~

Darkness invades
The depths of your soul
You stare into nothing again

Tear stained illusions
Carved in the alley
Shadows foreboding descend

Labyrinth branches
Woven temptations
Blistering quick on the heel

Blind definitions
Of splintered emotions
Soiled the whispers you feel

Dance with the keeper
Slightly off balance
Break, never yearning to bend

Darkness invades
The depths of your soul
You stare into nothing again

You whispered your secrets
on breezes of starlight
of moonbeam collections
in night sky desire

Those twinkling phrases
beyond the horizon
which once held the sunset
in blistery fire

Beneath every pine tree
found evergreen wishes
with snow dressing branches
long winters to show

And springtime petunias
bloomed fresh for the season
soft feathery visions
you want me to know

That here as we’re lying
this hillside of splendor
while counting the diamonds
a’ shine up above

Each sunrise of morning
a new days beginning
asleep in my arms is
the dawning of love

~

Dreams may find us where we sleep
Wrapped up for the night
Safely in our chambers dark
Neath our covers tight

Drowsy under moon beam glow
Comforting the feel
Born within a fantasy
Something close to real

Far beyond the deepest stare
Vanilla coated skies
Rolling hills to anywhere
Breaths of passion’d sighs

Sunset laughter, twilight seams
Footprints in the sand
Leading to our every wish
Strolling hand in hand

Yet often we may find a dream
Waiting at our door
When the sun is shining bright
Brighter than before

One who sends a perfect view
On a summer breeze
Blooming through the countryside
Echoing the trees

You I find are such a dream
Before my eyes to see
Bumblebees and butterflies
Fragrance flowing free

Mountain streams of aqua blue
Clouds of whispered white
Daffodils and lavender
Enchanting is the sight

As each day does start anew
Dew drop clover sings
Melodies of what you are
All your smile brings

Proving now that as I sleep
My days are overdue
For when I wake, if you I see
My dreams have all come true

~


Laughing, only to hide the tears,
now gathering in the corners of my mouth,
drowning me…(I should be so lucky)

staring at a reflection in the protective glass,
not someone I recognize at this convenience store counter,
even if it is me

When facing a fool, as I often do,
I close my eyes as to not see the sorrowed face,
yet I know…I have been warned

“Don’t reach for what you can not have…
No hands in the cookie jar,
it’ll spoil your appetite”

But I don’t listen, I hear, but…I am hungry,
she can’t mean me? Not me,
not the dancing clown that brings smiles

Watch me juggle, my heart, my love, my soul,
spotlights transition my lenses
and the stage goes dark

The minimum wage clerk is not amused,
wiping his nose with his hand,
then extending it as if requesting payment

But I have not purchased, I have only looked,
watched her walk to another, thumbing her nose in my direction
as if hitch hiking on her face

Still I reach for an empty wallet
filled with past due receipts and plastic poison,
fattening the faux leather Fossil with I.D. holder

Another swipe of the card, slowly as directed,
magnetic strip inward…

declined

~


Laughing, only to hide the tears,
now gathering in the corners of my mouth,
drowning me…(I should be so lucky)

staring at a reflection in the protective glass,
not someone I recognize at this convenience store counter,
even if it is me

When facing a fool, as I often do,
I close my eyes as to not see the sorrowed face,
yet I know…I have been warned

“Don’t reach for what you can not have…
No hands in the cookie jar,
it’ll spoil your appetite”

But I don’t listen, I hear, but…I am hungry,
she can’t mean me? Not me,
not the dancing clown that brings smiles

Watch me juggle, my heart, my love, my soul,
spotlights transition my lenses
and the stage goes dark

The minimum wage clerk is not amused,
wiping his nose with his hand,
then extending it as if requesting payment

But I have not purchased, I have only looked,
watched her walk to another, thumbing her nose in my direction
as if hitch hiking on her face

Still I reach for an empty wallet
filled with past due receipts and plastic poison,
fattening the faux leather Fossil with I.D. holder

Another swipe of the card, slowly as directed,
magnetic strip inward…

declined

~

Oh so weak, I lift you by delicate wings,
gently as to not smear the wonder
that does meet my eyes

