I talk not of strength because my heart has known
and fought with weakness through long hours alone
as the days go by and the weeks rush on
and before I know it another year is gone but
I will be happy if someone who has read me says
"I'm better because he passed this way."

Age is just a state of mind especially
if you have left your dreams behind
but if from life you have taken the best
and love you hold as the years go by
then it really doesn't matter how the birthdays fly
because you are not old.

I give many thanks for a long life so far
even though it may have brought me
much bitterness and strife but I give thanks for
all of the many of love's joys that I am given
and I will always cherish the tears and the joys
that I have had for love's dear sake even though
sometimes grief followed in its wake but still
I can forget love's sorrow in loves joy.

As my heart grows empty of every
thought unkind I find peace hovering all around me
and joy filling my mind and I count my blessings
because they have not been few and I wonder
what next I am going to do.

No tear was ever shed in vain
and in the end my sorrowing heart could find
no curse but only blessings in the hand of pain
so I continue to try to write something
that takes a little sadness from the worlds vast store
because I have been blessed to make of joys too scanty
some a little more.

I grow a little more tired at the end of each day
and a little less anxious to have my way
and a little less ready to scold and blame
as I near my journey's end where
time and eternity meet and blend.

While my heart throbs to the tread
of the passing years I have learned
life's hardest lesson and that
is learning to wait and I have also learned
that through life's suffering
my heart only grew stronger.

Let my words come just when they are needed
like a beautiful breeze blowing wind in your face
like a smile that only takes a moment
and costs nothing but gives much like a memory
that can last forever and know that
it is in loving and not being loved
that the heart finds its quest
and it is in giving not getting that
our lives are best.                                                Jon York        2013

Find  a  lover
              with miles
         on her tires, and
            worn treads.

             The stretch
       of road behind her
              may have
         been  long  and
      tiresome , but  she's
            better for it.

            Her  rear  view
             mirror is full,
      but her hands know
                  how to
            tame my body
                    and
            as she says my
                    name
              I couldn't help
                     but
                 mistake
                    it for
          "I'm finally home."
                                                                                    Jon York   2019

She whispered to
me so sweetly----
"I   don't  need  love
texts from you every
day."

   "Just   smack   me
     on  the  ****   and
    say, "--"I'm glad
     that  ***  is  mine."
                                                                                        Jon York   2019

It beats,
It breaks,
It loves,
It aches,
for you.
Only you.

Constantly,
Consistently,
Continually
             you.

I'm  lost
in a  sea
of   you
    and
know I'd
   rather
drown in
    your
shadows
    than
swim in
someone
    else's
    light.
                                                                                     Jon York   2019

Nothing  is
impossible,
the    word
itself   says
'I'm possible'.
                                                                                               Jon York   2019

Her blue eyes
like the changing sea.
    Her blond hair
soft as a rose petal.

    Her childish grin
hides her crazy and
    evil ways.

    Her laughter,
unique with no rhythm,
as if she was calm, sweet,
    and innocent.

    Standing there
staring with fire in my
eyes I grabbed her close
with a passionate kiss
holding on to her like I
was never going to
    let her go.

    And then I wake up
remembering this so
    real dream.                                                                    Jon York    2021

You    are   my   sin ,
my   willing  desire ,
the   one  who   fills
me  with  urges  of
extreme   ******  cravings.
You   are   my   sin,
as you are  my life.
Saving    me   from
death  of  sameness
in  life.  Nothing  is
hidden, nothing  forbidden,
as I take your body
in all the ways you
wish, all the ways I  choose.
I  lust for your feel,
your   taste, your forbidden
fruit.  As  you   are
my   sin,   So  I  am
                               your  sire....

A   wise  physician
once said "the best medicine  
for    humans    is
love." And if it doesn't work?
Increase the dose.

Ever woman  deserves a man
who    will      write
poems on her body
with   his   lips   and   tongue.
                                                                                       Jon York   2019

While on this voyage
keep your windows clean because
if you break down
you can still enjoy the view
as the world goes by because
about the time you learn
to make the most of life
most of it is gone but age
is a matter of the mind
- if you don't mind,
it doesn't matter.

realize that anyone
can get old,
all you have to do
is live long enough
because it takes a long time
to become old.

Learn that it is not about
getting a chance but it is about
taking a chance and understand
that we are strong
because we are weak
and we are beautiful
because we have flaws
and we are fearless
because we have been afraid
and wise because we have
been foolish.

As the world goes by
I am left with coils of memory
as the time flies whether
we are having fun or not
but at least I have learned
to know the difference between
a good love and a bad love
and that is simple
- a good love never ends
and in the end love is the only thing
we are left with after all
is said and done.

