Happiness, the evasive Lover of Man
Never wanting to commit
Always dancing out of reach
With enough charm to make you chase her
She teases and tempts
Seduces and beckons
Promises and smiles
But remains her own force
Unyielding to those desiring to claim her
Some brand her a myth
Others an urban legend
But those of who have seen her face
Will forever bask in the memory
Hoping to one day reclaim its vision
The splendor of her beauty
Our unattainable hope.

The chickens watch us
with their tiny T-Rex eyes,
their funny feather hats shaking
and pulsing
with Heaven only knows.

Collecting warm brown eggs
from haughty hens
is an honor.

That’s what Papa says, at least.

Papa built these coops himself,
I tell all the chickens.
He made them because he loves you
or maybe just because he wants your eggs.
I’m not sure which,
I say,
but it’s one of those two
or both.

The silkies are doubtful
and pacing
and ready to peck me into a bare corn cob,
but I’ve got an egg carton to fill
and this is the first time I can help
because Grandma isn’t home.

Papa humors my toe-turns
and my untamed joy
the way that only Papa can,
with squinty jokes
and whistle-wheezy laughs.

An almost dropped egg here,
a yellow yolked yelp there,
and my egg carton is full.

Papa wears a sunny-side up smile
and the chickens don’t mind if we sing.

Slowly losing control,
Strings tugging away at my soul,
My mind is hazy.

These masks are my sanctuary,
Even though they make me feel like a liar.

I am no good at anything; useless.
So I put on a new mask everyday,
To cover up my mistakes from yesterday.  

Hold your breath,
Let your heart grow hazy and hollow,
Forget what your purpose is.

You are just another masked being,
Ready to dive in deep of your own mortality.
Losing your true identity to all of those masks.

Slowly losing control,
Letting everything go.
As you let yourself go, and the masks take control.

old friends gather
tied together
by lines of
silver silk
memory

threaded from
heart to heart
embedded in thought
and action

actor trained
like the rhythm
of drumming fingers
on raked stage

toungue twisted greetings
bring saltwater to eyes
searching for the mentor

a congregation of etudes
belies, the sadness,
laughter hides the absence

shared memory,
memories shared
bring life into focus

years pass by
but still, the silk threads
play the heartstrings
and still we raise our
eyes in ritual goodbyes

and hug each other closer
til the next gathering
old friends remembering
the good times

one day
we will be whole
but until then
we’ll keep fighting,
we’ll take one day at a time
we will laugh and we’ll cry
and we will learn to take our walls down
we’ll be a lighthouse to each other
and carry one another through the night
we’ll see the sun rise
and we’ll find the courage to try again
the waves might try to drown us
but promise me
you won’t sink

Sharp words shouldn't be spoken
Nobody's perfect
When everything comes out broken
Choking on every syllable
Soaking up every last "I'm sorry"
like a sponge that's full already
Steady, aim, fire another round across his bow
Give her another volley of misunderstanding champ,
because your fowling out over fences topped with razor wire

Sometimes a simple smile seems better
Than a string of wrong words that leave your mouth bitter
Sometimes still tongues touch more hearts
and wagging ones turn burnt ears into quitters
Sometimes stepping out's better

Why stick around and frown?
Why let it all bring you down?
Needle and thread your squack box
Turn keys on locks
And give it up, will ya?!
Try it again tomorrow
There'd be a whole lot less sorrow....

our memories
all burnt down
the house i had them
stored in

gone
up in ashes
i dont know what
caused the fire

i can’t help
but feel
like this is
supposed to happen

we had a good run
and here we go now
off on separate ways

you wander into the sunlight
while i slink back into
the darkness from
which i once came

i wish you a good life
with him, her, or
whomever you end up with

i’ll try not to forget
how you treated me
that one day

when i was discarded
by everyone else
into the shadows
and you found me

you were my flashlight
and now your batteries
have disappeared

and i’ll do the same.

Just leave me to live in this garbage
Because I've already been discarded
Like Oscar in his can
I'll be a grouch, a *****, for look at where I stand
Society has counted me unworthy
Has proclaimed I'm gritty, and I'm *****
So I'll climb to the top of this pile of trash
I'll scream out the truth, let them all thrash
For only those in the dark can see the true light
Only the broken know the true wrong from the right
In the midest of the fight is where we grow strong
So we can pull others like us along
For those not ruled by this worlds cash
Will ever be harmed by the stock markets crash
I know the worth of my fellow human
And when the world, by greed lies in ruin
We will climb out of the darkness where you've chased us
And in societies face, truth we will ******
For the darkness of man we know all to well
"For the meek will inherit the world" and love and light will prevail