j
       u
         s
          t
        a
     l
      i
       tt
          l
            e
                b
                     l
                       u
                     e
                s
          i
     l
   v
    e                        
         r              
              w  
                    h                    
                        i           p
                             s           e
                                            r
                                           f
                                            u
                                                l
                                            o
                                       f
                               s    
                   m
        o
           k
   e
      blew
          from
              your lips
                     to wisp
                           right by my nose

and though it put the candle out
          it drew
                my lips
                      to yours

When it is my time
I will sail away

at dawn
into a new day

Let go the ashes
of the forest's searing fall
and find the seedling
rising up to drink the rain

Lift your lashes
from acid rivers flowing
and gaze upon the mirrored pool
capturing the morning sky

Unleash the torment
locked away inside and fill
the empty space with voices
singing chorus to your dreams

Wash away the blood
from bruised and battered limbs
and let the sun find you
basking in its rays

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade
unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

There you were

above the chaos and the sound
of fury on the ground

There you were

above the shadows and the fog
when everyone had gone

There you were

a floating river
to carry me away

Far off in the distance,
a thousand dreams or so,
a winged syren beckons
of land, of hope, of home 

An alluring vision rises,
between port bow and port beam,
above the windward gunwale,
above the Devil's seam 

The main and mizzen struggle
against the howling wind,
the staysails strain
against the sheets
hauled taut and closely in 

But the course we follow
cannot reach our destination true 

We must tack and then again,
until our bow is set dead on,
and find a steady
wind and fair  
to fly above
the pounding waves,
to free the maiden's hair 

Just beyond the bowsprit,
a thousand leagues at sea,
the flying jib will lead us where
our spirits find their peace

You will find much happiness
in the New Year

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's s time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

If you hear the song I sing
You will understand
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at your command

Four score and seventy one years ago,
fifty thousand men, in blue and gray
divided, became one, in red united
to consecrate the ground where we
now stand.  From the Shenandoah
Valley, and the Potomac banks they
marched, and fell at Cemetery Hill,
Little Round Top, and Devil's Den.

But on this day, they rise to give
meaning to their sacrifice; they leave
behind their sabers and their musket
rifles, their cannon silent, their battle
done; they rise in peace at Gettysburg,
they rise at dawn with the morning sun.

Perfect imbalance
of tumbling sky,

the fairies laugh,
the witches cry,

it matters not
what havoc comes,

the piper sleeps,
the drummer strums,

the boxer lifts his mighty arm

to crush the air
but nothing more,

his foe is gone
and is no more.

Across the hearth
a blazing fire

and chiming embers
as they fall

melting from the logs,

we reminisce
of memories lost,

a scent of dew
a touch of frost.

Goldie was a fish
swimming in a bowl
where everyone could see
her very tiny role

only when they chose
to look and then
she would disappear
when they would leave

her dreaming of the sea
and reaching for the sky
until the day she found
that she could fly

Whenever someone
or scores of someones
get shot

other people scratch their heads
and wonder why

We don't have more
guns, guns, guns, guns,
guns, guns, guns, guns,
guns, guns, guns, guns,
.  .  .

The night before my father died,
he told my mother that he was
the Happiest Man in the World

He had been satisfied
that each of his children
had found his and her own way
toward happiness
in their chosen paths

It didn't matter that his own life
was fading, and that soon, too soon,
there would be nothing left for him

So when I think about my own
children, I am reminded of my father
and I understand, whatever thoughts
I may have about my own wants
and needs begin to fade away

All I see are my children's faces
and what makes them laugh
and smile as they go
their own way
while I become
the Happiest Man in the World

I felt it on the back of my neck,
a puff at first, licking at the sweat
soaked threads of tangled hair
that lay complacent on a broad reach

Telltales of the human kind that
whisper to the meta states before
transforming into siren calls of
change, something different,
something new, something
longed for in the quiet doldrums
trapped by endless drifting
on the boundless sea

My body turned instinctively
to face the tease, while my mind
remained behind, still stuck in
the quicksand grip of fading
memories, and slow surrender

And then the spray, from a swell
across the bow, a jolt of innocence
against a wall of indecision,
splashing hard my cheeks and
forehead, stinging splintered
lips and wincing unfocused eyes

