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111 · Oct 2016
Fugue
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Questions flood!
Where?
Why?
Who?
How?

My name eludes me

I recognize nothing
landscape
location
faces
buildings


All alone
in a crowd
on a busy street


I read the signs
and understand the words
but they tell me nothing

Breathing hard
dripping sweat
I look for a place to retreat

Dark alley
off the street
all alone

The questions flood again
Who?
Where?
How?
Why?
Fugue: a state or period of loss of awareness of one's identity, often coupled with flight from one's usual environment, associated with certain forms of hysteria
111 · Oct 2016
Pour it
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
From the bottle to the cup
pour the wine and fill it up
the blood red liquid swirls
and the edge of lips curl
into smiles and filled with guile
we may be here for a while
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Flashing silver scales,
under flowing river water,
hidden eddies behind rocks,
harbor the beast I seek.

The sun casting shadows,
as I cast my line,
the splash and pop,
of the chug bug, I stop and wait.

Silver and copper blades,
glinting in the cold green water,
the afternoon sun,
casting reflections.

Tributaries mumble as they enter the river proper,
splashing bait here and there,
the flash of green and orange,
juvenile sunfish schooling.

Fathead minnows,
dart back and forth,
at the surface of the water.
ripples following behind.

Mosquito larvae wiggle,
as the mayflies emerge,
lacy wings, erupt in mass,
the water’s surface explodes with fish.

My fly drifts through the air,
attached to canary floating line,
I matched the hatch,
as it hits the water, a strike.
111 · Oct 2016
Love Grows in the Rain
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Caught in beauties trap
I felt it around my heart go snap
when you raised your dripping face
It began to beat and race

The thunder clapped and lightning flashed

The rain poured down, but my spirits rose
I remember the moment in poets prose
we were wet, but didn't feel a thing
I felt the need to go buy a ring.
111 · Aug 2017
Memory
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Lost
in memory fast
a dream of the past
a connection of hearts
the fulfilling of souls
in the end made
whole
Period, End of Story
111 · Aug 2017
The Heartland
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
The grain was like ocean waves of green,
as far as the eye could see, in motion,
the wind crawled invisibly amongst the stems,
shaking each one and testing its worth.

The fifties model tractor, blazing red,
trudged along, working a private patch,
in the backyard of an old ramshackle house,
patchworks of colored siding holding it together.

The white hair of the old man driving,
was tested by the wind as well,
red and white bandana tied about his neck,
flapping, along with the straps of his faded overalls.

As I walked the fence row, such as it was,
more rust and rot than metal and wood,
I waved to the man and the whitest smile
and the return of the wave came back to me.
The Fire Burns Jul 2018
The last remnants of blue,
spray painted orange and pink,
in stark contrast to the opposite horizon,
swirling blacks and grays, sewn together,
by golden and jagged lightning bolts.

Mud puddles ripple reflections,
as the red velvet mites search,
tiny termites swarm in the passing breeze,
following the path of the monsoon storm,
seeking out new soft earth to tunnel.

A gray horn toad sits
ringed by red ants as they struggle
to rebuild their nest in the wet dirt,
it laps them up one at a time,
with a pink sticky tongue.
110 · Aug 2017
Huddling Murder
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Whipping winds froth the clouds,
feathers flutter and fluffed, battling cold,
failed fruitless flight as night falls.

Roosting and brooding,
head held prominently,
as the eyes search,
one on the weather,
the other on danger.

Huddling ******,
tree take over,
muffled caws,
continues uninterrupted.

Waiting to wing,
after the storm passes,
searching out death,
as an easy meal.
110 · Jan 2018
Wrong Conclusions
The Fire Burns Jan 2018
Slamming doors and angry screams,
revving engines and broken dreams,
lipstick print on my cheek,
my stuff thrown out, I'm up a creek.

Late for a date with my girl,
I'd never cheat, she is my world,
been fishing all morning down at the lake,
headed home stopped with a broken rake.

Ol' Mrs. Watson backed over, headed to town,
she asked me for help with a little frown,
two flat tires on her truck,
had them off and fixed she was in luck.

Kiss on my cheek as a thank you,
little did I know that I was *******,
walked in the house feeling happy,
my girl saw the lipstick and her hands got slappy.

Slamming doors and angry screams,
revving engines and broken dreams,
lipstick print on my cheek,
my stuff thrown out, I'm up a creek.

So I leave, head back to the lake,
still, have some beer resigned to my fate,
While I pout, Mrs. Watson calls my house phone,
my girl was crying, sitting all alone.

