Eyes so wide, and smile bright

You have affected me

You are just a baby

Who will not make it to three

Your skin is pale and gentle

The disease is taking you

There is no explanation

For what you have been through

Gentle child in the night

So soon you leave this earth

You now are with the stars above

And your life did have some worth

I stare up at the night sky

And see your smile bright

You're up there in the heavens

Shining down, you are a sight.

Darling little child

Your parents do not know

to take the news they're given

Their sadness not to show

Your life will be a series

of tests and will be short

You must be strong for your folks now

The ball is in your court.

You're down here for a reason

Though your lifetime will not last

You blink and you are happy

Blink twice and you have passed

Gentle child in the night

So soon you leave this earth

You now are with the stars above

And your life did have some worth

I stare up at the night sky

And see your smile bright

You're up there in the heavens

Shining down, you are a sight.

The strongest people living

I know are not of age

They speak of life acceptance

And they are not filled with rage

They know they'll never marry

That their purpose while they're here

Is to make the world a better place

And face it with no fear

They do not have a future

Of weddings and the like

Some may never,ever,

Get to ride a bike

Gentle child in the night

So soon you leave this earth

You now are with the stars above

And your life did have some worth

I stare up at the night sky

And see your smile bright

You're up there in the heavens

Shining down, you are a sight.

In you I find a calmness

I only wish that could be mine

And you have embraced it quickly

For you have so little time

I will not shed a tear now

I promise you I'll be strong

For you are my hidden backbone

Though, I will not know you long

And yes dear gentle Child

As I look up in the stars

I'll wonder, yes I'll wonder

Just which one you are

And as I stare up at the night sky

And see the stars at night

I'll will think of you dear child

And your smile ever bright.

I've been back
To where I came from
I've been back
To where I started out
I've been back
To where I came from
I've been back
To where I started out

Nothings changed
but, all is different
It's a place
I don't belong
Nothings changed
but, all is different
I just feel
that something's wrong


Trees are bigger
as expected
I see where I carved
my name
House is old
and been repainted
but, it just doesn't
feel the same

Play  the hand that you were dealt
Bet, the river or the flop
Play the hand that you were dealt
Life will tell you when to stop
You can't go back and do it over
Play the hand that you were dealt
Win or lose, the cards are over
Play the hand that you were dealt

Seeing places
long forgotten
of where you once held court
empty fields
and empty school yards
no longer home to sport

two lane roads
now four lane highways
a river long since dry
little stores
now parking places
built up as time went by

Play  the hand that you were dealt
Bet, the river or the flop
Play the hand that you were dealt
Life will tell you when to stop
You can't go back and do it over
Play the hand that you were dealt
Win or lose, the cards are over
Play the hand that you were dealt




cloudy skies
and ***** water
and trees that once stood tall
something's wrong
it's gotten hotter
and the trees are now a mall

picnic tables
by the beach
initials carved in hearts
beach is closed
with long forgotten
the initials in our hearts

Play  the hand that you were dealt
Bet, the river or the flop
Play the hand that you were dealt
Life will tell you when to stop
You can't go back and do it over
Play the hand that you were dealt
Win or lose, the cards are over
Play the hand that you were dealt

She was a friend of Amber Clark
You know, you've met her before
She's the girl who listens secretly
To Bach behind the door
The Closet Classic ******
Who wears shirts of the Ramones
But listens to Rachmaninov
whenever she's alone

Jennifer McSweeney
known by all upon the street
She had kind words for everyone
She liked everyone she'd meet
She ate meals at Giannis
Knew the Pawnbroker, Old Cy
She listened to the bluesman
Whenever she came by

Like all the folks upon the street
Jennifer was dark
Not gothic, but you could say grey
She was set to make her mark
She was going to be famous
Her face upon the Silver Screen
She was going to be a movie star
Like The Truck Stop Beauty Queen

Jennifer loved movies
Not the ones that can be found
At the local dvd store
She liked the movies without sound
Her little quirk was that she
Liked the movies from the start
They told tales in black and white
These were strong in Jenni's heart

Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd
Fatty Arbuckle, and more
Zasu Pitts, Charlie Chase
They struck her to her core
L and H, The Keystone Kops
She loved to see them grapplin'
But none of these compared to her
deep love for Charlie Chaplin

The Cineplex would show a film
They would host a special week
When silent movies were the shows
When nobody did speak
Jennifer would take the time
To watch each film they showed
She was so happy when the week came round
She positively glowed

The kids she knew, all thought her odd
Because of what she liked
But, when the silent week was here
Jennifer was psyched
One year she went to the next town
To get a small tattoo
It was all done up in black and grey
It was what she had to do

Like other girls who have been inked
It was in the same place
But, it was little, very non descript
Of her favorite actors face
She told few friends about it
And though she never did get violent
If you laughed at her tattoo
Like Chaplin, she'd be silent

She kept it to herself most times
Her little bit of ink
As she aged she'd show it more
For the cost of just one drink
She would take them to her bedroom
And by the light of her small lamp
She would show her tattoo proudly
Chaplin....her little ***** stamp

It's the thing that she is known for
She's the girls with Charlie's face
Where others all have Chinese Words
She has Chaplin in this place
She is known for loving movies
In black and white, and though it's camp
She gives a whole new meaning to
Having a ***** stamp.

I know that I have loved you
sometime in the past
we're two souls out in the slipstream
with no sail upon the mast
two souls in search of someone
and I know that someone's you
we've been in love forever
at least a time or two

I have known you for forever
yes, I know that it was you
we are looking for each other
and each time, our love is new
we are souls without direction
we have been in love before
and we're destined to repeat it
in time forever more

we might skip a generation
ok maybe one or two
we are searching for each other
at least I am for you
we aren't famous individuals
just two souls on the wind
who are cursed to keep repeating
for once, we must have sinned

we are stuck inside the vortex
of an endless loop of souls
coming back to search forever
through a sea of timeless holes
we have been in love forever
and until we get it right
we are two stars always burning
in the cold dark winter night

we are souls out on the slipstream
we have played the lover's game
we both know we've been together
because our love it seems the same
it's a love built on the ages
we know we'll meet again
one day we'll get it perfect
so now my love...'till then...

