I grab at illusions
They fog my brain
And emotions
Then softly melt

I acquire crates
Of love and vows
Upon the mantel they stay
But some things get lost
Along the way.

Sample my elixir
I hear the gypsy woman
A cure for the broken heart
A balm for the scars of love

I collect the cures
They merely feed the disease
Upon the mantel they stay
But some things get lost
Along the way

I seem to strive
For second best
It has its charms
And lower expectations

That sharp pinnacle
In the blazing midday sun
Exists for climbers
Scaling their dreams

I prefer to seek
The plaintiff plateau
Upon the mantel they stay
But some things get lost
Along the way

She runs with the pack
Keeping the plodding pace
Jogging past ancient doors
And icons of the past
The eyes of the adoring crowd
Smother her in kisses
She’s burdened by the blessings
Staring down the horizon
She yearns for something more.

Glimmers of a sprightly past
Tunes bounce about like butterflies
She moved unburdened untouched
Her soul was sparkled
And her voice alive
A studio of life and love and movement
With the sky for a ceiling
Float away at midnight
Traded for a frozen dance
And a voice muffled.
There’s glitter and gold
But she yearns for something more.

A young girls dream of love
And romance
It surrounds her by day
And eludes her by night
Its all from the book
But none from the dream
She smiles and smiles
And then checks the mirror
Her contentment is a wool coat
Sturdy and warm
She cries to run freezing in the snow
Screaming as the flakes alight
It’s a satisfying scene
But she yearns for something more.

Walking down the avenue
Familiar comfortable,
I know the cracks in the sidewalk.
Years ahead or years behind
I could walk this street blind.
There are ghosts in the air
That lead me on
And no sooner have I left
That I’m home again.
But around the corner
If I dare
There’s a promise of mystery
A path unknown
The footsteps have faded
An empty canvas of concrete
Damp with a haunting melody
That spreads like fog
Beckons me to a light unseen
Unfamiliar sights but I’m not lost
The way home blurred by the mist
I can’t turn back, there is no way home.
I dance as the music quickens.

I thought patience was a virtue
But we can have too much
Of a good thing.
My patience is killing me;
I have banished the clocks--
The tick-tock tick-tocks
Were needles pricking my heart.
Just waiting for a word--
A teaspoon of sugar.
I have never been greedy
Or a glutton.
But my capacity for punishment
Surprises even me.
She doesn’t deserve even one second
Of my vanishing hope
I’m supping on self pity
Tonight.

Today I awoke
To a deafening sound
The sands of the hourglass
Were shaking my soul.
Each grain tore into my flesh
And bombarded my pride
Finally the last grain fell
The hourglass was empty
I was empty.
Time had ended.
I will wait no more.

A storm that thrills
But does not frighten.
A tightrope lofty and delicate
But steady like a rock.
Passion that knows no bounds
But embraced and held close.
Words whispered in breathless joy
But echo endlessly in the canyon.
A touch as ephemeral as a fading dream
But etched on my skin.
Laughter that lifts and lightens
But brings tears to my desires.
Moments that can’t be described
But evoke a language I’m still learning.
Sensations heavy and overpowering
But float and dissipate in a mist.
Love intangible.
But real.

An oasis in a parched terrain
A rhyme in a dull refrain
In a storm a place to hide
A ******* in a riptide.

Going down, a parachute
Monday morning, short commute.
Summer day a scarf of silk
Warm cookies, a glass of milk.

Chocolate sundae the cherry on top,
Dangerous street a friendly cop.
A sturdy rope down the abyss
Tucked in bed a goodnight kiss.

In never ending pain
You choose to wallow.
This dry sandwich of self-pity
Is so hard to swallow.

You juggle those slippery *****
Of pain and regret
I hear you pray for release
But you aren’t there yet.

Me thinks thou protests
A little too much
This “woe is me” cane
Has become your crutch.

Throw off that garment of gloom
Your attitude needs to switch
Just accept the fact
That life is a *****.

Oh, I love to get a bright new shiny thing,
Marvel at the perfection
Caress the smooth surface
Not a flaw to interrupt my touch
And there is a smell of newness
Hard to describe, but perceptible nonetheless.
I walk around the room
Studying the view from various perspectives
A changed environment, and how it speaks
With this new addition.
Nothing can ever be the same
This bright shiny thing begins to define the space.
It mirrors my life, and reflects the imperfections
My old life is dented and marred and scratched
Lines of age bear witness to the passing of time.
I have a gallery, photos of my bright shiny things
Frozen portraits of hope
But now only the photos survive untouched.
And today, like so many days before,
I discover a flaw.
Just a dimple, but a glaring impediment
To my dream.
My bright shiny thing fades
And soon finds a place on the shelf.