Hello, she says, and Mrs. Watson says hi,
just wants to thank me again, says I'm a hell of a guy,
oh no she thinks what have I done,
have I ******* up and lost the one.

Here she comes crying down to the lake,
picnic and a bikini and begging mistake,
suns going down, skinny dipping apologies,
I tell her its okay with a final squeeze.

Slamming doors and happy screams,
revving engines and growing dreams,
lipstick prints on both my cheeks
back to the house tangled up in the sheets.
The Fire Burns Apr 2020
A laser light from button gaps,
cannot be contained within the *****,
trench coat men, try to subdue,
but they cannot contain her colorful hue.

Admiration of chisel marks,
I imagine the steel cast sparks,
a stone carved into beauty's eye,
but is it all a lie?

Colors swirl through the spectrum,
I paint with a broken thumb,
lucid dreams of LSD
I grin and laugh with glee.

The scarab beetle walked the palette,
a different hue upon each leg,
on the canvas a path traversed,
art for some, which would beg.

The swing of the hammer,
the splash of gore,
a Jackson Pollack brush
of blood on the floor.
109 · Apr 2020
A Season Wronged
The Fire Burns Apr 2020
This season just isn't right,
We didn't even put up Christmas lights,
Not sure why it feels this way,
As we wait for Santa's sleigh.

No Christmas party just no time,
Our best friends moving is a crime,
It's like a pall has been cast,
I'm not sure how long it will last.

No crazy presents, kids growing up,
My son drives his own truck,
Daughter, gone to college now,
Time just goes by too fast, wow.

So as another year-end draws near,
Somebody hand me an ice-cold beer,
Need something to dull emotion,
But nothing stops the clocks forward motion.
109 · Aug 2017
Scorcher
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
A single bead at first
begins to run down my spine
turning into a torrent
as sol begins to climb.

Skin begins to redden
in the July sun
it's is not hard to tell
that summer has begun.

Mercury climbing up past ninety
even in the darkest shade
the beer in my Yeti never gets cold
the heat doesn't care how much I paid

Lakes and rivers, oceans too
the people flock to in mass
standing neck deep in water
waiting for the scorch to pass
108 · Oct 2016
Farewell
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
We say goodbye today
but we are glad to know
that you will make a new life
out in Broken Bow

A new place and new things
to discover and explore
hopefully having worked here
will help you open doors

Life has many paths
that you must wander down
hopefully for the better
as you walk new ground

No matter where you are
you know that you have friends
keep in touch no matter
where your road may end

So good bye and good luck
safe travels on the way
we will love you always
will meet again someday
Goodbye to my Assistant Yesenia as she moves to Broken Bow, Oklahoma
108 · May 2020
Puddles
The Fire Burns May 2020
Cold drops of rain as we run,
so much for our picnic in the sun,
the grass glistens green with drops,
you giggle as you fight with flip and flop.

I grab your hand and lead you on
not to the house but to the barn,
you look at me with a sneaky grin,
I know the fun will soon begin.

The stormy breeze blows on your skin,
goosebumps rise as your dress is thin,
plastered to you and clinging wet,
I try to grab it, but you say not yet.

I am pushed onto a bail of hay,
and told I have to stay that way,
she begins to spin and to dance,
a sudden need within my pants.

A hem gripped soft and slow,
her wet white dress with neon glow,
she lifts it up and to my surprise,
nothing else on her creamy thighs.

The wet dress drops to the floor,
she dances and teases, I can stand no more,
I stand up to shed my own,
she climbs the loft, I watch and moan.

Wet clothes running puddles,
I find her and begin to cuddle,
lightening flashes and thunder booms,
but we don't plan to leave this room.
108 · Aug 2017
Caveats and Segues
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Caveats and segues,
conversations and discussions,
politics and religion,
points of contention.
108 · Nov 2017
At Fault
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
My emotions slowly sink,
drowning in the muck.

Gasping for breaths,
searching for footholds.

Slowly succumbing to truths
realizing, the fault is mine.

I own it as my heart breaks,
yet the clock still keeps time.
108 · Feb 2018
January Sea Fog
The Fire Burns Feb 2018
The fog arrived,
not on the feet of cats,
but as a beast of burden,
swallowing the port and the ships.

The croak of horns
scared it not,
the flash of lights
would not distract.