A sudden rise came next, followed
by its fall, to weave their way into
a gentle roll that slowly
rocked the beam

Announcing arrival of the gusts,
scattered bursts at first, a panoply
of warm and cool that pressed
against my back and swam around
to fill, then leave the yearning sails

I hauled the sheets in closer, hoping
to capture the moment of the wind,
and though my preplanned destination
called the course I had been on, I
turned the wheel against the grain
and bid farewell, to the lee shore

I gazed out into the distance, where
whitecaps smiled at me, I smiled back
cranking sheets to the full
measure of the keel, and rode the
surging waves oncoming, taking
the howling wind on filling,
with its breath

my lungs, once again

It isn't music, really
not really
not the kind that you can
dance to
or sing words to
or hum along to

but maybe tap your foot
a bit to
or rock your shoulders
a little bit to
and sway your head
a little nod or two

It's more like rustling leaves
from pianissimo
to crescendo
above the tapping
drips of rain
in puddles circling
round the dangling feet
of waterspouts

and the trilling ring
a brassy bell delivers
swinging from the strike
of an opened door  
as dampened shoes
skip shuffle and slide
inside the musty lair
of an old bookstore

all measured by
the syncopated
clapping beat
of hooves
on cobblestone
in time with
carriage wheels
and drumbeat hoods
of rocking cabriolets

He paints from sound
that whistles in the wind
and freefalls from the sky
that bounces in the streets
and whispers to his eyes
that nestles in his pallet
and mixes in his dyes

It isn't music, really
not really
not the kind that you can
dance to
or sing words to
or hum along to

but maybe tap your foot
a bit to
or rock your shoulders
a little bit to
and sway your head
a little nod or two

when you see his aria
composed by strokes
from brushes
dipped in sound

Mine was carbon fiber
with Campagnolo gears
it had ramhorn handlebars
and I rode beyond all fear

Until I hit loose gravel
just around a bend
downhill at full travel
and I went end over end

Now I ride a cruiser
with a basket and a bell
it's got a loose cupholder
and riding uphill is hell

But it gets me where I'm going
and it's healthy for my scars
it makes me feel like I am soaring
when she is on the handlebars

I was cruising right along
with the radio on
and my favorite song
was playing
in my ears.

I had an open road
with the sun at my back
and the wind
was flying
through my hair.

And I felt like the sky
when it touches the ground
and is everywhere
it wants to be.

But that feeling
didn't last
'cuz I was running
out of gas

So I think I'm
gonna be staying
here for a while.

I need someone
to help me out of this place,

I need someone
to look at my face,

I need someone
to get me going again.


I'll be sitting in my car
with the radio on
cranking out songs
by the side of the road.


I'll be looking around
for the nearest town
and try and make it
on my own.

But I think I'm
gonna be staying
here for a while

And I need someone
to see where I am,

I need someone
to understand,

I need someone
to get me going again.


Won't you
stay a little while
with me?

Won't you stay
here for a while?

As fire spread
across the break
and down the face
of the next hill

he rose silhouetted
against the blaze
and turned to say
he would be back

before the wind
after the calm

He gathered up his gear and
clambered down the ridge
to clear the valley wall
as far as he would dare

as embers rained like fireflies
inside the flakes of falling snow

And when the storm erupted
swirling all around him
he turned again
this time to say
he would be there

after the wind
before the calm

Hey, Hey, NRA
Who're you going
To **** today?

A little girl at school
Or a little boy at play
Maybe a *******
From India by mistake

Home defense
Is a good excuse
But it's more likely
to be home abuse

Suicides are up
And accidents too
But they're guaranteed
By Amendment Two

We all need protection
From all the terrorists
Because they can buy guns
Even if they're on our lists

And don't forget the Government
We'll need our peashooter Glocks
Against their heavy armament

Hey, Hey, NRA
Who're you going
To **** today?

