Birds Dont Sing and
i know you asked me why;
you said I never knew
the places that you do -

corner store with the
Corvette Cassette, or the
urbanite Chinatown,
Origins of your youth.

i may not know them but
i do know Lovely You and
Lovers Rock too, where we
spent an hour washing the

stone with tactile tips.
a Lilly of my day, as
at night, or, oh-no, Oh
Devil in disguise.

when i look with my eyes
i see So Many Details,
strings from Kites zigging
a bedroom span, zagging

back across, No Rules,
like the rivers or roots we grew by.
attempting to Think Feel
my way through the space -

no not forever, but yes
Everything Goes; like how
You Hear Colours while
i try to draw them out

of what i return to you.
like light, only of a kind
before the reflection, a reply,
now i'm Giving up that Feeling

i don't know how,
we broke something inside.

My eyes lie to me
So I grasp and cling and feel-
In fear of falling into the sea;
In hopes of finding what is real.

Our nature is inescapable.
It will always be there - we are, after all,
Only Human.
Animals, like any other,
"Better," we reason,
Because of  our brains, our hearts, our souls.
We can feel things. We can sympathize.
We can build big, great, complex things.
We can make judgments between right and wrong.
We have imagination and creativity and ingenuity on our side.
We can love.
And it is reasoned that all these things make us special.

The truth of most of humanity
Is we give in to our nature,
Compete,
     Even destroy one another.

Two runners on the road,
One behind the other, but soon will pass.
First Place has two choices here.

He can let the Second Place pass.
He is, after all, superior in ability,
And that is nothing to feel ashamed of.
First can race Second as well as he can,
And cheer for Second as he claims the name of First.

His alternative,
With pride and greed in his way,
Is to best Second at any and all costs.
And so he begins to plot:
As Second Place passes him,
He'll ensure they'll keep their titles,
And First Place will put out a foot,
Or perhaps with a shove of his arm,
Trip Second Place up,
Maintain the lead,
Win the race.

Too few would cheer for Second Place in our world.
We live our lives under the suppression of individuals
Who do not care for other's successes,
For fear that they may fall from greatness.
That they will lose power.

We are no better than the nature we live within.
Not at the moment, at least.
Perhaps we are better,
Perhaps greatness is within our reach,
True greatness,
Where we lift one another,
Do not seek only that which will benefit us,
But that which will benefit others,
That which will benefit all.

As long as pride and greed
Are allowed to poison our minds,
We will walk these roads,
And let nature run its course.

**I wish all of humanity good luck in such a world.

Doors keep swinging,
Open, closed;
This body's reeling,
From what it's eyes been showed.

So close those eyes,
Close 'em real tight.
And listen....


Wait....


The doors keep swinging,
Open, closed;
You better keep walking,
Before you're left all alone.

But wait, listen closer,
You can here them all whisper.
As gold, glisten.


The Gypsy
                                The Lover
                                                           ­      The Poet
                                                            ­                                   The Sister

Many more hearts,
Four short of Five score,
Inexactly,
Right behind,
Passing through,

Open doors,


Following you.

it's the fire inside,
if what i read is truth.
constrained by
steeled sheets,
the chains wrap
clockwise around;
a shell to weather
the storm, inside.
thick skin,
leather shoes,
words that drive the loop -
if mary ever
left her room,
color would play a tune.
every item studied
makes us die; bite
the apple then
taste the lies.
living on the inside,
a hope in favor
of saferseas.
always playing
hide-and-seek,
as if soaking in
truths might flood
tubs, never
setting me free.