Turquoise blues guitars
Laughing baby elephants (that paint)
Melodies singing lullabies to sleepy baby elephants
(tired from painting all day)
Blank canvases full of blackberries on the inside
The antidote to love
All the dotes that didn't get doted
And all the ones that did
Playing badminton in the backyard of Cupid's summer home in Manarola
The ruby that died to make Dorothy's slippers
And the shortest hair from the Lion's tail
Wine filled grapes
Water balloons filled from hot springs and melted mountain snow
Two spokes from Steve McQueen's "Great Escape" motorcycle
Three kisses from Ilsa Lund
And a smile from Sabrina Fairchild
Tom Robbins' typewriter (it's magic)
A flying dragon
A dragonfly (grounded for not doing her homework)
Jenny's phone number
The pillow that hit the floor at Cecilia's that afternoon
The third stair from the top of the Stairway to Heaven (best view)
One of the lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
And a grain of salt from the sea the other is swimming in
An olympic size pool full of melted crayons
A vile of sweat from the ever fleeing muse
A refrigerator the size of Rhode Island
Full of magnificent lines of magnetic poetry
Poetry (all of it)
The monster under the monster's bed
Every foul ball ever caught by any kid
Hammocks (any and every)
The cardboard boat that never stopped sailing down the gutter of the world
The secret to everything
(kept securely under the bed of the monster, under the monster's bed)
Santa's real address (you won't believe this)
The blue ink from the blueprints of Atlantis
Golf carts with no maximum speed
The energy dust left from dancing, hugging and smiling
Freshly climbed trees
A warehouse the size of Antarctica completely filled
Wall to wall with raw, unfiltered laughter
Beer
Everything that was left on the field
Passionate embraces and embracing a passion
Apology free, but full of forgiveness
The wild of the wilderness
The tame of the un-tame
Language
Intuition
Conception
First kisses, waves and winks
Goodbye hugs and thrown in kitchen sinks
Art
Music
Pain
Puddles that have been danced in under pouring rain
Empty film cans
Films on screens
All of these ingredients
Are what makes up
*Dreams

You’d do well to keep in mind
The lines falling short inside
And all the people standing outside
Looking in
Feeling the sin
Sink down their arms
Into their shoes
And out of brain range
This is it
The reckoning
Of sorts anyway
The lost keys found
The square peg round
The light at the end of the tunnel
On an extra long chord
Finally being pulled
Nighty night
Let all that ails you tuck you down tight
Bring back the child of let’s say 10
That version of you
And start explaining
As you have much to do
He might look up and say
“Who are you?”
And that’s a valid ******* question you know
Valid ******* question
Cause he won’t know
And neither will you
The disconnect is growing moss
Off the side of Highway 2
And memories are like old VHS tapes
That nobody watches anymore
Don’t have time for that
Too much going on
With all the nothing to move and stack
Rearrange
Sifting for change
Like it’s in your pocket
And you’re at the soda machine
After walking back into town mid-June
Cause your car breaks down
In the middle of the Middle(est) West
And you are thirsty
But the machine is all out
And the clock is broken
Along with your need for concern
It just doesn’t matter now
And you are more than well aware
You are ****** scope
From 300 yards up and away aware
There’s no move (even the slightest) getting past you
You guard that tower
Like an insecure guy guards his bestest (crush) girl –friend
You know the one that takes him shopping
And tells him secrets
That should be dropped in a volcano
– but regardless
He will never see the color of her *******
Unless she has him do her laundry

No snow days in the sunny states
But free bus rides to the other side
Climb, climb, climb …
The fruit is higher

Ignore the dead ones below
The pieces that dried up
Waiting to be picked

And what is picked besides guitars, noses and colorful roses?
Okay, so …  lots of things
But how they are picked – much more interesting!


An ocean full of notion
Notions to fill an ocean

Emotions
ooOOHHHH
the EMOTION!

I’d like to shower it out
Maybe hike a mountain and let loose a shout!

Release

I don’t like leases

So Re- lease


Let go

No snow when the sun’s in town
No frowns when a smile’s around

Let’s take the underground and move it up a floor
I’m bored with being bored


You want to write a letter and mail it to space aliens with me?
Probably take a long *** time to get there
But, oh the look on their faces when they get it!

Worth the wait.

