from the shadows of an uncertain world
a dawn of change and growth occur
from the ashes of fear, understanding unfurled
ancient and beautiful from ear to ear
pardon my stubbornness: it conceals deep love
and your bluntness betrays a purpose of light
from the seasons of conflict, as below or above
comes a harvest of sweetness, a nurturing delight
we don't always see into each other's lives
the intricacy and nuance of how our worlds work
i'm grateful you see how my path does writhe
know that i see how you fight, clean and ****
from dawn to dusk we walk through and through
and unfurl from the ancient what we know to be true

when the day has made you weary with it's harsh exacting tolls
and the night is unrelenting with the demands it makes of you
and when sorrow takes your strength through all it's bumps and rolls
let your chambers bring you solace as you bid what's passed adieu
the mountains will watch over you; a sentinel of earth
cradling you in slumber and holding your gentle bed
the rivers will cleanse and bring a gentle rebirth
with dreams that are flowing from oceans to watersheds
the wind with all it's might will take you far from danger's way
blowing away everything that desires to do you wrong
the flame is a reminder of the dawning of a new day
and a light to guide you through into the dreams where you belong
because all the light you bring warrants kind and gentle rest
so no matter what tomorrow brings you'll be your gorgeous best

sometimes i feel like i'm made out of stone
strong to a point but then i crumble alone
sometimes i wish i were a forest of trees
drink in the sunshine and then sway in your breeze

sometimes i feel that you're made out of wood
strong and beautiful, you flex when you should
but when the darkness falls you stand firm and strong
because you know the sun was there all along

and why do i cry if all i am is rock inside
and you, with your grace under fire
your branches grow higher whether rain or shine

you and i should be a garden in bloom
cluttered and beautiful with blossoms anew
and whether rain or shine we'll ebb and we'll flow
no matter which-a-way the cold wind blows

i feel close to you even when we're apart
when times are good or even when they are not
look deep into the vast wells of my heart
my fire burns and it burns for you hot
with your water you quench my thirsty earth
and you stoke my fire with your powerful wind
when you feel cold take your warmth by my welcoming hearth
and know that you have both a lover and friend
you've helped bring me balance and focus and good
so take comfort in all of my soil and flame
i hope you feel grounded when things aren't as they should
come down to my earth and take stake of your claim
because my love runs deep like the roots of a tree
so that you can feel joy and fly happy and free

i love the way that you create your world
with colors and beauty and ideas from within
a stroke of a brush brings mysteries unfurled
realizing entities that never have been
countertop paintings that make no assumptions
i watch you at work as your wonder unfolds
honest and genuine and making no presumptions
much like yourself and your beauty so bold
and i love that you let me watch you create
and share in an intimate moment with you
it's something special i deeply appreciate
watching you give birth to something honest and true
because one of the best things about being with you
is watching you give color to all that you do

dearest you, i know we've just only met
even though i've seen you from afar for years
i've composed for you a delicate vignette
with regards to my thoughts and feelings sincere
i hate to see you leave but love to watch you go
because any time together is time well spent
a reign from above or a command from below
reduces me to nothing but a puddle of content
when we wake up together i pull you in close
to partake of your graces before greeting the day
when we sleep i find you in a gentle repose
of curves and shadows in your own silent way
you cut such a fine figure that nothing outranks
and for this please accept my most deepest of thanks

oranges at midnight with a splash of Perrier
spread about your kitchen with the utmost of care
you tell me your adventures and the good things of your day
don't you mind the time; we stay up late as we can dare
wine on your front porch under the pale light of moon
pointing out constellations that dance among the sky
tell me all the meanings of each celestial rune
Polaris shines so brightly in the grey clouds going by
we go into your bedroom with the evening hours fleeing
the morning comes much sooner than either of us would like
massaging all the troubles and worries from your being
sends you gentle slumber and heals my entire pysche
we wake up and we part but we will see each other soon
be it by dusk or by dawn, by the sun or by the moon

when we're together in your home at night
i feel safe as houses and completely at ease
you're the queen of your castle, of moon and of might
you bow before no one and do as you please
when we're in your bedroom i sleep like a king
and your evening grants us a nocturnal bliss
in the realm of your kingdom the morning birds sing
and i'm roused from my slumber by your ethereal kiss
leaving your palace is the most difficult part
because you make me feel special, cared for and good
if home is the place where you've entrusted your heart
then that would explain why it feels like it should
just feeling the warmth of you and your home
makes me feel close to you and not so alone

