You, with words of beauty,
speak in softer tones
where volume is not required
because vibrations
bring to light the meaning

Even if remaining quiet
calms the fears
drifting along your heart

Feelings still shout
in actions shown,
leaving only words unsaid
to speak the true meaning
of the silence

I suggested leaning but they chose to jump. Never once looking to see what waited for them at the bottom. Still I called in a voice of heroic fashion, though slightly chapped from the lack of judgment shown. I stood listening for an echo or anything resembling a voice from the depths, but heard only waves, crashing against the rocks lining this coast of last chances. Gulls swooped and sang midnight songs while the moon snickered in its own lunar way. I found the darkness to be threatening as I peered over the edge, seeking but a plaid shirt, a pair of jeans or a chrome button dangling from an exposed root to no avail.  It had happened and poetry was the thief. Stolen in our prime, wading in shallow waters, watching ripples of time count minutes as our thoughts began to swim. It was no use, it beckoned and only one remained to answer the never ending call. So I dove head first into the phrases and verses that would spell my doom, sentenced for life, writing graphic details of those things my heart had held and my eyes had witnessed, knowing this was it, the end of my life as I knew it, lost forever in the abyss, the drowning point of creativity, poetic imprisonment and me without a swimsuit.

I tasted the piece that
smoothed the way,
submerged, as a single leaf
floated unknowing

Salted sweetness
on folded fables,
turned pages rapidly
between parted indexes

As eyes pierced,
interlaced of cotton fibers
Laying fears aside,
wrapped in yesterdays worries

While lounging on the side of caution
in plastic sheaves
protecting the existence
of unwanted realizations

Still the moments that fell
atop motions fed my soul,
inserted into the warmth
of streams flowing deeper

And up to my knees wading
brought sighs of satisfaction
when dreams came and went,
but still remain everlasting

Now in the shade
A lonely figure
Of interlaced thoughts
Draws a shape
In the soft earth
Because the bark
Has since overgrown
The one he carved above
In a previous life

Playlists of broken thoughts
Cobwebs and keys
Slanted in uniformed dissatisfaction
Notes smeared on fingertips
Melancholy mu-sick
Vibrato virtuoso

Bending strings and pushing pedals
Smashing baby grands
Into bite sized pieces

Feedback flashbacks
And the band played on
While the pianist was shot
Between the eyes
In an off key massacre
To a standing ovation

When silence forms
in morning simplicity,
tracing tracks
beyond traffic jam coffee
and softer tones
to a new address
where afternoons are easier
and smiles come
from blurred windows
and online dreams,
remember to reach out,
someone misses you

-

I tried to count the minutes
but I ran out of time
So I’ll just write this poem,
forcing out a rhyme

When will it start to happen
just like I’ve heard them say
Will it begin tomorrow
or several months away

The emptiness keeps growing,
this pain within my heart
I can’t believe the ending,
remembering the start

I just can’t stop the crying,
my face now drenched in tears
Staring at a future
filled with lonely years

How does it become easy
when all I want to do
Is wake up every morning,
a sunny day with you

But now my days are cloudy,
the rain keeps falling down
Where once I wore a smile,
holds nothing but a frown

Every day is different,
though all are just the same
I stare off to the distance
calling out your name

They say it will get easier,
just wait and you will see
I don’t want to see anything
if you’re not here with me

Life now has no meaning,
darkness comes to call
Weakness is my shadow
on my knees I fall

I tried, but I can’t say that
my broken heart is fine
So I’ll just write this poem
forcing out a rhyme

-
I’ve been walking this long hallway
for over a year
Reading the gilded framed
poems lining the walls,
verse after verse of
beautifully written words

I have made some good
friends along the way
Met some wonderful poets
who I have learned from
as well as learned to respect
and admire (watching far too many leave)
these meetings I will cherish

I have also crossed paths with a few
who didn’t care for me all that much,
hated my dreadful reviews, (blocked me for that)
misundertood my attempts at humor
or didn't appreciate the love poetry
I tried to slip in amongst the fighting,
but that’s okay, it takes all kinds

I've counted the masks worn,
there are more than two reasons
aren't there?
Some smiling, some not,
all there for their own reasons,
which it is not for me to judge
or anyone else, though that doesn't
seem to stop it from happening

Still little by little I have
headed towards a faint light
The soft glow at the far end
of this prose tiled floor
Each day the light became
a bit stronger, brighter
That tiny glowing square
in the distance
bigger and bigger