Totally.

Everything that falls inside the autumn canopy of my inner body
Fills the inside bottoms of my feet with dead leaves by the thousands
Falling as slow as a blade of grass grows all the way to my inner toes
Down where they’ll never be raked away
Just piling on till they reach my throat
Till one day I can’t speak
As I choke on all the emotions that have fell inside me
A renegade Fall
Starting early and going late
Slight the sun and hide from the snow
These leaves are now all I know
Filling me up till I’m full of tree parts
Now chop me down
So I may finally rest

The wind reminds me of her timeless touch
Memories of roads traveled with heavy heart
Always the pull from an unknown source
Calling me out to uncharted waters
As the familiar fades like a sun baked tear
My spirits take flight on a late summer charge
Bursting into the unknown as if a bull tired of antiquities
A new adventure whispers to me
Across the mighty Mississippi
I catch my breath, knowing this is kismet
All roads have led to this one road
This bridge to a new chapter
Full of the freedom of choice
The freeing notion of doing something
For sheer love
Finding passion growing out of cracks in walls
No moment unnoticed
The world is alive and wants to live!
As I want to live with it and embrace every atom
Every heartbeat tapping and pounding
Like a homeless drummer’s bucket in Pioneer’s Square
I’m everywhere
For a few fleeting seconds of time
Then back to this harp-shaped bridge
To meet new eyes, and hear stories from old souls
To create something collectively
Leaving our painted tattoos etched inside one another
And our mark on the wall of the world

I don’t have the kind of time
It takes to iron out the blanket
Covering the world
Captured inside this tenuous dream
The light slides through too easily
As the sun does to a white summer dress
That’s been weakened
By too many turns in the dryer
Trying to discover you
Is parallel to discovering
The soft side of a rabid bear
That’s lost its taste for honey
The world sighs deeply
From time to time
If you take the time
To lay your ear on its chest
Feel it coughing inside
Like a skeleton water slide
If only you knew
The world has the oldest
(Largest) broken heart
Ever recorded in the measurable universe
It cries backwards
Outside in
Yeah, you guessed it …
The rain
Nothing but liquid pain
Being coughed out as clouds
Then pulled back in
By the gravity of aching
Pulsating at the core
A myopic glare back at the stars
Tip toeing around up there
Trying not to wake the broken one below
If only they had known
There is no sleep
For the truly burdened of heart
Only daydreaming
*(even at night)

Beautiful
Is a colorless flower
If I am to use it
Describing you
The wordsmiths
Must work well
Into the night
Smithing away
Until morning light
To find a word
Suiting your definition

Unearthing
Is a waterless brook
If used to convey the look
Radiating from your enchanting eyes
The same that left my heart wounded today
When you used them to drill to the core of me
No doubt making a profound discovery

Love*
Is overused and clichéd to ruin
Much too pedestrian to capture what you found
When drilling deep into my underground
Without a sound it happened
That word we can’t use
Due to its short and burnt up fuse
Turned on its light this afternoon
And in a magic moment we both knew

That beautiful, unearthing, love
Built a bridge between us
Founded in truth
Always open and fireproof

Today around 2 o’clock

The “in” soon to meet the “evitable”
A conclusion infallible
Because
Tis true, tis true
It’s front page news
In the “Obvious Times”
Your failure to realize
Doesn’t minimize
The obvious
So let’s stretch that word
To
Oblivious
Cause that makes more sense
At least it’s a defense
Weak kneed as it may be
It certainly falls under
The Ex
Cuses
Category
So humor me
Do you see
Now
Do you see
Not yet
Okie Dokie
Annie Oakley
Let’s take another shot
How bout
A Story
Why not?
There once was a town
Where a man came around
Selling all kinds of
Potions and lotions
Devotions and notions
Despite his seemingly
Lack of emotion
They made him Mayor
Not long after the layers
Of Lies and greed began to grow
And wouldn’t you know
Though it rarely showed
The town grew tired
And wanted him fired
Longing for days of old
A stronger mold
Simpler times
Merrier rhymes
(less parking fines)
Smog free days
Guiltless lays
And poison free food
Put them all
In a better mood
Boy oh boy
Were those the days
Back before the smoggy haze
So we’re back to the beginning
Of this story I’m spinning
The “in” meeting
The
You know

