Have to look away
Can only tell someone
You love them
With your eyes
So many times
Before they realize
Then you’re left
Open and exposed
Susceptible to the word
No
And my heart
Can only deal in yes’s
Come too far to let go
So I steal
As many looks as I can
Till your eyes catch mine
Then it’s back down
To my hands
You already have
My hand in yours
Pretty much the whole deck
Still you tug on my sleeve
A little suspect
But I have to keep
That last card in place
I’d be utterly helpless
If you found my last ace

Nice to meet you
Even though we have met
Many times before
This time I could really see you
And you’ve left me
Wanting more

“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

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)

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 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

Apologetic kisses
exploding
on my face
were gone
  by
    morning

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

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

It’s true Bob
The times are changing
And we have to put it into perspective
Or become a weathered stone
With no purpose
But to sit beneath the sun
Change is the universe’s closet
Full of new clothes to try on
Some we like more than others
others will never be worn again
But revisited often in memory

So this is goodbye again
My fickle friend
You were hard to live in
At times
Others like the moon
Surrounded by stars
people and cars
Everywhere
A hum hanging
In the air
A chaotic symphony
Swooping like blind spirits
Through streets and hair
And I left you there
Behind me
Staring eagerly after me
As if a toy
Fled your playpen
And you want it back
To parade me around
Manipulate, twist and bend
Toss playfully into the wind
Caring not
Where I land
Just another speck of sand
On your overcrowded beach
Yet still within reach
A pawn without a Queen
Just a wasteful tyrant King
Waiting for the East to bring
Your next crop
Of starry eyes
And hungry hearts
Actors hands out for their parts
But I’ll sneak out in the dark
As the ghetto birds hover
Over dogs that love to bark
And then I’ll finally be free
And when your highways
Wake you in the morning
I find it funny
You won’t even miss me

- Jack Piatt

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

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

She’s beginning to fade
On her end of the line
Drifting sleepily away
As I lay her down
Another night closed
with spread out breaths
An occasional ...
“Hey ...
You still there
Okay ... I’ll let you go -
Goodnight sweet dreams
Dream of me”
To her reply
“No”
actually more of an
“unnah” ...
a little mumble
and stirring
then back to her breath
happy and content
to close her eyes
knowing I am still there
even if only in voice
I have no choice
I’m hooked
On the line
Until I finally
Hear
A quiet
Goodnight

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

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

Girls are sold
Fantasy real estate
With no debate
Or rebate
No second date
Just unreturned calls
Quiet halls
With one pair of feet
Fleeting sweet
Then alone again
Not even friends
Just over
Just like that
Never had time to hang his hat
Should have trusted the cat
But listen ladies
These guys without class
Are nothing more than a class
On what not to accept
Not worth the tears you wept
Learn this lesson well
Never settle
For anything less
Than exactly what you deserve
And you are the only one
Who gets to write that appraisal
If he really wants you
His courting will be more than occasional
Make him sweat a little
Cause if you are worth it
He will
The right guy will wait
For a love he feels is real

First time I saw you
A glimpse of a heaven
I don’t even believe in
But I did then
How extraordinary
you are
You left a scar
On my heart
Reminding me
With every beat
How sweet
This world
Can be
With you
In it

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

And everything I knew
Flew
Out the window
In with the new
A student again
Chalkboards and recess
A mighty mess
Indeed
A brain weighed down
With eternity
A tomorrow I don’t live in
Because I am here
A tiny town
Not far from the moon
A big heart
With lots of scars
Kindred spirits are few
Though I smile as I walk
Down these streets
These ***** streets
In need of rain
Come on down
Wash it all away
Take it to my innocence
As my inner child
Peddles by
Smiling hard
Against the sun
Country road
Welcoming me within
But that was then
Another lifetime
Almost alien
To this world
I’ve landed in
Much to my chagrin
Left only to close my eyes
And hope for a dream
I can escape into
A doorway to another place
Hoping to find a familiar face
Some clue, some memory
To help
guide me home

