Today-
Reminded me of the beautiful china
In my grandmother's house
Strong, shiny, beautiful
Worth a lot
But even the best observer
Couldn't see the chips in the glassware
The many times the china had been dropped
No one could actually tell that it was broken
But I could tell.
Because even though sometimes I looked
Strong, shiny, and beautiful,
I was broken as well.

thinking of times
when walking for a mile
took you into a different world
climbing a hill
    through clinging underbrush
filled you with apprehension
of what might be awaiting you
beyond the crest

then
to slowly open up
the pages of a book
was always more
than just a ritual of escape

the not so casual touch
    of a girl’s hard breast
    a boy’s lean hand
upon your shoulder
sent shudders down your spine
of inarticulate hot expectations
and brought wild images to you
at night
in lusting isolation

to keep this core
   the sense of awe
   of wonder and excitement
alive in you against the waves of many years
is not an easy feat
   yet worth the while

it makes you see
    when many just walk by
life’s gracious beauty of small moments

                        * * * *

I joined the church choir
but I don't think I believe in God.
I guess the preacher should be
Preaching to the choir.
But the preacher's my dad
and I'm a disappointment.
So I joined the church choir,
because I like to sing,
And it's not so hard to pretend
not to be a failure in your parents eyes.

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .

I dreamed about the future
and you know it wasn't great
Unless, I may have missed it
And I kind of showed up late

Time controls the future
turns tomorrow to today
just when you think you've made it
the future's yesterday

You can have a bucket full of wishes
You can have a bucket full of dreams
But, don't wait until the future
For it's not quite what it seems

Other peoples futures
Overlap with what you do
Everything keeps changing
So the future is not new

What goes around will come again
At least that's what they say
So if you want to have a future
Why not start out with today?

Tomorrow is a zephyr
It moves fast and it's gone
For the future is the present
by the time you count to one

So, take your bucket full of wishes
And your bucket full of dreams
Don't wait until the future
It isn't what it seems

My future's now my present
And my present will soon go
I don't dream about the future
When I get there...I won't know

By the time we reached the final act
our dialogues turned to whispers
warmed us the pledge to the silent pact
we would be rehearsing under the stars

dew would damp the players' cloth
all but the two were gone
who were tied by the burning oath
must shape their roles to perfection

owls hooted in the night's shadow
world slept behind shut door
we were numbed to the time's flow
by the sounds of claps encore

one the alien had blood thick green
that only the ****** revealed
when unbeknownst was cut his skin
by the other soon to be killed

that time now ***** to yellowed page
long back fate set him free
my skin is now bold in age
he's evergreen in memory.

1.
looks are blushes, the summer skies burning
across the curves of my cheeks;
something deep down inside stirs.

2.
'I want to get lost in the
mountains', you said, and i
immediately wanted to get lost
in your eyes.

3.
Electricity -
n.
that feeling of sudden power
coupled with the sting of vulnerability
that sets your nerves on edge
the first time he touches you.

4.
(the first time he touched me
i forgot what my hands
even felt before
they met his.
they struggled to let go)

5.
one day our eyes had
enough of waiting, our
hands got greedy for
naked flesh and we longed
for moremoremoremore.

6.
we never admitted it
not to each other, and
especially never to ourselves
but baby, you were my manna
and i, *the one who perhaps
could have.

7.
and to this day i have
not stopped longing
to wake up wrapped
around you, wrapped
in your arms,
iloveyou

lovelovelovelove
you.

I know...
I am not one of the pages of your book
or the words in your poem
But...
I will tirelessly watch over you from every nook.

I know I am your never
but you will forever be my always...

I know...
I am not the potrait you are painting
or the inspiration behind your masterpieces
But...
in my heart , it is your name I am engraving.

I know I am your never
but you will forever be my always...

I know...
I am not the reason for your smiles
or the tickles of your laughter
But...
for you, I would walk a thousand miles.

I know I am your never
but you will forever be my always...

I know...
I am not your shining star
or the light in your life
But...
till forever is through, I'll admire you from afar.

I know I am your never
but you will forever be my always...

I know...
I am not the one your heart beats for
or the one you desire
But...
my hearts says as long as it brings you happiness,
it wants nothing more.

I know I am your never
**but you will forever be my always...

On the eleventh day
Of the eleventh month
At the eleventh hour
Silence rings out loudly
As free people stand
In silent tribute
Heads down
And Chest out proudly

When the silence rules the land
What is inside your head
Are you thinking of those who lived
Are you thinking of the dead
The silence is a moment
To be thankful to be free
To reflect upon the price paid
For the unborn, you, and me

When the silence rules the land
Truly, do what's right
Think of those who aren't here
Those who've gone into the light
Think, would I ever do this
Could I do what these men did
They died as men, as soldiers
When they left, most...still a kid

On the eleventh day
Of the eleventh month
At the eleventh hour
When you stand and wait
Think of all those soldiers
Who passed the pearly gates
Think, of all your treasures
And, think....my life is quite nice
Because freedom isn't free to have
Freedom comes with a high price

I remember my old grand dad
Always wore his Sunday best
We always called him "Poppy"
It was always pinned upon his chest

For as long as I remember
He always had that piece of red
Tattered, torn, but sturdy
In memory of the dead

Echoes in his mind of years
Images so real
I never asked him what he saw
His tears...they sealed the deal
A silver screen of vintage flicks
In his brain of days gone by
Of good times with the friends he had
Of the days he saw them die

"Poppy" sat out on the porch
With his beat up Meerschaum pipe
He kept it tight between his lips
I never once saw it alight

He'd stare out in the distance
Seeing things from back in time
He'd listen to the voices
He never quite heard mine

We lost him back in eighty three
When "Poppy" got the wire
He was the last of his platoon
They had just lost Cpl. Squire

Echoes in his mind of years
Images so real
I never asked him what he saw
His tears...they sealed the deal
A silver screen of vintage flicks
In his brain of days gone by
Of good times with the friends he had
Of the days he saw them die




"Poppy" went inside himself
Never spoke another word
He was back with his old friends
As free as a free bird

Each year he would get dressed up
"Poppy" would go out on parade
He never, ever left the house
The porch was the longest trip he made

On the eleventh of November
He'd would polish up his boots
And at precisely eleven hundred hours
He would stand there and salute

Two minutes more of silence
From a man who didn't speak
But his actions, they said volumes
They showed that "Poppy" was not weak

Echoes in his mind of years
Images so real
I never asked him what he saw
His tears...they sealed the deal
A silver screen of vintage flicks
In his brain of days gone by
Of good times with the friends he had
Of the days he saw them die


"Poppy" never left his prison
The one he created in his head
His world was just the front porch
And the life that he once led

I remember my old grand dad
With his poppy, beat by time
It would adorn his chest proudly
And I now wear it on mine.