I bade sunlight to linger on,
her hot sweet kiss upon my skin,
For every time I find her gone
I doubt I'll see her back again

Here in the winter of my heart
The ice crawls deep across my flesh
And sunlight, love, had to depart
To leave me blue, my torment fresh

How I long to hear the sound
Of icy crackling window panes
And feel her warmth, though past the clouds
Turn sleet and snow to soothing rain.

I bade sunlight to come again
Renew my soul and thaw my heart
But darkness seems my lot in life
I've felt her light and warmth depart.

Whatever we are, you and I
Requires no labels or ties
I'm just the ship in the darkness
And you're just the gleam in my eyes

I sail as though you're my north star
Polaris fair, guiding me home
You look at me as an escape
A moment allotted to roam.

Oh, Jesus, are you listening? 
I forget how to pray. 
The folks you gave for guidance, lord, 
You took them all away,
And left me here to walk alone, 
Beloved I have none-
I am nobody's brother now;
I am nobody's son.

It's not my place to question you, 
Divinity, I'm not, 
But for a man as young as i
You've put me through a lot. 
So Jesus, if you're listening, 
And truly have my back, 
Now would be a perfect time
To cut a guy some slack. 

I don't feel that I'm owed a thing, 
I know I'm not exempt, 
And all of us know suffering
At times we all have limped. 
But lord, I'm barely crawling now, 
I lack the strength to stand. 
I'm not asking a bailout, lord, 
I only need a hand.

Help me get back up on my feet, 
I can take it from there. 
I haven't asked for anything, 
I think it's only fair. 
I'm not the child that lost his world.
No longer- I have grown.
But right now, Lord, I need a hand, 
I can't do this alone.

You've got a glow
like a star.
From afar,
I wished on you,
and now, there you are.
Looking at me
from behind those
eyelashes,
smashing
my inhibitions
like broken prose.

Pretty you,
whom I have yet to meet,
I greet you,
sweetly,
and ask you this:
would you miss
the moonlight
if I stole it from your eyes?
The mirrored glow
they show
is more bright,
and not to my surprise-
how could
even the moon
not swoon,
lost in your gaze?
Moonbeams and
starlight, both
seem to have
lost their ways.

Could you tell me,
pretty you-
did the wind put you there?
You have taken
my breath,
and shaken
the air
around your face.
Such grace must
surely fly-
so how is it
that you pass me by
here on the ground?
Don't misunderstand,
I'm glad you've
come around,
pretty you.

Pretty you,
I hope I'm not
too fresh,
but my mind is
a bit of a mesh,
and you're pouring
through it.
The sound of
nature stopping
to admire,
like moths to a fire,
myself closest to
the flame.
Tell me,
pretty you,
do you have a name?
What word could be
crafted, such a beauty to frame?
Surely, anything plain
would only defame.

I'll be honest,
pretty miss,
my heart tells me to
chance a kiss,
but I know I shouldn't
rush, but take it slow.
Instead, I have another plan
to sit here, and maybe
hold your hand,
and under moonlight,
your voice, get to know.
But should the passion overtake,
don't be shy, make no mistake-
I won't be put off should you choose to,
lean in close,
just
like
this...
and like so,
steal a little kiss...

That would be just fine, pretty you

You're never all the way alone,
Someone will always care.
In spite of darkest solitude
A light is always there.
Don't hesitate to reach right out
If you should need a hand,  
And if no-one should catch your fall,
Someone will help you stand.
Life is full of broken hearts
And lonely, pitch black nights
And looking at the gloom they cast
It's hard to see the lights.
But rest assured, when all seems bleak
And life's torments abound
You're never all the way alone
As long as I'm around.

Someday, when I'm old and gray,
I'm sure to regret what I never did say. And sometime, true,
before it's through,
I'll regret even more
what I never would do.

Will you see me to the river?
I fear that I have lost my way.
Could I find her muddy waters
Then I know i would be okay.

This path, I cannot recognize,
The shadows here are tall and fierce,
The lights that used to guide my steps
This twilight haze they cannot pierce.

Lead me to her raging rapids
Waters cool and unrelenting,
Let her hear my last confession
Close as I come to repenting.