Thirty years had passed me by
I was approaching fifty one
For my birthday I thought I would go
to New York and take my son
I'd been there once many years ago
When my boy was not yet born
With his mother gone, I thought it time
To go back there with my son
I checked the web and booked a room
In a hotel that looked real nice
It was just three blocks from Broadway
I guess I should have checked it twice
We flew on in from Michigan
We were set to see some games
We would also go to Broadway
And see some plays with some big names
I should have seen it coming
Problems arising from the start
Our plane was late in leaving
They had crashed the luggage cart
An hour to reload it
Got us off and in the air
With a strong tail wind behind us
The pilot said we'd soon be there
We landed at the airport
Waited forty minutes for our bags
You see, when they loaded us in Detroit
They forgot to fasten all our tags
We went outside to get a cab
We were almost to our stop
We would find the Biltmore Hotel
My young son and me...his pop
We told the taxi driver
To the Biltmore Hotel please
He said "Sir, are you certain"
"They've had bed bugs and there's fleas"
"I checked it on the internet"
"It looked nice and was cheap"
The driver said "OK Sir,"
"But, the Biltmore...it's a heap!"
I thought a bit, but said...."come on"
"It cannot be that bad"
But as we pulled of Broadway
The neighborhood looked quite sad
The street was dark and nondescript
there was no one to be found
Except for idle yelling
You could not hear a sound
Windows were all boarded up
The farther we went east
I thought, for thugs and hoodlums
this street would yield a feast
I thought the cabbie might be right
A new hotel we'd get
But, I still had not decided
Even though the streeted was quite the threat
The sign outside the hotel
Was burned out in some spots
But, I guess from our reaction
We both deserved what we had got
I told the cabbie, do not stop
Just floor it and we'll go
The sign outside the Biltmore
lit up as "BI T MO **"
I wasn't gonna stay there
We went back and made it quick
Just looking at the Biltomre
Well, it really made me sick
I learned one thing this trip
Next time, I'll call ahead
And won't book at the "BIT MO **"
For I might just wake up dead.

Never let me in.
I'm the curse that will end you.
If you let me have my way, I will tear you apart.
My failures will cast impending  darkness
Into that little heart you wear on your sleeve.
My venomous words will tear you limb from limb.
Its a cycle.
Over and over.
My psychological problems that you blindly keep falling for.
Its a cycle.
Over and over.

Slit your wrist, clench your fist
cut your thighs, dry your eyes
have a smoke, try not to choke
don't let them know you died, until you commit suicide

Did they live the life projected
In their high school yearbook?
Did they take the wife selected
Why not take a look?

Geeks and Dweebs and Superstars
Smile back from ancient pages
Going back to high school now
To read the writings from the sages
Voted "The Most something"
Gave one a certain goal to reach
But, the weekend after graduation
These titles were lost on some lone beach

Did Mr. "Most Likely to Succeed"
Ever make his millions
Or is he working at the daily grind
Like so many other billions?

Most Likely to Become a Mom
That's a title that's too cheesy
What exactly did it mean?
Is this girl just one who's easy?

Most Likely to become Prime Minister
Not a chance in hell 'round here
Debating was not a skill
That we were taught I fear

Did the person picked "Most Likely to....
Have a leg up on the rest
Were they picked for popularity
Or were they really just the best

Our "Most Likely to win a Nobel Prize"
because his Chemistry marks were great
Is now working as a bartender
At a bar that's open late

"Most Likely to be a famous rock star"
Now, there's a title to hang on to
Ours, works in geology
So, they didn't miss by far

Look back and laugh at what you see
This book is just a snap
Of people from your life you knew
Some who fell into the trap

A title of "Most Likely To..."
Shouldn't determine who you'll be
For if it does, then you must
be someone who didn't learn to see

We had a girl get shot to death
She never got a yearbook name
But, she was killed robbing a bank years back
And now that's her claim to fame

Doctors, Lawyers, warehousemen
They were all there in our school
Some were picked "Most Likely to.."
Most were not, and that's cool

If you know a "Most Likely To..."
And they became what they were told
Close the book, and leave it shut
You're the one who struck gold

You made a choice to move along
And make a life, to make you ..YOU
And you didn't need a high school tag
To say..."Most Likely To....."

Sailboat on a purple sea
Yellow skies are all she sees
Lonely Captain at the helm
Lord o’er all her ocean realm.

Sailboat on a purple sea
Sailing through Eternity
The yellow skies reveal her ardor
Searching for inlet or harbor.
Where she can safely drop her anchor
Without hostility or rancor
Stay forever, or a day
If on a whim she sails away.
To search again for other shores
Unmindful of the ocean’s mores.
Sometimes storms impede her course
Fill her journey with remorse
Thunder sounds a deaf’ning roar
Through driving rain, can’t see the shore
Lightning bolts around her flash
As if to call the Captain brash
For thinking that she has control
Over purple ocean’s vitriol.

If ever she regrets her plight
When yellow skies turn dark at night
And midnight storms have lead to loss
She rights the ship and bears the cross
And waits for morning dawn to break
Sun through last night’s rain will make
A rainbow reaching far away
Certainly it will show the way
To steer her sailboat that day.

Sailboat on a purple sea
Yellow skies are all she sees
Buoyant Captain at the helm
Lord o’er all her ocean realm.
PwL 04/21/15