“evitable”

Well
That is what happened
To that Colonial Captain
Who brought mischief
And what if’s
To that poor little town
He lost his crown
Among other jewels
He suffered fools
Then suffered
At their hands
So this story
Is a caution
to all distant lands
(and close ones)
The conclusion
Is always
Inevitable
When toying
With the table
Of Universal design
So don’t mess with nature
And all
Will be fine

Pick it up
The off
Where you left it

Pick up where you left off

Walk behind yourself for one day
See what you see
Watch how you see it
You’ll be taken aback

Back before you left off

Close your eyes
Breathe quietly
Inward quiet
Not just outward
Now …

Pick up where you left off

There’s a secret
Living inside you
A bit of a paradox
Being it’s not a secret
If you already know
But that’s …

Back before you left off

The sky still looks the same
Thousands of years later
As you look up again
Same grin, new chin
Eager as ever, ready to …

*Pick up where you left off

Your intrepid nature
Mixed up like a tonic and gin
Half squeeze of lime, stirred up with mine
The in and out of clarity stare
Impulsivity meets the creative dare
A kiss with more bite than lip
Followed by an endless moment trip
Hanging in that space
Face to face
The strangely familiar embrace
The rules fall off the page
Letters clink on the faded olive green tile
A 1970’s homage to yesterstyle
The ‘U’ slid under the fridge
You never bat an eyelid
Just hold your gaze
Wandering wild
Through my mental maze
Pausing on occasion to play
Your breath smells like love on fire
And what does love smell like?

Flower petals shut tight in books

Not enough to turn heads
But good for a couple of looks
It’s “just woke up
from a sweet dream” subtle
Enough to plant a seed
And not look back
Knowing you’ll be back
You’re under attack
By the chemical undertones
Bidding you to the smitten zone
Where, when alone
Vulnerability conducts the strings
Plucking and pulling
As your heart faintly sings
The trap is set
You’ve been caught
No points given
For the good fight fought
Now back to your breath
Tickling my lips
My hands grab your inviting hips
We relight the fire
The air hangs heavy
With deepened desire
The room disappears
Along with my fears
The world spins again
Now that you’re here

I went toe to toe
With Love
No gloves
I don’t remember
How many rounds
Been in a coma
Since the knock down
Just waking up from the out
I’m looking around
Don’t know anybody
I’m lost
Soft
Too new
To be lonely
If only
To remember
Why even climb in the ring
Hopefully it was for something
Planet moving
As all I have now are lumps on my head
And a lump in my throat
I’m out to sea without a sail
In a one man boat
I look out to see my gloves
Floating next to me
As if Love wanted
To make absolutely sure
I knew who put me here
A deep breath
Eyes closed
Soaking in the sun
I slide on those soggy gloves
One by one
Then paddle
Back to shore
To climb in that ring
Once more
If for nothing else
To make absolutely sure
Love knows
I don’t care about titles
Wins or losses
Or what the odds are tonight
I came back
To ******* fight

It's the reality
you're sipping
when you should be
gripping
the unknown
the universal
telephone
the wind me up
and go home
toy
they employ
the nights
staring out a window
into the void
that's not choice
it's called life
and if you don't
like it
leave it
but where to go
who would know
anyway
where would you go
what would you say
where to stay
a needle in the hay
and they'd never look
one second
of one day
because
the **** they give
is all one way
there's no round trip
tickets at this station
it's the amalgamation
of frustration
and surrender
there's no tender
way to say this
but the dream
you bought a ticket to
was overbooked
you overlooked
the irony of this
till now
standing with your
hand out
acid rain
melting the matinee
away
your dismay
is your parting gift
the only lift
you're getting
is the one that will
promptly drop you
further away
from where you wanted
to be
so you see
forget the thumb
just turn the other way
and walk
till the lights
make lemonade
with the sun
leave the myth
of fun
for the young
and find
a ladder
to another world
cause this one's
dying
the airplanes
stopped flying
the birds are dinosaurs
in a plastic museum
a cosmic trash can
in a rest stop in space
the stars know more about you
than you were ever shown
it's written in the ...
well,
you know