Let her take me to the ocean,
Let her bury me in the sea,
The salty air to soothe my soul
On the warm sands of memory

It's been a long day, my dear friend
But it at last has seen its end
Lay your head down, and let if fade away
You can only hold on til you have to let go
So let it go, because you know,
Tomorrow's another day

You've come a long, long way
and you're far from where you planned
And how you ended up here
You may never understand
And the days and years slip from grip
Like tiny grains of sand
You can't count the squandered moments
That fell right from your hands

You've had a long day, my dear friend
And to say it is over, I can't pretend
For now, close your eyes, and let it fade away.
You've done all that's in your power
You've earned repose at this late hour
And tomorrow's another day.

I'll sit here, and watch the night for you
Protect you while you sleep.
I'll keep the whole world quiet for you
It won't make a peep.
And if I could carry your load for you
I'd take it off your hands
But all I can do is hope for you
I hope you understand.

It's been a life-long trip, dear friend
And this is just another bend
A rest stop along the road you have to take
Tomorrow's another day, it's true
And you'll do whatever you must do
Your way through hell and high water to make.

But for now, lay down your head
Close your eyes, and fade away
No burden can't be laid down
And picked up the next day.

Like saccharine and strychnine
make the poison bittersweet;
cut the sickness into pieces,
make it easier to eat.
**** the head and save the body,
seems to come the faded cry.
While the masses pass us single file,
content to follow and die.

I think I am allergic to
These old photos of me and you
My eyes water; I sniffle, too.
Throat is scratchy, heart aches for you.
I wonder if there's a remedy
For this pollenated memory
Allergic to it, I must be-
Your image makes a mess of me.

She loved the world too easily,
She had no way of knowing
That life will wait to strike you down
When your soft side is showing.
She gave of self, such sacrifice
And when little else was left,
Twas cast aside most heartlessly
Left broken-down and so bereft.

Now bitterness her sword and shield
She wields with silent fervor,
And keeps her love from light of day
And those who don't deserve her,
And trust, it seems, the stuff of dreams,
She's buried far too far down,
In self-defense, it makes no sense
To ever let your guard down.

She has forgotten how to love
As she did way back before,
Before heartache had worn her down
Until she could take no more.
Perhaps someday she'll find a way
Her heart can again be free,
Til then, trust seems the stuff of dreams
Of some faded yesterday.

It's hard here on the ground floor, surrounded by the street.
The scenery a still-frame, a cell set to repeat.
I don't see your colors now, that patch of blue's gone gray
I hear your laugh cut through crash of just another day
Time, again, finds us alone...
in the crushing nothingness of the crowds
I just want it to be gone
Want to shed my shadows among the clouds

It's quiet here in the recent past, reliving a silent beat,
An echo too weak to distinguish, yet still moving the Earth 'neath my feet.
Still the subtlety's hard to decipher, the nuance is lost in the stroke
I numb any phantoms that linger, the world is cloud of smoke.
And time and again, it pulls me through
Running headfirst into hell.
Full circle, it seems, in whatever I do
Stopping just this side of well.

It's fleeting here in so-called prime of this distraction known as living
And I haven't asked for more than I have, but I'm taking what they're giving.
A single spark in the midst of a fire doesn't seem to warm the soul
But that same small flame can change the game if you add a little coal
We're hardened now, by time and heat
The pressure's always on
But maybe, when our time's complete
We'll be diamonds before we're gone.

Speak to me, Poet.
Sing the songs of the sea.
Use your rhythm and rhyme
and teleport me.
Paint a grand picture
with kaleidoscope words
of great crashing waves
and soaring sea birds.

Pine to me, Poet
tell me stories of woe,
of lovers and champions
that have been let go.
Sing softly of passion
and sadly of pain;
if the song is familiar, 
I'll join in the refrain.

Swear to me, Poet
that your story is true-
and I'll live vicariously
for a moment, through you.
Turn words into vision
and then let me see.
Though the hour is late,
I have nowhere to be.

Cry with me, Poet,
Oh! how the heart aches,
at the depth of the sorrows,
the mournful mistakes.
But spare me not, Poet,
til your songs are all through;
Though the hours fly by
I have naught else to do.

Write for me, Poet,
and I'll write for you.
We'll share our condition
be the skies gray or blue.
The morning will be here
before you know it.
So for now, sit a while,
and rhyme with me, Poet.

