Sometimes without even knowing
Of the hurt in what we've said
Or the seeds that we are sowing
In the garden of regret

Sometimes without even thinking
Of the words that have just left
Too late to change the meaning
As they fill another's head

Sometimes without even seeing
The hurt that has been fed
I am one in my believing
That most would have regret

Sometimes without even breathing
Words need not be said
Just a look in how it's given
Brings to flood an entire mess

Sometimes without even blinking
We all place our bets
On one another's feelings
As things go left unsaid

Sometimes without even finding
We have made our bed
In the thunder bolts and lightning
Of living with regret

I've got enough food in the pantry
Enough water in the tub
Enough gas in the generator
Hope I've got enough of enough

I've got enough color in the T.V's
Enough batteries in the remotes
I've got enough Cheetos in the stairwell
Enough to make a blind mouse choke

Enough crosswords to keep me puzzled
Enough coloring books to spread my art
Enough soap and shampoo samples
I'll stay clean enough through 2024

I've got enough Reynolds aluminum foil
To cover every square inch of wall
Enough ammunition if there's trouble
And enough guns to shoot it all

I've got enough jelly beans and peanut butter
To span across the state
Now I only need to find the money
Enough to pay for all the freight

I've got the radio for transmitting
Bee Gee albums for talking jive
When I get that Saturday night zombie fever
They also help with staying alive

I've got enough ice cream in the freezer
Vanilla Chocolate Swirl
Pretty sure that I'm now ready
For the end of the world...

i met a man on the street
with a tin cup in his hand
as i pulled up some sidewalk
to give a listen in
i did ask him one question
which way the wind did blow

he said yes
was that a clue to
give my tongue a rest

he seemed to blink a lot
i'm thinking now...morse code
as the pigeons gathered round
like they were in the know

an old man of twenty passed
tossed a nickle in his can
it landed heads, with that he said
i'll bet a hundred grand

as he tipped his hat and said that's that
from his left pocket pulled a peppermint
before popping it into his mouth, he looked around
then brushed off all the lint

he turned to me, said this ones for free
try not to get lost
when ordering chinese take out
make sure it's in a box
with that he gave a wink and slowly hurried off

A bat needs a ball
The way a snail needs a shell
As far as I can tell
They fit together pretty well

A kite needs a string
How a finger needs a ring
The way Winter months longingly look
For the covering of spring

A book needs a read
The way a field needs a seed
Like any minute
Needs a second to help it breathe

A baby needs a bottle
A fork needs a mouth
A thought needs a cranium
To help it bounce around

A song needs a tune
Like the morning needs the dew
Where everything that is now old
At one time was brand new

Would right ever be right
If there never was a wrong
And what good would be life
If love never had a poem

The man with a crooked smile and big hands


A long long time ago
Before digital took over the planet.
My grandfather was  an airman in WW2.
He never dropped a single bomb
or even fired a weapon in that war..
He was a bit of a pacifist
live and let live was his way.
Instead he aimed camera lenses
at the Germans snapping their country
on his belly lay on the planes belly.

At the airbase in the UK he printed his photographs.
enough to cover an airfield.
He met an English lady in the darkroom.
They printed their photographs together
mixing fixer and developer.
She got used to his crooked smile and big hands
He got used to her being there.
When the war ended he returned to the states
and opened a camera and photography shop.
He built a darkroom by hand
when it was finished he went back to England
on a cargo ship
and found the lady from in the darkroom.
he asked her to marry him
and she accepted.
when they returned to New York
he showed her the darkroom he built for them.
On the door was a note
held by a thumbtack
It said I fell in love with you
in the dark
but I want you to follow the light
with me for the rest of our lives.

A year later my dad was born
with a crooked smile and big hands
and also his love of photography.
He had the eye for
color and shadow and light.
After I was born I did not follow the
love of photography.
But would get into trouble at school
for writing poems in the margins
of my work books.
I found grandmas note that was
pinned on the darkroom door.
She had it in the things
I had clear from her room.
she passed a way a few weeks ago.
And I was moved to tell this story.
Follow the light Grandma love.
look for a big man with crooked smile
and big hands hes waiting for you.

Looking at my phone
Waiting for any messages
I might receive from you
But nothing came.

I am waiting in vain
Thinking how you are
And what are you doing right now
I can't even know

Are you okay?
Are you thinking of me too?
Do you ever had a thought of me?
Because I do every single minute.

i sometimes wonder...

at the rhythm of the rain
the fever just beneath the skin

the shimmer of the morning dew
the feeling that i get with you

where are unused teardrops stored
why are the lonely so often ignored

do flowers feel love or pain
when they're cut and given away

i wonder...

why love makes the moon so bright
where the day goes when it's chased by the night

why some people feel the need
to sit and watch their lover bleed

if the world stopped how many would want to get off
if the day is over is it forever lost

would you want to bring it back again
but only the parts that you could win

i wonder...

do babies know they fill a need
a mothers heart gladly receives

how two hearts meld into one
when you find the right one to love

could a fish swim the seven seas
how long must you wait for a bended knee

can all in life that you take to the heart
change the outcome of who you are

i wonder...

why i miss love the way i do
why are thoughts unsaid most often true

why does the heart feel a need for change
when there's the slightest bit of rain

could love be given in return
if that love was never earned

if there was no mercy, love, or grace
what would take its place

a few things that i wonder about
i only wish i could figure out
as i sit and wonder...

John,
are you sleeping
can't you see that
life is not the same

John,
I am finding
that I'm still crying
since you left that day

John,
how is your mother
how are the others
tell Julia I said, hi

John,
can you hear the music
hope you didn't lose it
do they make you behave

John,
are you listening
nothings changed since then
peace has still not come to play

John,
with the life you were having
could you have Imagined
that it would end this way