Behold the artist, blind since birth,
Consider what she paints.
No perception of perfection,
Hence no rules; Hence no restraints.
The colors on her palette
Are hers alone to see;
Created only in her mind,
Her brush will set them free.

Behold the model, sitting naked,
Consider how he feels.
He knows that she can’t see him,
Hence wonders what her gaze reveals.
If silently he moved away,
Would she even know?
Would she continue painting,
Though her model chose to go?

Behold the canvas, total black,
Consider what it means.
Is it art regardless
There are no browns, no blues, no greens?
When the model views the finished portrait,
Does he stand there filled with awe?
For the black, the shapeless splotches
Are what the artist saw.
Pwl 11/28/16

An infant, eyes wide open, stares into the world and sees nothing. An adult narrows his vision and sees what he wants. An old man closes his eyes and sees everything.
Phil Lindsey, August 10, 2016

I love you.
I love how messed up you are
And how normal you turned out
I look at you over drinks
After work
Both of you
Picture perfect
And neither of you see it
Within yourselves.
It's all
who would want me
And
I'm not good enough
It's all ***** secrets
And things we don't
Want to talk about.
It's all reflections
On all of our faces
As we frown and growl
And point fingers
At who did what.
But in the end of the day
I love you and I know
You all love me
So drop the act
I got all of your backs
And I know you've got mine.
There's alot to be discovered
In how perfectly
We all mirror each other
Giving all of us
Beautifull reflections
Of how we see each other
And each mirror
Is perfect in it's own way.

Dad looked up and stared at me; His blue eyes aging, but still clear.
“Reflection, Son. Reflection. It’s like I’m looking in a mirror.
When I look at you, I see myself, about twenty years ago.
I’m on the final laps of life, you have a few to go.
We don’t communicate so well; It’s hard to tell you how I feel,
But now I’m feeling pretty scared, and I sure hope that Heaven’s real.
I made a list of things I learned; I hope you understand,
If I had done a better job, I’d have been a better man.”

“Go 60, don’t go 80. You’ll still get there way too soon.
Turn the TV off at night, watch the clouds drift past the moon.
Tell your wife and kids you love them; Use every chance to hug them tight.
And listen to the crickets and the tree frogs sing at night.
Life is like a movie; There’s a large supporting cast,
Surround yourself with love and friendship, they’re the only things that last.
Don’t be too ******* others; And give yourself a break,
Maybe, Son, it’s not too late to learn from my mistakes.”

“The doctor thinks the cancer’s back, and there’s nothing he can do.
I guess I understand it, after what I put my body through.
Your Mother and I discussed the end – one of us would be the first.
I can’t bear to talk about it, but watching her die was the worst.
She was a special woman; Now she’s waiting up above.
At least I hope that she is waiting, I know I’ve been hard to love.
I’d much rather she was sitting here, my ashes blowing to the wind.
But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that I’ll be with her again.”

“You kids are what we’ve left this world. You are our legacy.
I hope you got the best of her, and not so much of me.
Look at me as if you see your own reflection in a mirror.
Heed the ever-present warning, ‘Things may be closer than they appear.’
I’m tired, and old. I’ve made mistakes, but I worked hard, and did my best.
When God gives me a final score, I hope the good outweighs the rest.
Reflection, Sons, and Daughter. Reflection is the key.
God give you strength and courage to change - based on what you see.”
PwL 5/18/16

When all else fails, and you’re forced to run,
Stop, turn around, start shoot’n with a gun
Laugh a little louder, have a little fun,
Walk into the web that the **** spider spun.

In the midst of laugh’n, cry outloud awhile,
Then try to dry your eyes and fake it with a smile
Hide your hard-earned happiness with a grain of guile,
And join the judge and jury in attendance at your trial.

As they announce the verdict, stand there ill at ease,
Pretend you’re in a Catholic Church and get down on your knees
Be it bread and water, or be it wine and cheese
You’re sweatin’ and it’s hot as Hell; the party goers freeze.

Life can be so easy, but we make it awful hard
It’s a game of inches; sometimes we miss it by a yard,
Play another hand of poker, and get the lucky card
Or find the buried treasure in your own back yard.
Phil Lindsey 5/5/16

I once had a dream,
Turned into a nightmare
Thought I was livin’,
Found out I had died.
Heard all of the jokes,
But I just kept laughin’,
Told a couple myself,
And somebody cried.

World keeps on turnin’,
We keep getting’ older,
Mirrors and reflections,
Are foggy today.
All of our children
Are livin’ their own lives,
Sendin’ us emails,
“Hope you’re doin’ OK.”

I know that they mean well,
I did much the same,
Life’s movin’ faster
It’s a young person’s game.
Pushing the edges, and
Paintin’ new pictures
No room for old folks,
Nobody’s to blame.

Friend me on Facebook,
Post pictures of grandkids
I’ll know what you’re doing,
I’ll know where you are.
Enjoy all the hours
You have with your children
Your chips earned as parents
Only get you so far.
PwL 4/15/06

All at once the music stopped;
The calliope stopped spinning.
Atop the stallions we held hands
Convinced that we were winning –
For we were in the prime of life,
We held the golden ring,
Though the music stopped, we knew
Forever we would sing.

All at once the music stopped;
The Ferris wheel stopped turning.
Atop the city looking down,
We saw that lights were burning –
For we were in the evening and,
Our lives had passed midway,
And when the music stopped we knew
That we had had our day.

All at once the music stopped;
The carnival had ended.
And we held each other tightly,
As if our lives could be suspended –
For without the music and the lights,
Past and Present blended,
Our future was but memories
That we had resurrected.

All at once the music stopped;
The night was deathly still.
Alone, and scared I trembled,
Without a prayer, without a will–
For my life had been a carnival,
With my lover at my side,
But all alone, without my lover
I knew that I had also died.
Phil Lindsey  3/29/16

The reflection of me, rather strangely
As I drive deep my gaze into the mirror
Last time I had a look-see it was baby face me
At what mile marker did this road map appear

There are wrinkles that make their way North
With flab sagging deep to the South
It's hard to see clear, East and West in the mirror
Guess for that I'd have to turn around

At what point did I turn in my compact
Trading it in for another ride
I still remember the day I only took up one lane
Now I'm barreling fast down black top double wide

I know that there have been times,
down the bruised and misread years,
when I have been hard and cold.
Perhaps even seeming to be cruel
But, please remember who I am
And where it is I've come from.
Born to gossip and scandal
and raised in the family war zone,
trust and tenderness, at times,
seem illusory to me.
Unknowable.
Like smoke in my hands.
But I still try.

                                  By Phil Roberts

Indeed
Our actions
must be the mirror
of our words.