"Can you feel it?
Almost close enough to touch.  It's pure potential
And it is only limited by our own crippled souls.
Our willingness to stop advancing.  
Fearing change.
Fearing failing.
But forgetting forfeit is also a loss.  
We pass on our own destinies,
Choosing to live vicariously through nothing-
Because NOTHING excites us.
NOTHING moves us
NOTHING motivates us
And NOTHING is all we take for ourselves.
Nothing is heavy around our ankles, keeping us as it is...
Can you feel it?

I'm just waiting for that check to come.
The world is burning but I feel numb.
TV is awesome and outside is dumb.
So I'm sitting here waiting for my check to come.

I'm holding my breath when I go to the store
And they're still out of paper, like the 5 times before.
But when that check hits, it's ******* galore.
I'll buy it all wholesale, it'll be a big score.

Just a few weeks til I get that sweet cash
Then it's Amazon Prime, Grub Hub and DoorDash.
I'm sure that this plague will be done in a flash
And we'll go back to life with our fat wads of cash.

So I'll sit on my sofa and watch the train wreck.
In my fortress of Lysol and standard-grade tech.
With my *** getting bigger and pain in my neck
Waiting patiently here for my stimulus check.

Cyrus was a butcher,
the ladies thought him sweet,
and when they spoke,
the gals would joke
about old Cyrus' meat.

But soon the missus told 'em,
her one and only beef-
forget the size
or how he'd rise,
Old Cyrus was too brief.

His brother, Clive, the baker,
a young and heavy lad,
was paid no mind
by womankind
cause of the weight he had.

But soon the missus told 'em,
with a twinkle in her eye,
Forget the size,
or how he'd rise,
that boy could eat a pie!

A carpenter was given task;
nobody thought it could be done. 
A bridge that spanned eternity 
was priority number one. 

This carpenter, he had no tools;
materials he had so few.
Yet without doubt he set to work- 
he knew just what he had to do. 

With two great beams of solid wood, 
fastened in a criss-cross fashion,
and three old nails, wrought of iron,
completed his fateful mission. 

He had worked with a crew of twelve, 
but in the end, he toiled as one. 
Regardless, he had kept the course,
and labored til the bridge was done.. 

He never had union backing, 
and was never properly paid. 
Where other workers would have quit, 
this carpenter would not be swayed. 

Now, in the end, his blood and sweat, 
the bridge's strong foundation made. 
The final sacrifice of  life 
made sure its timeless glory stayed.

There is no toll to cross this bridge; 
the price was paid in blessed blood. 
Who'd have thought a bridge to heaven 
could be made from a cross of wood?

I saw an old friend today.
She'd aged 30 years
in the few she'd been away.

Her former glow is all but gone,
No spark behind her green eyes.
Little more than skin and bone.

Time takes us all for a ride,
And leaves the marks on us
To check our faith and pride

But the woman I saw was not
A victim of time, no,
Her fate has been hand-wrought

My heart is broken, I fought tears
While she stood there
Recounting addiction that had added those years

I saw an old friend today
That time and ****** have taken away.
She says she's clean,
Trying to get her **** together.
Her face is skeletal,
The track-marks got her arms like leather.
But she says she's better.
It's hard, but she's better.
She just needs a break,
And if the world will let her
A chance to come back,
A chance to start over,
She says she's clean again,
She tells me she loves me,
And that last part is the straw
That breaks my emotional back,
And the pain in my chest
Feels like a heart attack
And I hugged her as if
I'd never see her again.
And begged any God that would listen
To prove me wrong.

Statues may tumble
But hate still stands
On a pedestal, proud
And foolishly clinging
To a dying light
To a long since lost battle
That will never end.
Walls crumble, steel bends
And the spirit bows
But right or wrong, friend,
It just does not break.
Even standing there
In the rubble of "what should be"
Realizing that doesn't exist now.
There is only "what is".
And all you can do is fight.
Bridges burn, and we'll never
Make it back to where
We were before the fires.
Simply standing on the banks
On our pedestals
In the rubble
Chest puffed
Chin out
Needing to break something else.

Amber was an atheist,
she thought the world was dumb as hell.
Britney was a botanist,
who had a fertilizer smell.
Candice was a coroner,
a scary passion for the stiffs.
Diana was a drummer chick,
that knew a few guitar riffs.

