I never want to stop talking to you,
but I suppose that's the only way,
for us to become better people,
we will have to separate.

You know so much about me,
all my hopes and wistful dreams,
the truth is I must release,
before you grow tired of me.

I lust for you so much,
And I know that I always have,
the times I've slept thinking of you,
are some of the most wonderful ones I've had.

I said I'd never write sad poetry,
or at least not about you,
but I have only just noticed,
how hard this is for me to do.

So goodbye my darling,
I assure that you're the love of my life,
but times have changed,
and with that I've grown certain that you no longer want me as your wife.

My brain will be the death of me,
I realised late one night,
everything that goes on inside leads to my own fight.

It makes me want to explode,
I wish I didn't over think,
I'm forever getting pushed to my absolute brink.

Some times I want to silence it,
no kind words will make this stop,
I often feel as though my skull is just about to pop.

The problems will still flow,
But life continues to progress,
but one day I will discover how to banish all this stress.

I write about you,
I wonder if you've guessed.

My pen hits paper,
and my fingers tap the keys,
each time revealing,
a small portion of me.

My life and my troubles,
all on one page.

The feelings you give,
it's here I reflect,
on all of the worries I have,
a way in which I can recollect.

these aren't just words,
they are scribbles of me.

it's as if a ghost,
wondering, no way to go.

hovering the same as incense,
it's own luminous light as a guide.

no eyes to see,
just trust and hope.

you can look right through,
not even slightly opaque.

This freedom it has,
drifting through large expanse.

It's a beat that flows in my blood,
a complex tune in my soul,
a hum that leads to flood,
a rhythm that can't grow old.

It's a thing I can't shake away,
these feelings that rush through me,
the moment I press play.

dad left
for his second tour of duty
on my third birthday

mom kept
a jar full of jelly beans
on the living room coffee table

every night
she gave me one to eat, saying
"when these jelly beans
are all eaten up,
dad will come back home"

sometimes
i would sneak another,
to help dad come home sooner

one night
the phone rang
and i watched mom
wipe away a tear
as she filled
the jar
back
up

(For D. M. C.)

The little man with the vague beard and guise
Pulled at the wicket. "Come inside!" he said,
"I'll show you all we've got now -- it was size
You wanted? -- oh, dry colors! Well" -- he led
To a dim alley lined with musty bins,
And pulled one fiercely. Violent and bold
A sudden tempest of mad, shrieking sins
Scarlet screamed out above the battered gold
Of tins and picture-frames. I held my breath.
He tugged another hard -- and sapphire skies
Spread in vast quietude, serene as death,
O'er waves like crackled turquoise -- and my eyes
Burnt with the blinding brilliance of calm sea!
"We're selling that lot there out cheap!" said he.

Cardboard doubles
as shredded sheets
"Spare a little change,
trying to make ends meet
Just seeking refuge
from the cold and sleet"

Well, the Savior didn't have a place
to lay His head
So maybe they're closer to Him
than I am

But people see the signs
All they do is stare
Wonder, what's he done
and where's she been?
I couldn't cast the stone
cuz my record ain't clean

No one gave me
the judgement rod
And you, sir, don't look like God
Driving by
rolling up your windows and
down your nose
"Probably for drugs,"
your judgments say
"Lazy *** will
squander it away"

As if you and I
never fail, please don't forget
we've just been given
a better circumstance,
missed some unfortunate
happenstance
Do you squander love?
Waste your privilege?

We're all the same
Skin bones and blood
And I know I'm
begging for change
on the streets of human love
Forgetting I've been given grace
from the Divine
Covered by love that looks like
water blood and wine

Maybe my friend
the "homeless ***"
is really a bit closer
to the One

The waves come crashing
Soon I am sinking, slinking down
Into the bottom of an ocean
My own eyes created
I see a few surviving, fighting
Off the unforgiving currents
While others just let themselves
Down, they let themselves drown
I am always hovering
In between the two
I can neither sink nor swim
I do not understand how one
Can win or lose a battle
Against their own mind
I guess time will tell how long
I can really hold my breath