This is a poem......
you don't have to read.
You're busy at home
watching Cable TV.
On Twitter or Facebook,
reading all the minuta
that comes down the feed.
My words may be little,
my words may be small.
But, each and every one
of them, I own them all.
Some will take time,
and others will pass by.
These words will be mine,
till the day that I die.....JMF 2/19/15

I have seen her breakdown with tears of sadness.
I have seen her stare at her reflection and think what a hideous mess she was.
I have seen her fall from the failures she has gone through.
I have seen her being ignored, unaccepted, as if she was some old toy placed on a shelf.

I have seen her wipe those tears away from her rosy cheeks.
I have seen her putting an end to comparing herself with others.
I have seen her rise amidst all her failures.
I have seen her walking away from those people who made her feel less good about herself.

That girl was the one who always believed in the word hope,
That girl was the one who never stopped believing in herself,
That girl came out a warrior with victory after every battle,
That girl who had hope, was none other than me.

~

Influences corner me
on a narrow strip of land
falling off into a sea of uncertainty
Raging waters reflecting fear
desperately deep

Toxic tides reach for me,
attempting to drag me under
Spilling breaths on uncharted beaches
I fall to my knees lost…searching
for merely the tiniest thread of hope

When a rope, strung of woven longings
appears, tied tightly around your heart,
hand knotted of promises made
and gasping, I pull myself once again
to the safe haven of your love

~

I sat staring at the haze
Floating above the quiet field
Shrouding the distance
Falling slowly on
Blades of grass
Intertwined with the earth
Rooted depths of
Criss cross meanings
Seeking moisture
Between cracks in the soil
Reaching deeper
Not really knowing
Where they are or caring
Satisfied with just being
A part of something larger

I felt the sun on my jeans
Warm fabric clinging
Woven threads
Frayed edges and tattered hems
In patterns of durable days
Faded knees
And flapping back pockets
Stained of endless memories
Collected while walking
Following a path
Leading nowhere
And not really caring
Just happy to be
A part of something larger

I smiled and so did you
And you and you
And before I knew it
Everyone was smiling
Happily going about their day
It seems contagious
Drifting from here to there
Finding frowns flipped
Dancing across faces
Changing the mood
Of all that I could see
And now I know what it means to be
A part of something larger

Your name has become
an alliteration in my mind
Your face a sunset
that waits for my dream to catch up
I’m sorry it's taking so long

I know why you are so vague
when once you were so obvious
I broke your mind enough not to care
but justice was served upon mine
I’m sorry it had to happen that way

We were headed for the sun
without fear of getting too close
But that is exactly what happened
and we knew then the game was real
I’m sorry I found out too late

I trust in the calls of the fallen.

They are the ones who landed
on the cold ground;
I wish I could have shown them
the big blue ocean
that had lay not too far away.

It's crippling to see people,
even when in agony and despair,
sleep through it all.
How do they even handle it?
Is it hard to wake up from it?
Do they ever wish for an escape?

Like many of the near-fallen,
I lay in the sullen shadows
It's not a very healthy place, I know,
but I suppose no one is in perfect harmony.
If I could find an easier life to live, I would;
To dispose of this body, however,
would defeat my purpose in this world.

I trust in the calls of the fallen.

For what it’s worth, I understand…
to have that hanging over your head,
echoed threats vibrating concerns
as harmonic waves touch your heart

Blame sent in a plain envelope
addressing your need to be kind
It is your nature, they know it is…
even if postage is still due on their lies

Listen to me if you will,
hollow words are only meant to hurt,
cause pain where none is deserved,
to ease something inside of the sender

Let them cry their rivers
overflowing with requests for sympathy
begging forgiveness neath a reflective moon
as they attemp to eclipse your smile

You know who you are, you know the truth
and though you may sneak away
it is their loss not yours
and if I may…our gain

For you will see these arms are open
and long to keep you safe…forever

Death puts an end to it all-
This sordid necessity of trudging through life;
Its continual struggle and perpetual strife,
The business of prosaic living;
Of gaining and losing,getting and giving
Death puts an end to it all.

And it doesnt matter how it ended-
Be it a cruel act of fate, a self-orchestrated blow.
That stemmed the life-stream's flow.
Were you hacked down in frenzy ,
or consumed in cold blood.
or preyed upon by disease.
Now you are shrouded in cold silence,
In eternal peace.
Really doesn't matter how it ended.

Now that you are gone,
your soul harboured to a transcendental realm
Whizzing past like a comet, a trail of ash behind.
Those forlorn mourners, at your requiem.
Dazed by the shock of its light, finally find.
Memories of you, is all they can live by
Now that you are gone.

Those who had loved you,
Bereaved broken hearts, shattered by your loss
Yearning to hear your voice, craving to see your face
With an infernal bundle of grief, that they can never efface
And since the morbid melody of your death knell
Life has been nothing short of a living hell
For those who had loved you

And how they lived through it-
Brave hearts, fighting private battles each day
The scab of time, hides the raw pain within
But sorrows gnawing at their innards, stay
for a long time, unheard and unseen.
With a steely smile,frozen on their face
They say, they have moved on; life's commonplace.
And though they laugh and talk now,
like the times when you were here.
Its when nobody is looking;
They wipe away those treacherous tears.
Oh, how they lived through it.

So pardon me,
For I weep for them , not you
Those bereaved by the loss of a loved one.
Because your life's setting sun,
spells an end to your miseries.
Theirs have only begun.
You smile out of picture frames
Into conversations creeps in your name.
Their  hearts are knived by brutal reconciliation
That life will never be the same.

You are a Star now;
Scintillating at the heights of heaven.
Lord is with you. I'm happy for you.
Do not get me wrong.
My thoughts dont misconstrue;
and pardon me,
for I weep for them , not you.
For those, who are still living;
After losing you.

(2008)

The piano sings into the night
    like a nightingale upon a lonely branch.
Underneath, the lake glistens.
Every streak of soft blue, sailing gently
   to touch the moon on the satin water.
Stillness silences.
Stillness, and a bird's cry, the rest of the night.

The bird has died but the feathers wander on.