She never looks both ways
When she crosses the street
She’s much too beautiful

And never has to wait for help
When she walks into a store
She’s much too beautiful

She never worries about dates
There is always someone beside her
Because she’s much too beautiful

But when she is alone
By herself
She wonders about love
True love

And if anyone can see
Beneath the surface
Beyond the beauty

Sometimes wanting
All that beauty
To go far, far away

I watched
The colors dripping
From the falling leaves
As autumn
Slowly traded places
With the end of summer

On the ground
The sound of dry grass
Crackled underfoot
As I made my way
Up the twisting mountain trail
To where we once lived

I had come back
To see the old cabin
And help rekindle
Fading memories
Of happier times
Before you had gone

Standing in the center
Of an empty room
My eyes traveled about
From one bare wall
To another

In my mind
I could almost hear
The music we played
While I found
An old wobbly wooden chair
And sat for a short time

For about an hour
I struggled to remember
How the pictures were hung
And the flickering glow
From the fireplace
Dancing about the room

As the evening light dimmed
I buttoned up my coat
And said a final farewell
To the ghosts that remained
Before starting home

Passing the stone
That bore your name
I stopped for a short prayer
Before going on my way
To the crackling sound
Of colorful autumn leaves

Sometimes it’s like trying to write
With a pencil made of glass
Nothing comes
And I think
There are no more poems left
Inside of me
Even though I try
The words I chose
Run like water off of the paper
And I wonder
What shall I do
When all my poems are gone
And all my words have run away

With winter gone
The spring thaw
Moved quietly over the land
Revealing an old summer road
That led high up
Into the tall mountains

While winter flourished
All about the forest
I patiently waited
For the warmth of spring
So I might take this road
Over the foothills
To the high mountain lake

I remember many years ago
The first time I came upon
This old mountain road
Back then the road
Like myself, was young
With its wild flower path
That led to the very top

What I remember most
Was the sound of the forest
And the crackling
Of last year’s dry leaves underfoot
As I hiked up the path
It seems strange
When I think about it
But, from what I remember
The springs back then
Were more colorful
And the sky much fuller
Then they seem these days

I realize now
That the eyes of a young man
See things quite differently
And as the years pass by
Memories seem embellished
By the passing of time

And though I have waited
For winter to pass
And the warmth of spring
To open the summer road
I know
When I reach the top
Everything I see
Will never be the same
Because I can no longer
See the world
Through the memories
Of a young man’s eyes

I Watched
As the summer’s days passed
Heat
So oppressive
That each breath I took
Burned
Inside my lungs

I also remember
The cold front
Coming in
With the rushing wind
Blowing hard
Across the land

Driving
All the flies
Far, far  away

Before I die
I will Dance
There will be no tears
Of sadness
And I will ask
That all my friends
Who come to say goodbye
Sing songs as they dance
Throughout the day
In memory of my life

Before I die
I will dance
To remember my younger days
When I danced up a storm
My feet
Flying aimlessly about
While I danced
With all the pretty ladies
Until one fateful day
I danced with the one
Who stole my heart
Who became my wife
Who danced by my side
Hand in hand

I danced with the one
Whose kisses were sweet
Whose arms kept me warm
During cold, cold nights
Whose dance matched my own
Step for step, heel for toe
Until the day that my tears
Stopped the dance
When
She could no longer
Dance at all

Before I die
I will dance

I will dance
To remember
All of the other times
Before I grew old
And felt Gods spirit
Lift me up
Lift me high
Filling my heart
Making me smile
Making me dance!

Before I die
I will dance
With all that I have
With all that is left
So that others might see
There is something in me

Before I die
I will dance I will dance
I will dance
Dance
Dance