It’s the holes in your heart that **** you
Not the heart in your body
But the one in your soul
The one that makes you drive all night never knowing why
Searching for something you can never find
Maybe little pieces left in a life behind
Pieces that can fill those holes
And make you whole
But there’s a smile somewhere
In the back of your mind
That will always shine
Through the darkest of memories
Black and white photographs
Strewn across the floor of your head
She lies there laughing beautiful in bed
Naked as the truth that pinches the tip of your nose
In the frozen intersection of winter
Now expressionless
Wondering why the love ran out
But you know it never did
It just moved away
And forgot to write
Time is terrible
It loses track of itself
As do all great birds in flight
The wind becomes their clock
Hands broken
Only wings
It leaves only flying and landing
Even she
In all her broken loveliness
Understands this

It happens in the fall

when the leaves

make a play on these words

when my heart plays along

And

it seems we are all falling

into a memory

Or

into what will be

leaving one question



Will you be there with me …



even briefly?



If you were mine

for even a minute

I would pause all 60

of those seconds

one by one

till the last one


Then I will run

to next autumn

and wait for you

to fall into me again

She’s swinging from a different home plate
Our dictionaries don’t have enough words for her
She needs more
But not from here
Cause she’s not from here
She’s from everywhere we’re not
And when she writes
We are well aware of it
She spears me through the heart with her lines
But the last word never fails to politely cauterize
So her poetry leaves a mark
Fascia tattoos from Planet M
Messages sinking deeper in
Underneath everything human
Into the soul’s skin

That’s the reach of her pen
(Down below the circus of our understanding)

She lives down there, and sends postcards up
In the form of poetry

Dear so and so,
“there is a hole in your belly.

this is where those precious things fall that you drop”

Dear Mariah,
I know, I know
But I can’t seem to keep my hands dry

Knowing she will just sigh
And keep writing her poetry post cards
Postmarked “upstairs”

As the circus bustles and bangs above
I am sure she takes breaks
And comes up
For cotton candy
(blue/orange - yellow/purple)
of course

the singing
(sing ing)
the laughing
(laugh ing)

the life

Work with me
turn the key
that opens
the personality
hiding inside
so cleverly
Combine
with me
Dine
with me
Visit
another time
with me
The world
won’t wait
for us
to figure
this out
It’s moving on
spiraling off
to new space
matter dripping
from its face
atoms bursting
without a trace
And grace
was something
said at meals
back before
the blinders
were left behind
Unhinging the soul
releasing the mind
Now it’s time
to sing the song
of the ancients
Wake the dead
with life
Feed the hungry
with floral wisdom
It’s alive and well
inside us all
Embrace the walk
Abandon the crawl
There’s no points
for hiding under covers
Face the day
there is no other
way
No out
No magic pill
The thrill
is in the knowing
the awareness
**** fairness
Pay attention
you’re on a mission
and you’re failing
Failing to connect
to respect
your self
the hidden secret
behind this mystery
You are the answer
can’t you see
Destiny
is a button up shirt
and you missed a button
You always
feel you’re missing
something
because you are
needlessly
Now turn off your mind
and find
*Everything

Innocence is bliss
    or is that ignorance?
    why not and what ifs
    coulda, woulda, shoulda
   but I didn't
   and here we are
   just me and my words
   and you and your eyes
  no sense in stopping now
  keep reading
  I have a secret
but I won't tell you till the end
life is so very delicate
(no, that's not the secret)
we all know this is true
look around
it surrounds you
the way a bee crashes
into a butterfly
mid-flight
the way her eyes
softened when they looked
at mine
how paper tears so simply
yet, cuts your finger
just as easily
how a tired father
whispers
"I love you"
making his first
appearance
at tuck in time
and the way the light
combs the hair of the earth
with a little help
courtesy of the wind

You are a masterpiece
perfectly crafted
a blue print
built to life
by the breath
of pure energy
the essence
of the Universe

That was the secret
(tell everybody)

It burns, rather than rips
Heat caused by friction
Not flame

It turns
You over as you sleep
Again and again
Sobering your slumber

This is the ramification
Of love undone
Or love never won

When one wakes
To an otherwise
Typical Tuesday
To find love
No longer lingers

No trace of its
Once seemingly
Everlasting hum
Kissing your inner ear

The evidence points
To no way back
Hard to believe
It is really gone

The dream of love
Squandered
Nights and days
Dreamed away

Love
Love?
The very word
Closing in on
Unfamiliar


But **** it!
There were times …
Days spent holding heaven
Painting wings on angel’s backs

Rolling in the hay with Aphrodite
Scratching memories
Into my shoulder blades

Epic – Ballad
Take your pick
This was better!
It had the taste
Of blood stained hope

It set the drill bit deep
With no off switch
It dug to the bottom of me
Oceans below my surface

It killed me
Therefore I LIVED!

