You were in my dream last night
of course you were
because my dreams are the only place where you're mine.
A smile and a touch is all it takes,
and I'm head over heals in love again.
A playful shove and laugh,
and we're alone in the world, and I'm not scared.
A pair of fluttering eyelids and a harsh alarm
and I'm back to reality
back to war
back to winter
back to a world without *I'm sorry.

He fought back monsters
With his little black book.
He faced his worst fears
With his little black book.
He conquered the world,
His school and its halls,
Fought for rebellion,
Grew ten feet tall.
He walked up to a bear
And slapped its paw.
Even viewed an "R" rated movie
Down at the mall.
Yeah, Johnny sure lived
The life of them all.
And all thanks
To his little black book.
It made mommy buy flowers,
Instead of drugs by the pound.
It made the house peaceful
When his dad was around.
Instead of a fist
It was a bowl of fruit punch.
Instead of a slap
It was ice cream! For lunch!
Life sure was swell
With that little black book.
'Til one day he came home,
It was nowhere to be found.
He panicked with sweat
As he looked all around.
And all that was heard
Was that quiet sound
Of Johnny crying.
Until he came upon
That fearful sight:
His parents laughing
One fearful night.
And in their hand,
A little black book.
Johnny's heart filled with rage
As they turned the next page.
He ran to the door
And out of his cage
He ran and ran through
Thick fields of sage.
He wept and whaled
Like a singer on stage.
Oh wow oh wow it was
The site of the age!
Until Johnny came to a halt.
If he left without it
It would be his fault.
He needed the little black book
And at any cost.
He stormed through the door
And without being caught
Snatched his book.
And when he thought he was clear
In walks daddy
With case full of beer.
But Johnny sees not beer,
But a case full of cheer!
All with the help
Of that little black book.

I never expected I would turn to loving someone,
But being in love is a thing I couldn't stop now.
I could tell the whole world that it is you
That I have been looking for, somehow,
And I don’t want to be any further away from you
That I am right now.

My tongue will always express the truth;
I will never comfort you with those wicked lies,
For I don’t want to be in your rear view,
For I don’t want to be drowned in my cries.
And the memories we shared will always remain,
That I treasure in my demise.

There are no more secrets hidden in my eyes,
And my mind is always screaming out your name.
My days that were so hollow has been replaced
By the love that I could always claim;
And this story is penned by our entangled hearts,
That I could find no ending.

Lost? No, wandering.
Alone? No, independent.
Afraid? Undoubtedly.

                                            Lost is never lost for long.
                                  Alone may never feel so wrong.
                                Afraid can never seem so strong.
                                              Never will never belong.

Separate? No, different.
Peculiar? No, quirky.
Crazy? Undeniably.

                                Separate's just a calloused touch.
                              Peculiar's just a weathered clutch.
                                        Crazy's just a mental crutch.
                                       Just has never been so much.

He asks for a coil of wire
changes it in to a slithering snake.
The illusionist mocks
the certainty about things ,
creates a riot of laughter
irrationality sits light on our shoulders
like friendly doves, when he performs.

Tampering with reality
to cajole absurdity out of it,
was making fun of God's authority,
someone murmured,
we kids thought God claimed importance,
a bit too much,
why, at times God's actions
are no different from us,
thoughtless kids.
We loved the jiggery-pokery
of the illusionist, who made
reality stand on its hands, with his tricks.
And the anarchy he brought
in dealing with our expectations!
who would expect to pull out cow dung,
from a bag where he put a cat?
The illusionist says seriously like a scientist,
"I ape God and this world, that's all"

My flesh, it aches; it burns
My calloused bare feet are scorched by the rugged earth
I am wandering and I don't know where

My eyesight is fading and darkness seems to fall around me
Though my burning skin acknowledges the sun's unrelenting brutality
I am wandering and I don't know where

My dry, cracked hands are like the deserts around me
Open, extended; begging for even the smallest raindrop
Anything to ease the sting
As I wander and don't know where

Beneath the burden of unbearable thirst,
My parched throat cannot utter a cry
But cries would surely be in vain
As I wander and don't know where

Vivid memories, enhanced by my arid surroundings
Recall legends of a fountain said to quench all thirst forevermore
In my hallucinations it is there before me
It whispers thoughts of peace to me
And beckons me near
While I wander this unknown land

With all measure of strength left in my bones
I run towards the oasis before me,
Content to collapse and free my spirit into its mystic waters
No longer to wander where I do not know

But as I draw closer to the shimmering mirage,
It becomes real
It becomes tangible
And I dive in

When I surface, one like a man robed in shining white
With eyes of fire and crowned with light
Breathes on me and I can hear the words
Those words of such peace and power;
Now I see,
They are the words
The very words
That I had long been wandering for

Style
        Texture
                    Shape
                 ­            And grace
They put the smiles on your face
                              Brown and
                   Green and
      Blue and
Grey
Eyes like that just make your day
Curly
       Wavy
*****
     Straight
You love all that, you think it's fate
                   Curvy
              Skinny
          Thin
Or not
Who cares about heart, you think she's hot.

Yet talent
   Skill
Passion
   Love
They're the things that life's made of.
Caring
                            Giving
                   ­                              Loving
                 Heart
They bring us together, not apart.
  Spirit
   Strength
    Sensitivity
Faith
Someone like that will keep you safe.

But money
Fashion
***
And greed
Those aren't things for which we were freed.

and when the sun rises,
a red sky
a red sun
shining red rays
on the rivers of blood that scatter
the field of delicate flowers.
and bodies litter the grass
showered in red dawnlight
like drops of rain on dry concrete.
and we're there - you and me  
we're under the pile,
near the bottom,
because we were the first to fall.

Today is Donna’s birthday –

All these many years later
I still remember it –
several times today I thought of her
and gently waved hi

Donna was the name of my first baby,
(short for Donald, my ex)
my girl baby who lived for 4 days
and then changed her mind.

She was a summer baby too.

When I think of both Donnas
I see tiny, Italian angels
petite , pretty little things
with brown golden hair.
I still see the dimples on their faces,
and the bright black light shining in their eyes…

Tonight I hold a candle in their memory
Tonight I drink to the summers of their birth,
Knowing that their lives will always live in me –

Both Donnas,
One, who came to me in childhood.
magically fused by friendship and something more –
and Baby Donna,
whose fragile body held such sweet life

Both Donnas,
who have been with me
through so many changing skies…
inside of me
where their faces are etched in crystal
and their wings
form a door.