They say, as you approach the speed of light
the energy required to keep moving forward
begins to reach infinity.  

If you give it some thought it makes perfect sense.
The past is heavy.
You can feel the weight of every moment
even if you are only travelling at the speed of life.

cushions make a queer backstop
after five long years of stone
friends and family fray the nerves
after five long years alone

a backyard barbecue a battle
when the fight is finally won
still he fights to find the joy
in the laughter of his son

a bonafide war hero
not as brave as he might seem
when he can’t escape the feeling
that coming home was just a dream

look into my eyes
come close let me see
the only person who knows
all the secrets of me

give me your hands
mine know them so well
holding onto each other
they've made it through hell

put your lips to my lips
your breath in my chest
only wrapped in your arms
may my weary heart rest

lay here by my side
let our shadows entwine
know I’m eternally yours
whisper you’ll always be mine

Moments pass like leaves
on a windswept November day.
Beautiful and Golden
dancing merrily in the bright sunshine,
swiftly passing out of sight and out of time.
Until all that we are left with are bare branches
and memories of what once was green.

If I a wayward traveler
were to rest my weary bones,
I fear I’d quickly find my name
in a garden full of stones.

So I continue trudging onward,
without regard for my direction.
Eyes forever pointed downward
by the fear of my detection.

Carrying the bags of follow travelers
despite their ever growing weight.
My steps harried ever onward
by the fear I might be late.

I can’t see my destination
but I have faith to keep me strong.
I can’t let my pace be slowed
by the fear that I am wrong.

I can’t say I quite recall
even the way this journey started
but I must have held some purpose
on that day I first departed.

So I continue trudging onward
without regard for my confusion.
This journey is about so much more
than my self-involved delusions.

If I a wayward traveler
were to rest my weary bones,
I fear I’d quickly find my name
in a garden full of stones.

Two strangers on a midnight ride
underneath the moonlight pale.
Two strangers who just by chance
are passing in the night.

One smile, one glance
a subconscious movement of the heart.
Two strangers just with flashing eyes
share a lifetime in one look.

The road between them gathers miles
their destinations leagues apart.
Two strangers shared a midnight love
that will live forever in their heart.

You weren't there to check for monsters
hiding underneath my bed.
So I hid under my covers
as I lay awake in dread.

There were monsters in the daytime too
one even stole your shoes.
Hiding deep inside myself
was all that I could do.

You weren't there to show me how to fight
when the bullies knocked me down.
So I lived a life of fear
insecure upon the ground.

You weren't there by my side,
but you were always in my heart
and I grew into a man
even though we were apart.

Father to a beautiful little girl
with monsters hiding in the night,
but I chase them all away
and tuck her covers tight.

I hope you’re there for her
the way you couldn't be for us
a growing little girl
needs her grandpa’s love.

we all stand at the threshold
to the doorway of tomorrow
on the other side
awaits a wondrous ride
where dreams are sure to follow

imagination soon set free
from mere pictures in our head
our thoughts made real
our hearts made feel
inhibitions will be shed

the future has embraced us
our dreams are sure to follow
eyes made of light
see wondrous sights
through the doorway of tomorrow

How I miss your laughing smile
When the sky turns dark
And the cold winds howl

I miss your warm and loving touch
When the weight of the world
Proves to be too much

I miss the us we used to be
When our hearts were young
And our souls were free

I miss the dreams we used to dream
When the world was as simple
As it used to seem

I was born a butchers boy
I never lacked for meat
Purse strings tight as a bishop’s ***
My childhood lacked for sweets

My sweethearts now a butchers wife
Two lamb shanks for a ha penny
We waste our coin and copper hair
By eating sweets a plenty

The merchant comes to peddle time
The reaper dreads his arrival
Those with coin and copper hair
Can purchase their survival

I will die a butcher’s death
My sweets have sealed my fate
With empty purse and graying hair
The merchant comes to late

The art of saying as much as possible,
                                                  using the fewest words.

Man is a curious animal
who afraid of his own mortality
went and conjured up spirituality.

Which begs a curious question
if religion our fears meant to quell
why then go,
and conjure up hell.

Don’t waste this life,

            consumed by what might have been.

bleary eyed and weary *****
tendons creak and muscles groan
stomach grumbles and lungs lament
every shred of will is rent

dreams are beating down the door
face keeps falling towards the floor
the war against the night is lost
the darkness comes despite cost

My heart soared and fell broken
all in the same moment.

I saw my future, forgot my past
and wept at my good fortune.

Then I awoke, forgot my dreams
to a life consumed by torture.

It’s amazing how the moment turns
on such a tiny thing.

