The shock arrives one day.
A parent is gone.
After a time,
You will find, for no reason
Emotions will overflow
No rhyme, no reason.
It may be a smell,
It may be a sound,
It may be someone on the street.
Memories carried in heart and soul
Trigger tears.
For a time you will cry,
From deep within.
Slowly they will moderate.
Special days, a picture
Some things will always bring tears.
This is natures way.
Always remember,
They are a part of you.
If you are still and listen deep
They are there.
Memories help you along.
You are the total collection
Of the genes of those from before.
As long as you remember,
They are never gone.

Dan Gray

I’m back in my dark, safe place.
Familiar after so many years.
When I next leave it,
I will be clothed in my armour of a fool.
The best defense is to make it appear you have no offense.
Be the fool - you are not a threat.
Be the fool - who can take you seriously.
Be the fool - people don’t notice if you’re around.
Be the fool - make them laugh; you’ll not belong anyway.
At the end of the day I go to my safe place and remove my armour.
I am alone, it’s safe.
I pour a drink and read, escape with my mind.
I am alone, it’s safe.
I watch TV, I’m board but,
I am alone, it’s safe.
I go outside amongst the trees, I stare longingly at the stars above,
I am alone, it’s safe, I cry;
I am all alone.

Dan Gray
-years ago

Those long, thin, intertwining threads of loneliness
Twisting, turning, expanding
Slowly enveloping the free spaces in ones heart
From where joy and happiness spring.
Floods of feelings stopped and dammed
By that wall causing separation of self
From those you want to embrace, feel, love
Hold, spend time with, grow with
Be one with.
You are trapped into thinking
That darkness is a safe place to be
So you sit there and watch the world go by.
Missed chances, missed people, missed life.
This is the product of loneliness.
As you come to realize this,
Some can cast off the dark cloak.
For many this is as casting bread upon the water
Their loneliness grows seven fold
Taking them deeper in the trap.
It is one thing that expands, thrives
Feeds on the dark.
For that is where you sit in loneliness.
It is insidious.
So I’ll sit here in the dark
Remembering the happiness
Trying to find the will and strength
To claw myself out of the darkness
And back to the light
To once again gamble on the outside world.

Dan Gray

An evening I had with Leonard.
Myself with five ladies of the hooking craft.
Full house congregating to hear him speak.
The fluid words of living
An elixir to ones soul.
This little old man,
A modern Pied Piper of life,
An influence of modern song
That will carry past his physical presence.
His ability to stroke that place in ones mind
That can lead an audience in silence.
Wanting to catch every nuance.
The sound of vibrating strings
Matching the sound,
Of Angels wings,
Lift you past his words.
Observing the crowd
Some leaning forward as if in pews,
Not wanting to miss one word of inspiration.
Silver haired women,
Eyes closed, moistened  lips smiling,
Modulating to the tunes.
Remembering youthful encounters
Sensualized by this Poets intent.
Grey haired men lip sync
As they used to whisper in anticipation
In their ladies ear.
Youth of today
Rising in joy, cheering
Will carry the cycle forward.
At twelve I heard Suzanne and was captured.
I devoured his works
Finding poetry was not school house boring.
Seeking what had inspired him.
The surveyor for oh so many in the path of poets.

Dan Gray
April, 2013