She's lace and confetti
With stars in her twinkles
A bright morning sunlight
Where smiling nose wrinkles
Perpetually moving
A bird and a flower
Now growing, now stretching
With all of her power
A tomboy, a lady
Whom nobody heckles
Until someone mentions
Those cute little freckles
She lives in her world
The star playing softball
At times sharing secrets
With kitty and her doll
But few in this world
Can know her so well
As I, sworn to secret
By her radiant spell
She's sometimes the thief
Just playing her part
Unknowing, each day
She steals in my heart
So one day tomorrow
Like roses, will bloom
With joy and with sorrow
Will leave with her groom
But come that tomorrow
Whenever it may
Forever in my heart
Forever she'll stay.

J. Sandy

Here lies Alex Rex
Who lost his life from unsafe ***
While attending the Preakness
Roving eyes showed his weakness
Till the filly and he met His ex.
                                - J. Sandy

I traveled this life once in search of my treasure
For anything easy which could give me pleasure
My choices were many
A buck or a penny
They all wanted something
My life or my money
Their eyes were all jaded
In faces soon faded
Though now I remember
In early September
The voice in the crowd
The warning out loud
A wizened old crone
Yells: “You’ll be alone.”
The message was wasted, I just could not hear
The din of the music left no room for fear.

I traveled this life then in beauty surrounded
In places where sunshine and nature abounded
The feeling of wonder
Undimmed by the thunder
And flashes of lightning
From clouds to down under
I ran through the rain
Ignoring all pain
My youth was my own
Now soaked to the bone
As if in a play
With nothing to say
The words of a bird
Which I never heard
The colors were muted I felt quite insane
Now heedless and breathless I missed the refrain.

I traveled this life then to see many places
The dull and the dreary with beautiful faces
But if you would dare
To sample the fare
You heeded the warning
To always beware
Of laughter familiar
And manner peculiar
The one who would sleep
Was not yours to keep
Just keep moving on
The show is now gone
No Jack, Jill, or Joan
Once more you’re alone
The bed sheets were wrinkled, and no four-leafed clover—
As aimless I wondered “How could it be over?”

I wandered through life, Pacific, Atlantic
The message I missed oblivious and frantic
I paid no attention
Eschewed all convention
While others still blaming
With dark condescension
Within me the flame
Was seeking to blame
A cadre of gents
With dollars and cents
Whose zero sum game
Of fortune and fame
Had thwarted my laughter
From now ever-after
In vain had I hoped to hear on the phone
The answer I sought while living alone.

I anchored a lifetime in hopes for a cause
And fearlessly battled for years without pause
Great rallies attended
At times apprehended
Thought nothing of giving
The cause I defended
I sought to inspire
Uncover the liar
The world never heeded
What I knew it needed
And yet, to the end
I learned not to bend
So true in my quest
Rejecting the rest
I battled with others till they fell away
As each found a reason why they couldn’t stay.

I traveled a life where my friendships I’d borrow
As happiness faded I turned now to sorrow
But in a reflection
A dream of perfection
Once more I was smiling
Now steeped in affection
The treasure I found
Through reason unbound
Defying all logic
The secret was magick
How could I have known
Why I was alone
Still trying to reach
The star from the beach?
My love bore a flower so radiant and free
It unchained all the hearts who had sought it in me.

J. Sandy

I still see your smile bloom
In the afternoon sun.
Tall as a corn stalk
Nursed by rain
And gentle winds.
As peas in a pod
Or twin trunks
Of matching shade trees,
A boy and his companion.
We smiled at each other
With toothless relish
While causing harmless mischief.
Fishing in the brook or
Swimming in the lake,
We counted stars on our backs
While taking turns explaining
To each other all of
Life's inscrutable mysteries.
We were best of buddies,
At school and at home.
We shared our lunches
And our "girly" hunches.
We solemnly became "blood brothers"
And swore friendship
Honorable, sublime, eternal...
We were there for each other
With smiles, joys, and
Tender growth one only shares
With the most special of buds.
We were buds, and in due time
We each flowered into our
Respective summers.

We were inseparable,
And I still speak with you
Every day, past the flowers
And the iron gate.
For you will always be my friend,
Even though you could not stay.

J. Sandy

*In memory of a high school friend who died in Viet Nam.

I leaned over and picked up
the flower he had discarded.
The crumpled petals still soft like velvet
bore creases and bruises
from the punishing treatment.
I saw him walking,
red faced and somber
aimless and alone
as he was leaving the park.
She had told him she needed time.
He heard her say no--and
his impatience born of
self-absorption
completely belied his intent--
to express undying love for her.
The quarrel over, she retreated,
while the unsuspecting flower
bore the brunt of his aggression.
Pity him? Pity her?
It was beyond my power.
I only saw the flower.
And as I thought about it
through wet and thoughtful eyes
I saw the flower in my hands
loose its outer petals, one by one.
It's core untouched, like a miracle,
the once bruised and crumpled mass
turned into a beautiful bud once more
and smiled on me
with the last rays of the afternoon.

J. Sandy

Alive and intoxicated
By the sparkle of your laughter;
Sensing, not hoping, I waited forever.
Telephones can be such cruel instruments of
Enforced distance–
But just now, I cradled mine, softly.
I wished you walks in flower-speckled meadows,
Near laughing brooks and trees covered with velvety moss.
I wished you warm sunny days, and lazy afternoons,
And diamond-splashed indigo nights spent counting stars.
I wished more than words which a phone could convey...
And I hurried to hush the fear in my heart.
I have been away too long.
I have seen too many sunsets.
I have been true to myself throughout my desolation,
And now, I tread the path between good-bye and surrender.