.

I dream of the future that brings me to you
The seasons, the hours, the love ever true
The singing and dancing and feel of your skin
That day when my arms holding you will begin

The sound of your voice as it whispers my name
The moon bright and full in the sky once again
The sunrise each morning as day it does start
My head on your chest and the beat of your heart

The rain that does fall every once in a while
The beauty that flows from your wonderful smile
The birds up above in the brightest blue sky
A walk in the park as the day passes by

Living and learning, discovering you
Loving each moment and all that you do
The feel of your kiss oh so tender to me
The wind and the waves that do come from the sea

Your hypnotic eyes and chocolate brown hair
The hint of your scent that I’m desperate to share
Your wonderful hands as they hold on to mine
Oh why can’t it be this way all of the time

This life that I lead just can not be same
Without the expression that comes with your name
I dream of the future that brings me to you
The seasons, the hours, the love ever true

That Smell  
Lynyrd Skynyrd
For Courts Music Challenge


The stench it fills the nocturne air
Of wicked thoughts and fevered chains
With needles polished none to share
In search of risen stoic veins

To seep within the bloodstream deep
And paint a picture filled with lies
Now drains what sanity you keep
On roadmaps built of bloodshot eyes

This strength you take from solaced fear
Where chemicals now come to play
A weakness coincides your tears
As every moment fades away

Back alley streets of littered death
When life it bids a dark farewell
Oh how the banishment of breath
And echoes crying oh that smell

-

In my eyes you're perfect
In every sense I see
And not just for the happiness
You send so sweet to me

In everything you do
Your smile does proceed
I’ve never seen you hesitate
When someone is in need

Your days begin determined
They end the same way too
You live your life completely
As if the world were new

Your love of nature follows
Every step you take
You welcome any season
Each morning you awake

A simple poem touches you
And makes your smile shine
Music is your constant friend
It’s with you all the time

Your beauty is a blessing
Outside as well as in
There is nowhere that I could look
To find a better friend

So please accept this poem
I hope you know it’s true
I see you as amazing
In all you say and do

And if these verses find you
When me you’re thinking of
I will use this final line
To send you all my love

-

The distance beads on sunflower petals reaching
as bright yellow vistas bring happiness to open spaces
and blue skies welcome multicolored balloons
released by children on a day in the park

Miles stare me in the face with silence
when another Sunday seems like the longest day
and I wonder where your thoughts might be
while friends vie for attention with fancy words

I long for the sunset's introduction of night,
a spring moon crossing my universe
and stars to count and recount as minutes
bring tomorrow and my hopes it will include you

This is just another afternoon I wish I were there
In your arms, a new smile, a new city, a new world
Learning to love all over again and I would be
if only I had started my journey long ago

For now hummingbirds dance on cool April breezes
and azaleas concentrate on the task of blooming
As a park bench beckons at the far end of the walk
for me to sit and dream of the what ifs on my list

I look around at nature's gifts and know,
if love is springtime then you are my springtime
and breathing in the warm beautiful day
I wonder...am I the springtime in your heart too?

I wish I could kiss you
Now that would be sweet
The moment your lips
And my lips came to me

My heart would beat faster
My pulse it would race
Just feeling your kiss
Oh so soft on my face

I'd kiss you each morning
And kiss you each night
We'd kiss in the dark
And we'd kiss in the light

Like butter cream frosting
Or high dollar wine
I'll know it's delicious
when your kiss is mine

I'll kiss you forever
That you can believe
I won't look away
No I won't even breathe

A kiss at the station
or maybe the store
It won't matter where
It's your kiss I'll adore

If the world is ending
Please promise me this
Before it is over
Just give me a kiss

Then I will be happy
I know that will be
As long as your lips
Are the ones kissing me

.