I have gone from long hair
to longing for hair
and from acid rock
to acid reflux and from
rocking out with the Rolling Stones
to being worried about
having kidney stones
but I still rock and roll
and will till I die and
that is no lie.

I don't know when or how
it happened and
I never saw it coming going
from tight bulging muscles
and a flat stomach and
a full head of brown  hair
now replaced with folds
and salt and pepper thined out hair
along with a gray beard
and bones that need care
and fall I don't dare.

Once upon a time
eyes like an eagle able to
pick off a VC at 1200 yards
with one shot and one ****
in a far away war time won't forget
in that far away place
so long ago but now
my focus is slow
and I wish I didn't know now
what I didn't know then.

If only I could stop my mind
but a man is not old
as long as he is seeking something
and growing old is nothing
more than a bad habit
which a busy man has
no time to form.  

Know that you are young
at any age if we are still planning
for a tomorrow and as the world
flies by we have to realize
that it is better to be hated
for what you are
than to be loved
for what you are not
and remember that you were
born an original so
don't die a copy.             Jon York          2013

Lost  in  my  daydreams,
  I choose you as the one
       I  never want  to
         awaken from.
                                                                                             Jon York   2019

Anything I've done

that was ultimately

                                                            worthwhile, initially

                                                             scared me to death.

                                                                                          Jon York   2019

In my actions I try to write in such a way that
others love to read me and I try to listen in
such a way that others  love to speak to me
so learn that your actions are your only true
belongings and the more that you are motivated
by love the more fearless and free your actions
will be and know the the only real action takes
place on the bridge between people.

We all want our lives to matter and our lives to
make a difference so welcome every day that
you wake up with a smile because today will
never happen again and don't waste it as you
walk through your life going from room by
room drawing up a list of work to be done,
cracks to be patched and don't look for flaws
but look for potential.

Sometimes in our lives when we just get used
to something it fades away so don't allow
waiting to become a habit and live your dreams
and take risks because life is happening now
and every step forward begins with a firmly
planted foot in the past and if it doesn't challenge
you it won't change you so know that the past
cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased,
it can only be accepted.

Don't try relentlessly to understand because time
will decide and your joy will come when it is time
and every single change you have made and every
action you have taken has brought you to this
exact moment of reading my poetry,so have a
good day.                                                   Jon York    2015

I will take charge of my life
and savor each moment that I have left
and let my wounds heal
as I open my senses to the beauty
that surrounds me as I make
my dreams become reality.

In my journey. . .
as I turn the pages I find
that braver is the one who overcomes
his desires and not just his enemies
because the hardest victory
is over self.

In my journey. . .
no person will have the power
to keep me upset or lonely and today
I choose to deepen my understanding of myself
and others and today I choose healthy
interactions with others and good
expectations of this day.

In my journey. . .
I choose to have purpose on earth
and I will strengthen my direction
with the words that I write
and the messages that I give myself
as those messages are the most important
messages that I could hear.

In my journey. . .
I affirm my personal power
now that we have met and I affirm
my capacity to give love to
and to receive love from this
very special lady who knows I have purpose
and together we celebrate the miracle
of being alive as she helps me
channel my directions.

In my journey. . .
She helps me to slow down my thoughts
and to change my perceptions and she gives me
the ability to handle all that confronts me
as renewed energy surges through me
and today she is the one that gives me the joy
of belonging and the quiet ecstasy
of mutual nurturing as we reach out
to one another's hands.

In my journey today. . .
I am still a student of life
and will not condemn myself
for inadequacies or mistakes
nor faults or failings as I focus
on beauty and virtue and goodness
because I have come so far in my journey
and still a way to go and with her
by my side it will go
nice and slow.               Jon  York       2013

In my journey I have learned. . .
that there is no short-cut
to life and each and every
situation that I have encountered
has brought me to the now
and that now is all
that I have.

In my journey there were those. . .
who showed me the
different ways to go
and the ways
not to go.

In my journey there were those. . .
whose weakness and ignorance
darkened my path
and encouraged me to
turn the other way.

In my journey there were those. . .
who showed me how to love
and how not to live
and have showed me
what I am and what
I am not.

In my journey there were those. . .
who brought me love
by the means of both
darkness and light and gave me
the ability and sight to see
what is real and what
is right.

