Sullen irony of the estranged
Ever homeless always
Somewhere on the home bound trail
With a Phoenix of hope
Killed by day and reborn
Under a symphony of moon light
It never ends until
It's done and only time
Keeper knows when the clock strikes
The rhythm of your finale
So shall I  step from the shadow
To be or hide to be seen?

The colors of your shirt stick
to your skin
Swollen, tired, tattered
The dirt collecting
Under, Over, On

In the stillness of the new moon
You became a mother
A wife
A daughter
Through the thickness of the humid air
the sweat collected on your brow
the nape of your neck
A crying child
A barking dog
Some butter on a scalding skillet

Oh, Marisol!
If your hands could speak
The scars and lines would serenade the sun
and soothe your cousin's swollen cheeks
the gold in your teeth
would shine each time you smiled
and said goodbye

but
your chestnut hair is whipped by the wind
instead
and laced black leather boots
tower over you
in the haze
they grasp your arms
as if they are their own
and cover you in white
to protect themselves

Oh Marisol!
it is now late at night
but you shine for the love you brought
with you
across six nations
all of them packed
and stacked neatly
you carry them strapped on your back
like the sun kissed streets of Cuenca
cultivated, preened, and compressed
put into the back pocket


It is in dusk when you lay your head
Down on that cold, dry, earth
And grasp that plastic bottle to your breast
Closed eyes and memories of sunrise
20 miles away from the southwest


America rises still beyond
Fences lined with flowers pale
As white and rich as all those men

But towers over you of course
and in the shadows of the Joshua trees
You can depart for home again

My Name Is "****"

**I destroy homes, I tear families apart, take your children, and that's just the start.

I'm more costly than diamonds, more precious than gold,
The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold.

If you need me, remember I'm easily found,
I live all around you - in schools and in town.

I live with the rich; I live with the poor,
I live down the street, and maybe next door.

I'm made in a lab, but not like you think,
I can be made under the kitchen sink.
In your child's closet, and even in the woods,
If this scares you to death, well it certainly should.

I have many names, but there's one you know best,
I'm sure you've heard of me, my name is crystal ****.

My power is awesome; try me you'll see,
But if you do, you may never break free.

Just try me once and I might let you go,
But try me twice, and I'll own your soul.

When I possess you, you'll steal and you'll lie,
You do what you have to -- just to get high.

The crimes you'll commit for my narcotic charms
Will be worth the pleasure you'll feel in your arms,
your lungs your nose.

You'll lie to your mother; you'll steal from your dad,
When you see their tears, you should feel sad.

But you'll forget your morals and how you were raised,
I'll be your conscience, I'll teach you my ways.

I take kids from parents, and parents from kids,
I turn people from God, and separate friends.

I'll take everything from you, your looks and your pride,
I'll be with you always -- right by your side.

You'll give up everything - your family, your home,
Your friends, your money, then you'll be alone.

I'll take and take, till you have nothing more to give,
When I'm finished with you, you'll be lucky to live.

If you try me be warned - this is no game,
If given the chance, I'll drive you insane.

I'll ravish your body, I'll control your mind,
I'll own you completely, your soul will be mine.

The nightmares I'll give you while lying in bed,
The voices you'll hear, from inside your head.

The sweats, the shakes, the visions you'll see,
I want you to know, these are all gifts from me.

But then it's too late, and you'll know in your heart,
That you are mine, and we shall not part.

You'll regret that you tried me, they always do,
But you came to me, not I to you.

You knew this would happen, many times you were told,
But you challenged my power, and chose to be bold.

You could have said no, and just walked away,
If you could live that day over, now what would you say?

I'll be your master, you will be my slave,
I'll even go with you, when you go to your grave.

Now that you have met me, what will you do?
Will you try me or not? It's all up to you.

I can bring you more misery than words can tell,
Come take my hand, let me lead you to hell.

If you care enough, please forward this profound poem and share the deadly outcome of this drug that is killing our young people & even our old...

The bloom fades
petals fall
One by one
gently to earth
And in clusters
ripped away
in times less pleasant
The luminous fruit
of their memory
a brilliant orb amongst thorns
A promise of flowering
Yet to be

Why do I have to go when there are things such as poetry
How can we go to places and forget the people we saw
Their tongues speaking in tongues while their brains all forgot
And made an effort to bleed sincerously while it was still time
To be honest we could have given anything we were made of
The point was asked but somehow nothing could be done
Somehow still it all remains vague and unknown
We talk about the words in an endless repeating cycle
And laugh in a crisis and then stop and stare at each other
How I want to speak to you in a way that can be heard
All through your skin and blood and become what can't be talked about
The infinite we chased, that only dead men caught
That gives us what we need and will always ache for
The pain of being remunerated through oblivion or pleasure
Sometimes beginning to give a glimpse of a heaven made in here
Made human at last I understood it so clearly
The confusion that holds me like a mother in tears
As another night wishes to be endless through me
Everytime that I believed has led to a greater destiny
And no one, no one is made human by words only
They, and you, and I grew as we were supposed to be
Made into ourselves by thoughts of things that can never be
I wish to stay eternal, pure, but that's a lie
I gave myself enough authority to try and go out under the sun
Like natural children all humans and trees running in joy
Pure closeness to everything and everyone at anytime
Moments of salvation that can be reached through madness
And love, like water to your face, like crying in front of the intensity,
Like hands reaching out to welcome you into creation
The contact of souls unheard and alone
Warmth forgotten by history unlike inhumanity in all forms
Too common to be true and I only believe in stories
I have no identity that I wish to pursue
I have no more upon entering myself
Because the well of thinking is common and universal
With original speeches from unoriginal ideas
Or the opposite and images consciously exposed to be wept upon
Half a century later drenched in water from tears or spit
Loved until death, which means no death at all
And repeated ****** of a feeling shared

You are the
        window
              to my pain
  Cloudy with
            no chance of clarity
      I can see
               how far
away you are
                    Out of focus,
           still hurting me
                      *so easily