When I give thanks
today
tomorrow
and yesterday

I look out my window
at the clear blue sky
and the autumn leaves
and my neighbors
strolling by

And I step outside
to join them
and the birds
singing in the trees

With wings delivered,
he escaped the labyrinth
that once was prison to
the mighty minotaur, and
then to Daedalus in its stead

His patriarchal path before him,
his flight to safety was begun,
but freedom still remained
beyond his reaching grasp,
beyond the edge of his horizon,
freedom still remained

And so he strayed, from what
he knew to what he dared,
and left behind familiar shores,
searching for release from chains
still binding, searching
still for something more

He paid no heed to warnings
that only held him to his past,
and answered cries of sorrow
with distance rising, fast
into the clouds, away from
mourning eyes and far
from clutching hands,
he flew away, into the sky
and then into the sun

With wings reclaimed,
he escaped the labyrinth
that once was prison to
his dreams, the fountain
of his thoughts and
visions yet unseen

With wings reclaimed,
he fell into the sea
and rose up to the surface,
where he would breathe free

The airplane
is not one of God's creatures
but it might be serving
a heavenly purpose
by making the world seem
a bit smaller

And though
it is not an actual
time machine an airplane
can take you from
a place as primitive as
prehistoric times
to another place
as advanced as
modern civilization

in a matter of hours
or even minutes

But to take an airplane
almost anywhere
you usually have to go
to an airport
where you usually
spend an hour, and often
hours and hours,
going nowhere

other than the parking lot
or the rental place or the bus
station or the taxi stand
and the check in line and
the security line and the
food line and the bathroom
line and the shuttle line
and the gate line and the line
to take your seat and the line
to take off and then the airplane

usually has to land at another
airport where, unless you
took a direct flight,
you usually have to spend
an hour, and often
hours and hours,
going nowhere

When I die
and am buried
in the ground

Don't cry
upon the site
where I am found

But mark my grave
with a familiar cheer

"I'd rather be sailing"

Remember all the joyful years
that we have shared

And know that when it is our time
I will be there

To venture past
horizon's end
with you

Once more.

He crossed a continent for love,
not knowing where
his journey would lead.

Along the way,
he marched into wildfires
to save lives when others fled.

He kept his family close,
along with those he loved,
in ink forever in his flesh.

And in the end it was his flesh,
riddled with bullets in San Bernardino,
that saved the life of another.

"I got you," were the last words
of a heroic life gone too soon,

"I got you, Shannon Johnson," are our words
for a heroic man forever.

We should have learned from Jericho
but we keep building walls
to keep out and hold in
with fleeting form
what we seek
to call our own

And when they come tumbling down
we wonder what we could have done
and what we will do now
that they are what
they have always been
before we build again

I see her
in a mirror broken

jagged lines
and tiny gaps
with darkness in
the spiral cracks

between the flashes
brilliant

of eyes that hypnotize
and drown
in their unblinking
gaze

the wisps of hair
that never stay behind
ears pierced with
pearl
studs and turquoise

crimson in
her
lips revealing
wonder in smiles
and awe
and tears

in juxtaposition
all
angles and angels
glowing

there is beauty

in a mirror
broken

He fell in love
with her make-up

She fell in love
with his clothes

They cooed and they wooed
and they danced in a trance

Until they fell
out of love when

She removed her make-up
and he took off his clothes

somewhere deep
into the burn

a step mistaken
no intention
on a wicked moon

the silent cry
of an abandoned soul

treads lightly by

An empty shell
can hold an ocean
if you get close
and listen
to its quiet roar

Empty eyes
can glow like sunrise
if you get close
and find
who lives inside

And an empty heart
can beat with passion
if you get close
and hold
where it was torn

I am a rock
in the middle of
the Mojave desert

And you
are a figment
of my imagination

Our most basic common link
is that we all inhabit this planet.

We all breathe the same air.
We all cherish our children's future.

And we are all mortal.

Finnegan, begin again
is it time to wake?
The belfry bats are singing
from the yew trees, "heigh **
heigh ** heigh hooooo . . . "
as lips lip fleshless lips of air
Bloom clinks a glass with
M'Intosh, "Three quarks
for Muster Mark!" and
Stephen drinks tea from
lotus flowers poured by
Nausicaa while sirens call
between the clashing rocks

"Come home Telemachus, come
home Penelope, come home
Mary, come
home . . . "

What's the Word?
candles lit held high
"JOHANNESBURG!!"
above the marching crowds

What's the Word?
Madiba
"JOHANNESBURG!!"
Madiba
Madiba
*Madiba

Let's fly away
to Jupiter Moon,
Come along with me,
We'll be there soon

The view is heaven
on Jupiter Moon,
We'll see the Sun shine bright,
The rings of Saturn too

We can stay all day
on Jupiter Moon,
And wander all around,
There's plenty of room

And when the night does come
on Jupiter Moon,
No need to close our eyes
For dreams to come true

Let's fly away
to Jupiter Moon,
Come along with me,
We'll be there soon

“Good afternoon, Mr. Leitch.  Have you had a busy day?”

