When your thoughts
Break the law
Of your heart,
Chase them down.
Then, with a
Pummeling blow
Knock those thoughts
To the ground.
Handcuff them,
And lock them
Behind bars.
They do not
Deserve a
Trial so
You are free
To punish
Those rebellious
Thoughts and teach
Them to obey.
Yes, make a
Spectacle of
Those thoughts so
Other rebellious
Thoughts learn to
Obey the law
Of the land.

Your perfume
Lingers in the air
Longing
To be on my skin
As I desire
You to be
Closer to me
Than ever before.
Hasten the days,
My beloved,
Somehow
Hasten the days.

I
Don't
Have
Enough
Poetry
Books.

I
Don't
Have
Enough
Poetry.

I
Don't
Have
Enough.

I
Don't
Have.

I
Don't.

I.

Hazards on*
He stepped into
That slushy sheet of snow.
It fell from heav'n
Pelting face
Onto the earth below.

The silence
Creeped in his ears,
His headlights were dull beams,
That lit the snow
Like a lamp
And shone upon the scene.

Damp pavement -
The body laid
Resting upon the street.
He could hardly
Stand the sight
It crushed there at his feet.

He stepped close
To examine
That mangled body there
To see if it
Was his cat
Or simply just a hare.

Difficult
The task it was
To recognize the dead.
The hair was wet,
Hue had changed,
A car had crushed its head.  

Studying
The corpse with care -
The skin had been peeled back.
Torso-Muscle
Was revealed
The leg twitched - he gasped.

He jumped back,
Filled with terror
At what he had just spied,
But in that breath
He re'lized
The creature that had died.

Oh it was
A rabbit there,
Dead upon the cold lane.
Yes, he was sad -
Yet relieved -
From a heart filled with pain.

But, a part
Of him was crushed,
Shivering in the snow.
Like that creature
On the street,
He was there all alone.

Every Tuesday night
From January to April
The highlight of my night
Was a chocolate croissant.

I would sit and listen
To theories and methods,
Literature and research,
And on break I would have one.

I would order it each night
With salivating anticipation.  
As I handed over my money
They put it in the oven.  

And each night
They would call out
"Chocolate croissant?"
And I would grab the bag.

I would devour that morsel
With joy and elation,
And as I felt it go down
My chest would warm -

Not only from
The warm croissant,
But also from the joy
Warming my heart.

It was the best part
Of those horrible evenings
Of literature and research
Theory and methods.

Sometimes,
If I was feeling spicy,
I would get two -
One on each break...

And sometimes
On Thursdays
I would get two more
For History and PR.

Yes,
Those chocolate croissants
Got me through
My last semester of college.

When I was feeling stressed,
Or feeling down
From the subject matter,
I would eat one,

And I would feel better.
And I bet
As you are reading this
You want one.

Do yourself a favor,
Go buy yourself
A chocolate croissant -
And enjoy it.  

Let it help you escape
From your worries
And your cares
For about 90 seconds

As you devour that
Delicious pastry.
And let it warm your chest
With chocolate and joy.

How often
Do you
Search
Yourself?

I have searched you,
And I know you,
And I have yet
To turn away.

The great philosopher
Utters things profound.
     Gives the bird her song

The great philosopher 
Utters things profound.
     Cools the shade

The great philosopher
Utters things profound.
     Sweetens ice cream

The great philosopher 
Utters things profound.
     Gives dogs their dreams

The great philosopher 
Utters things profound.
     Makes the child dance

The great philosopher 
Utters things profound.
     Lunch at Wendy's

The great philosopher 
Utters things profound.
     A friend's eccentricity

The great philosopher
     Can utter ordinary things...
     Listen to that lecture too

A mountain of light,
It seems to me,
Rests upon the ground.

And here am I 
High up in flight 
Up here looking down.

We rush beyond
That shining hill;
Inhuman speed.

Furthermore 
Rivers of light 
Upon the earth I see.

Do you realize 
the impact you have
on those around you? 

The smile you gave
that waitress filling coffee
changed her perspective.

The young boy
that looks up to you
shapes his life after yours. 

The pastor who watched 
you grow up 
finds purpose.