This dream of love
No more to be dreamed

I look at that clock with a loathing
  growing
  climbing my ribs like a ladder
to my brain
right past my heart
aggressively approaching
the place where it
will inevitably explode
killing the notion of time
and with it
the need for a clock

light of the sun, bursts
through the youthful green of leaves
my heart stops breathing

“Ten minutes”
“Stand up”
“Hook up”
The plane sways
soldiers shuffle feet clumsily
Line of camouflage
uniform
like plastic men on a plastic plane
“Check equipment”
“Second to the last man check the last man’s equipment”
“Sound off for equipment check”
“Okay”
“Okay”
“Okay” ...
Hands slam into the backsides of the man ahead
“All okay jumpmaster”
Tired legs and eyes shift wearily
tumultuous stomachs turn
the stars wait outside to reflect off the silk chutes
A hand forces an index finger into the air
the first man turns to the next in line ...
“one minute” and so on ...
The jumpmaster’s thumb and index finger
take the shape of an alligator
Thirty seconds is passed back
Hearts drumming
thumping with the rhythm of the planes engines
The jumpmaster hangs out of the plane
as a spider clings to a wall
the safety takes the first mans line
the light is still red
only seconds away from green
then it is only air and God
“Green light go”
The plane is gone
along with its hum
The world takes an underwater silence
Beauty swallows everything
though fleeting
the ground will soon interrupt this love affair
as the sky is dotted with parachutes
tiny men falling to an enormous world

Milk pouring slowly into my lap,
Helpless, with peculiar invitation
My hands begin the charge,
Breaking your ranks, combining armies

Happiness was gone from me like the grandmother I never knew
The ceiling at night taunted me with loneliness
I kept you close in my dreams, alive, shining
An angel glowing light into my gray lit world

Bitterness bullies me, but my heart holds for you
Your body as if a mound of sugar and I am the spoon
How your eyes speak! Oh, the fire inside my lungs!
My God I am shaken! My soul is a tornado, twisting

          Twisted

My hands find home on your warming body
My lips find sustenance in your kiss
The darkest dreams still find you, shining
Though I wake and feel as though I haven’t eaten in weeks

Deep in the caverns of my polluted mind,
Shadows cover thoughts that linger, waiting
My desire is immeasurable, it bleeds in me
I have nothing but rocks in my belly,
Stones strewn across an old battlefield

A field of flesh and insides where feelings were slain
The heart sustained several attacks, but bears scars of war
I am tired, beaten, without the strength to raise my flag
I will lay upon this ground, close my eyes and submit to die,

              Inside

There's a curve at the end of the drive
   where decisions must be made
  culture walks away from the table
  and the antagonist of our lives pulls
   up a chair and let's down the hair
   that distracts you as it falls
    in that moment you lose it all
    every word you wanted to say
    finds its way down an endless drain
    then the eternal stare
    the fiery glare
    that singes the very hair
    above your eyes
    and then and only then
    do you realize
    how deep you're in
    below the stare grows
    an evil grin
    shouting non-verbally
    "you'll never win"
      
     and then ...
    
   The alarm goes off
   your eyes find the ceiling
   your legs and arms
   regain feeling
   sweat drip-dropping
   onto a pillow now sopping
   long, labored breaths
   turn into a sigh
   shake your head
   a time or two
   look around
    to ensure it's true
   it was just a dream
   a lucid night trip
   jump in the shower
  and get a grip
   off to work
  with purpose
   and coffee
  as the antagonist
grins
  a grim
effigy