Softly you rest in my hand,
exploring my skin,
the lines of my life, crooked and scarred

Tiny feet dance
tickling me with wonderful sonnets,
penned by nature herself

As if you can see
my intentions are pure,
for I long to bring you joy, which you bring me

A sweet fragrance on the wind
rhymes perfectly with your mesmerizing luminescent colors,
shimmering in the morning sun

Spread your wings my little friend
for I have planted you a garden
filled with the nectar which you desire

And I will sit and watch
silently as you float, happy and free
amongst the beauty that grows for only you

*Deep within my heart

~

Deep within my heart


Oh so weak, I lift you by delicate wings,
gently as to not smear the wonder
that does meet my eyes

Softly you rest in my hand,
exploring my skin,
the lines of my life, crooked and scarred

Tiny feet dance
tickling me with wonderful sonnets,
penned by nature herself

As if you can see
my intentions are pure,
for I long to bring you joy, which you bring me

A sweet fragrance on the wind
rhymes perfectly with your mesmerizing luminescent colors,
shimmering in the morning sun

Spread your wings my little friend
for I have planted you a garden
filled with the nectar which you desire

And I will sit and watch
silently as you float, happy and free
amongst the beauty that grows for only you

Deep within my heart

~

Deep within the ecstasy of love


I breathe this night of ecstasy on satin sheets we shine
The comfort of your silken skin my dream
Lips so soft and tenderly do bring themselves to mine
Pleasure lives inside this shadowed scene

Wrapped around each other, searing passion fires flame
Tongues now dance in rhythm of this kiss
Drinking of your flavor drives this humble man insane
Falling ever deeper the abyss

Beauty blooms aside me as our eyes meet in the night
My gaze now finds your stare of tempting flow
Perfect is the joy we feel when we are oh so tight
Sensuous of moonbeam light a’ glow

Fingers probe of pleasure as your sighs now brush the sky
Slowly deep within rose petal folds
Glistening of moisture resting smooth of silken thighs
Fantasies of long ago foretold

Intoxicating fragrance as your neck my mouth does swim
Curves to fit these hands of wondered feel
Firm, ***** the blossoms fill my palms of every whim
Pleading moans so hard now to conceal

Lower still my heated tongue paints satin skin so smooth
Trails across your body’s shimmered lines
Your hands, my hair, now clenched to guide, this apple blossom bloom
Allowing me your sweet September wine

Slowly first, then teasingly, I find that wondrous spot
Tighter still my face pressed to your soul
Steady, but a quickened pace, this room, this bed, so hot
Calling out my name you lose control

Tethered breath, an arching back as nectar fills the void
Flavoring our love with sugared cream
Still my movements don’t subside, as once more is enjoyed
Filling of my heart your every scream

Once again our faces meet, as dripping lips now touch
Eye so wide, melodious the glare
Fingers smooth direct me to the place I love so much
Showing me the pathway winding there

Heated is the moment that my love does find your space
Harmonizing movements make their play
Perspiration mingles on our bodies, shadows trace
Soothing as a perfect summer’s day

Deep inside the waterfall does rage against the stream
Tropical sensations do abound
Breathless as I hold you close, so very close to me
Passion is the music of our sound

Fingers clenched, our legs entwined oh never to abate
Lost between a fantasy and truth
Slowly this is just the time the night is getting late
Here its comes the moment of our proof

We’re so close, our bodies locked in majesty of bliss
Before my eyes a most refreshing view
Just to drink your smile with my own upon our kiss
As my every fantasy is you

Rhythmic flashes light our minds as fireworks we see
Not unlike the shooting stars above
Nothing could be finer than to have you here with me
Deep within the ecstasy of love

Deep within the lyrics


The closest thing I know to love¬
Is something I am thinking of
In every sorted worry that my mind decides to share

While drinking heavy in the past
Inside the shadows I now cast
The bottom of the bottle lets me know I am aware

Collecting on a shouldered score
Finding it is nothing more
Than voiced in my confessions of imaginary scenes