     Grey eyes peered over wireframe spectacles and gazed upon a vision that lifted the corners of his mouth.  “Yes, quite.  Thank you for asking.  So lovely to see you again, my dear.”

     As she entered the tailor’s shop and lithely traced her fingers across yards of brightly colored silk, and muted finely woven wool, her companion quietly assembled outside the entrance door.  He had selected a prime location adjacent to the neighboring baker’s store.  At that hour, the wafting mixed aromas of warm cookies, cakes, baguettes and shepherd’s bread would lure workers of the day from their homeward paths for just a bit of something to fill their evening meals, or add a little nuance to the setting of the sun.

     “And you as well, kind Sir.  I do adore observing the mastery in the magic of your finery.”

     “Well now, what a lovely thing to say.  And I adore listening to you as well.  But no more of that ‘Sir’ business.  You must call me ‘Arthur,’ as I have said before.”

     “Ah, then no more of that ‘dear’ business.  You must call me ‘Kathy,’ and we shall both listen to more lovely sounds that will soon fill this room.”

     At that moment, when the tailor’s eyes began to sparkle, Kathy’s companion began to strum a well-seasoned lute as he sang a refrain from an old Yorkshire ballad:

          Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
          Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
          Remember me to one who lives there
          For once she was a true love of mine

Then slowly, a crowd began to gather, one-by-one and in twos and threes, of those emerging from the bakery or simply passing by, as lamplights began to glow against the evening sky.    

          Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
          Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
          Without a seam or needlework
          Then she shall be a true love of mine

Entwined within the strumming, individual notes came alive and danced their way across the frets and fingerboard to leap and float about the crowd.  In time with the rhythm and the melody, pence and schillings soon found their way into the instrument’s open case, sounding light percussive accompaniment and applause.

     And then as though entranced, Kathy twirled about the tailor’s shop and took the tailor’s hand, to lead him out into the square and join the merry band.  She smiled a wondrous look, with eyes closed to the scene around her, as she gazed upon the vision within her, and her sweet voice shared its verse:

          Tell him to find me an acre of land
          Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
          Between the salt water and the sea sand
          Then he shall be a true love of mine

Then Kathy gave a laugh or two, and raised her arms to the incandescent night, as a blackbird perched itself atop the crescent moon, resting in the palms of her hands.

I spent so much purpose
determined, without knowing
perhaps instinctive
surely stubborn
but not blind

Being the center

because I could
bring direction
to the spin

for a while

But then my time had passed
or so I thought when I felt
the ground dissolving
without forewarning
turning solid into
nothing
and knowing
into uncertainty

leaving me an empty shell
or so I thought until I learned
that my time had actually come
but I was unprepared

I reached out for you
too late without forewarning
in ways unrecognizable to you
and hopelessly misguided by me

but you looked away
because of who
I had become
and who you wanted
to be after all you
saw of me

And yet you stayed
near but not close
present but not here
just out of reach
by either one

So now I struggle
determined, and well knowing
against my nature
surely stubborn
but not blind

I feel the warmth
of your fingertips
and soon I'll grasp
your hands

if you keep mine
in yours I will find
some way to make
these battered legs
take me to you

The rain is falling down
it’s trying to take away the ground

But there’s a place for you and me
above the rivers and the sea

So let the rain
come pouring down


Let it soak into the hills
let the lakes drink up their fill

Until the sky
has emptied all the clouds

And the sun
shines over what has drowned


‘Cause there’s a place for you and me
above the rivers and the sea

Let the rain
come pouring down

There are levels in the sky,
where the clouds come sliding by,
and the sun is bursting through
with rays ablaze upon our eyes

There are levels in the ground,
where the mountains hold the towns,
and tears of storms' past fury shine
in serenity they have found

There are levels in the sea,
where the days are memories,
and waves that wrestle with the shore
toss our spray into the breeze