My shadow leading or following,
longer or shorter
depending on if I walk facing
forwards or backwards,
hop scotching over the hate,
sneaking past the accusations,
hiding from trolls (he found me anyway)
and the finger pointed whining,
hoping to pass go,
(you can keep the two hundred)


All the while sadly realizing
I am slowly becoming
smaller and smaller,
barely visible to others here
Disappearing a little more
with each passing day
Till now I am nothing more
than a forgotten minute speck
at the furthest end
of this meandering corridor

An insignificant silhouette
of a poet who once was,
now slowly fading
out through the opening
to stand in the bright sunlight
And as I refocus my eyes
to my new surroundings
I turn to wave goodbye
to what I so enjoyed
only to see a sign that reads…

*“Thanks for visiting Hellopoetry, whoever the hell you were”

Spring is not that far ahead,
yet the  sidewalks are empty
as a cold rain falls and I wander
alone, hands in my pockets,
my head hung low

Staring at the puddles,
as my reflection stares back,
between the constant ripples
and I don't recognize
the sorrowed face that I see

Winter touches everything,
dripping from awnings
of the places we used to share,
now closed and boarded up,
empty like my heart

But still I keep walking
nowhere to be,
no one who wants me,
nothing to look forward to
as hope is now frozen

Spring is not that far ahead
though I will not find it
for winter is me and my world
will forever be cold without
the warmth of your love

~

“Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight”


The winter wind is cold
as I stand in the yard
staring up at a
the evening stars
we once shared

When the ground crumbles,
giving way beneath my feet,
frozen earth opens up,
swallowing me
into a deep abyss

And as the surface falls,
caving in, creating
a darkness like
I have never known
I whisper, “thank you”

For soon spring will come,
and new grass will grow
over the disturbed land,
erasing every trace,
that I ever was

~

*I looked down at my piano,
eighty-eight black and white keys
inviting me to sit down and play,
but I just closed the lid
and could almost hear
their melodic crying
over my own tears,
as I walked away

~

*Why is it every thought
I have is of you?

Waking this morning
you were there
lying next to me,
your smile starting my day,
when I was the only one there.

My first cup of coffee
I shared with you,
on the patio as
bird song filled the air,
and I was alone.

The sunrise, beautiful
pastel ribbons painting
the northern horizon
I pointed out to you,
but you were a thousand
miles away.

And even now as
I write this poem,
I do so because like
every other moment
of my life, you are with me
even though you are not.

Why is it every thought
I have is of you?

Because I love you

~

Just a shell
is all that remains
Hollow and lifeless
of thread and thoughts
Fraying slowly in
lost dreams and
unfulfilled wishes

Falling into the shadows of
fractured promises
and the passage of time
when winds will disperse
the memories of what
he once was

scattering them as they
disappear on the horizons
beyond the distant sunset
he so enjoyed sharing,
now colorless,
as he stares blankly

just a shell

is all that remains…

.

The days have left,
disappeared faster than I could think
Waved goodbye from platforms high above
every dream that never came true,
each wish that remains unfulfilled
Scribbled papers scattered on an abandoned desk,
poetry written in bled out emotions
crumble and tossed…jump shots
missing the goal completely

Though memories in gilded frames,
moments forever frozen in time,
words never to be forgotten
gather warmly in my heart for
I am so fortunate and thankful to  
have had this opportunity
to know you, to love you
and to share…to share our lives

And as I bid farewell to the last chance,
that lost horizon fading
I send sincerely the confirmation,
the truth in whispered hopes
that happiness is abundant,
smiles are forever,
and though it can't be me,
you find the absolute love
you deserve…

because sadly

“I understand”

-

What kind of world will we leave for our children,
one that is shackled in hate?
Tying their hands in the wake of the future,
sealing the edge of their fate.

Killing of innocents minding their business,
filling the shadows with fear.
What is the plan to relieve all this worry,
now that it’s already here?

Why is it right that we turn against neighbors
just for the clothing they wear?
The color of skin and the faith they believe in,
did we forget how to care?

Racism churned from the bellies of monsters,
pointing their fingers in blame
When will they learn that we’re in this together,
regardless of language or name?

Why do we hide always ducking for cover,
waiting this terror to cease?
When we can stand up like sister and brother
walking together in peace.

We are all people who live on this planet,
being the best we can be.
It’s up to us what we leave for our children,
why not a world that is free?