the world goes on
as you shatter
no matter why
the sun follows its course
so get it together
pick up the pieces
and put yourself back together
not for the apathetic world
but for yourself.

An oasis
hopefully
maybe a mirage
that can be seen
should one wander
into hell
it is if nothing else
A direction.

Seventy-four miles
To go back to the last place
Where the seven-year-old
Still felt safe

Back before
The depression
And suicide attempts
Where he tried to electrocute,
Poison, and cut his way out

Back before the confusion
And loneliness
The dangerous
Expressions
Of discontent
Back before all that rage

Back before the
Belt, brush, board
Broom, mop, physical
And verbal
Abuse

Back before
The Freddy Krueger
Nightmares

To a place that had changed
Where everything
Just seamed
So much smaller
And all the kids
Had gone so much farther
Away
Only I remained
In that delusional place

Seventy-four miles
To find
You can only go back
In your mind

I shall search for a lifetime
if I must
for that perfect girl

the one who will love me
in good times and bad
when I'm up or down

a girl that will love me
when I have money
or am the poorest sod around

a girl that will be there after fifty years
still loving me like she did
the day she said "I do"

I know she's out there
it is my hope that she finds me soon

When the woman you love is a poet,
It is hard to tell the difference,
between a poem and a conversation,
When the woman you love is a poet,
She will never speak her thoughts,
I have to decipher the lines,
When the woman you love is a poet,
It's hard not to be ensnared by the words,
And remember that the notes she sings,
Were not all for you