Reaching for a photograph
Searching for its aftermath
Tuning off the station in the middle of my dreams

The fury of this drunken bliss
Reminds me of your tender kiss
Though never having felt it, it is something that I long

For in the end this fairy tale
Reminds me of my quest to fail
Deep within the lyrics of some broken hearted song

Deep within the lyrics


The closest thing I know to love¬
Is something I am thinking of
In every sorted worry that my mind decides to share

While drinking heavy in the past
Inside the shadows I now cast
The bottom of the bottle lets me know I am aware

Collecting on a shouldered score
Finding it is nothing more
Than voiced in my confessions of imaginary scenes

Reaching for a photograph
Searching for its aftermath
Tuning off the station in the middle of my dreams  

The fury of this drunken bliss
Reminds me of your tender kiss
Though never having felt it, it is something that I long

For in the end this fairy tale
Reminds me of my quest to fail
Deep within the lyrics of some broken hearted song

~
Violet moons
in lavender skies
Whispers on raindrops
and twilight kissed sighs
Buttercup daydreams
in rose petal white
Define my thoughts
of you on this night

Pine cone aromas,
and cool morning dew
Mountain top moments,
a beautiful view
Snow flurry sonnets
and orchids at play
Define my love
for you on this day

Butterfly wishes,
blue oceans a' dance
Porcelain passions
and springtime romance
Sweet chocolate visions
of everything new
Define this man
*the day he found you

~

Influences corner me
on a narrow strip of land
falling off into a sea of uncertainty
Raging waters reflecting fear
desperately deep

Toxic tides reach for me,
attempting to drag me under
Spilling breaths on uncharted beaches
I fall to my knees lost…searching
for merely the tiniest thread of hope

When a rope, strung of woven longings
appears, tied tightly around your heart,
hand knotted of promises made
and gasping, I pull myself once again
to the safe haven of your love

~

Maps are folded and re-folded into pocket sized
destinations of our own heart’s desires

Routes become numbers and numbers become moments
as the planning cycle, with yellow highlighter in hand,
presents a “look forward to” scenario

Well beyond windows of curtained belief
and hedges shaped like poetic scribblings calling to me

The sidewalk of chalk marks in hopscotch etchings,
faded from the sun and foot smeared play dates,
leads to that place of affection filled dreams

and I see over the next sunrise a highway,
empty of detours and beckoning openly

to this heart, from another, on windswept invitations
penned in frilly fonts and colors of imagination,
reaching deeply inside and holding tightly

A glance back at what is left behind brings a smile,
for what waits ahead is now everything new

In the grand scheme of things, what is found chiseled in fate
proves that destiny is a destination of dreams, of hopes and
of love… . when that journey brings me to you

~

Maps are folded and re-folded into pocket sized
destinations of our own heart’s desires

Routes become numbers and numbers become moments
as the planning cycle, with yellow highlighter in hand,
presents a “look forward to” scenario

Well beyond windows of curtained belief
and hedges shaped like poetic scribblings calling to me

The sidewalk of chalk marks in hopscotch etchings,
faded from the sun and foot smeared play dates,
leads to that place of affection filled dreams

and I see over the next sunrise a highway,
empty of detours and beckoning Winnebago wanderings

to this heart, from another, on windswept invitations
penned in frilly fonts and colors of imagination,
reaching deeply inside and holding tightly

A glance back at what is left behind brings a smile,
for what waits ahead is now everything new

In the grand scheme of things, what is found chiseled in fate
proves that destiny is a destination of dreams, of hopes and
*of love… . when that journey brings me to you

Alone on a silent shoreline,
sea breeze emotions paint my skin
Sands of time slip away as I count the stars
wondering why so many seem to smile,
when I don’t

Storm fence pickets stand straight,
weathered of years watching
Holding at bay the impending dunes
where my footprints once shared these moments
with another

Salt water teardrops fall,
meeting the beach in sorrow’d pools
lonely silhouettes of my heart shaped shadows
empty and vacant, longing for that one
to forgive