Guitar strings
bend in my ears
eyes closed
connecting
feeling someone
else’s passion
drip to the floor
like sweat
from a brow
that has worked
for something …
in that I find peace
… peace
that passion
is alive and well
thriving
at least
in somebody’s
heart
and I thank them
for that peace
… that piece
of them
I’m absorbed in
even for ten
seconds of time
It’s enough
to ease my mind
for a lifetime
and back
again
only a friend
gives that
kind of gift
so I need
to find a way
to give back
so take this
as an I O U
passion brewing
from me
to you
whoever you are
bending those
strings
with passion

How’s your heart my dear?
Can we even start from here
I’m not sure if you’re even real
But willing to deal …
I am
If you throw in your hand
We can make this stand
As one
We can beat this drum
As we walk away from
Every bad day
Piled and burning like stacks of hay
Behind us

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

When in history we find, ceaseless aches of wanting
Even sleep cannot smother fear coupled with pain
The walls tighten, their pictures almost taunting
A tyrannical storm threatening to spit rain
Dreams bring images, some that linger with the morning
As light splinters through the cracks in the blinds
These dreams are lost, and with them the warning
A caution of things that lie ahead, slithering as it winds
A world waiting in disguise, a shadow clinging to the ground
Anticipating blending with the night, waiting for the day to pass
Tiptoeing over beams of starlight, dancing without sound
The dream flashes, as she lies smiling in the grass
A wild mix of wanton innocence in her eyes
Nothing is more powerful than this moment in time

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.

Set the drill to Deep
       Shipwreck diver deep
   and begin

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

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

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

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

Oh my,
the focus
of humanity
on me
Please
Oh please
take it easy
Please
take it easy
baby
let me tell
my story

Old Neil crossed the ocean for it
Van Gogh died longing for it
Wars have been started because of it
Poe died poor and broken without it
Morrison had it but couldn’t grasp it
Shakespeare died with its taste in his mouth
His quill dripping with its potent potion
Its evasiveness lingers in my father’s eyes
I am pale and hollow without it
I’ve danced with it ...
Stared into convincing eyes
Yet I stand with empty hands
An empty heart
Many have traveled far and wide
And just as many will grow old
Searching
For a
"Heart of gold"

I have found that
   misery
      loves alcohol
 with its company

My brain and heart
Would fist fight
Night after night
If they had fists
As they lobby
For this
And that
One wears
A hat
The other
Lives on a sleeve
One wants
The other needs
It’s rare they agree
Or so it seems
Even though one
Affects the other
Can’t have the lightning
Without the thunder
So they say anyway
Probably in a country song
But whether they get along
Or not
Matters not
Because I need them both
They create balance
a new found necessity
As I am continually
Walking the high beam
Living dangerously
But with that comes
Possibility
And dwelling there
I am free
To see
Opportunity
Staring back at me
coyly
with a “come get me”
grin
that says
“where have you been
for so long?
Let's you and I write a song”
One that will be here
long after I'm gone
As the wind blows on
and on and on

The heat came down and the lies followed
Everything swallowed everything
Truth bled through pine
I pined to find
The kind of people
Growing things
Building on dreams
Being bigger than themselves
And the world turned sideways
For a second
And the essence
Leaked into the ether
We ate the fruit
And took a breather
Discovering truth
Most can’t see
Dancing dangerously
With destiny
Swaying softly
In a hammock blissfully
My dream
Within this dream
I buy it
Fully
My life
My rugged story
Wrapped up
Inside me
I close my eyes
And release

In you
I again discovered
the youth of
Peter Pan

The birth of a new year
Labored through the canal of time
A naked canvas waiting to be dressed
So many decisions
A minority of choices
A ubiquitous melody hangs in the air
As life and death dance
Forbidden lovers subdued by nature
Forced to turn the world
Without thought or reason
Continuous cycling
Laughter and crying
Two eyes close
A journey ends
Two more open
A journey begins
The Universal balancing beam
Walking a thread of time
No safety net below
In the arena of the mind

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

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

Boundless beginnings
     bursting into my
       Parnassian periphery
        present endless
      possibilities