In my journey I have learned. . .
that it takes strength to conquer,
that it takes courage to surrender,
that it takes strength to feel a friends pain,
that it takes courage to feel your own pain,
that it takes strength to survive,
that it takes courage to love again,
that the journey is the reward.
                                                       Jon York         2014

I feel you in my heart,
but  I  feel  you  more
       in my soul.
                                                                                            Jon York  2019

I want to
consume you...
leave no crevice untouched,
   no ounce of flesh untasted;
                    ravish you
                       and leave you
                a heap of
          trembling limbs
      and fiercely beating heart,
          as your body
is rendered useless
             in my wake.
                                                                                               Jon York   2019

We are all on our own journey,
seeking  to   find  the  truth,  so
don't   take  things  personal.  I
have  found  that   in  order   to
really grow as a soul , you have
to come to an understanding
that no matter what someone
else has done to you, no matter
who you  wish  them  to   be,
people are who they are. And
the less you expect from them,
the less  you are  can  be  hurt
                                    by them.
And    remember   sometimes
people  try  to expose   what's
wrong    with   you,    because
they can't handle what's  right
                                  about you.
                                                                              Jon York   2019

I shut
     my
    eyes
  in order
      to
     see.
                                                                                       Jon York    2019

We all just need more
fresh fruit, sunshine
& ***  in  our  lives.
                                                                                         Jon York   2019

Don't try relentlessly to understand because only time
itself will decide and there really is no reason to be sad,
because it is written for you: your joy, my joy, our joy
together, will come when it is time.

I barely remember the first time that we met but I
distinctly remember when you said hello and it was a
voice that sounded love to me and I didn't know that
love could be this way, my food and my drink, the sun
all day, my dreams at night, and my thoughts all day,
everyday.

Her love is in my words when I write my poetry,in my
tears that I cry because we are apart and in my tears
when I think about all of those missed years when we
could have been together but chance and circumstance
chose otherwise and my sadness I can not disguise but
what we have the now is special even thought apart.

As I read her letters to me I realize it won't be too very
long before we will both can make a new start and I am
learning now that the many years away did not fade
my memories of the lines of our dialogue nor make
vague the dates and places that we used hide to kiss
and touch and discover each others skin and lips

My hands still remember all of the contours of her body
and I can clearly feel her touch when we were so young
and I am glad that we were like singing birds free to fly
away in search of other songs but eager to return to one
another because we both had a dream of love and we
now look for that dream in hidden places of the future
an in secret places of our hearts.  
                                                                ­                   Jon York   2018

You are the most
beautiful   thing
I    keep   inside
my   heart   and
seeing you smile
makes me happy.

Seeing  your  ***
makes me *****.

I don't have a *****
mind. I have a ****
    imagination.
                                                                                            Jon York   2019

Some hearts
understand each other
         even in silence.
                                                                                         Jon York   2019

It's  exciting
when   you  find
parts of yourself
         in someone              
                else.
                                                                                             Jon York    2019

I'm   going  to  start

    at  your lips  and

      then work my

        way further

       down south...  
      
          You wanna

           come   over,

      and maybe come

         over and over?

            I  find  myself

          drawn to people

                who are

               intelligent,

               funny, and

                perverted.                                                 Jon York   2019

I just  want  a love
like   rain.  heavy,
     passionate,
spontaneous, slow,
  intense, and wet.
                                                                           Jon York   2019

You've  only  got
      three choices,
      give up,
      give in,
           or
      give it all
      you've got and
      the more you are
      thankful, the more
      you attract things to be
             thankful for.

      Do not let the
      behavior of others
               destroy your
                 inner peace.

      Interrupt   anxiety
           with  gratitude.
                                                                                               Jon York   2019

Do you remember many
years ago when you were
so young and you could
get anything done?
You blink and everything
has changed and you look
around and life seems so
strange and everything
has been rearranged.
Your loved ones and those
you called friends have gone
leaving you  to only cry and
to wonder why.
Don't live life too fast because
everyday that you wake up
might be your last.
Another blink and you begin
to think that you are on the
down side of your life and
you say to your wife,
"where did it go?"
Sit back and slow things down
so you won't feel like a clown
as the World just spins around.
Realize that the time you have left
can be the best and you can take
what defines you to rest because
that is how you affected others
and how you will be remembered.
Don't let the remaining years
bring too many tears as you
come to terms with the fact
that it will all be over in the
blink of an eye.
Have fun while your enjoying
that last run and do something
for number one.                                Jon York      2011

Don't be quick to see the
faults of others but instead
see your own faults with
a desire to correct those faults
and see your troubles as
opportunities in disguise.

See beyond those painful
times seeing the needs of
others while responding with
an open heart knowing that
peace comes with forgiveness.

Fill your voice with kindness,
your ears with compassion
along with using your hands
for charity and your mind
for truth and your heart
for love.