Evelyn was evil, man,
all leather suits and chains and whips.
Farrah was a therapist,
got in my brain with swinging hips.
Greta was a gunslinger,
she'd give most anything a shot.
Hannah was a homebody-
shy as hell, but twice as hot.

Iris was an Ivy Leaguer,
thought I was a total fool.
Janice was a juggler,
who liked to play with power tools.
Kimmy taught karate,
who dated me just for the kicks.
Louise was a lyricist,
who wrote about how guys were *****.

Marilyn was mostly mean,
she liked to fight and then make up.
Nancy was so negative,
I had no choice but to break up.
Opal was an occultist,
who liked to gossip with the dead.
Paula was a *******,
that made me pay to come to bed.

Queenie was inquisitive,
the questions were too much to bear.
Rosie was a recluse
who never shaved or brushed her hair.
Sidney was a sinful sort,
with toys and gadgets 'neath the bed.
Tina was a twisted chick,
with thirteen voices in her head.

Ursula was uber-cool,
always on the latest trends.
Vicky was on Vicodin,
and we all know how that one ends.
Wanda was a wanderer,
that left to join a circus troupe.
Xena the exhibitionist
liked to do it on the stoop.

Yolanda was young and fine,
and nearly cost me everything.
Zoey was a Zombie fan,
she got hot when he would sing.
I'd like to say I've settled down,
but since the alphabet is done,
I'm gonna met an Ann or Anita,
and give it all another run.

Gave us oil and gave us matches,
didn't give us fire...
Told us we were on our own but,
kept us on the wire.
Stale green heads of famous dead ones
always ruling us.
On their backs we write reminders
of in whom we trust.

Vicious cycle, circumstance will
find us set aflame.
Take a breath and burn to ash leave
nothing but a name.
Lies in print and moving pictures
bought at market price;
cold and hollow, hard to swallow,
still our favorite vice.

Fundamental narcissism
glory be to we~
Sinners drenched in good intentions
wild dichotomy.
Liars, haters, instigators,
nothing good to say.
Everything will be just fine if
they don't have to pay.

Final cycle, broken bible
read selectively,
love and hate up for debate but
neither one is free.
"Follow blindly close behind me"-
so the lemming said.
We'll find out who's wrong and right, as
soon as we're all dead.

Will you see me to the river?
I fear that I have lost my way.
Could I find her muddy waters
Then I know i would be okay.

This path, I cannot recognize,
The shadows here are tall and fierce,
The lights that used to guide my steps
This twilight haze they cannot pierce.

Lead me to her raging rapids
Waters cool and unrelenting,
Let her hear my last confession
Close as I come to repenting.

Let her take me to the ocean,
Let her bury me in the sea,
The salty air to soothe my soul
On the warm sands of memory

All aboard and mind your step
As this train leaves, there's nothing left
An epic journey, winding tracks
And no chance or choice of looking back
It steams its way towards parts unknown
Where it has never, ever gone
And through it all, the only hope
Is to hang on to that proverbial rope

The tracks will twist and turn about
And turn your perception inside out
It'll blow your mind, and make you scream
At times you'll think it is a dream
But still, it rolls, never receding
Sometimes it'll leave you broken, bleeding
And in those moments, you'll only cope
And hold on tight to that damnable rope

You can't stop once it's going full steam
And you'll feel you're coming apart at the seam
Still the ride goes on with no way of knowing
If you're speeding up, or somewhat slowing.  
Without effort, it'll rule your world
As forth and back in the car you're hurled
And when it makes you want to mope
**** it up and hold onto the rope

The train won't stop again for you
You have to board, and see it through
Or let it go, and bid farewell
Let the lost opportunity put you through hell
The best you can do, is take the chance
Board the train, join in the dance
And welcome the chance, embrace the hope
And HOLD ON TO THE BLASTED ROPE!

You saw me as a fool, a child
And treated me as such.
I claimed mine was an icy heart
Yet melted with one touch.
So much alike, you knew me
And I hated that you could see
The man behind the stony mask
The truth, as it may be.

I loved you steeped in silence
from the corner of my eye.
You knew I was a hopeless mess
My composure was a lie,
Yet you approached with velvet hand,
I must have looked like an antique-
But you lifted layers of death and dust
from the truth, or so to speak.

You wouldn't let me hide my eyes,
The light you made me see.
And broken lies and alibis
Against your ears failed me.
The ****** know no frustration
Like an actor with no role;
You stripped my ruse away to see
The truth, or so I'm told.

