‪It’s what I see and believe‬
‪Like lily pads, and lotus leaves‬
‪The wind whispers in a steady breeze‬
‪So I follow and dare not take the lead ‬
‪The wind, it pushes at my back‬
‪It leaves breadcrumbs down, for me to track‬
‪It fills the void for what I lack‬
‪And makes sure my mind remains intact‬

The child was obstreperous
All throughout his days
He was a borderline miscreant
In oh so many ways
They gave him meds
To calm him down
To harness all his rage
Then one day it clicked
Despite the war he waged
And he grew into a fine young man
Freed from his ball and chain

It’s the creature of the black lagoon
The ware wolf on a bright full moon
Fear is found in scary scenes
Like Dracula and vampire screams
Or Frankenstein with a bolt of light
On a frightening rainy night
Dark gray clouds and lightning skies
Now waiting for the dead to rise
Zombies with a taste for man
Scouring a wasted land
What’s hiding underneath the bed?
The boogie man inside your head?

Like the sun I burn within
Hidden behind a wholesome grin
But the flames that reach their highest
Mask a world that’s downright grim
And the spark that lit the fire
Is wrapped around a life of sin
I’m not sure where it began
Or where even to begin
To tell a tale so dim
It’ll clock you on your chin
With morbid story lines
Thought up on a whim
Whether fat or thin
It doesn’t matter
Or the color of your skin
It all gets written down
Then thrown inside a bin
Because who is to say who loses?
And who’s to say who wins?
The yang to my yin
It’s all moving so fast
That it’ll make your head spin
Whether friend or foe
Or your next of kin
A distant relative
Or your Siamese twin
It doesn’t matter where you’re going
Or even where you’ve been
It’ll all come back around again
Until you pop it with a pin

You had my undying devotion
With just a simple little motion
Setting sail out into the sea
But, between all of the commotion
Sailing on the ocean
That’s when everything got swept up in the breeze
At first the wind was swirling
Which caught us by surprise
But all got calm and quiet
When I looked into your eyes
And that is where I found my peace
That is when I knew
If I could be anywhere on earth
I’d choose to be with you

You get me so inspired
For everything desired
You fill up my heart with joy I truly feel

Your the apple of my eye
My sun up in the sky
You really know how to seal the deal

I’m your puppet on a string
You are my everything
But I get confused when I try to figure out what’s real

You’re the fire that lights me up
The drink that fills my cup
You’re good company when I want to have a meal

Your beauty is a test
Among the very best
You truly have what I’d call *** appeal

I’m at your beckoned call
You’re my lover after all
And If you’d reciprocate that would truly be ideal

A guilty pleasure
His chance to peek
To see what secrets
Grown-ups keep
Threw the hole
He sits to see
But he mustn’t move
And he mustn’t speak
He knows that trouble
Would be in deep
And the lessons’ cost
Would not be cheap

Constantly rotating
Denoted by a chime
While it navigates the spectrum
Through both space and time
It flutters away in seconds
By the time I end my rhyme
While also doing its function
Somewhere along the line

You can imagine my frustration
When he disturbed my sound foundation
I resorted to defenestration
To earn my emancipation
Which, in turn, caused a congregation
Just outside the station
That I insist, with punctuation!
Did not merit my donation!

His battle scars dug deeper still
Along the ridge and up the hill
He’d been up for days on end
He lost his will and lost close friends
He was last man standing
His body numb
He called for help
But there was none
So he sat
Awake and scared
He was lost inside
And unprepared
To walk the walk
To heal and mend
Those grueling days
The bitter end

Off to stay at the bungalow
Come rain, or sleet, or snow
That’s the place we always go
When Summertime comes around
A Long tumultuous trip
To get there just passed dusk
With lakes and streams
And front porch swings
And metal turned to rust

Running across danger
As far as one can tell
Was in the form of a passing stranger
Who seemed as though he’d been through hell
He’d walked across the desert
The whole way in soleless shoes
He seemed to me a bit on edge
Like he had nothing left to lose
He stumbled to station
Looking for his thirst to be quenched
Then he looked over in my direction
I could see his fist was clenched
I tried to turn my head away
It’s at this time I had regret
But before I turned my head around
Is when our two eyes met
He started inching towards me
It’s then I turned to walk away
I could see that he walked after me
So I took off without delay
I still think back to that day
Of what the outcome could have been
Had I stayed around to meet this man
Would my face have been smashed in

She stared afar with distant eyes
Lonely, lost, and petrified
But with an inner strength, and a stubborn will
She’d swallow whole, the bitter pill
While facing the whole world
When to run, who to trust
Having faith in humanity
Does she assume way too much?