Disenchanted sandcastles disappear with the tide
as do these words we compiled together
never to be written again, on paper or in the sand
Now I only watch my dreams fade into the horizon,
missing you

~

Disintegrating dreams

I find I can no longer stand
as this ground about me shakes with might
Thunderous hooves of imaginary wild horses,
panting in heavy breaths, kicking dust before soiled eyes,
claiming to take down fences
of wire and stick, laying waste in sun dried foot prints
creating a mosaic of dream-like designs,
spiraling uncontrolled as the artist fades like fall colors
still trapping hopeless romantic thoughts,
locked within reach and just out of sight

Challenging the earth to steady the plates
suspended above me on thin shafts of deep desire,
spinning like clocks in an opposite direction
telling time it has no place here

Finding that truth is the enemy, I pull the drapes knowing
doorways will caress thresholds that keep out the draft yet allow the sunlight
to mimic the scattered shade cooling the needs
beneath a paper fortresses…and my heart sighs

For this is life, in its starkest reality,
and what was pictured in youth lingers in the minds of the old
Pasting cobwebs for effect and smiles not as genuine as they may seem
For the days pass and with them opportunities fly like a crying dove
as morning light counts another moment from this existence
Why does it seem that endless possibilities end, forever wishes
drown at the bottom of the well amidst even older pennies,
Patina claims the skin in the name of a love
found but not shared, carried upon shoulders,
as nothing else is left but to wait

and my dreams no longer wait for me

~

Awash in the shadows
Unknown disbelief
Her smiled reminders
No sign of relief

The message she's holding
Clutched tight in her hand
Escapes from the nightmare
She can't understand

Where love hides the promise
Now kept all alone
With tears slowly forming
If only she'd known

The stains on the mirror
Paint lines on her face
Replaced by the sorrow
Her heart now does trace

Her dreams of forever
Now long to be kissed
The feel of the razor
Held tight to her wrist

The pain burns a' fire
Her life, what the cost
With nothing remaining
Of what she has lost

She stares to the heavens
And pleads for a sign
Her heart it has broken
The very last time

Does she or doesn't she
Only she knows
With darkness engulfing
A long shadow grows

Give me a whisper and give me a sigh

Those soft words following the emotions in your eyes
Exhaling poetry on my whimpered dreams
Take from me all that I can give while
reaching for that sunset…a distant prism of light

Give me a kiss before you, tell me goodbye

Soft lips in sad shapes, downturned towards darkened fears
Moist as they meet in wilted wishes
Walking away…a silhouette of that which I long for
As tears drift on questioned zephyrs

Don't you take it so hard now and please don't take it so bad

To know this feeling, I swear I don’t
Still calling out in echoed chants flowing naked valleys
Hoping you hear, praying you smile, asking you to listen
Before the moon fractures in cosmic sorrow

I'll still be thinkin' of you and the times we had...baby

Eternal visions find you and me, hand in hand
Dancing on quiet shores, melodic surf rhythms
In memories of what once was, what should be
and the stars drip into anguished teacups pleading

Don’t you cry tonight…

~
Don't you cry tonight



Give me a whisper and give me a sigh

Those soft words following the emotions in your eyes
Exhaling poetry on my whimpered dreams
Take from me all that I can give while
reaching for that sunset…a distant prism of light

Give me a kiss before you, tell me goodbye

Soft lips in sad shapes, downturned towards darkened fears
Moist as they meet in wilted wishes
Walking away…a silhouette of that which I long for
As tears drift on questioned zephyrs

Don't you take it so hard now and please don't take it so bad

To know this feeling, I swear I don’t
Still calling out in echoed chants flowing naked valleys
Hoping you hear, praying you smile, asking you to listen
Before the moon fractures in cosmic sorrow

I'll still be thinkin' of you and the times we had...baby

Eternal visions find you and me, hand in hand
Dancing on quiet shores, melodic surf rhythms
In memories of what once was, what should be
and the stars drip into anguished teacups pleading

*Don’t you cry tonight…

~

Drinking from the fountain as the distant shadows pour
Remnants of a feeling that has passed beyond the trees
Leaves amass in piles of an amber flavored tint
Engulfing all that I can now conform myself to see