i wish i knew how your garden grew
carefully sown with love and care
a paisley scene with deepest of hue
and a plethora of smells perfume the air
i wish i could tell how it grew so well
an ocean of flora all freshly in bloom
all of your tangles have stories to tell
mysteries well-guarded in their leafy womb
when rain and overcast skies close in
your garden recedes in a quiet repose
the till is immaculate and the soil pristine
and foul weather can't even begin to impose
no matter what, your garden survives
with everything vibrant and very much alive

i can't remember ever feeling this good
more than anything else i hope you feel it too
if i could pull down the stars i definitely would
and spell out your name for the heavens to view
i can't remember ever sleeping this well  
you fit so nicely nestled in close with me
every breath you breathe is a story to tell
and there's no other place that i'd rather be
i can't remember ever feeling this desired
before there was you life was a lonely affair
whether dressed to the nines or most casually attired
when i'm with you i'm golden, it doesn't matter where
i'm in no hurry; i take you just as you come
and i yield to those moments that we share as one

it's your birthday
you didn't even get to sleep in
happy birthday
you've got to go to work again

it's been a rough year
some days you couldn't get out of bed
you could use some good cheer
and a ray of hope instead

birthday cake and candles
don't make the world go round
when you're given too much to handle
your world tumbles to the ground

it's your birthday
time to pick yourself up again
happy birthday
when you could really use a friend

when all you really wanted
was someone to hold you dear
i wish you all good things undaunted
on each and every day this year

if i were a piece of furniture i would probably be a table
though my edges are coarse and the splinters would sting
i'm not much to look at and not the most comfortable
but i could very easily hold most all of your things
if i were a table i would most likely go unpolished
though a sealed satin finish would do me some good
if your friends had their way they would see me demolished
but you can appreciate all of my rough-hewn wood.
someday i might get a bit of sandpaper and stain
and show you just how stunning i can possibly be
i'll bring out my surprisingly uniform grain
and you'll wonder just what your world was without me
but for now i'm just a rough-cut accoutrement
that sits in your dining room waiting to earn your sentiment

i remember the desire that feuled me madly
all i needed was someone to hold me dear
you were close by and i wanted you so badly
and that was the start of my hospital year
my days began with that familiar refrain
and ended on my porch with me cloaked in gold
your love washed over me like summer rain
but everything else was growing bitter and cold
and finally it all came down to live or die
i could have given up the ghost to the great big O
something intervened and i can't say why
it's irrelevent; the how was all i needed to know
then it was all over without trepidation or fear
and that was the end of my hospital year

i've saved you the best chair by the warmth of the fire
so take your rest by my welcoming hearth
as the evils of the world take root and grow higher
there's no safer place on the whole of the earth
i'm drawn to your carefully guarded mystique
and you long for my deep majestic allure
you have my attention while your interest is piqued
i'm yours for the taking and the taking is yours
so color me gentle and let down your guard
there's nothing more pressing than the here and the now
but the path to your heart has been long, cold, and hard
i'd give myself to you if you would just show me how
because when fire meets water the steam is intense
and fuels a deep passion for which you have no defense

i live my life as a series of moments
strung together as a spiders web
yours is a mass of accomplishments
thrown into a suitcase, shoved under a bed
in emulsions a critical factor is heat
to bind unlike substances for a period of time
cold calculations and even colder feet
lead to the disintegration of a futile design
so the heat dies away as it eventually does
and we pass each other, strangers on the street
your shadowy sweetness lingers only because
you worked your way into me firm and complete
but the moment you withdrew in a snakelike deft
is precisely the moment i got up and left

i see your face in the evening sky
i know that it's you by your celestial lustre
as heavenly bodies make revolutions nearby
you remain stead fast and burn brightly as ever
i watch you refract though the atmosphere
and give light to earth's lonely nocturnal sleep
galaxies paint portraits in fuschia and pear
a nebula of beauty that runs both far and deep
when dawn finally breaks and the world awakes
your glow consummates with the morning sun
and though i know not which light either of you makes
i bathe in the heat as we also become one
beauty from afar doesn't feel far away
when i can feel you shine during both night and day

we are dropped on this earth naked and confused
it's cruel that life makes us the way that we are
but in being close to you i feel that notion refused
and we laugh as we observe our world bizarre
you lend me your money, i give you my time
i feel it's an exchange of mutual love
because your precious days of rest are sublime
and when my pockets are full life fits like a glove
but alas i am poor and you've little time to spare
the way of the world is a cruel mistress indeed
but so long as we give each other trust, love and care
i feel that's all we should want for or need
there are no expectations or judgements abound
and to share this with you is a gift rarely found