In the beginning was the word
The ideas flowed like wine
Grappling through the night
We explored
The ramifications of the past,
The indentations of the present
The permutations of the future.
We delved the endless font
Of our literal lives
Page after page we turned
Swallowing chapters, misspelled loves
Grammatical wastelands spread across the crumbled sheets,
All could be corrected.
Those words, I can still remember
Embossed on my brow
Like Braille, I’m blind enough to read.

In time the words went dry.
Perhaps we said it all.
Or chose to say no more.
The questions were replaced
With smug complacency.
The river of curiosity slowed,
And trickled between our toes.

In the end there were no words.
Passion took the podium
In tender speechless quiverings
We pressed the meaning on our flesh
Somehow it was enough
As we devoured our silent summations.
The unspoken proclamations
Confirmed my doubts
Reaffirmed my hopes.
As the last page was turned
The rising sun filled the empty room.

She tries on men like a summer dress
Inspects the fit, the color, the silky fabric
“It scratches like that one I had last year”
She loves the feel of a new dress.
The excitement, the way she looks at dinner
How it brings out the color of her eyes.
They are always special at first, she thinks.
But the second and third wearing
It starts to become
Just another dress.
Her closet is full, the colors reflect her memories:
The concert in Cologne, the opera in Vienna
A performance here, a recital there.
On each dress is written a symphony
The notes emblazoned on the fabric
Never to be played again
Her men are her performances
Infused with passion, tempered with distance
The growing flame must be drenched
Before it consumes her art and her life.
The past must be altered
Lest she play that piece again.

Memories dance in my head
Mined from an abandoned quarry
A lost and forgotten vein
Becoming rich with pain

Buried beneath a victory garden
The roots have spread
Unnoticed. Unhindered. Untouched
Nourishing the first of the bitter fruit

I want to fly. Untethered.
Grounded by the past
Entombed by choices long forgotten
Forgiven. Forced to revisit.

My history has given birth
To every step, every breath
I focus on the future and see
A mirror preaching with conviction

Amen. I can’t resist.
We pray for release
But listen for restraint
And live for desire.

My passions can mask
A world of darkness
I look to the light
And fall down the rabbit hole.

In an instant the sparkle showered me
Bathed in light and energy
Flowing flowing a waterfall of emotion
A connection stretching back in time
A piercing silence
Cloaking me in her calm
Her doors had been cast aside
Unexpected candor, laughter lilting
And bouncing, catching me off guard.
She wasn’t hiding behind the bush
Or running from tree to tree
She stretched the moments
Filled them with spirit
Flew to the rafters and beckoned me to join
I melted in her eyes, molten joy
Ready to be molded
Precious shapes, rare forms
Unknown beings.
I trusted her hands
Gripped me with delicacy
And a lightness of life.
That moment became a day
And that day will not end.

Your soul is shaken by the turbulent seas
A ship unsuited for the journey
You dream of sleep in safe harbor
Salt water washes your tears.

Without a course you drift
Upon the waves
The last drop of fresh water
Has moistened your lips

Seeking the guidance of the stars
You gaze upon the skies
Dark clouds obscure your view
And send you to the maelstrom.

In the darkest of the muddy night
A ray of light stirs your soul
The clouds have parted
And Polaris appears.

With hope abandoned
You glide toward the light
Blind faith fills your sails
And leaves the storm in your wake.

Fatigue and failure grip your spirit
You are overtaken with sleep
Your nightmares are quiet
And you float peaceful like a gull.

Was it the light or the heat
That stirred you at dawn?
Calm. Steady. Warm.
A harbor safe from the sea.

That faulty compass at your feet
It was so foolish to trust
Tossed overboard, it disappears
Quietly like your past.

The earth reveals
Layers of rock
From ages past
Clues of life exposed
Frozen in time
Secrets exclusive for inquisitive
And learned minds.
To others, just rock,
Striated, fused, multi-colored.

Springtime, snow melts,
The months of frozen feelings
Thaw and reveal a blanket
Of hidden emotions nurtured
By fallen leaves.
Layered like rock, they cuddle
In their dampness
As the sun brings life to the months
Of quiet glacial discovery.

The law is a puzzle of the seasons
Mysterious in its ambiguous simplicity
Present, at hand, but always out of grasp
Layered meanings twist the mind
History adds the pressure of precedence
A crutch for lazy minds
Struggle to reassess and delve deeper
Into meanings untapped
A mine waiting to share its ore
A wrapping of leaves concealing
Life unawares, undiscovered.
Time. Energy. Passion.
No secret.  
The key to discovery is simple,
Innocent in the palm of your hand
One turn, and a world is unlocked.

