Mopeds, Mercedes
Dandelions and daisies
Churches
Mosques
Women masked
Exposed eyes
Revealing
More than the body
Ever could.
Lingerie
Sold openly on the street
Olives
By the kilogram
To fast-talking
Fast-walking
Men and women
Young and old.
Ancient ruins,
Ruined
The fall of one civilization
Destroyed
Merely to give rise
To one that will
Only hope to make men
Worth remembering.
Mystery lies
In the lives of artifacts
Bare finger tips
Graze over frescoes
Religion
Art
Expression
Litters every corner
Accompanied by waste
And poppies
Blood red
Amidst the gray haze
Of cigarette smoke
And pollution
Clouding the view
Of snowcapped mountains
Diamond lakes
Undisturbed
Surrounded by
Mopeds, Mercedes
Dandelions and Daisies

"Forgive me, Father,
For I have sinned"
Is what my father should have said
If he had been religious
Or able to admit
That he was a horrible man
At the end

Memories haunt me
Experiences at such a young age
Linger like ghosts

With my father in the river
His hand on my shoulder
Walking behind me down the hall
He was always possessive
It still is hard for him
To let go of what is his
But he didn't seem to have much trouble
Leaving
Without saying goodbye
In reflections
I didn't see him standing there
I saw him in me
His face overlapping mine
He had a head on his shoulders
But his feet never touched the ground

Where could I go
When I was afraid of home?
So thankful to leave that
Haunted house
Behind
Where monsters didn't live
Under the bed
But slept in the room
Down the hall

Late night, early morning drives
The time when I wonder
How close I can get to death
Without dying
Sitting in a vessel
Much safer than my body
My mind can't help but wander
To other places
Intentionally placing my design
In the hands of the outside
I feel empty
Light enough to float
Yet slight enough to fall
Your smell
Still lingers on my sheets
But what will it matter
In an instant
Oncoming traffic
Fraying the string that
The Fates so diligently measure
But there's always that force
That pulls me back again
-- although unwillingly --
Knowing that I do not control
The evasion of death

They say the apple doesn't fall
Far from the tree
But my oak is broken
Falling apart, bark splitting
Even the leaves leave the branches
Anticipating the trunk to timber
And fall
But you, my brother, will be there
The seed, the sapling
To hold our family together

Nine months
Seems like years since I've seen you
But only days stand between you and me now
And with that first glance
I know all my fear and sorrow will evaporate
From my being
And instead I will cling to you
For you are much warmer
Much wiser
Than what previously held onto me

I will release those things willingly
For your tweed suit jackets
Your round glasses
Thick beard
And ancient knowledge
I will welcome the man who knows me
And reminds me who I am
When I don't realize that I am lost
For nine months is much too long
But only a
few
more
days

I'm tired
Tired of feeling this way
Tired of fighting
Of trying
Of lying
That I'm fine

I want to sleep
For days
But dreams haunt me
Daunting

I'm treading water
Drowning, drowsy
In a vast pool
Of memories
Experiences
Emotions
Suppressive weights
Heavier than the
Sleep
That draws my eyelids
To a close

Fighting to let myself
Drift away
Fighting to keep
My eyes open

But I'm too
****
*Tired