Stubbornly it sat,
refusing to budge,
in the early morning,
waiting for the sun.
107 · May 2019
World Peace
The Fire Burns May 2019
an unattainable wish,
it is against human nature,
the sadness of it all.
107 · Oct 2016
Impact
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
when the ease of childhood
is replaced by reality
like a hammer to the forehead
107 · Nov 2017
Enjoy the Game of Life
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
Life is full of pestilence,
and it is but a game,
but enjoy the pleasures,
and be glad you came.
107 · Aug 2017
Mission Accomplished
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Fabric covered with gravel,
the weight presses me down,
the sun burns down from overhead,
the wind in through a small hole,
directly ahead is my only relief.

From twenty stories below me,
the sounds of the city rise,
hot dogs and coffee smells waft by,
the sounds of airport's flights overhead.

Through a small pane of glass,
I watch the world marred by a cross,
silent, patient, watching wind speeds,
men, women cars, trucks, all being watched.

Searching slowly through my small window,
for a particular face, male, large cheek scar,
blonde hair, parted to the left, glasses,
Armani suit, charcoal, matching briefcase.

Seventy-two hours, barely moving,
cross now moving across the sidewalk,
faces, faces, wait back one last person,
smug scarred face, positive identification.

Following out of the Starbucks onto the walk,
slowly tracking, out into the open park,
finger slowly creeping taking up the slack,
breathing composed, even, easy.

Nothing behind him, all alone now,
finish the squeeze, a punch to my shoulder,
a balloon pops in the park and birds fly,
a body not moving now lying in green grass.

A business man rides down the elevator,
briefcase in hand, tailored suit,
strolls casually out into the street,
non-descript, disappearing into the crowd.
107 · Aug 2017
Choices Compiled
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Welcome to today,
get ready to pay,
with guaranteed pain,
and tears falling like rain.

Life is a struggle,
get ready to juggle,
people, bills, and rules to obey,
you can try but does no good to pray.

The lessons are hard and often,
no matter what they end in a coffin,
it's really just a question of time,
do you try to stay right, or just turn to crime?

These are the questions you face,
if you answer wrong, have a face full of mace,
or your hands raised up high in the air,
when the bullet is fired, ends in despair.

But the situations are yours to make,
they can be pleasant or coiled like a snake,
ready to strike out and bite,
venom sinks in if you fight.

Rotting a hole
into your soul,
that rarely can be fixed,
super glue and blood, just don't mix.

So count the days you are given,
all you can do is just keep livin'
doing the best that you can,
in the end, all you are is human.
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
In verdant viridian forests
dripping condensation
provides water
for plant and animal
allowing both to thrive
until destroyed
by man

Society
caught in the maelstrom
spinning ever closer
to falling into
the singularity
The Fire Burns May 2020
Upon the field, that runs with blood,
we stand united, against the flood,
kite shields locked into a wall,
can we stand against them all?

Gorgons stare with pupils stone,
but they do not want to be alone,
but alas their fated curse,
to live without love, what could be worse?

Trapped inside the conscious stream,
stuck within the waking dream,
watching people slowly die,
did most even bother to try?

It was the age when water flowed,
cities grew, electricity glowed,
populations soared, like birds with wings,
wondering what the future could bring?
107 · Aug 2017
Nightmares
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
With panicked breath,
and so hot my sweat steams,
I kick the covers to the floor,
sit up straight and stifle screams.

I hear no voices from inside,
they tell me nothing all day,
hiding away from the light
but at night come out and play.

Coalescing demons
dripping blood and other gore,
things that make movies
nothing but a yawning bore.
107 · Aug 2017
Questions for my Reflection
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Am I staring into,
or out of my reflection.
free or trapped?
who am I?
or am I him?

Shifting in a mercurial pool,
mimiced in still blue water,
emulated in a window pane,
depicted in the mirrored frame,

crisp and clear from time to time,
also appears fuzzy now and again,
bleary, filmy and foggy frequently,
the scene in front of me,

Am I staring into,
or out of my reflection.
free or trapped?
who am I?
or am I him?
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Skeletons of our consumerism
tossed aside the road,
wasted wrappings of trees
and extruded petroleum,
to forever reside
in landfills cemetery.
107 · Oct 2016
Thoughts and Ideas
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
I throw ideas into the wind
and watch them blow away
perhaps to be found again
someday in a far off place

Thoughts are like skipping silver dollars on the lake
they skim a few times from wave to wave
and then sink out of sight
to dive deep for someday

Other bits of craziness
are thrown into a furnace
become liquid and melt together
and poured into a mold

Solidifying into something
useful, maybe even profitable
but these, alas
are few and far between
107 · Aug 2017
Razored Strings
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Breaking free
from monotony,
of being controlled,
no longer patrolled.

