~

Fingers intertwined,
  she leads me
to the place
I shall never
      know fear,
   as I follow her
happily
   *to her heart

-

I ran out of words
so I stopped at the store
and searched every aisle and row

Pushing my cart
with a wobbling wheel
just trying to keep with the flow

Chocolate chip cookies,
a magazine stand,
broom handles right over there

Two percent milk,
light bulbs and duct tape,
prices galore to compare

But there were no words
at least none I could use
to write you a poem today

No phrases on sale,
not a verse on the shelf
or flowery thoughts on display

So I bought a pen
and a Big Chief notebook,
there was nothing else I could do

And I scribbled these words
as I walked to my car
that simply said I do love you

.

Pathways lead,
I follow with my eyes closed
euphonious tender wings
of painted treetop songs
counted in measures of bliss

Sunsets drift,
tangerine sleeves roll the horizon
as symphonic emotions call
in echoes of promise
lingering in eternal dreams

Destinations wait,
in distances of northward thought,
where cities come to meet,
and skylines form in your melody,
choruses of breathtaking brush strokes

Passion abounds,
played of satin stringed desires,
sonnets on silhouettes float
in the  harmonies of my heart
*singing sweetly with you

-
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”

Sometimes I can be so very stupid
Sometimes I speak before I think
Sometimes I listen to the wrong part of me
Sometimes I act like an ***
Sometimes I don’t use common sense
Sometimes I see more in things than there really is
Sometimes I hurt the one person I love
Sometimes I bring pain to her without trying
Sometimes I am such a fool
Always I am sincerely sorry

~

Sometimes I cry,
yes, I do
when I think about what my life
was like without you

I would watch lovers stroll,
young and old, hand in hand
knowing it was always someone else,
I was somehow always left out

It hurt, I’m not going to lie, it did…
I found myself constantly wondering
what is wrong with me?
Why was I alone…

Seeing days of sunshine for others,
laughter ringing, joy on their faces
love matching their steps, as I sat
on a wooden bench staring out into the bay

Watching a single gull floating
lonely on the water,
following the never ending ripples,
silently conforming to whatever this is

And I would think, that is me,
just floating, vacant, empty, bobbing
waiting the next tide
to bring me back to start again

For so long I was this sea bird,
chasing lunch boxes
on a crowded summer beach only to
end up hungry at the end of the day

Dreaming of a day when I would have someone,
(though I came to doubt it would happen)
to fly with me, soaring our beach,
our shore, making it all worthwhile

A heart to share
these things that I kept locked
deep inside for fear
no one would care

And yes, I still cry
at these thoughts, though
far and few between now
and disappearing more each day

For I no longer fly alone
and the waiting was so well worth it
As my smile returns and I live
the life that had always been waiting for me

And I now know the answer
to what was wrong with me,
to why I was alone…

   *I hadn’t found you yet

I wish I were deaf
so that I could not hear
your heart breaking because of me

I wish I were blind
so that I could not see
the tears I have caused on your face

I wish I were dumb
so that I, oh wait,
I’ve already got that one covered

~

Summer dawns
just beyond
the screen door,
across the porch
Dew swept lawn,
emerald weave
shimmering moisture
collecting foot prints
strolling towards

An arched entryway
gingerbread trimmed
covered in jasmine
alive with rainbow
flutterings of
butterfly wings
partaking of
nature’s pure nectar  

Beneath it a
flagstone walkway,
abstract stones,
assorted shapes
and patterns
meandering through
lavender and hollyhock,
daisies and tulips

And upon it
you and me,
hand in hand
watching the sunrise
wash the sky
in floral hued quivers
as we welcome the
*morning together…

.

Dark clouds gather
above empty fields
where barren landscapes
feel the coming chill
of lonely times
lurking just over the ridge

Shadows of future dreams
crawl slowly in another direction
Desolate figures
on hands and knees
hide from wanting eyes
and grasping fingers

Sunny afternoons are shoved
into back pockets
with the love poems
written for her
that will never see
the light of day

And as they shovel the dirt
upon this weathered face
teardrops create mud
as the realization comes,
that the darkness
is what was meant to be

-
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?

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

_

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

♡

To some
  it may just
    be words,
  poetic thoughts
     written on a
          page,
   found within
             the imagination...

but to me
  it is a heart
    reaching out,
  in honest phrases
        penned
   by one who
         wishes he were
           in your arms
     at the beginning
   and the end
         of every
                *verse

.

The day closes
behind a screen door
branded with a bread label,
yellows and blues,
blues how appropriate
as I stand here, sore feet,
tired muscles watching the shadows
play in circles on the lawn

Two cats sleep on the porch
as if this day was like all others
with cloud formations
in unrecognizable shapes,
claiming another victory
with a blade and a sun beam,
both glistening in defiant smiles

While on wings of gossamer weavings,
beyond the crested and fallen snow,
she flies like the wind,
touching me in all areas,
engulfing me with her presence,
lifting me so that my existence
is only hers, and that is how it should

I whistle a happy tune
though this happiness, this poetry
is weighing on those who read
and even those who don't
which number many more
in counted blank margins,
straight line columns of silence

Still I reach, hoping for something
which takes a back seat to the others
who prove more talent, more resolve
in crafted words spelling that relief,
poetry that breaths in the soft reflections
desired in these eyes now weary...

the day closes...