A smoking barrel hangs loose in my hand
Fallen butterflies at my feet
As her eyes beckoned mine
Pushing hard to get inside
A familiar yet forgotten feeling
Bubbled quietly within
My stomach felt wings begin
First only slowly ...
And then
A rush of wind
My heart pounding
Like after a child’s first kiss
A second or two of bliss
Then confusion and tumbling
Like a dryer full of cotton candy
Loss of vision and thought
Momentarily
And then it hits me
Butterflies
Oh, no
Butterflies!
Out of fear
And half swallowed desperation
I draw my pistol and fire
Bullet after bullet
As beauty and innocence
Fall lifeless to the ground
Until there is no sound
Just a muffled beat
Still on my feet
My heart safe
From the imminent attack
A close call
As her tears fall
I walk away
And live to love
Another day

I am supposed to be writing something

Because I am a writer

I’m supposed to be feeling something

Because I’m a feeler

A bad mood healer

A sunshine dealer

So wash your face and stare at the sun

And run, run run

A do run, run

It’s so much fun

Do what you want

Do what you want

Feel it erupt around you

Like a clown with a frown won’t do

Same with you

Not smiling baby

Light it up

Little darling

Live it up

Come on now

Stir the ***

Footsteps carry feet outside

And a body catching a ride

Don’t look now but there’s

A person inside

Walking that line

So many

Strangers in the night

Exchanging disregard

Invisibility works best

For some I guess

But I’d rather fly

Or would I?

- insert sigh -

Lay my head down

Close one eye

Keep one open

In case you try

To marry me in my sleep

Courting me in my dreams

Or so it seems

Do the work

While I’m awake

Look me in my whole face

You can’t replace

Or fake

Love

The jury
nooses around their necks
deliberate
which is more pernicious?
my volatile explosions of anger
pent up frustration
boiling over with haste
delivering painful words
to her ears and heart
or
the child that is my heart
left unkempt
embarrassed in its neglect
for so long
anger came calling
an unwanted nanny
resentment in her bag
two spoonfuls a day
heaping
till love and hate
fornicate
producing a passive-
aggressive
"Beast of Burden"
one you can't nurture
or let go
... regret

Love takes no prisoners
save one
locked alone
uncharted waters
floating fortress
non-penetrable walls
inescapable island
scribbling on the floors
undecipherable language
coded in pain
signed in bloodstain
a story of loss
of great regret
never to be freed
a sentence of life
without the arms
of my lover
no lips
kisses
or eyes
seeping into mine
none of that now
... just time

These scars
Are my bars
   My brains
   are chains
   My heart

    broken

A wintry wedding with pain
Till happiness do us part
Lifeless sentence without bail
Future repossessed
Heart for sale
Chance of rain
And it did

Every day

Of every summer
The sun landed a better gig
Left without notice
Days of grey
Sad
Cold
Wet
Nothing left

But retrospect

My hindsight is blind
A bat would do better to find
A way out of here
a place without fear
a mirror
without angry eyes
glaring back
wanting answers
reasons for lack
of luster
or failure to muster
a real charge
a shot at least
a stab
at even a glimpse
of glory
a different ending
story
a sky that doesn’t
look so stormy
just a brand new
life
waiting for me

Boundless beginnings
     bursting into my
       Parnassian periphery
        present endless
      possibilities

There were times when just to touch you
Would bring tears staring through
The windows of my eyes
Wanting to come out and play
Thinking better of it
Those days held power
Traces of passion left to be swept from the floor
My heart beat differently
Music held me close to its chest
Nurturing me throughout the day
And though I was pained
I was alive
Thriving with love’s essence dripping from my chin
Nothing could reach me then
The island of my being cleverly hidden
By walls of sea on every side
And I walked through your sand
Smiling in the sun
The script of love in my hand
Forbidden fruit would come to be my poison
No antidote to carry us through
Not this lifetime my sugarplum
Not this one

You’re all over me
Soaking me
Like hard rain
Steady
Cleansing
Removing the scars
From my heart
One by one
You’re revitalizing
And fun
Full of surprise
Grounding me
Then uprooting me
Rooting for me
Moving me
Making me think
And think
A little wink
**** smile
And I’m putty
To play with awhile
completely content
A puppy on his back
Begging for more
Not a care in the world
Just a girl
And her eyes
The goddess of the butterflies

At night
When my part of the world sleeps
Eyes open
Heart closed
Not open for business
Since you left town
I lie
Like an orphan baby
In a lifeless room
A cold bed
With no comfort for my soul