I'm full of love and resentment
The world is just a pill
Stuck in my throat, belaying notes
That when sung come out shrill
But you're on top, where you belong,
Such anathema received
You refuse me my bitter outlook
at the truth, as it's believed.

I'll never be your hero,
It isn't in my soul.
I cannot be a guiding light
I lack the self-control
But I cannot spend another day
Believing we're both dead
I drag my lifeless body towards
The truth, or so it's said.

Through the bottom of this bottle
I can see you oh, too clearly
The lights come up, and curtains draw
On something cherished dearly
And as the world files out-
all around us wave goodbyes-
And the two of us are left alone
with the truth, and other lies

I loved you from a distance
from the corner of your eye
You never cared I was a mess
You knew that I would lie,
Still somewhere in the stormy night
we held each other warm and tight-
and learned more than we thought we could
about the truth, and wrong and right

Now, I miss the part of me
that could barely speak
And the part of you that handled me
Like a fool, a child so weak.
A contorted little memory
of what we shared is all
That I still hold of your life and times,
It's the truth, as I recall.

This is my paper.
This is my pen.
These are my knuckles,
this is my chin.
This is my deep thought,
This is my muse.
This is my rhythm
this is my blues.

This is my front door
This is my street
These are some people
I'll never meet.
This is my corner
This is my block.
This is my culture
This is my shock.

This is my city,
This is my shame.
This is the scene, man,
This is my game.
This is my future,
This is my life.
This is my blood, Cuz.
This is my knife.

This is my one truth,
This is my fact.
This is my promise,
This is my pact.
This is my chaos
I'm taking back.
This is my heart, son,
Under attack.

This is forever,
This is all done.
This is me crawling
When I can't run.
This is me bursting
To flames in the sun.
This is my bible,
This is my gun.

This is not hello,
This is goodbye.
This is where hypocrites
Go when they die.
This is the nothing
That I owe you.
This is the curtain,
This show is through.

"I'm done" proclaimed John Doe as he
Pulled the cord on civility
Wrapped it around his neck and stepped
Off the chair into history.

His epitaph sketched onto glass
In red lipstick from god knows who
Found next to Gideon's beneath
A touch tone phone from '82.

Who knows what brought this unknown son
To the edge of mortality
In Motel 6 in Santa Fe
Around a quarter after 3.

But there he was, embracing fate
Without a single second thought
Selecting death, rejecting self
In spite of what his self had wrought

No tears were shed, nobody knew
This nameless face in calloused crowd
Whose final words in lipstick read
"I'm done, it's all too ******* loud."

I'm tired, my brother,
can I just take a minute?
I know life's a struggle,
you know I've been in it.
But fighter or not,
time has taken a toll.
More often than not,
I am NOT in control,
I'm just holding on,
that's the best I can do.
So gimme a minute,
or maybe a few.

I didn't stop moving,
when the world fell apart,
and I helped dig the grave
where we buried my heart.
I've been on the front
since I learned how to stand,
and I'm still taking shots,
though it's not what I'd planned.
Don't judge me too harshly,
I'll still do my best-
but I won't be worth much
if I don't  get some rest.

It's harder to sleep now
and everything aches.
I know I'm not special,
and that's just the breaks,
but I'm tired of doing
"whatever it takes"
and I'm tired of living
with all my mistakes.
Just give me a moment,
to break down and cry.
I'm not giving up,
I'm not ready to die.
I just need a breather,
in a minute, I'll rise,
for now, let me sit here,
just resting my eyes.

We feast tonight!
The fasting's past, and the banquet now is spread.
We feast tonight!
Enough for all to gather and break bread.
We feast tonight!
Because we hunger, in ways we barely know.
We feast tonight!
We dine together, our common ground to show.

We drink tonight!
To battles won and lost at the stroke of a pen.
We drink tonight!
To who we are, and also who we've been.
We drink tonight!
To memories, and those yet to be made.
We drink tonight!
To the future, and the doomed plans we have laid.

We dance tonight!
To music that only we can hear.
We dance tonight!
Together, hands joined, and very near.
We dance tonight!
To let out what's bottle up inside.
We dance tonight!
As though unseen, no caution cast for pride.