One of these days
I will write you a poem
Perfectly stated
I hope you will find

Wonderful verses
of love never ending
Tender affections
from this pen of mine

Melting your heart
with the words I have written
Making you smile
with each line you read

Rhyming emotions
of springtime and flowers
Sending the message
you’re all that I need

Phrases of beauty
so filled with devotion
Promised forever
in poetic ways

Something so special
you’ll never forget me
I will write that poem...
one of these days

-

Tracing the cosmos
In wide open spaces
Only to face
The dreams that I wander
A lonely existence
Among constellations
Orbiting my desires
Now eclipsed by you

Gazing down
The earth below seems faded
As this distance counts
Light years like glazed donuts
Tempting from a window, as a kid
Licking the glass,
Never tasting the prize

Lunar phases
Become poetic phrases
Cosmic dust descending
Caught in gravity’s pull
Rocketing towards a target
Programmed for a safe
Reentry into your heart

The craft juts and jolts, screeching
Amidst the desolate silence of space
“Houston, we have a problem.
She needs to know how I feel,
how much I love her...”
Static echoed frequency hums
Transmission ended
All hope burned up
Crash landed

-

She tells me I’m lucky
And **** she is right
I count those stars
Almost every night

Thanking each one
As they glow up above
For sending this woman
And showing me love

They twinkle and glisten
So many I see
All of these lucky stars
Shining for me

She tells me I’m lucky
But she needn’t say
For that’s how I feel
In her arms everyday

_

Messages may just be words
In phrases that we share
But every time I write it is
To show how much I care

It may seem such a little thing
So many people write
But when I send these words to you
It brings me such delight

I know there are a lot of words
Sent to your world each day
Your followers are every where
With other things to say

But please know I appreciate
The time you spend with me
Sending emails back and forth
That I can’t wait to see

I don’t need anybody else
It’s you that makes me smile
When I receive those messages
In your amazing style

At times I’ll write a poem
Then I’ll post it on this site
In hopes that you will read it
Thinking of me on that night

I guess this is another one
These verses that I pen
They’re written so that you will see
And understand again

That you are all I’ll ever need
My love for you is true
That’s why I just can’t stop myself
From writing these to you

_

You are that special place
where my heart tends to fly
and I can be anything I chose

Where prying eyes don’t matter
as I dance like an idiot
on a street corner downtown

Or pick up a baby sparrow
returning it to its nest
in the midst of a war

I can climb a tree
in the park to get a better view
of yesterday’s sunset

Hail a yellow cab
with my eyes closed
to take us anywhere we’ve never been

Open a door
and pull out your chair
in the middle of a hockey game

Or shout loudly “I adore you”
in the reference section
of the local library

These thoughts may be a little absurd
but I am trying to make a point,
so you know how I feel because…

You are that special place
where I can be me
*and know I will be loved anyway

-

I wrote you a love letter,
sent it to you through the mail
Barely legible (it was my handwriting)
but something that came straight from my heart
You said it was the most beautiful
thing you have ever received

And I just want you to know,
I meant every word

To me
Every moon beam
Every blooming flower
Every blue sky
Every soft beach
Every calm breeze
Every longed for kiss
Every happy ending
Every red balloon
Every happy moment
Every silent thought
Every spring day
Every butterfly
Every surprise
Every rainbow
Every shaded path
Every sunset
Every shooting star
Every meandering stream
Every new snowfall
Every Sunday drive
Every enchanting vista
Every ripe delicious apple
Every picnic in the park
Every work of art
Every poem
Every tender hug
Every desired gaze
Every ocean wave
Every smile
Every excited cheer
Every refreshing glass of water
Every hearty laugh
Every pristine lake
Every splash in a puddle
Every golden meadow
Every coin in a fountain
Every porch swing on a summer evening
Every sunrise
Every word
Every sentence
Every paragraph
Every dew drop
Every slow dance
Every waterfall
Every candlelit dinner
Every song
Every heartbeat
Every sweet fragrance
Every quiet whisper
Every firefly glow
Every beautiful dream
Every eyes closed wish
Every special secret
Every sunny weekend
Every quaint café
Every glazed donut
Every opened door
Every carousel ride
Every new leaf
Every breath
Every ice cream sundae
Every joyful celebration
Every minute of every hour of every day…
Is you

-
Can someone please tell me why,

when I have met the most amazing woman in the world,
one who brings a smile to my face like it has never worn,
makes my heart sing in harmony with everything beautiful,
touches me in ways that feel as soft as an angel’s wings,
lifts me to new heights of happiness where I can barely breathe,
allows me to dream the most wonderful dreams with my eyes wide open,
has become such a part of my life that I can not even imagine one day without her,
gives me a confidence and strength I have never before felt
and has shown me what love truly is,

that I sit here scared to death?

