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432 · Oct 2016
The Object of Pursuit
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
I’ve been the object of pursuit
An actor in their minds
A blazing summer day at play
But they walked before my time.

They promised nothing in their flight
Made sure of all my doubts
Begged of me please stay away
Except on certain nights.

It seems sometimes I’d play my hand
With all my cards drawn out
Only to hear them say the game
Had no real meaning now.

But on the way I learned some tricks
And now define the reasons
Though the answers seem to stray
My soul is bent on healing.

Now I’d do it just the same
But I’d watch behind my back
“cause I’ve been stabbed on moonlit flights
And survived with just my dreams.

With you I’ve seen the shinning light
That glows with every season
Sending all who gaze our way
A message of our visions.

So walk with me and I will keep
All those things you treasure
Hidden safely far from pain
Without a lock or chain.
410 · Oct 2016
Its Raining in Arkansas
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
Its raining in Arkansas tonight
I should be asleep
But I sit and think about you
And the more I travel
The more I know
Its not the roads and miles
And airports that separate us
Its something more
Something we haven’t seen
I’m not sure it can be
I can’t remember when I knew
Or the reason I suspected
I only know its there
Whatever it is
Lingering in my mind
A certain feeling
No real texture
Or anything I could fight
But its there
I stumble over the words
They won’t form
Sometimes I have it all figured out
But then I remember
You do love me
And I am lost again
Why are we apart?
What’s the reason again?
Its something I haven’t seen
Its time and space and usefulness
Its in your mind and you don’t know
I hope we find it soon
And I have a remedy
For I am alone and far from home
I have brought you here
But you don’t know
Or do you?
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
****** upon the boundless plain
Locked in hope and searchless claim
We gather at this open court
Becoming just what we had hoped
Helped along with needy hands
Pushed from behind with wilder claims
We look for compassion and find it not
The clock has slipped and fallen
No deadline now to make it's name
We ****** along in silent pain
Knowing that our path was clear
Shaming all who cast us fear
When out of the light there rode
A sixpence horse with rider
Who staked his faith upon your grace
Pounding flag into the soil
And rared his steed upon your door
Proclaimed as if there were no more
While all the while we worried so
Was this the path to happenstance
Or was this right what we have done
To take our sabers into the sun
Clearing all who would be King
Finding not what we inflame
Somewhere close there senses death
In the mist there pleases pets
You make all this in memories time
For all is lost if we're so kind
In the end the road is clear
Another journey close to thee
Be careful what you wish to see.
304 · Oct 2016
The Game
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
It seemed I had always played the Game
I slipped into the 60’s without one clue
Choices were made and theories to learn
My long hair flowed and I was a child
Those around me were children too
But they also acted grown up and confident
We spouted songs of protest and concern
Never heeding our demise and purpose
I once traveled to Chicago to see a girl
Not to dwell in protest or disorder
I was the lucky one all decked out
In my bluejeans and flower shirts
I wrote poetry for my own peace of mind
The ones who I let read it were envious
They wanted me to publish
I wanted to be left alone
I had already fought that greed
Once I gave the same poem to two girls
Each showed it to their friends
When they discovered they had the same one
They both dumped me and became good friends
Girls !!!!!!!!
As if they could saddle the world


Back to the Game….
Everyone plays the Game
The ones who say they don’t
Are playing the Game against the Game
(pause for clarity and reality)


