,
how the sun spills over cracked sidewalks,
touching everything,
saying, Look. Be here. Want more.

It’s in the ache of laughter
that lasts too long,
in the way music grips the ribs
and shakes loose something tender.
It’s the way fingers linger
when hands almost meet.

And yes, some days, the hunger fades,
buried under the weight of routine,
but then
a scent, a sound, a sudden rush of memory
and there it is again,
the pull, the ache, the craving
for more of this,
this fragile, fleeting, impossible thing.

This life.

what if you knew
not only the poet
but also the monster?

would you like me enough
to keep reading?

My colleagues and family expect me to act young,
My mind is okay with it
But my body refuses,
It says,"Act your age."
3/4/2025

The flower needs rest,
so winter tucks it beneath the earth,
letting it sleep until spring.

The sun needs rest,
so the clouds and rain embrace it,
shielding its warmth for another day.

My God,
My Lord,
My All,
Friends,
Knowledge,
Relations,
Wealth
Everything,
God All,
My All,
Lord All.
SPS

I kiss the air between us, a breeze that lingers,
tracing soft patterns on your skin.
A tiny scar catches my eye—
a story I wish I'd been part of,
and suddenly, I want to protect every piece of you.

I study you like poetry written in touch,
my lips trailing every verse.
I am yours, entirely, undeniably—
and, darling, you have exquisite taste.

~~~ Act I ~~~

Behold the queen.
Drenched in such pathetic,

Luxury.

Behold the king.
Soaking in such unauthentic,

Company.


Have you seen the jack?
He been doin somethin, shady, in the,

Back.

But don't ya worry there's, no plan,
To get, caught, in such synthetic,

Conditions.


Do you feel so esteemed?
With your trifles and titles,
And what's real and what's, not?
Do you feel esteemed?
With your scandals and secrets,
Such typical tricks.


Behold!
There's the, Ace.
Look at his, pretty face.
Absorbing that,

Prestige.

But look at that, glacial, gaze.
He got something to,

Say?


Oh I see that, glacial, gaze.
Lookin at somethin you ain't ever gonna,

See.


Behold, the Ace!
With a disappointed look on his, pretty face.
Looks like he ain't gonna,

Say.


Do you feel so esteemed?
With your trifles and titles,
And what's real and what's not?
Do you feel so esteemed?
With your scandals and secrets,
You're making me sick!


Behold the queen,
Plotting with her pretty,

Ladies.

Behold the king,
Oblivious to such unauthentic,

Company.


Oh, behold!
There's jack and the Ace!
Ace, you gonna put him in his, place?
Don't ya got somethin to, say?
Nah, you ain't gonna,

Say.


You know he's their son anyway.
You wouldn't wanna scare him away.
You wouldn't do that to his,

Face.


His FILTHY!
SICK!
Stupid, face...


That ain't the,

FACE,

of a Jack!

That's the face of a...

SPOILED BRAT!



~~~ Act II ~~~

BEHOLD THE QUEEN!
Who MURDERS her husband,
And spoils her rich little son!
BEHOLD THE ACE!
He got SOMETHIN to say!
But he ain't gonna,

Say.


Just look at that, glacial gaze.
Starin at somethin he ain't ever gonna,

See.


HEY, ACE!
Why don't ya TELL jack,
Ya don't like his shady business!?
Ya scared he ain't gonna, care?
Ya scared mama gonna,

Care?


HEY ACE, HEY ACE!
That ain't the FACE of the Ace!
Not with that glacial, gaze.
You gonna keep starin at somethin you ain't ever gonna,

See?


BEHOLD THE QUEEN!
OH SO ESTEEMED!
LOOK AT HER DRENCHED IN SUCH PATHETIC, LUXURY!
OH, BEHOLD THE KING!
HE DROWNED IN SUCH UNAUTHENTIC, COMPANY!

BEHOLD THE JACK!
DOIN SOMETHIN SHADY IN THE BACK!
HEY, ACE!
You gonna put him in his place!?
You just gonna WATCH this corruption,
Let em all feel so,

Esteemed?

Gonna let a mother ****** her husband,
And spoil her rich little son!?
You gonna let him GET AWAY,
With his DANGEROUS, fun!?

OH, THEY FEEL SO ESTEEMED!
WITH THEIR MURDERS AND TRIFLES,
AND WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S NOT!
DO YOU FEEL SO ESTEEMED!?
Workin for his mother, that,

*****?


HEY ACE, HEY ACE!
I get it, you're right!
HEY ACE, HEY ACE!
It's above your,

Paygrade.