i see your face in the evening sky
i can tell it's you by your celestial lustre
as heavenly bodies make revolutions nearby
you remain steadfast, shining brightly as ever
distant galaxies paint a portrait
that reflect your likeness throughout time and space
cosmic suitors have all hedged a bet
and i go unnoticed in light of your grace
night comes to a close and you will soon be gone
but the morning sun brings his earthly tone
he seduces you with his gentle dawn
a consummation that stings me to the bone
as you become one with the morning sky
i only wish it would have been you and i

the low light accentuates the turns and curvatures
and the deepest mahogany hue
contrasts most nicely against your porcelain features
and the double bass which you pursue
it's hard to discern when the instrument ends
and your delicate figure begins
as you rise with the music and your bow descends
a symphony for the ears and for the eyes nearly sin
your beauty flows through the tips of your fingers
and out of the rich body with a sound so true
as it dances through the hall with a color that lingers
you both become one in a moment anew
the way that you shine as your instrument speaks
can mute the outspoken and turn the vicious meek

you could compare her to a summers day
every smile takes my breathe away
i'm hot and bothered by her humid haze
but her days are getting shorter with an auburn hue
daylight fades to twilight without much ado
i'm looking forward to her autumn moon

i know she's like the seasons when she's leaving without reason
she comes and goes
and i never know

you could compare her to a winters night
with ice blue eyes that cut with chilly delight
a frosty glance filled to the brim with fright
but she melts away into a day of pastel skies
a paisley scene of velveteen both far and wide
blooming out of her budding disguise


i know she's got her reasons when she's leaving like the seasons
she comes and goes
and i never know

i could tell you stories that have mystery and ******
the hero solves the crime and gets the girl
he brings order to the world

i could tell you tales of woe with villains of so tragic
you'll watch your back when you think no one's around

stories for you
with a twist of plot and a happy ending too
protagonists and catalysts
and villains who's untimely demises are surely not to be missed
tragedy as shakespeare would have wished

stories for you
with the star-crossed lovers that make you feel brand new
listen to the stories
all for you

all i want is to wake next to you
to feel you body breathe out, breathe in
but waking means sleep which is impossible to do
so i'll keep watch like a sentinel till the day begins
maybe it's the way that the first crack of light
refracts off the facets of the small of your back
and the way your scent mingles with the sheets through the night
subtle pheromones of which there is no lack
i cannot lie restful when i'm with you
but i drink in your beauty like a fine liqueur
and as i watch you dream those dreams you do
i only wish to be part of their unending endure
these sleepless nights are of little concern
for my soul understands what the flesh can't discern

there is a picture that hangs in my mind
a portrait that that has been there for years
it captures the sights i've long left behind
broad strokes painted with sorrow and tears
sometimes it appears as a beast of the night
or a porcelain lady shrouded in black
and though there is no danger or impending fright
there's always an inconspicuous attack
i've tried over and over to shroud this cruel work
to somehow destroy it or hide it away
but it seems always to remain with it's mocking frame
and its colors morose with a hue of dismay
it will probably hang for as long as i live
to ruin what i receive and spoil what i give

time is a cruel mistress with hands never idle
while our minds delve elsewhere she pockets our years
she takes our loved ones unchecked and unbridled
and in return gives us only sorrow and tears
but i do not fear this mistress sly
she cannot rob me of what i own
the soul doesn't perish and love doesn't die
so therefore i'm never really alone
the salarymen strive for capital gains
with a lust for a profit at the end of the quarter
and the mistress is there ******* life from their veins
as their empty lives grow progressively shorter
but the love i know never dies or fades to grey
and no mistress or demon or foul beast of night can ever take it away

she is my muse, she'll sing me to sleep
through the darkest of nights or the brightest of days
kings of the sky or the queens of the deep;
they all pay her courtly praise
when she is sad or her humors are ill
her skies grow dreary and grey
and her garden wilts while her forest lays still
while my sleep goes rotten from decay
oh put me at ease my beautiful muse
i long for the pitch of your siren
to make your world right i would slave all the night
and restore your graces undying
to be next to you would be my only console
because closeness, like slumber, is good for the soul

how do you sleep the long night through
as ill winds navigate the lonely twilit skies?
how do you wake glowing as you do
in spite of the sleep that drips from your eyes?
it's true there's a chill in the morning
with a frost that blankets the earth
but still you slumber without hesitation or warning
so that each time you wake is like a new birth
how do you lay your head to rest
while others lie tormented and ill at ease?
the world wakes groggy but you're at your best
and we muddle through life while you do as you please
how do you sleep, so tender and sweet?
with you i'd lie peaceful and slumber complete