How am I supposed to write
when poetry becomes
nothing more than
wasted words,
Merely phrases on a page,
staring back at me asking why,
why do you bother,
when she won’t see it anyway

I am here

I am here,
standing on this lonely street corner,
reading the graffiti
spray painted on my heart

Stuck in this concrete sidewalk
where we carved our initials,
unable to move, nor do I want to
seeing a lighted signal stuck on “Don’t Walk”

A street light glares as if happy
with the lost dog ads taped to its body
Hoping to find a missing loved one
and I know how they feel

My cardboard sign reading,
“I will love you forever”
is met with strange ****** expressions
and tooting horns

Yet here I wait, hoping, praying
you will come around that corner
A smile on your face,
pulling to the curb saying, “Hop on in”

And I always will be
if you ever need me, want me again,
standing here, arms open wide
right where you left me

A hummingbird hovers outside my window
admiring itself in the reflection
I see its colors shine in the morning sun,
almost hypnotizing

Staring, I wonder if it sees me
alone behind dusty mini-blinds,
vertical slices of faux wood
narrowly showing the world beyond

Thin lines of what others see,
blooming flowers and green grass
inviting happiness to wander freely
through cool breezes and sunny days

I should smile at this precious scene,
spring is near in signs and actions
Yet I do not, for I despise spring
It is a symbol of life, new life

Life is the darkest thought of my mind’s shadows
That last sip of cold black coffee
Imitating thoughts and dripping moods
Poetic phrases can’t mask

Pleading images claim all empty fault
As crimson blood runs the gutters
Splashing on concrete cracks twisted about my neck
Laughing from a back seat around the next corner

And still that hummingbird lingers, pointing
Tiny wings move in a rapid dance
It’s red throat casting aspersions in my direction
As I reach for my own neck, it is wet, and I am tired

I thought I found love
It seemed like the kind
Seen while you’re dreaming
Hoping to find

My heart skipped a beat
A smile appeared
I danced like an idiot
I hope that’s not weird

Almost a year
I cherished each day
She came to my life
And took me away

She gave me her heart
Her love was divine
I couldn’t believe
This woman was mine

When along came another
To good to be true
Handsome and strong
She said we were through

He showed her attention
Much better than me
She’d fallen in love
So happy they’d be

She said that they met
At a sidewalk café
He wrote her a poem
What more could she say

She hated to hurt me
She liked me a lot
But we were just friends
In case I forgot

I started to cry
Not much like a man
I just couldn’t help it
So please understand

She said that she loved me
And she always would
Along with the bad
And everything good

She mentioned forever
But now I can see
I should have been writing
Some love poetry

So now here I sit
Alone in my chair
Writing a poem
With you I can share

I hope that you like it
And maybe she reads
Knowing my heart
For her it still pleads

I guess if she doesn’t
Then that’s okay too
At least I have tried
What more can I do

I sit here watching the rain fall*
from dark grey clouds
wondering if the sky might
be crying for us…

As I think back to what we were,
our times kissing in a rain just like this
an unopened umbrella
and both becoming drenched
in our feelings for one another

The plans we made
for quiet Sunday mornings
lying in bed gazing into each other’s eyes,
arms wrapped tightly as a new sun rose
while we were lost in deep affection

I picture the desires we shared, our dreams
of those late nights, an empty office
a sleepy city skyline, silhouettes on the evening
as we learned what true love meant
in breathless encounters

Our song, we could sing it by heart
Each word in perfect harmony
with you and me
How we believed it was written for us
and it probably was

The love, I still feel that love and always will,
a love beyond anything else
A love we both agreed was more
than we had ever felt before,
twin flames, soul mates, a perfect love…now ended