‪Her memories are fading‬
‪Her children are all grown‬
‪But they cannot be bothered‬
‪And the house is not a home‬
‪She wonders where the time has gone‬
‪And what still lies ahead‬
‪When just today she had trouble ‬
‪Getting out of bed‬
Her husband has been dead for years
She looked to him for all
She had everything invested
But had no crystal ball
She was helpless, scared, and lost
And she paid a heavy cost
Just in order to maintain some balance
She was alive, but dead inside
With nothing to decide
It’s been years since she last cried
It’s like she’s in a fog without a forecast of it clearing

Writing is the chance to have my voice be heard
With a sentence, word for word
That I may speak my own ideas
In black and white, as it appears
And when I’m gone
My words will last
In the archives of days gone passed
When something old becomes again new
All written from my point of view

Too shy to bloom
The pink and purple hues
Destined to shine through
But unsure what to do
With just a little heartening
The slightest little push
A hint of motivation
A whisper and a hush
Can spring the inner offerings
The fruit the stem now holds
Or does the flower shiver
Pretending to be cold
The entire process is tedious
None of it mundane
When all it needs is sunshine
Nourishment and rain

A single dandelion seed
Gets carried by the breeze
That flies along the wind
But gets tangled in the weeds
And that’s where it sinks it’s teeth
With utter disbelief
And starts to grow a stem
Followed by a leaf
A complete and total metamorphosis
With maximum relief
Hell bent on growing old
But a moments time is brief

The dust collects and settles
Before the cold wind blows
And parts of me fly through the air
As my curiosity grows
I span across the luscious green
I float into the sea
And even though I cannot swim
I’m glad to just be free

I’m enamored with the starlight
As a candles wick gets lit
Casting off tall shadows
On the walls near where I sit
As I gaze up at the stars
Not a one seems dim
Just a multitude of sparkling dots
That’s making the moon grin

Staring into the twilight
A yellowish orange glow
Resigned to the horizon
By entering below
My line of sight
My rhythm; flow
To wherever it decides to go
And if with patience
It does not show
Then flip the script
And take control

Animals in danger
Answering the call
Hunted just for pleasure
A trophy on the wall
The snow does not conceal them
From the darkness that befalls
As one by one they lose their lives
In the safety of their homes

Designed by the moon
In a diamond cocoon
Paid for with the hide
Of a roadside raccoon
Nestled in the clutch
Of a purple grand deluxe
Overpowered by daffodils
******* in a bunch
With red ribbon and lace
Travelin through space
Leaving not a trace
Of a dry eyed pretty face
Into the vortex
Surrounded by void
Watching worlds crumble
Stomped and destroyed
Taken resources
Our tinder and wood
Our fish and our water
And none of it good
So be wise when discarding
Recycle and save
And don’t put off till tomorrow
What can be done today

A casket in a wasteland
Placed on powdered snow
Left to be discovered
In a hundred years or so
The chest adorned with carvings
Flowers, skulls, and bones
Shut tight, not to be opened
Just to perish under stone
Closed off from the elements
To ensure safe passage home
Or spend and eternity, never to be found
Left in solitude; alone

They rambled on and babbled
Although I’ve ciphered out the code
It’s all just interference
Meant to keep it tempered; slowed
The signal’s getting weaker
Yet, I still made out a verse
It had to do with outer space
And blowing up the earth!

I was denied my contentment
My phosphorescent jewel
My iridescent luminescent
Images of you
A fireworks explosion
Seething ***** of light
****** into the atmosphere
To electrify the night
Bolstering up the front lines
For graphic acts of might
And lit up like an active war
Despite the will to fight

I see my reflection in the broken glass
As shards fall to the earth
Seven years of bad luck too
To the ones whom sure deserve
A sliver of the truth at hand
A fraction of the whole
When I look into the broken glass
I see age has played a role

Along the open meadows
Near the trees lined in a row
Horses run and frolic
Like they did so long ago
They’re left alone, and free to roam
On acres of green grass
It’s sure to be, a sight to see
Anytime you pass
They’re big and bold
With manes of gold
They’re muscular and fast
They’re majestic and they’re statuesque
They’re elegant, with class

Driven till destruction
The facade falls away
All the bits and pieces
Among the wreckage and decay
Driven into extinction
Cut open and displayed
As an industrial work of art
Bare bones and remains
The tires have grown tired
The rubber dried and strained
Plastic all now broken
Scattered like my brains
Upholstery torn and tattered
No two quite the same
Steering wheel in place
Nothing much else changed
Unlike forgotten memories
In the sunshine and the rain
There in all its glory
Painted, pinned, and framed

From the moment that I saw her
It was her radiant allure
Having left a trail of broken hearts
In pieces on the floor
It added to her mystique
Her abilities, and more
Whispers heard from ear to ear  
Grew her legend and her lore

I understand the rain
Its tears to ease its pain
In the form of droplets from the sky
When the clouds begin to cry
But with the sun brings hope
A vibrant glowing star
To warm and dry, those crying eyes
That make you who you are
I understand the rain
Too drab to entertain
And too lackluster of an appearance
To ever make a name
But it’s recognized on sight
Which contradicts my plight
To answer every call
When the rain begins to fall

She was a hypothetical being
A figment of my dreams
A human roller coaster
With moves I’ve never seen
She’d always catch me staring
And giggle with her charm
And just as things got interesting
I’d wake to an alarm