We sing tonight!
The songs we wrote when we were younger folk.
We sing tonight!
The words we thought were better left unspoke'.
We sing tonight!
The heavens echo, our voices of single mind.
We sing tonight!
And though off-key, could be no more refined.

We live tonight!
No other night holds portent over this.
We live tonight!
With little fear of what we lack, or miss.
We live tonight!
Because we wish, not because we must.
We live tonight!
And never know, tomorrow we may be dust.

Early one morning, before sun took to sky,
they came to take Johnny.  It was his time to die.
The town had all gathered, the crowd circled in.
As Johnny was strong armed, by four big men,
and lead to the gallows, to hang until dead.
They called for his blood, and he just turned his head.

Johnny stayed silent, as the hateful calls came,
with no pleas for his life, or innocent claim.
He stepped to the noose, with no fear in his eyes,
not every man chooses just when he dies.
But Johnny had taken, the life of a man-
with no explanation, with his own bare hands.
The crowd raised their bibles, demanded him dead,
the called for his life, and he just turned his head.

The priest at the gallows, looked him in the eye,
and said to him "Johnny, you're fixin' to die.
You've been tried and sentenced, and haven't been heard.
You're found guilty of ******, and y'ain't said a word.
It's too late for you now, to make recompense,
but do you have any last words, to speak in defense?"
The crowd was voracious, they wanted him dead.
He just cleared his throat, and lifted his head...

The silence that followed, was stuck in their throats,
as Johnny spoke up, in no broken notes.
"The man killed my brother, and then was set free.
He was friends with the judges, that execute me.
If justice shall fail, then take vengeance instead-
so I took the man's throat, and I choked the man dead.
Now I face the gallows, I do so with no dread."
The crowd remained silent.  Each one turned their head.

The sun broke the darkness, on the top of that hill.
Johnny stopped speaking, and stepped to the ****.
The noose was pulled tight, up under his chin.
He looked towards heaven, eyes vacant of sin.
The old oak trap door, creaked under his feet,
and with a pull of a lever, the deed was complete,
and a peaceful expression graced the face of the dead;
and even the hangman, had to turn his head.

Later that evening, as the sun left the sky,
she sat at John's grave, with no tears left to cry.
She dropped a red rose, on the freshly dug earth,
and said goodbye to the last child, she'd ever giv'n birth.
She'd buried the other, as she buried this one,
one died for the other, to see justice done.
She sat there and pondered, where the road had lead.
Then she stood up, heartbroken, and just turned her head.

Early one morning, before sun took to sky,
they came to take Johnny. It was his time to die.
The town had all gathered, the crowd circled in.
As Johnny was strong armed, by four big men,
and lead to the gallows, to hang until dead.
They called for his blood, and he just turned his head.

Johnny stayed silent, as the hateful calls came,
with no pleas for his life, or innocent claim.
He stepped to the noose, with no fear in his eyes,
not every man chooses just when he dies.
But Johnny had taken, the life of a man-
with no explanation, with his own bare hands.
The crowd raised their bibles, demanded him dead,
they called for his life, and he just turned his head.

The priest at the gallows, looked him in the eye,
and said to him "Johnny, you're fixin' to die.
You've been tried and sentenced, and haven't been heard.
You're found guilty of ******, and y'ain't said a word.
It's too late for you now, to make recompense,
but do you have any last words, to speak in defense?"
The crowd was voracious, they wanted him dead.
He just cleared his throat, and lifted his head...

The silence that followed, was stuck in their throats,
as Johnny spoke up, in no broken notes.
"The man killed my brother, and then was set free.
He was friends with the judges, that execute me.
If justice shall fail, then take vengeance instead-
so I took the man's throat, and I choked the man dead.
Now I face the gallows, I do so with no dread."
The crowd remained silent. Each one turned their head.

The sun broke the darkness, on the top of that hill.
Johnny stopped speaking, and stepped to the ****.
The noose was pulled tight, up under his chin.
He looked towards heaven, eyes vacant of sin.
The old oak trap door, creaked under his feet,
and with a pull of a lever, the deed was complete,
and a peaceful expression graced the face of the dead;
and even the hangman, had to turn his head.

Later that evening, as the sun left the sky,
she sat at John's grave, with no tears left to cry.
She dropped a red rose, on the freshly dug earth,
and said goodbye to the last child, she'd ever giv'n birth.
She'd buried the other, as she buried this one,
one died for the other, to see justice done.
She sat there and pondered, where the road had lead.
Then she stood up, heartbroken, and just turned her head.