In his stall late at night
Barbaro dreams of taking flight.
He hears a sound and ****** his ears,
A comforting hum of distant cheers.
Glory was quick and oh so brief
In these quiet hours he seeks relief.
It helps to run that race again,
Cheers and praise in the world of men.
Those speedy gifts have been retired,
Thoughts of victories desired,
Put to pasture such an early age
Against the stall he kicks with rage.
Why won’t the people listen?
Those long lean legs still glisten,
Powerful force on powerful thighs
Wire to wire swiftly flies.
But never again given a chance,
To chase the breeze and do the dance.
This night the stall door was left ajar,
A finish line beckons from afar,
Nothing to stop his midnight flight,
Soaring faster toward the light,
Racing the wind, his ultimate test,
In the winner’s circle he comes to rest.

Where are all the philosophers when you need one?
This existential limbo is anything but fun.
They must be sipping coffee on the Left Bank
I’m sinking here with only myself to thank.
I am, therefore I think.
I’m thinking, but what am I?
I couldn’t reason myself out of a zip-lock bag.
Get Kant on the phone, and don’t give me Camus,
His solution is like a bad tattoo,
It‘s deep and written in black,
My friend, there is no going back.

I was smothered today by a heavy blanket of reality.
Not a warm fluffy quilt.
Not a cuddly satin comforter.
But a scratchy rag from a forgotten closet
That filled my head with odors of a musty past.
I tried to toss that painful reminder
But I continued to itch
And vapors from that cloud of disappointment
Lingered into the night.
I put my reading down
The blanket unkempt at my feet
A fabric once soft to the touch
And a pattern familiar and in vogue
Has lost it’s allure.
Like a reindeer sweater,
It’s odd that this would appeal to me
Even back then.
Perhaps a gift, accepted foolishly,
Or picked up on a cold night without thinking.
I’m warmer now…and wiser;
My closets need some attention.

I am floating in my fantasies tonight.
Can’t decide if I’m sad or resolved
Things that could have been
Fall like dust on my table
I want to sweep them away
But I need to think of their random patterns
And uselessness….at least a little more.
It’s a trap, a tempting trap
I won’t fall in, but will dip my toes.
Do I have any more control of the past
Than of tomorrow?
I am already regretting a future
That has not yet disappointed me.
But I sense it will.
I need to live in the present
Away from what could have
And what should have
And what might, but won’t.
This music doesn’t help.
Just the melancholy soundtrack of my life.
Each note mirrors my heartbeat
Struggling to be heard.
But it will be.
These dreams are mine
And they won’t float away
In the river of memory.

Awash in disillusionment for a moment
That lasts for two
Making the most of a meaning I can’t possess
Branching out on limbs unknown
Never knowing the next step
A journey in the dark moonless night
Being guided by voices in my head,
Strange yet familiar I follow nonetheless,
Rushing to beat the dawn
I’ve been down this path before
My sleeping mind knows the way
What will I awaken to?
Memories to ponder or dreams to forget?
The vacuum of my mind ***** me in
I toss and turn another chapter unread
There’s comfort in the wind
Inertia held at bay.
I’ll sweep away the morning fog
As the dust settles in my eyes
The new day brings a choice
I will follow.

What can be done with the language barrier?
Words can approach the river
But refuse to cross
Heavy with thought and weigh us down
We shape their meaning with crude tools
And leave us staring at trees for solace.
Words are like snowflakes that melt on your arm
Each a unique world, a precise shape
Gone so fast and replaced.
There are so many, I need to ponder
How can I ever know you
If you fade and melt under my cold scrutiny?

What can be done with the language barrier?
Walls need to be scaled
I step upon your syntax to gain perspective
But words fail me when I reach the heights
Let's build a path to bridge the gap
A silent path of smooth stones
Cobbled together under the canopy of leaves
Where we can walk breathless
Hand in hand
Translating the words
That hang unspoken in the misty air.

The rain has stopped
The air is still
A softness permeates the dark
Calm spreads upon the dampness
We touch and melt
Into the perfect night
Your sweetness mirrors
The reflection in the pools of your eyes
Nature does no wrong
Restores the spirit
Keeps the ebb and flow
Harmony becomes you
Becomes us.
We awaken to the dawn
The light creates you anew
Memories of the night
Are written on your brow
Keep me guessing.