On the ******* of your left hand
a tiny golden ring.

you’ve lost that twinkle in your eye
your hair has dulled to gray
your hands are gnarled and cracked and dry
your memory slowly fades.

you’ll never get to hold her hand
you’ll never see her smile
her life on earth has just began

while yours has just  a sweet short while

how I wish there was a way
that you could somehow feel
the love inside this little girl
whose name you’ll never know

I didn't mean to make your heart break.
You must believe it was a mistake.
I couldn't help but have my way,

when that
red feather boa
looked my way.

I didn't mean to let your heart break.
You must believe it was a bad day.
Please baby just don’t walk away.

how many
words will it
take to say

I didn't mean to make your heart break.

We all live together in boxes made of light.
As our moments pass they overlap,
bundled loose with neon twine.

We all think out loud with minds made of light.
Our most private thoughts escape our heads
setting sail on copper skies.

We all sit together sharing lives made of light.
One family gathered round a global hearth,
texting tales of cyber life.

when an inherently talented singer
steps out under the bright lights
and bares her soul in song
some would say that takes courage

when a genetically gifted athlete
leaves his heart on the field
and leads his team to victory
some would say he was brave

but I would say true courage
is stepping out under those bright lights
or running onto that field of competition
even in the face of almost certain failure

yes I believe true courage
is speaking up when no one’s listening
playing your heart out even when you can’t win
and standing up again even if you fall

the color of our skin
the nation of our home
the religion of our father
all things that we've outgrown

we all share a fragile planet
in an endless cosmic sea
all that matters anymore
is our shared humanity

well aren't these walls immaculate
and aren't these doors divine
if we’re stuck in here another year
well I guess that’ll be just fine

we bought ourselves a golden garden
with a crystal chandelier
the only catch is the iron latch
that keeps us ever near

I know we said we’d see the world
before our hair turned gray
but two new cars make fine new bars
too keep those dreams at bay

well aren't these floors superfluous
and don’t these windows shine
we've hocked our youth to buy this roof
so it’s where we’ll spend our time

Poetry is like friendly advice
    everyone has something to share,
               but hardly anyone ever listens.

Sometimes you just want to be heard
even if the world understands
not one single solitary word.

You raise your voice.
You raise your hand.
You make a move.
You take a stand.

Sometimes you just need to be seen
by total strangers in a public place
without a clue as to what it might mean.

You steel your nerves.
You set your chin.
You stand up straight.
You let them in

Maybe it’s a poem, that doesn't really rhyme
or a picture that you drew
between some notebook paper lines.

Maybe it’s a blog.
Maybe it’s a song.
Maybe it’s not quite right.
Maybe it’s completely wrong.

Sometimes, you just need to be heard.

perfect simplicity
so seldom does visit me
that when it’s in the vicinity
I bask in divinity

I live for a line
the curve of her spine
her curves are divine
with a bottle of wine

the touch of her lips
the swing of her hips
savor the sips
of a total eclipse

there’s no life in a photograph
no real spark in a camera flash
real life is found in 3D space
right in front of your down turned face

real friends don’t live in an online book
and care about more than what quizzes you took
real support is hugs and real words we say
you can’t just click someone to a brighter day

real love exists on god’s green earth
but it can’t be found with a google search
there is life to be lived in the real sunshine
because life isn't lived if it’s lived online

i’m tired of tattered metaphors
we are all just mongrels made of meat
a flowery soliloquy
only makes old hat smell sweet

there is nothing new under the sun
or so the story goes
a rolling stone does not gather moss
but a poet reaps the words he sows

creativity escapes even me
in a quite unsightly manner
what started out on an epic route
has ended with a stammer

my soul wanders when I sleep
where it wills to venture forth
mostly it tells my waking mind not

some nights on a rare occasion
the faintest flickering of a memory
will hold fast till morning sings

some would say it’s just a dream
but what dreams are alive as this
so vivid are these vague remembering’s

just this morning my soul watched the sun
rise over the most beautiful valley
my mortal life has ever seen

the first rays of newborn light
chasing the shadows fast across
valley fields of summer green

my soul has passed the gates of heaven
and walked it’s quiet gardened paths

my soul has peered into the future
and has revisited my past

every so often my soul will stop
to watch the warm summer wind
rustle a single maple leaf

the peace that I remember
from those midnight summer stops
leads my waking mind to weep

darkness draws it’s curtains once again
as I recount what little I recall
and record my pondering

my soul stirs within this mortal shell
anxious to once again be off
on it’s  midnight wandering

I lie all the time, but it's mostly to myself.

