I never really understood love
teenage me thought I did
parent me thought the same
but I'm almost 40
and my kids are grown up

I never really knew what love is
I never really understood it
but now I have a dog;
now, I understand love
now, I feel love
now, I see love
and finally, I know the meaning of love

unconditional love,
found in her brown eyes
unconditional love,
floods from her doggy heart
FINALLY, I understand love

Kick the dog,
your faithful dog;
kick him in the teeth,
kick him in the stomach

Take out your ****** mood on him
'cause hey, you know he'll come back -
pathetic Mutt!

Kick him some more
make him PAY for your hurt
make the dog pay for what others did
it's your right of course
to kick him and DEMAND
he just lies down and take it

Careful now...
don't go whining and crying
when your once faithful dog
gets fedup of your abuse
and rips your ******* throat out!

I used to dream
of being a great man
a heroic man
the kind that songs are sung of
stories are written of

The kind of man that leads people to victory
that sacrifices for the greater good
noble, honourable and courageous

But I realise now;
I am none of that - but;
I am a content man,
I am a happy man
In the end, I think I prefer to be happy
I think...

The pain in your soul
bleeds through every word,
the sadness in your heart
is felt in every word

Nobody knows your pain,
nobody can truly understand
the comfort and end for which you thirst.
- ending it all is an option
But I dare you this first;

Erin, I don't know you
but your words are You
your words tell me your pain,
your writing is not in vain

Put Ending in your pocket,
keep IT in reserve -
Then go out and show them,
all those *******,
who you really are

Soon, you'll see,
the only reason you were ever able
to look them in the eye
is because you're a giant,
a god among mortals

Erin, we need you
not the world,
not the *******.
No, WE need you;
the Poets
the Painters
the Architects
the Doctors
the Lovers

We, need you,
for it is the feelers,
the compassionate,
that suffer the most -
People like YOU.

We need you Erin,
Because without Erin,
there's one less beautiful soul
one less person to admire a rainbow

Without you there's nothing to write about
Nothing to sing about
No reason to heal
No reason to love

Please, I beg you;
Stay a little longer
- Despite your pain -
Linger a little more
Because you make life worth living
for a great many - just like you

My life is closely guarded
people see my face, know my name
but the real world doesn't know me,
they only see my careful mask

Yet, here I write
I publish poems,
My deepest, raw emotion
splayed open for all to see!

In the real world people see me,
But here I'm naked,
exposed for all to see and know,
like a celeb with **** photos
on their iCloud
What a fool I must be!

Next time, I'll throw you a buoy
Next time, I'll stay on my ship
safe and sound
and throw you a line

But never again
will I jump into your ocean
to be drowned by your waves!

We've made different decisions
I've also had my heartache
but your daily abuse of alcohol
has been an insult to me
who left everything behind
because I jumped into your ocean
to try and save your life

Next time, I'll stay safely on my boat!
I'll throw you a line
because I still care
but I will not jump into your ocean
to be dragged down again,
While those who love me
pine for me at home

Poetry Schmoetry!
These pretty words that rhyme
sometimes not even every time
creep into your heart...

Like water seeps into a rock -
deep into the smallest crevice,
these words seep into your heart
and find the small, dark spots
the unspoken hurt and yearning

like water that melts and freezes
can split a rock in two,
these words seep into your soul
and split our precious delusions
we so desperately try and conceal

like a rock split in two by water,
so our souls are rend open -
left exposed!
and the poet's words like warm sunlight
tempts your heart
maybe even *steal your soul