Remember to tell someone
that they are appreciated and
that you are grateful for their
friendship and love as you
bury and forget all of those
bitter and unkind thoughts.

Hang in there with patience
and perseverance while making
the rest of your life the best of
your life and remember that
in the end it is with you  
you have to live.
                                               Jon York    2016

It's in the eyes,
always in the eyes.
                                                                          Jon York   2019

If you
       really
        love
    someone,
        learn
      to wait.
  Maybe you
      are not
       meant
        to be  
      together
      TODAY,    
           but
        meant
          o be
       together
            in
           the
       FUTURE.
                                                                                        Jon York  2019

Looking out at the road
                               rushing under
                my wheels, I can't tell you all
                                 how crazy
                              this   life   feels.

                  I looked around and decided
                                       that  
                            ( words - poetry )
                 was  the  only   way  I  could
                            have  an   effect
                                on  people.

                   ­           I wanted to
                    contribute something to
                                 help them
                    to understand the life
                         that  they  are  in
                              right now.

                             I use poetry
                 and Art ( abstract paintings )
                             to share my
                       experiences, the pain,
                            of daily combat
                   in  a   deadly  war  & the
           power  of  the love that I needed to
                           receive  in  order
                               to be able to
            return to humanity from that war
                     and the progress of   
                    my    soul  in  the   life I  am
                           living presently.
                                                      ­                    Jon York   2019

She said to me,
     "I'm  a   polite  *****.
       I'll say 'excuse me'
    and 'shut  the  **** up'
     in the same sentence.

  And then she said to me,
         Kiss my neck,
         Pull my hair,
         Trace my spine,
         Hold me down,
         Use your tongue,
         Make me moan,
         Don't stop till I'm shaking.

      And it was then that
      I knew I'd made the
      right choice in coming
      to her town.
                                                                                       Jon York  2019

You are
the peace
I crave
in this
chaotic world.

    10 word story
                                                                                         Jon York   2019

And the
             bravest
            of souls
           are those
               who
            choose
               love.

       over and over.  

           Kindness
          is a simple
         way to tell
           another
         struggling
          soul that
           there is
               love
              to be
              found
                  in
               this
              world.
                                                                                   Jon York   2019

Love is free,
so fall,
fall freely,
fall freely into me.
                                                                                            Jon York   2019

Into my world she came,
because of her I will
never be the same.

From her first look
into my brown eyes,
she knew that there
would be no more lies.

It was as if she felt
my need for her and I
could sense her need
for me.

Able to read me like a
book, just from her first
look, she knew what to do,
what to say and how to play.

We both have hoped and
prayed for this moment of
being united with the one
that we  have been waiting for.

Together we are one, for this
we have waited so long and
now we both know that
our past is gone, and for now
we have found one another
and will give the most we can
to what we have.

The love between us grows
stronger everyday, and we both
know it is a love that is here to stay,
and this be all I need to say.
                                                           Jon York

Let's  settle  any arguments,
disagreements,   we   might
have    like   adults:   INTO
THE BEDROOM,  NAKED.
                                                                                             Jon York   2019.

Whatever  else  we  might  think
of this world -- it  is  astonishing.

You  may be surprised to find out
how much more there is to learn
about  what  really  moves  you.

Turning to  face my  fears, I  meet
the warrior  who lives  within me.  

Each condition I flee from pursues
me, each condition that I welcome
transforms  me  and becomes itself  
transformed  into  the  blessing  it
always was.

Sip  the  tears of someone you love.

"The man who has no imagination
has  no  wings."   Muhammad Ali

                                                            ­                                  Jon York  2022

Intimacy
      is not
      purely
    physical.

      It is also
      the act of
     connecting
         with
     someone
           so
       deeply,
   you feel like
      you can
          see
          into
      their soul.

Keep listening to music,
cause it gets you through
everything, I promise.
                                                                                       Jon York   2019

Meet  me  where  the
stars  gather  to  make
  love  to  the  moon,

We'll  find  our  world
                             there.
         I promise.
                                                                                        Jon York   2019

"I   scratch   and  I  bite"
                she warned

    "You'll crawl and beg  too"
                 I promised.
                                                                                      Jon York   2019

I remember. . . .
When I first heard your voice
and I knew at that very instant
I had no choice but
to make you mine
in time.

I remember. . .
That you saw my pain
and my sorrow and you made
me look forward to
another tomorrow
and you made me laugh
and feel alive again.

I remember. . .
The first time we touched
and it seemed so right
that I never wanted to let go
and when you told me
that you loved me
and it set me free because
I not only believed it,
I felt it too.