Shaded in the mystery that wraps about your smile
Clinging to the aftermath that still has yet to flow
Reaching for the volume titled “anywhere but here”
Drunk within the answers that my heart is soon to know

In a splash the difference does wash my pleading skin
Cleansing in the daylight dance of silence on the square
Marching bands so far away yet cymbals break the sound
Tempo’d to my nightly dreams that always find you there

In of every morning as the words jump from the screen
Waiting on a sandy beach this cup of flavored grins
Beckoning my tired eyes to wake before the sight
As a new day breathes a sigh and once more does begin

Drinking from the fountain as the distant shadows pour
Remnants of a feeling that has passed beyond the trees
Leaves amass in piles of an amber flavored tint
Engulfing all that I can now conform myself to see

Shaded in the mystery that wraps about your smile
Clinging to the aftermath that still has yet to flow
Reaching for the volume titled “anywhere but here”
Drunk within the answers that my heart is soon to know

In a splash the difference does wash my pleading skin
Cleansing in the daylight dance of silence on the square
Marching bands so far away yet cymbals break the sound
Tempo’d to my nightly dreams that always find you there

In of every morning as the words jump from the screen
Waiting on a sandy beach this cup of flavored grins
Beckoning my tired eyes to wake before the sight
As a new day breathes a sigh and once more does begin

~

Dumb Founded

Falling
headfirst,
tumbling in the fever,
clawing at the sides,
though not really wanting to stop

(slowing the pace of pleasure)

Faster,
harder it comes,
long as it is wide,
visions pass in rapid colors,
scenes of grandeur and promise smile

(sandy shores whisper hello)

Deeper
into this world
I move, dreaming
carving a future
on an illusion’d desiring mind

(beautiful landscapes for two)

Endless?
So it seems,
for light emits
in rose colored filters
from reaches of heart shape eyes

(and I breathe in the exotic aroma)

Destiny,
fate holds
answers so long
of waiting and hoping,
when with a thud I reach the bottom

(no smiley face welcome mats here)

Darkness,
no one home,
only a muddied mirror hangs
swinging on a stone wall,
in its reflection is found my “deepest” fear

(I am indeed as dumb as I look)

~

Dusty leather laces
Knots of endless fraying
Caustic on the ribbons of a heart now in the shade

Promises are broken
Thin ice on the river
Postcards tossed into the trash so long ago displayed

Darkness finds the corner
Shadows hold the meaning
Does the world still spin when every other place is spared

Tight along the border
Guards embrace the fence line
Lost along the boundaries of love no longer shared

Knees are feeling weaker
Tears now find their falling
Puddles drench the wingtips neatly polished on the strand

There outside the window
Sunlight streams the valley
Teaching us the woman doesn’t always make the man

Sometimes she breaks the man…

~

Dusty leather laces
Knots of endless fraying
Caustic on the ribbons of a heart now in the shade

Promises are broken
Thin ice on the river
Postcards tossed into the trash so long ago displayed

Darkness finds the corner
Shadows hold the meaning
Does the world still spin when every other place is spared

Tight along the border
Guards embrace the fence line
Lost along the boundaries of love no longer shared

Knees are feeling weaker
Tears now find their falling
Puddles drench the wingtips neatly polished on the strand

There outside the window
Sunlight streams the valley
Teaching us the woman doesn’t always make the man

Sometimes she breaks the man…

~

East to West (and back again)

Not even a voice, merely words on a page,
a welcome, a smile, waiting as I lift my eyes
From slumber, kicking out the last of my dreams,
only to find that they do not end

Orange sherbet skies paint my windows
above yawning tree lines at the end of a dirt road
Persimmon outlined shadows
dance about my walls inviting me to look

I grab my cup, hot but needed, step into my shoes
passing through to morning, taking a sip…
I find more beauty than my eyes have seen,
while birds flit from branch to branch

The air is cool, unusual but so very pleasant,
heated days form in my memories of yesterday,
when cool springs were no match for the flamed heavens…
yet perfection now touches my skin