a young man
heart pounding in his chest
back pressed against cold stone
body covered in cold sweat
peers around the corner
eyes try to pierce the dark

a mother
finger tapping on the counter
hand reaching for the phone
feet twitching to the clock
stares out the kitchen window
eyes try to pierce the dark

a young girl
head buried in her forearm
breath held inside her chest
body filled with anticipation
looks up from her countdown
eyes try to pierce the dark

have I somehow forgotten
what it feels like to be in love
just because my arms can hold
what my heart was dreaming of

have her lips somehow lost
their deep soft kiss appeal
just because my mouth knows well
how those deep soft kisses feel

have my hands lost their longing
to go exploring in the dark
just because my fingers know
how to quickly find their mark

when did our words find their edge
when did our bed get so vast
how did our love become this desert
when it was endless oceans in our past

lying here my heart remembers
every deep soft kiss and every touch
and as I put my arms around her
my tears remind me
what it feels like to be in love

A year or two
older than me
I wore brown shoes
we drank sweet tea

I touched her face
she kissed my lips
We tasted love
between the sips

I walk into the wind, I stand against the fall
If any would rise against me, I'd stand against them all

I stand against the darkness, the unnecessary night
I stand against injustice, I stand with all my might
Regardless of the challenge I stand my ground and fight

Ten thousand enemies before me, thinking this might be the day
I stand and face the darkness, as ten thousand kneel to pray
I stand against the onslaught for if not I’d fade away

Battle scars adorn me, from every struggle past
Each a test of courage, any could have been my last
I stand against the darkness, the unnecessary pain
I stand and fight each battle
That I might not have to fight again

there is nothing I could ever say
nor anything I could ever do
to spark the flame of passion
I long to see in you

its like we stand on different worlds
that just happen to share space
from altogether different times
that exist in the same place

I know you hear the words I speak
see the expressions that I make
but somehow all the love I give
falls lifeless in your wake

rainbows they just fade
there is no *** of gold
happy endings only live
in the stories we are told

pictures always lie
they only show the moment
a picture never shows
after the moments over

true love’s a fairy tale
that we happily believe
and we share that fairy tale
with anyone we can deceive

the truth is found in floods
and shards of broken glass
the truth is broken hearts
and moments as they pass

wherefore does the soul begin
is it just beneath our human skin
or is it hidden somewhere deep within
somewhere bones have never been

tell me does the soul condense
when it’s days on earth commence
does it altogether cease to be
or does it somehow travel hence

and as for its life before
does it somehow matter more
than anything that might come after
it’s ship departs life’s final shore

the night began
like most nights do
when your 20 something
and the moon is full

a random bar
a brand new friend
not a single thought
about nights end

we drank we laughed
we even sang along
when the radio played
our favorite song

as the night got older
we both grew bolder
you’d rest your head
upon my shoulder

too happy drive
that’s what you said
come back to my place
and rest instead

the two of us
on a big red sofa
your back to my chest
with our feet hung over

my wandering hand
starts to explore
along your hips
and wanting more

a slight hesitation
then a button pop
your not quite sure
if you want to stop

then you stood up
the spark was gone
the beer wore off
the lights came on

looking back I wonder now
how the night played out
if my hand wandered north
instead of south

I still dream of you from time to time.
not the good dreams, the pleasant ones,
where you wake up after a restful night’s sleep
and can just barely hold on to the happiness leftover

when I dream of you I dream the dark ones
that wake you up in the middle of the night
falling from some imperceptible, nonexistent height
gasping for breath, grasping for life, drenched in cold sweat

even on nights I don’ t recall ever dreaming at all
a vague feeling of unease will settle over me midday
just when I am certain I have finally moved on, I realize
no matter how deep its buried the past is never gone

*** isn't the only thing that sells
death sells too
think about it a minute
and admit that its true

war correspondent reporting live
from the middle of the war zone
another thousand people die
from the hole in the ozone

ebola outbreaks are trending
getting millions of views
while little girl abductions
top the evening news

we demonize *** on t.v.
like were ashamed of creation
while at least one prime time show
will feature de-capitation

the next time you buy a ticket
to the mass media fair
just stop and think a minute
buyer beware

beauty is of many faces
found in many forms and places
first is seen the beauty of the face
it's the greatest at the start
but before its dead it can swell your head
and leave you naught but a broken heart
all and all a rarer find
is the beauty of the mind
it grows and flowers with each season
it’s one true love is love of reason
if this beauty grows to great
it can see the need for love too late
if too much of this you own
expect a hard thought life alone
the most amazing of all is set apart
it's the deepest beauty of the heart
traces found almost everywhere
it’s on the wind and in a prayer
you'll find it anyplace that's wild
and in the laughter of a child
its the beauty that will never fade
still found today as god first made
when this beauty you can confess
you'll find true love and happiness