Razored strings,
life now in full swing,
on my own
to cast my stone.

To the winds,
I shall mend,
or to the lake,
I leave a wake.

I will be fine,
decisions are mine,
no one controls,
now I'm whole.

Puppeteer fades,
in review shades,
I'm in high gear,
and have no fear.
the marionette freed
106 · Nov 2017
Drunken Poet Collection
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
Slurred rhymes read,
as the audience is filled with dread,
the drunken poet and his dream,
untouched coffee sits and steams.

It all makes sense as coffee spills,
the words on the page have been killed,
all his work destroyed by *****,
even when you win you lose.

With loving kisses and swallowed burns,
the amber fluid, for it I yearn,
it kills the pain and frees the mind,
I never heed the warning signs.

The bottles sit upon the shelf,
tempting me and my mental health,
into the bottle, I crawl inside,
a temporary painless place to hide.
106 · Aug 2017
Rising Above the Rest
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Iron willed.
blossoming as others wilt,
riding the waves of hardship
as others drown in the tsunami,

Moving quickly,
most are frozen,
hibernation I shun,
while the masses settle in.

I have no time,
while their clock stands still,
my fingers race,
outpacing the second hand.
106 · Oct 2016
Fading
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Pretty of body and face
Overtime fades without a trace

But the beauty of mind and soul
Rarely fades and keeps us whole

Time is rarely gentle and kind
So love the whole person, including mind

Then at the end when it too goes
Will the door finally close
106 · Oct 2016
The Dreams of Others
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
In the end, you must be your own person.
expectations of the future
are hopes and dreams
sometimes achievable
but rarely
if they are not
your own
106 · Aug 2017
Sky Paint
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
dripping pink sky smears
aquamarine accenting
designed by the sun
105 · Apr 2020
Serene Scene
The Fire Burns Apr 2020
Where the blooming trees do shade,
I had a glass of lemonade,
a waitress came, the ocean breeze blew,
the smells all arrived all anew.

Sweet florals and frying fish,
bread, garlic oil swirled in a dish,
table cloths fluttering, never still,
fresh pie sitting in the sill.

Potted plants and red backed seats,
honey bees working without defeat,
giggles from girls, one table over,
a cat sitting, sunning, with golden fur.

Little songbirds set the tone,
I enjoy sitting here alone,
surrounded by this life-full scene,
all of it feels simply serene.
105 · Aug 2017
The Shamaness
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Seeing through feline eyes,
myself caught in rapture,
tapping into ancient memories,
remembered by the trees

the mist caresses bare skin,
and protects me as I commune
with the histories,
searching for lost knowledge.

swamp gas glows phosphorescent,
as the energy passes into me,
powering the surroundings,
and causing life to surge.

growth, birth, renewal,
I am the focus point,
the bead of aim,
as they try to heal the Earth.

my bronze skin radiates,
and dark hair concentrates,
the beads hanging from my neck,
from now on a powerful talisman.

soul sent back to me,
from deep in space,
and lost in history,
I return a shamaness.
based on a picture of an American Indian woman and otherworldly creatures
105 · Aug 2017
Words ( A collection)
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
The softest and lightest words
spoken from the heart
carry the most weight

Wasted words
on paper or screen
some with meaning
others simply empty
should have been saved
for another time

Fear
reflected in words
thrown at others
mirroring
our pain

A poets words
worth more posthumously
which is sad
I have lots of words
and worth every penny

Fear, horror, all trapped in words on the page,
thankfully the monster is stuck there
and not free to roam with rage

Words trapped
stopping the heart
as the pen is prevented
from spilling emotion
resulting in death.
A collection of short Poems
105 · Apr 2018
Casting the Mind
The Fire Burns Apr 2018
From the peak of Olympus Mons,
I stare across the emptiness,
the distance is all red sand,
pocked by black rocks and rippling sand.

I float aloft on the Venusian clouds,
seeing nothing but gray mist,
that burns me producing red blisters,
as the sulfuric acid droplets play.

Hot, so hot, I begin to melt,
cold, so cold, I begin to freeze,
the fastest moving planet,
but the sun burned off its wings.

Now as far as I dare to cast,
I sit in the darkness on an icy planetoid,
the silence is complete, there is no view,
tiny dots of light mark the distance,
as we ride the cosmic tidal forces.