In the 60’s we wanted to be free
We rebelled against wealth and position
But the leaders of our movement
Never wanted for food or clothes
In most countries that was extreme wealth
It troubled me then and now
For now you see them in the system
And I am left with doubt
Of how we all stood up
To only be left out.
253 · Oct 2016
Power Plays
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
Come to me on winter's nights
And bring your PowerPlays
Let me wine and dine your thoughts
Bring you yesterdays.
For I have been there where you live
A tribute to the game
I have fought and won and tied
Been wasted on the plains.
Scheduled flights and seen some come
Without as much as a clue
There once were days of might-have-beens
Some lies were seen as true.
So lay your head upon my neck
Be careful what you dream
For there are powers lurking there
Nothings as it seems.
And when you think you've got it won
Your mind is all too kind
It's me you didn't factor in
A vision of your mind.
247 · Oct 2016
Sadness
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
Sadness lengthens into night
And with it goes attention
To all the bends and pressures
Of sensitive emotions
Taking with it further thought
Suspending truth and light
It soothes the mind with calmness
Destroying it with memories
With businesslike precision
Recalling every warmth
Computerizing feelings
As though an everyday occurrence
We approach a curtain
Which sometimes falls and rises
Separating sections
Of people and surroundings
And like a catalogue of names
We research each part
Pondering what went wrong
Or why it didn't work
To come to a conclusion
Or so we'd like to think
On every single act
Until given second thought....
246 · Oct 2016
Widswept Song
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
Beyond a dark a dreary world
  Outside of right and wrong
  There lives a girl with melting smiles
  And a heart of windswept song.

  Nestled in that shadowed past
  Burned within my mind
  I guard her castled memory
  And lose my place in time.

  We shared the winter's silver sky
  And dreamed of warmer days
  To watch each other endlessly
  When friend was just a phrase.

  Recalling all those simple ways
  With all our love intact
  Somehow I know it does me harm
  To keep on looking back.

  But the pain is never ending
  And I know it can't be long
  'Til I share those melting smiles
  And a heart of windswept song.
239 · Oct 2016
She Wants To Be Friends
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
She wants to be friends
For we can’t be lovers
And what am I to do
Lose her altogether ?
So I push aside my feelings
With hope that this will pass
And bring about a better time
When friendship turns to love.
But when that fateful day arrives
When she has made her choice
I’ll be far away
Either by land or thought
Catching glimpses of the clouds
Or focusing on trees
Anything to keep my mind
From lovers and of weddings.
For that road leads away from me
To happiness I’ll never know
Or so at least I tell myself.
And in those snowcapped mountains
Or along some sun-drenched shore
I’ll wonder how it would have been
To have kneeled before that alter.
236 · Oct 2016
Forever
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
Causes here and those we know
Sift right down through candle glow
And paint a picture true and clear
Of what we have to keep us here
For you are there and I am just
A keeper of your angle dust  
Who wipes it clear and keeps it high
To bring back down when you are nigh
I search for you and I can't find
Your words to me within my mind
To comfort all those hidden fears
Brought forth amid my tireless ways
To seek you out and find the day
When all this stops and we can shine
Bring forth the flowers and the wine
And waste away on moonlit flights
To laugh about our autumn nights
When all the world seemed low you know
While we were lost with hearts a flow
Searching here and there for you
To stop this flight it can't be true
Yes we will laugh and tell the tale
Of when I almost thought we'd sailed
On that last voyage on which we failed
But alas we both would sing
And see what now the sun would bring
To settle back with distant songs
Which showed us where we both went wrong
For looking at your eyes I see
The very thought you have of me
Forever is a windswept song
That drives me here to tag along.
230 · Oct 2016
Decisions
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
I have turned the pages now
Your face has faded and it's clear
The love we had has wilted dry
But it was here we said goodbye
And knew we had our future poured
Beside a locked and bolted door
It was, you see, what’s meant to be
But who decides these things for me?

I think of how we traveled here
We nursed each other out of fear
And forgot what had led us there
Because we never understood
That all the world won't help us now
They never cared which road we took
Some clouds we made with others' help
Have parted us from sight and yet
We feel each other day to day
And wonder if we are so right
That we have blocked the pathway's light
Which leads to what we always wanted
With gates we used to fill with flowers
They need our nourishment its true
We have left them there without a clue
Is it too late to save them now?

I think of you on distant streets
Wondering if your path is sweet
I've hesitated far too long
To play again our favorite song
But then again your words ring true
Of how your plans did not come through
Knowing you so well I see
Your glow had not included me
For now while high above the world
Flying still away from you
I can think so clearly now
And see your shadow in my mind
But not your face it's faded out
Was that your plan or was it right
To miss you so and need your smile
You know it's sad, it's been awhile
But then again your plan is clear.