Remembering …

Is where I find
Something to warm my hands

In memory you live in me
And sleep is good there

Your contribution to romantic exchange
Is sipping cold coffee
Neither satisfying nor stimulating
Your unwillingness to invest
May be reluctance at best
Yet I fail to find the charm in that
Poetry doesn’t exist there
Passion blew through this town
Along with the hope of settling here
Building a castle to protect us both
With the labor of love
But no labor came from you
Your womb is empty
And I am left to wonder about your heart
And where to start
Walking from here
Guess you were just passing through
But I found home in you
I would’ve lived in a box outside your door
If you could’ve just given a little more
I resigned from life as I knew it for awhile
Because of a smile
A look …
Mistook
Misunderstanding?
I miss …
Understanding
But there is no reason here
I’ve had my last beer with fear
Shared my last embrace
With that look on your face
The one that kept me captive
For so long
Lost in the lines of a Tod Weidner song
Slowly sedating myself awake
Curious what it is you didn’t take
Pointless to consider when there’s nothing at stake
No more plans to make
Nothing left of a heart to break
Just a tattoo of you
Etched into my soul
A piercing reminder
I will never be whole
Again

Somehow it is now
no need for the wow
or vow
to do better
next time
breathing
slower
would
be
fine

When I need to re-connect with the "Great Energy"
I put my headphones on and play "My Sweet Lord"
And the wind blows through my hair
In the living room
The tambourine thickens the beat of my heart
As the melody is busy baking pecan pie
In my belly
All the while I melt into relaxation
and my my ...
It is ever so sweet

Set the drill to Deep
       Shipwreck diver deep
   and begin

What is to be
            done
          when the fun
              runs dry?

How do I feel?  No more questions please.
Next question ...

There is no denying it
Love has us
It won’t let go
Two things stand guard at the gate
Preventing this entwinement from blossoming

      You
&
    Me

You can’t give up your security
I can’t give up my freedom
      It is that simple
No need for Dr. Phil
Oprah can’t intervene
This one was already written
We are a storybook
Unfolding
      Page after page
      Line upon line
   Each chapter takes us further
Into uncharted lands
We are a mystery to one another
Like Japanese brail to an English blind man
We fumble through each other
Foolishly – carelessly
Intent on discovering the ending
Never minding the here and now
Wanting a relationship insurance policy
Full coverage
With an anti-heart breakage warranty
And a heart breaking liability
It’s a win win
Yet no one really wins
No grand prize
No parting gifts
Just good byes
    And watering eyes
A sharp pain in the chest
Followed by nights without rest
These are the symptoms of un-groomed love
When tender love and care
Turns into a nightmare
And two adults find themselves
Taking a night course
In third grade flirting
No means yes
And being mean
Is the synonym for
“I really like you”

Confusing **** ...

I know
But it sure beats settling
   For just any
           John or Jane Doe

Is there room for standing when assuming understanding of love?
Which library holds the keys ... endless pages full of mystery?
One lone volume to quell centuries of curiosity
Should we venture to even question, dare to chance suggestion
That love can be defined?
In doing so we find that love comes from the mind,
Thus at last leaving the heart theory behind
Oh, clear the shelves ... make some room ... and prepare your eyes.
This discovery will surely nab the Nobel Prize
Indeed what a crime, to think that all this time,
We had love’s recipe right in our hands
So grab your stirring stick ... drop in a lump or two,
Of emotionless mental servitude
Of course a hint of attraction for good measure,
To insure just the right amount of pleasure.
In the end what you have is what we have had all along,
Just another fatuous book full of pages immersed in wrong

You can’t be truly open or honest with someone who truly cares for you
Bias drips from their tongues
Your well being replaces unguarded exchange
So on with the mask
So cursory after all these years
If only we could dine with strangers with open ears
On a night like tonight
Where everything rests at the tips of our fingers
Waiting for a chance to be released
Oh, sweet, sweet release
When shall you come?
My heart and mind weigh heavy with this burden
A burden so foolishly and needlessly shouldered
Break bread with me stranger from another land
Hear my story
Lend me yours
So I may bathe in its truth
How delightful the taste of this truth as it drips from one’s lips
To be enjoyed as a wedding cake on the happiest of days
Freedom
Like a tear
Welled up in a drop
Finally escaping the eye it could never see through
Splashing to the ground with a thunderous cry of deliverance
A tear of joy most certain