I've been trying to lie I've been telling myself that the pain that I felt at your hand wasn't real
I know that I'm broken the drugs are a joke, just a bandaid on top of a wound that won't heal
I'm cussing at cars as they're passing me by and they're flying, I'm dying, reminds me of you
Nothing of beauty that moves at that speed can be caught, it's for naught, it is just passing through.
But let me reflect, course-correct, recollect who I was before you took the parts that you swiped
Do I wanna be the same me that you see when you see me and think that I'm pro'lly your type?
Whatever it is and whatever it ain't, it's a taint on my memory of what it was
And I am resigned and inclined to define what is left, and what's left is some words and this buzz.

I pour my heart out.
You won't take a drink.

Pretty little singing blue jay,
petite chanteuse in navy gown,
your sweet tweets drive the gray away
and pick me up when I am down.

But, blue jay friend, so help me GOD,
if on my car lands one small poo,
I'll climb that tree and drop my pants,
and return the favor to you.

Amazing how the venom glows
So easy on the eyes
I'll poison myself with your touch
And breathe my last in sighs

Burn my veins in place of the warmth
I thought would be my prize
How sweet the bile that's killing me
How tender my demise

Intoxicated
With one taste
Of your cherry lips
I'm blitzed
Drunk and powerless
to resist
Smashed, trashed
Plastered.
I'm useless,
You've got me hooked
From one sweet kiss.

You and me. 
Me and you. 
Doing things that
Children do. 
Lightning bugs
And double dutch 
Grownups think
We talk too much. 

But you know, I think
We did alright.
Those endless days
That never turned to night. 

Me and you.
You and I.
Watching summers
Pass us by. 
Year by year
It seemed so slow
Watching one
Another grow. 

Falling in love
Beneath the silvery light
Of carefree days
And endless summer nights. 

Two of us, just
You and me. 
Working on
a family.
Trying hard to
Get it right. 
I mess up and
Then we fight.

Sleeping on the
Couch again tonight. 
But I still believe
That I was right. 

You and I
All I know, 
Love is such a
To and fro.
Seasons come and
Seasons go. 
Remember when it
Moved so slow? 

Wish I had another life or two. 
Another 150 years with you.

You tell me that you love me so,
and that you always will-
a love like that is hard to find,
and harder to fulfill.
You love me while I'm full of life
I truly hope you stay,
but are you gonna love me when
the luster falls away?

I'll never be this young again,
now, please, don't think me bold-
but are you sure your love will stand
when I am gray and old?
The spring will be gone from my step,
my strength will also fade.
Will I turn round to see you gone,
or be glad that you stayed?

The stars themselves fade out in time,
their shine will dim and die,
and it won't take that kind of time
to wither you and I;
but if you love me as you say,
then time will see us kept,
until beneath her currents cold
the river sees us swept.

So, when the luster falls away,
and all that's left is old,
will you still be the one I have,
the one I get to hold?
If your dear heart is true enough
to an old soul like me,
then that sweet love will be enough
for my eternity.

They called him Wit the Mystic
though his real name was unknown.
Just another John Doe, he,
on the edge and most alone.
But with a dusty derby hat,
and a little dedication,
he became a vagrant wizard,
mastered prestidigitation.

Misdirection, sleight of hand,
the man could do it all.
An expert with a deck of cards,
or three cups and a ball.
And somehow, out of thinnest air,
with magic palpable and real,
he managed to manipulate,
create many a hand-out meal.

Oohs and ahs in multitudes
would shower him with praise.
He plied his trade with pride in spades
on even the rainy days.
Though masterful and powerful,
old Wit still struggled through-
living in the shadows, man,
can be a tricky thing to do.

Old Wit the Mystic had one trick
that he had always feared.
Alas, the man's last bow had come,
and then he disappeared.
Where the wizard ended up,
nobody really knows.
Among the stars and legends, or
with the rest of the John Does?

A woman is like a candle,
full of warmth, and bright.
When the world is at its darkest,
a good one can be your light.
She'll bring such heat and beauty,
to see you through the night.
Though storms leave you in darkness,
with her there, you feel alright.

A woman is like a candle, true.
a necessity to have around-
but if denied the proper attention
she could burn your house to the ground.