And I sit here watching the rain fall
from dark grey clouds
wondering if the sky might
be crying for us…
*I guess it could be

If poetic ink indeed flows from the heart
taking to its walk on scattered stones
Where there is no blurring of pathways,
directions are defined,
thoughts collect in either
ponds or puddles, then

Some you will find lead to a sunrise
where joy thrives in fragrant wishes,
drinking all that is beautiful
in cupped hands glistening,
overflowing with happiness,
if streaming from a heart in love

While some will crawl to an ending
beneath rain dispersing clouds,
weeping in sorrowed words,
laying waste in the darkness,
when escaping from the cracks
of a heart broken

I have been asked
why is my poetry so depressing,
I hope this answers your question

Tear drops fall
between silent lines
carrying the tune
of this weeping melody
written on my heart’s
faded sheet music

Scales cry in sharpened flats
twisting treble clef sorrows
Candelabras drip pain
on withered fingers
roaming ivory slivers bleeding
out of tune syncopation

Unheard choruses
in three quarter sadness
wasted on black and white keys
played long after
the lid was closed
on our love


Where is that sustain pedal
when you need it?

I painted a butterfly’s wings
because its colors
clashed with my garden

It died,
so did my garden

I sat there watching you and him,
wondering what has he got
that I don’t have
and then it hits me,
he has you

A lonely morning
Rain fed and darkness
Slick highways
And laughing traffic lights
Colorful and happy they seem
Splashing in puddles
Wipers hypnotize me
Back and forth
Smearing my vision
As I drive, drive, drive

Our song on repeat
Over and over again
Sometimes it makes me smile
Most times it sings me pain
Accelerating through the intersection
Wishing, I’m not sure what I’m wishing
It is just so hard to believe
We were us, you and me
And now empty lanes go on forever
Just as we were supposed to

I should forget, I can’t forget
My heart will not let me
Turning corners is for others
Those who have a direction,
A passenger to share the ride
Seal belts buckled, holding tight
Hands across consoles
Love on every city street
Finding the perfect parking spot
As I drive circles around
What we used to be

A lonely morning
Rain fed and darkness
And a drive in
That used to bring me to you
Now leads nowhere
Anymore

What is pathetic?

You know, it’s like when the
forecast calls for rain
and puddles form in your eyes
because rivers flowing
against the current
cause your heart to break
like that thin layer of ice
that seems so sturdy
but is only as weak
as that first step you take
backwards away from the opening
revealing a frigid stare
you’ve seen before,
the last time you saw yourself
as she does now…

Yeah, it’s just like that

I followed the road map I found
inside my broken heart
and drove to the very edge of yesterday
Got out of my car and looked over the side
There at the bottom of this very deep ravine
I could see today, so I jumped…

there will be no tomorrow

I found within the shattered pieces
of this broken heart
a glowing golden orb
emitting an enchanting light,
soft and soothing
A calm swept over me
like a warm gentle breeze
on the most beautiful spring day
of which I had never felt before

My eyes were wide
as a smile found my face, lifting corners
where only a downturned
form had rested before
Sadness seemed a cloud
that was quickly moving away
from the visions I had lived
Once my eyes adjusted
to their new surroundings I saw

It was you, this glow, it always had been you
Lingering long before we met,
before we fell in love, then sadly fell apart
Yet where others would have ended,
we began again, together
walking out of this darkness
hand in hand, within a different kind of love
as we began our new journey
basking in the glow of friendship

Time
Seconds counting
Spinning in endless design
Adding up minutes
Filling gaps in daydreams
Changing sky colors
Pushing everything forward
Something to stare at
Looking at the clock
Crawling on its hands
Dragging out hours

Time
You said in time
This pain would heal
The sadness would disappear
But time has stopped
The world has ended
And so have I

It can't happen in time
When you are out of time

They say if you die in a dream
you are dead, but what happens
when your dreams die
and you wish you were?

Only
You and me
We were special
Made for each other
There was something about us
Neither had felt love like this before
I said something that hurt you badly
Allowing your heart to change
Then you hated me
Now there is no
You and me
Only


You


and


me