I've walked the docks in Frisco Bay
And been to Alkatraz and yet
That prison followed me as though
It said to me you need to know
The walls are not what binds you there
It's knowing that the wind somehow
That I have felt will somehow blow
And reach you face in candle glow
To cause the flame to flicker bright
I hope it gives you sight tonight
For I have sent it there you see
From deep within my soul to say
I am not a timeless whisper
There is a day when this will stop
And just become a memory
Without a shred of help from you
Our love will finally waste away.
226 · Oct 2016
Rain
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
It was a long and stormy night
And his wife grew tired in labor
At last brought forth a child
And it’s Father called her Rain.
The Mother grew in anger
For that was not a name
She had picked another.
The Father stood his ground
And that was that.
The years went by
And those who saw
And frequented their home
Knew she was surely driven
As much by name as deed.
And when she reached the age
When she would pick a mate
She went on without one
She would seek the dawn
And a new horizon.
The years went by as one
Until there came a day
When storms had settled in
And the sun had gone away
The wind blew hard
And Father and Mother cried
And wished they knew the fate
Of one they named as Rain.
In the storm and autumn’s night
A knock came swift and hard
The door once opened failed to show
The reason for it’s sound.
But when they looked outside
A figure hard and true
Standing firm against the storm
A glimpse of blonde hair flew
And in that night they welcomed
Rain to all their warmth
And heard stories of her wealth
But nothing of her love.
215 · Oct 2016
Daisys
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
Daisies are funny little things
When looked upon at first
Opening up its many arms
To brighten up your day.
No clue to find their secret
Of shining without light
They stand against the world
Yet sway to calls of breezes.
While lying next to one
They peep into your mind
As though to say I’m free
Enjoying every movement.
Recalling why I noticed
Daisy’s secret world
Brings back times of joy.
While strolling with my love
I bent down to pick one
She said no without emotion
And explained their world to me.
And though she’s gone – I remember
For in the fields I’m careful
Of where I step or lay…….
212 · Oct 2016
Flight
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
So very high upon our flight
We bend to touch the ground to see
If we are true or fading out
And then we see each others' light.


Its said our eyes are windows now
Which lead us to our final thoughts
And tell strangers who look our way
A secret which is hiding there.


We've seen the summers' winds at play
And midnight's cold and solitude
But still we look within ourselves
For the true and lasting trust in us.


Those who wish our flame would die
And keep us at our usefulness
Can't buy the outcome with their deeds
Or carry all our inward needs.


So when you think it's all at odds
And when your mind would rather say
That we are not a perfect match
Remember that we came this way.


We are here so far from that
Which brought us to this blissfulness
And all I have or ever thought
Was wasted on the journey here.


To be reborn and starting out
With all my fears and love intact
Is what I've seen so long so hard
To come to where I've longed to be.


I won't look back and see the dawn
'Cause you don't need to know its there
How could we lose our way from here
We've got each other through the years.
197 · Oct 2016
Suspicions
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
It’s there again
It creeps within
A shadow lurks
A sea erupts
And how we know
We just assume
Or play the game
In other rooms
We think we see
We march and pound
Grab up the sword
Search all around
But in the end
It’s us we see
‘Cause we are all
Just pedigree
And in this place
We all have made
With different thoughts
Inside our maze
We peep to see
We strive to learn
How far the ones
Of whom we touch
Will bite us back
And spill the blood
But in the end
It’s us we see.
178 · Oct 2016
Freshwind
Joe Vice Jr Oct 2016
It's different now
I've hidden your pictures
Trangressed upon that road
We often talked about
When there came a day
One of us was gone
As unlikely as it seemed
And now is upon us
The word 'Us" seems to fade
As though a teardrop
Fell amd made it disappear
Reasons became dominent
Words failed to reach
Summer is here and yet
I am locked in winter's thoughts
Without a need to see the sun
Yet I must go on
And like the past that floats
There is room for you
In a corner of my heart
That reaches out
Consuming all that's me
Reminding me that
Life is fleeting
Purpose is just
Hearts are timeless spans
Upon which we invest our trust.

— The End —