A salty wave washes over my face,
I am jolted back to reality,
the beach sand is rough,
and the golden sun reddens my skin.
The Fire Burns Jan 2018
With marmalade hair of feathered curls,
I stare into azure eyes, touching my heart,
meandering down a freckled neckline,
after humming a hymn into rose-colored lips.

Her angel wings retracted,
covered with filigree embedded lace,
a corset of purple velvet orbits her core,
I fall upon her like dawn on the day.

In a castle room warmed with tapestries
upon stone walls as old as the galaxy,
ancient eyes stare out at us,
from a portrait of a long-lost ancestor.

A smile touches the lips,
as parchment paper cracks,
a ghostly approving moan,
mixes with ours.
104 · Oct 2016
Where You Can Find it
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Serenity is where you find it
a bit of happiness nourished
wherever it may be
a cup of coffee
the brush of a hand
the smile of a friend
a hug and kiss of a lover
a dog's wagging tail
the flap of a taught sail
a pull on a fishing line
a glass of good red wine
Serenity is where you find it
104 · Aug 2017
Vices
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Pour the Whiskey.

Two cubes and amber waves,
the oceans tsunami in my glass,
I give it a swirl and a sniff,
before enjoying the burn.

Someone pass the Cheetos.

The paper rolled tight, opposite twists on the end,
a flick of the Bick and light it up,
a ******* inhale,
allowing the mellowness to seep in.

The Hookah

The water bubbles,
as the smoke rises,
filling the glass decanter
and rising toward,
waiting mouths and lungs.

Cuban Cigars

Rolled on the thighs of virgins
or so they claim to be,
either way, stoke it up
and keep your ashes long.

Beer!

In the bottle or the mug
dressed with lime or plain,
foreign or domestic,
as long as its ice cold.

Single Malt

Earthy and peaty
an acquired taste,
from Scotland,
simply the best.
104 · Aug 2017
Today
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Why isn't tomorrow today?
I would really like to play!
Goodbye, I'm not going to stay!
So enjoy the rest of your day.
103 · Aug 2017
On the Dock, After the Rain
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Blazing sunlight, yellow and warm,
shown down behind a gray cumulonimbus,
creaking wet floorboards on the dock,
announced my every step.

Black and silver rod and reel
with green fluorescent line through its guides,
and squirming cricket now on the hook
cast and marked on the surface,
by an orange and white bobber, with a red stop.

Bouncing in the slow rolling waves
made by a just detectable west breeze,
on it the smell of hot dogs on the grill,
from down the cove.

Tranquil and mesmerized
by the hypnotic sights and smells,
suddenly the cork is ****** under,
surprised I nearly forget to set the hook.

Reeling now, as senses return,
a brief fight yields a black and silver
spotted Crappie, it joins others from yesterday,
in the wire fish basket.
103 · Aug 2017
Sundial in the Garden
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
silhouetted sunlight
speaks to me
grasshopper second hand
103 · Aug 2017
Snow Angels to Eskimos
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Deep in the snow drifts,
empty shells,
the impression of the maker,
lost in the weather,
the blizzard of life,

I worship through the snow
and upon the ice,
meals without a pinch of spice.

Seals and whales and maybe bear,
are what provide my fare,
blubber, food, and oil,
it is for what I hunt and toil.

Sustenance and clothing derived
from these things I survive,
when the sun refuses to shine,
in my igloo, I recline.

Blocks of snow insulate,
keep us from a frozen fate,
a bit of meat on my plate,
rubbing noses with my mate.
snow and winter poem collection
103 · Aug 2017
Fireflies and Rain
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
fireflies burn orange
like glowing bits of ember
inextinguishable
103 · May 2020
Finality
The Fire Burns May 2020
Unrequited pain,
cured only by death,
understood finally,
on our final breath.
102 · Aug 2017
Silence
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
stones that never roll
cannot make a music beat
soundproofed by the moss
102 · Sep 2016
The Res
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
Upon the reservation
Alcohol flows
A once great people
Hold on
In ruins
102 · Aug 2017
Arrogance
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Crimson carpet path,
celebrated actions or art,
kept apart from the peasants
by electric velvet cords.

As I walk, surrounded
cameras flash
and beautiful people
part as if on command.

I start to believe
what I read and I am told,
I have risen above the others
and now pronounce to them.

Like a religious leader,
but not lost in fervor,
no, simply in my own opinions
which I believe are gospel.

The truth is I'm no better
than the vagrant on the street,
the homeless under the bridge
or the people on the ropes periphery.

Yet I have forgotten this,
and will ride like a Byzantine king,
until one day, my sedia gestatoria
crashes to the ground, abandoned.
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