And I see, before me not a morning, not a brilliant sunrise
but you…your words, your touch, finding me at a distance,
telling me that this day is ours, beyond horizons…
East to west and back again…for the beauty of my day is always you

Her pain…
My knees are blistered
Hands clenched, white knuckles
My thoughts echo in my head
Over and over
Can’t you hear me…pleading

Her pain…
I’ve carved initials in imaginary trees
Wrote poems in fresh blood
Cried for no reason…yes reasons
My breath is heavy on my chest
I stare up…up…up

Her pain…
I am weaker, yet still strong
Singing promises in off tempo phrases
Drowning in sanded fears
Clutching my heartstrings
Dreaming nightmare’d blemishes

Her pain…
I have done the best I can
Smiled when I couldn’t
Laughed as I frowned
Collapsed against my well wishes
Screaming to the heavens

Her pain…put it all on me, all on me, all on me, all on me

Her pain…
My knees are blistered
Hands clenched, white knuckles
My thoughts echo in my head
Over and over
Can’t you hear me…pleading

Her pain…
I’ve carved initials in imaginary trees
Wrote poems in fresh blood
Cried for no reason…yes reasons
My breath is heavy on my chest
I stare up…up…up

Her pain…
I am weaker, yet still strong
Singing promises in off tempo phrases
Drowning in sanded fears
Clutching my heartstrings
Dreaming nightmare blemishes

Her pain…
I have done the best I can
Smiled when I couldn’t
Laughed as I frowned
Collapsed against my well wishes
Screaming to the heavens

Her pain…put it all on me, all on me, all on me, all on me

Eleven :/ eleven


In a cavern long about the edge of time
dwells a sadness deep upon my heart,
where fragments of my imagination
cry out from a desolate vault,
iron clad and riveted
of a stone mason’s might
Welded shut, encrusted with fear
and loneliness in unsealed envelopes
addressed to someone other than me


Where neighbors retrieve and process,
regardless of names and stamped signatures,
unwilling to pay the postage now due
of an encased glass tube shoveled
away to linger on each odd figure
that falls from the reaches far above my head,
dropping square tears from round eyes,
mapping my cheeks
in solitary traces of dual vertical weeping


Self imposed some may say,
and they could be correct, though
when it comes to Forgotten, that heart of gold,
worth more than its weight in life,
pays more attention to the fate of others
than collecting breaths of this or any
next door, across the fence wisdom
For if they hurt…those who shouldn’t,
then what is the use


With heavy stone in hand I tap…
loudly on the reinforced tarnished structure
in a series of dots and dashes, eleven-eleven,
chaos on some calendar's clock, but patterned to the beat of my heart
saying…you are loved, you are missed,
you are needed and most importantly,
you are not alone…hoping the numbered echoes
land upon listening ears, (if even on my final breath)
and she can smile once more, and I can feel it...once again

~

In a cavern long about the edge of time
dwells a sadness deep upon my heart,
where fragments of my imagination
cry out from a desolate vault,
iron clad and riveted
of a stone mason’s might
Welded shut, encrusted with fear
and loneliness in unsealed envelopes
addressed to someone other than me


Where neighbors retrieve and process,
regardless of names and stamped signatures,
unwilling to pay the postage now due
of an encased glass tube shoveled
away to linger on each odd figure
that falls from the reaches far above my head,
dropping square tears from round eyes,
mapping my cheeks
in solitary traces of dual vertical weeping


Self imposed some may say,
and they could be correct, though
when it comes to Forgotten, that heart of gold,
worth more than its weight in life,
pays more attention to the fate of others
than collecting breaths of this or any
next door, across the fence wisdom
For if they hurt…those who shouldn’t,
then what is the use


With heavy stone in hand I tap…
loudly on the reinforced tarnished structure
in a series of dots and dashes, eleven-eleven,
chaos on some calendar's clock, but patterned to the beat of my heart
saying…you are loved, you are missed,
you are needed and most importantly,
you are not alone…hoping the numbered echoes
land upon listening ears, (if even on my final breath)
and she can smile once more, and I can feel it...once again