I do not know
the winters of your soul
or how your dog barks
at the end of a long night
on your return

I wish I did

I do not know what dawn looks like
to you
or if it has yet risen
The thin rays do not reach this far down
in the long grass

I only know
the beauty of the world under your gaze
and the weight of the crack that will form
when it goes

I hope he knows that I feel the stress
vortex banging against his cranium.
even with my welcoming surface,
he struggles to let go.

I hope he knows that it is not I that
needs replacing,
but simply his way of thinking that
needs readjusting.

A new year
A mindset anew

Hello 2021


- a.r. Camm

When lips have sunk the ships of yesteryear
Man can grasp the mast and pull out the fear
Casting an artful arm beyond the horizon
set down a new game in a new love’s garden.

They’ve done it so; whenever lost and known
As the hull bows to Davy Jones’ show
Let him have it. He only sings well for the dammed
And our light lingers beyond the darkest sands.

My backpack straps dig into my shoulders:
they burn with the weight.
I’m sick to my stomach,
and my throat still catches on thin air.
I just want things to ease up
or give me a break.

Mom comes with ginger ale;
we sit together in the car
and consider whether or not to
visit the doctor.

A slow rabble was the army tent
In the sense events commenced.
Lines lingered laughingly long

Senescent men intent in resentment
Furiously fighting fear.
Young men too, letting bravery ferment

Fools to the firmament.
Fate's Impertinent
Bent by torments underwent.

Who begged to be sent off to war?
Not me for sure; not anymore.
I won't ask why I was whisked away,
That I thought through though.
Wistfully waiting, I Inclined
To outline this old tale of mine
In the event I'm left behind.

So to whom it may concern,
Know you how my spirit burned!
Watch as I, while mortal
Fought foul fate, so much unearned
And how, with luck, I'll yet return.

I had a dream that impending doom was right around the corner.
Waiting to ****** up my mortal life.
And no one would notice I disappeared.

What a world we live in...that I could experience that and not feel shocked.