The friend you met
at summer camp
smiles remembering. 

The song you wrote
alone in your room
is someone's anthem. 

That speech you gave
for extra credit
broke someone's addiction.

The time you prayed
for an impartation
empowered her to speak.

You don't realize
the effect you have
on everyone around you. 

Don't dare 
give up
on them.

Winter brings the bitter chill,
I shiver standing in the cold;
We warm ourselves near the fire,
We bring a tree into our home.  

A blizzard wraps the wood around us, 
A glistening blanket - snowy white;
Our forest is so silent now;
Stars shine like diamonds in the night.  

In spring, the birds join in a choir,
Hundreds of songs in harmony, 
I look around and hear them sing;
Flowers bloom so gloriously.

I smell the scent of fragrant rain;
Showers drench the fertile ground.
I see the trees begin to leaf,
Rustling rain comes pouring down.

In summer the sun radiates,
Filling the forest with all that's green.
Oak and pine fill my nose,
I walk beside the crystal stream.

The grass it grows higher, higher,
I feel it soft between my toes;
From time to time a storm arrives,
Clapping thunder, wind that blows.

Autumn brings a change in palette;
Squirrels hide their treasured 'corns;
The taste of nutmeg - pumpkin pie,
Jack-o'-lanterns at our doors.

Mouths are filled with apple cider;
Leaves piled upon the ground;
Children jump into them laughing, 
Hidden in orange, maroon, and brown.

A thousand faces of the forest.
Winter; spring; summer; fall - 
And yet the face of my beloved
Is more beautiful than them all.

I waited for an elevator
It was an exceptionally long pause,
And there was a group of three arguing
Over the meaning of a clause.

I knew the answer to their query,
But questioned if I should reply.
Social stigmas can be strange
So I decided to be shy.

They searched their minds,
They racked their brains,
And I just stood there -
The answer boiling on my tongue.

My elevator arrived just then,
And I reluctantly stepped inside.
The doors closed slowly, slowly,
And I heard their voices die...

...So it is with my faith.
Many people are searching
And I have the answer,
But I am too afraid to speak.

So I step inside an elevator,
And lift myself above their problems
Pridefully rejecting the searching
Of those who need an answer.

I reflect upon the Father's love -
monoliths in Yosemite.
The eagle screeches far above
a song, "Your love's extremity".

As we get older
We have to watch what we eat:
Our health, weight, and heart.

I stepped outside before the dawn
And in the darkness I stood there;
Looking about my grassy lawn
And through the trees from winter bare.

I stopped because the silence played
Through the trees and upon the lawn;
In that quiet moment I stayed 
In the darkness before the dawn.

I listened for a car to roar,
Yet only heard one on the street.
I longed for silence - there before 
Our world was filled with this concrete. 

I mourn for all the stillness lost, 
I mourn for all our poor eardrums,
That ring and click from what it's cost
To build all these cement kingdoms. 

But whisp'ring through that mournful thought...
The sole car fades into silence...
I reflect on this peace I've sought...
Birds restrain their songs in shyness...
 
And as I look about my lawn
I release a breath I had drawn
In the darkness before the dawn.
In the darkness before the dawn.

The fisherman laughs
Sitting in his old canoe
His grandson's face shines.

Sometimes I imagine
Sasquatch on my porch;
A watchman
For my home.

Eyes open wide-
-He peers down the road,
Making sure
We are safe.

From the break of dawn
To streetlights turning on
Sasquatch tarries.
Always watching.

He sees the deer;
He sees the neighbors;
He sees the mouse
Running from her car

To beneath our deck
Where he stands;
But Sasquatch
Does not stop him.

He just stands there
Watching,
Waiting,
Staring down the street...

Hoping
-Maybe one day
He will come alive
To stop the mouse.

When I was a child,
I fondly remember
eating carrots from 
the dirt of our garden.

My brother, my sister, and I
would pull the carrots,
with great care, from
the dirt of our garden.

We would wash them
sometimes in the sink,
sometimes with the hose,
to remove the dirt of our garden.

But even then
as we chewed those carrots
we could still sometimes taste
the dirt of our garden.