Every wrinkles meaningful
Whiskers full in bloom
Eyes peer in with eagerness
Mind’s heavily consumed
The fallen tears of discontent
The unease, seldom caught
The holding back of black anguish
Disgruntled and distraught

I’ve been coming under scrutiny
For starting up a mutiny
Before, I never had the time

I preached about our unity
And sought out my immunity
For never failing to commit a crime

I looked in your direction
You drew out my attention
And ever since
I want you to be mine

Take your time, don’t answer
Be my private dancer
Until one day
You up off and resign

Then I’ll play my favorite solo
Pay the final total
And everything will all work out just fine

Cozy by the fire
Engulfed by your flame
You filled me with desire
Without knowing your name
Resting by a tree trunk
Lying in the sand
You, the woman of my dreams
Highly in demand
Sitting there, with auburn hair
Lying on the beach
I put you on a pedestal
Far beyond my reach
But I’d climb any mountain top
Until I reached its peak
Hovering above the clouds
Swept up off my feet
I’d go to any measure
If I had to, I would leap
Just to spend my time with you
I mainly play for keeps
I’d hope that you’d reciprocate
And not leave me to hang
Since I caught a glimpse of you
Things have never been the same

You could almost see it coming
That existence ceased to be
A disenchanted moment
In a world of make-believe
Fireworks, explosions
Mother Nature’s wrath
Striking down upon us
Till we’re blown right off the map
The demolition of society
The one forgotten seed
That grew into an empire
Thirsting after greed
The beginning of the end
A fundamental flaw
Built inside the mind
To mimic what they saw
Through no fault of their own
In the wrong place and time
Subliminal manipulation
Taught to feel sublime
Avoiding all catastrophe
Laying only waste
No “welcome home”doormat to find
Only voids in time and space

Outside, the air is hot and misty
The look of an evening touched by summer rain
Inside, it is cool and calm
Refreshing and pleasant
Soothing, and tame
The temperature rises
The temperature falls
There’s light condensation
On the glass and the walls
The morning dew glistens
The fog rolls in deep
The country, it listens
To the birds as they cheep
For all that transpires
The birds and the bees
Nothing compares
To prayers from my knees
My head is to heaven
My soul rests on earth
Till the day that I die
From the day of my birth

I stood up to meet you
But you turned me upside down
Whether you meant to or not
I’ve fallen to the ground
My equilibrium’s been shattered
And I’m quickly overturned
Ever since I laid eyes on you
It’s been considered lesson learned

Together in solidarity
Unified throughout
Segregation is something that’s been taught
Through ignorance and doubt
Brought up with good morals
In non judge-mental ways
Taught to love thy neighbor
And for love to be displayed
Out in the wide open
For all the world to see
Black and white; hand in hand
In peace and harmony

I’m broken, need fixing
But my body’s resisting
I’m at the threshold of losing my mind
The pain’s unrelenting
Constantly testing
My will to continue to strive
To get up and move on
Yet I still remain calm
Because after all, I am still alive
So I struggle and manage
Despite all the damage
Because it’s still no excuse not to try 

The nature of the battle
Was fought with pure resolve
Sheer determination
Could it be that we’ve evolved?
Into the makers of a mess
Poor people in distress
No gratitude, just attitude
Could it be that we’ve digressed?

‪Put under a spell‬
‪The essence of a smell‬
‪That scented sweet aroma‬
‪You know I know too well‬
‪Whenever I’m around you‬
‪I instantly can tell‬
‪As your perfume consumes the room‬
‪In the home in which I dwell‬
‪Your fragrance so intoxicating‬
‪In love with you I fell‬

Share a cup of tea with me
A crumpet, and stare
Tip the teacup back to see
What’s staring back’s a bear
Near the rim; etched in glass
With brown fuzzy ears
Urging me to smile back
Instead of shedding tears

Time is up, rest your head
The rising of the spirit
Born again, life’s too short
You should reach out and grab it
Before it’s gone
Slipped away
Such a nasty habit
Wasting time
Left behind
The trick is not to fear it

A kaleidoscope of color
Rainbow feathers bright
Two parrots in a love embrace
A beauty of a sight
Cuddling on the windowsill
Before taking flight
Back to the nest
For evening rest
And a gentle kiss goodnight

The seagulls lift their wings to fly
Scavenging with their beady eyes
In a flock, above the beach
There’s nothing safe or out of reach
They’ll plot their course
They’ll take a risk
They’ll dive on in
For bread or fish
They’ll take and take
Then fly away
To try again another day

Blossoming under sun ray beams
Soaking in the rain
Nature runs its course as if
It has something more to gain

Picking up the pieces
After the struggle and the pain
For the wilted and the wilting blooms
Of the dark and dead remains

Every phantasm of hope
Every hidden desire
Every knot on a rope
That lets you climb higher
From the legion of doom
To the evil empire
Every room with a view
Where meetings transpire
Where careers move ahead
And where people get fired
And then the cycle repeats
Like several times prior