He did what he should
He was just a kid,
That what he learned,
That’s what he did,
Because it was “right”,
It must be good,
A black and white childhood,
But sometimes thing are not that way,
Black and white does blur to gray
That can never be annulled,
Points are lost when the tips get dull
And now he engages every man’s fight,
To do as he should,
Or to do what is right
©BL Costello 2018

I had crossed that path where No One could find me,
I only glanced back,
Then a door closed behind me,
Checking the room,
I turned to the mirror,
Assured I smiled,
No One is here!
Welcome my friend,
Constant and true,
You never told me what to do,
Constant,
always,
I could not be scared,
because I always knew....No One cared,
when I asked questions.....
No One knew,
and No One helped me,
What did you do?
Yes, I’m still smiling,
I am happy,
It’s true
I like No One better than you
©B L Costello 2018

The other place,
Down below,
Really is closer than you know
Beware,
Its not so far beneath,
That’s why I never have cold feet
Bare foot…
Smiling…
I thoughtfully tread,
They read the book,
I heard what was said,
My chin is up,
My teeth are clenched,
funny you never notice the stench,
Playing my fiddle,
You reap what you sow
My place is closer than you know
©B L Costello 2018

It's morning, rain has fallen making all the ground darker shade and I'm sweaty,
and, god, I didn't want to be sweaty.
I'm pushing panting up a hill in sixth gear on my six-gear bike because
the gear-shifter has long since broken
as a result of a time I cut too close to a
old-fashioned lamp post,
caught my pedal on it
and went spinning headlong into a rose bush.

The trees are green,
greener than I've ever seen them.
It's morning and the cars shick by, rolling atop the water in the road like Christ did in the early years.
A car slams into a puddle.
When did our lives become so perfectly metaphored in cars?
The a to B life; stopping only when stopped by a glaring light or harsh word; filling up and running out; breaking down only on the road, never in my own garage.

A warm rain will fall this morning.
I hear only the breathy whisper of my breath out my mouth
and engines and tires.
I think nothing, which is a hard-earned comfort
seeing as I, like every person, have a lot to think about,
ever since we invented the automobile; ever since we crucified a sinless man; ever since the moment we thought nothing, and were sent crashing into a rose bush.

I watched “Schindler’s List” again,
I really don’t know why,
I know how it ends…
Everybody dies
I guess I loved the theater
Maybe, I’m getting older,
But I sure loved the popcorn,
And your arm around my shoulder,
The way you said “aw honey”
As tears rolled down my face,
I felt so important in that crowded place,
I thought about you as I watched,
Its over 20 years,
I microwaved the popcorn,
And wish that you were here,
Alone on the couch,
The movies loose there meaning,
They say it cost less,
****,
I’m sick of streaming
©B L Costello 2018

Jimmy don’t care,
He gets what he needs,
He sleeps on beach,
Makes art out of reeds,
His favorite quotes he paints on driftwood,
Like “mean people ****”, and “life is good”
They are not for sale!
But he takes donations,
“The man can’t tax appreciation”
Jimmy’s got plans,
He will make it, you bet.
He ***** at Starbucks
And gets free internet
Life dealt him lemons,
But he don’t complain
Sometimes he ******* when it rains
“I’m getting on my feet”
He says sitting there,
It’s a sunny day and Jimmy don’t care
©B L Costello 2014

Good dog Max, always sits and waits
for the dogwalker, who comes every day at  8.
Leather leash around his neck, they go round and round the block,
the same route every day. He’s got no shoes and socks
to protect his padded feet, that were meant for grass and hills,
and there’s no chance to run and fetch a bird his master kills
(though that’s what he was bred for).
And from 9 in the morning, until every night,
it’s the same small apartment, floor of wood and walls of white.
Sometimes they lock him in a cage, so he won’t jump on the bed;
Max sometimes wonders if he’s alive, or dead.
He barks when they come home, and they tell him “shush.”
To hide his shame he gnaws a bone, or gives his bowl a push.
Max, depressed and fat, died before his time.
A prisoner locked in solitary who was guilty of no crime.