Loyalty
Is so hard to find

Because loyalty
Is so hard to do

It’s hard to be true
Every day and night
No matter what might
Have been better for you

And loyalty
Is so easy to say

But loyalty
Doesn’t always stay

When it comes time
To step up to the line
You might be surprised by
Who stays behind

Yet you still have to do
What you know is true
Even if you have been left
Out in the cold

Because loyalty
starts with you

But when it comes through
Nothing else can outdo
That feeling you get
Like you were dying
And yet you’re still alive

So you can select
The ones who will get
That feeling from you
But just don’t expect
The same in return

Because loyalty
Is so hard to find

Even though
I left milk and cookies
by the fireplace

Santa left me a lump of coal

I was so angry and upset
until I realized
that if I hold it the right way
I can turn it

into a diamond

Won't you lend your lungs to me
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe
Up the time that's passing
Breath I'll take and breath I'll give
Pray the day's not poison
Stand among the ones that live
In lonely indecision


Fingers walk the darkness down
Mind is on the midnight
Gather up the gold you've found
You fool it's only moonlight
And if you stop to take it home
Your hands will turn to butter
Better leave this dream alone
Try to find another


Salvation sat and crossed herself
And called the devil partner
Wisdom burned upon a shelf
Who'll **** the raging cancer
Seal the river at it's mouth
Take the water prisoner
Fill the sky with screams and cries
Bathe in fiery answers


Jesus was an only son
And love his only concept
Strangers cry in foreign tongues
And ***** up the doorstep
And I for one and you for two
Ain't got the time for outside
Keep your injured looks to you
We'll tell the world that we tried

He found her on a bridge
crying tears into a river

and reached out
as she fell to hold her
in their flight

above her tears
across the sky

To nuke, or not to nuke-- is that the question?
Whether 'tis nobler in the end to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fury
Or take up arms against a sea of violence
And by opposing join them. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--when we cast away all hope,
And begin the thousand years
That waste is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be questioned. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--no more to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death no dreams may come
And no waking hour shall see the sun,
When we have snuffed this mortal soul.

A thousand dancing cats
mewed in wild cacophony
with whiskers tangled
and bells that jangled
amidst and among
their tails and their paws

The wide-eyed dogs
could only leap
and bark at the chaos
in their noses and their ears
their empty jaws held dripping tongues

While flocks of birds
fell laughing from the sky

Drove past a mansion the other day,
high on a hill,
grand and stately,
with manicured lawns,
and wrought iron fences,
adorned with Morning Glories.

Then I drove on,
to a cozy little house,
swingset in the yard
and a trike in the driveway.

It may not be much,
but it's mine.

Walked past a gym the other day,
sculpted forms of the human physique,
active and graceful,
growing strong and healthy,
fashionably decorated
with the latest workout attire.

Then I walked on
to a medical center,
examined and tested
a barely passing grade.

This body may not be much,
but it's mine.

I went to the park the other day,
a cheerful young woman,
pushing a giggling child in a swing,
while another built castles in the sand.

I may not be much,
but I'm theirs.

If we destroy America
on our own

There will be nothing left
for terrorists to do

The sun went down
and the moon returned
above a wave
of thunderclouds

The nightbirds sang
and the grey wolves howled
but not for me

Lightning flashed
and thunder crashed
while denizens
of the night joined
the chorus as they fled

But the only sound
that I could hear
was the tapping
of the morning rain

Do not praise Allah
if you **** in his name,
the prophet Mohammed
is crying in shame

Do not ask God's blessing
to ****** and maim,
His commandments since Moses
could not be more plain

Do not pray to Jesus
if you cause suffering and pain,
He was a Savior
when on a cross he was slain

Whatever demons are lurking
behind your acts inhumane,
they will drag you to Hell
no matter their names

"Nice Car"
said a man in a Lexus
to a man in a Ford
with just enough sneer
to show that he scored

Then he turned and
heard himself mumble
"Nice Car"
to someone who just
made him feel humble

"Well, it's transportation,
my helo's in the shop"
said a man in a
Lamborghini who
thought he was tops

But then a Gulfstream
roared overhead and
while two grown men
looked up and drooled
the man in the Ford

Drove off and left them
to be schooled