Hey Ace, you're right.
It's above your,

Paygrade.

But why ya gotta keep, starin,
At somethin you ain't, ever gonna,

See?


Just let that jack be,
He ain't what ya wanna,

See.


Oh Ace, it's above your, paygrade.
You know he's their son, anyway.
So you just gonna stare, with that, glacial, gaze?
At somethin you ain't ever gonna,

See?

Better hope that, mama, don't,

See.

It was all loud the entire week
Kept myself busy through the riot
Kept in touch with all my friends
But we didn't really speak
Didn't spend a minute by myself
And didn't want to think
Then I finaly sat down with me
Lit a cigarette didn't see didn't hear
And I was impressed by it
Even the frogs went quiet

In quiet woods, where gentle breezes play,  
And time drifts softly like the flowing stream,  
I ponder on the fleeting light of day,  
And cherish whispers of a tender dream.  

Though seasons change and shadows stretch their hands,  
Yet in the heart, a steadfast ember glows;  
For love, like ancient oaks on fertile lands,  
Endures the storm, and in its stillness grows.  

One day, beneath the arch of twilight skies,  
A wanderer shall seek what once was mine;  
And in that moment, when the spirit flies,  
The bonds of earth shall fade, and stars align.  

Then I shall rise, as nature’s breath returns,  
In every leaf, in every songbird’s call;  
For in the soul where deep affection burns,  
There lies a light that conquers even fall.  

“Rejoice!” it cries, “for love shall never cease;  
In memory’s embrace, we find our peace.”

In stillness hush
A Dreamers realm
Vivid the stars
Guiding lights
In sweet serene
Two spirits will meet

I stayed too long,
trying to find,
the person lost,
within your mind.

Step by step,
no louder than breath—
I walk beside
what isn’t mine to name.

No banners,
no blueprints,
just this sound
of stone learning softness.

You open a window.
I keep the door unlatched.

Let fear finish its echo.
Let the dark chants drift.

Not all ruin is ending.
Some of it
is soil.

Let's talk
Soult to Soul
Beyond the lips
Over the eyes
After the touches
Without the beliefs
Only with a soul
I walked into you
Gave you my soul
Saw your purity
And your shadow
You feel free now
I feel like you too
We will never see
Eye to eye down
I left you cause I knew
You left me to let me know

I can’t speak
I can’t stand up to them
I’m small
I’m a doll
I’m quiet
I’m weird
I have no words.
Because I don’t exist
People look down on me
They make fun of me.
But
You only live once
Wear what you want, live your teen years
Sneak out, lie, but don’t ruin me
You bully me
I take it like a wall
Because I have no words
But there’s so much to say
I can’t express it
I have no words
It’s almost a question
I used to talk so much
But now
I have no words.

The drama in my head comes and goes.

I'll be dying soon.
Follow me in love.
You are made of love,
Follow me. We all are
made of love. Be one
with God. Become one
with God--no form, no
beginning, no end. God
is love, follow me in love.
Only enlightenment you'll know.
I'll be dying soon. We all will be
dying soon. Become one with
God. Become love infinitely.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS

I've never been great at video games
And yet, I enjoy their structured frames
As seasons do shift, so do tactics change
While golden-most roads are, too, rearranged

~

With each Season's pass, so do our moves alter
Both on the screen and in worlds writ larger
What once served well, in time, will falter
Thus change, itself, is the only path offered

~

Regardless of want, the world does not wait
The pendulum swings, between love and hate
And it currently seems that the latter's at gate
So, please, think ahead of your future win-state

Will you follow?
Will you allow yourself love?
Would you take my hand and stand?
Stand with me, hand in hand
Walk towards uncertainty
Lend me your trust
As I lend you mine
Entrust me with your heart
For I will cherish as my own
It is a risk I know
I plead you not fear
For I’ll give you my heart
And then you’ll know

Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

        Why Do Widows Give Me Their Late Husbands’ Clothes?

When old men die their widows give me their clothes
(The old men’s clothes; not the widows’; let’s not get weird)
Nice pullover shirts, expensive blazers, everything goes
And ties to the 1970s geared

I am as Bob Newhart lost in an age
Of tattered tees and designer sneaks
Hardly the attire of a wise old sage
One of the last sartorial antiques

When old men die their widows give me their clothes
I look quite natty in them, I suppose

(The old men’s clothes, not the widows; let’s not get weird)