I remember. . .
When I felt your smile
as we kissed and
as we lay in bed together  
nothing else mattered.

I remember. . .
when you called me
just to hear my voice
and thinking to myself
where would I be if you
hadn't come along
and set me free.

I remember. . .
the feeling of your body
so soft and warm as you
slowly rode me
through the night
and oh my what
a beautiful sight.

I remember. . .
telling you that I once
knew a place cold and frightening
and bitterly blue
and if you should find
yourself there too
I'd hold your hand
and walk with you.
                                           Jon York                2013

If you
  truly love
   someone,
      being
     faithful
      is easy.
                                                                                              Jon York   2019

Between what is said
and  not meant, and what
is meant and not said,
most of love is lost.
                                                                                             Jon York   2019

Some
   people  don't
    understand
            that
    sitting in your
     own  house,
       in peace,
creating Art objects,
    writing Poetry,
            eating,
    smoking  ****,
          listening
              to
          music,
    drinking wine,
         minding
             your
      own business
         with the
       one person
         you love
              is
        priceless.
                                                                                Jon York   2019

Can you move on from what
you are to what you need to
become and can you re-define
winning, embrace the
unexpected, help everyone go
further faster, accept change
and accelerate growth, and if
you can complete all or most
of the above, you have a good
start on the next chapter of
your life.

Tomorrow belongs to the fast,
and to those who can last, and
the winners and the losers will
be decided by how quickly we
can adapt to change as we get
old, and as we are watching
the world going by us  if we
are able to rediscover the
seemingly lost art of human
interaction, than we will have
good traction while writing
our new chapter.

While writing that next chapter
remember that there is no love
without forgiveness and no
forgiveness without love, so say
to yourself, I want to shine
before I die, and you just might.
                                                    Jon York    2017

I am still here because this life
I hold so dear even though sometimes
it brings a tear and I can always
hold my head up and find something
or someone to bring me cheer
and someone I can hold
to be dear.

Some days are bad and some days
are real sad but most days
I am just glad to be here but sometimes
certain memories make my days
real bad making me think
of all of those wasted years
and cried for nothing
tears.

All of those years have just
gone by so fast and nothing
during those years seemed to last
because everyone I know
always seemed to judge me
by my past.

Everyone wants to live
on the top of the mountain
but nobody wants to stop
and think of the happiness
and growth that occurred
during the climb.

Don't let the heights
of those mountains scare you
as you take one step at a time and when
the climbing gets rough don't even
think to yourself "that's enough" when
you know that there is more
and know that you have
to stay tough.

Your most valuable possession
that you have is already
inside you and what you do
with it is up
to you.

My life is full of love
and it serves me as an inspiration
for these words that I write
but I am still trying to get it right
knowing that the end is still
far from my sight so I go day to day
knowing that there are going to be those
bad days and bad nights.

After climbing one hill after another
I find that there are many more hills to go
but I can't help but look back
at the great distance I have come
and I go on knowing that there are
still many more miles to go
and that this walk has far from ended
but I will get there knowing that
I have not pretended.

Forward I go knowing
that there will be many
more bad days but the long dark years
are over because I can smell
the four-leaf clover and I am
still here.                                                            ­Jon York              2012

I can still remember
those very first moments
that were so tender,
on that first day
when our eyes met
and I stole
that first kiss,
and it was
at that moment
that I knew that
I couldn't miss.

It was just
the right season,
and we both had
the right reason,
so we took hold
of each other
and haven't let go
eighteen months later.

 Our lips met
within an hour,
and neither of us
felt any sorrow
just relief
and hope for
a strong tomorrow.

It was a meeting
that was long overdue
and for both of us,
it felt so good
because neither 
 had any reason
to be blue.

It was scary at first,
but we soon
found out
that we both had
that same thirst
for a real love
with no falseness
or lies and
a relationship that
had strong ties.

We soon realized
it was a first
for each of us
to feel so right,
as we got lost
into the night.

Eighteen months later
and I stll
miss her
when she is gone
for the day
and I still don't
know what
to say
when I see her
except
"I love You."

We still embrace
as if we were
just starting
the race,and
to this day
we both still
wonder if this
is real because
we are so happy  
neither of us
has to steal love
anymore
and we are so
sure of the way
we feel.            Jon York   2011

ABOUT ME
                I can be mean as ****.
                Sweet as candy.
              Cold as ice. Evil as hell.
                              or
                  loyal like a soldier.

                It all depends on you.
                                                                     Jon York   2019

Listen to
        your  own  soul,  
               too many
   people listen to the noise
             of the world
                   instead
              of themselves.

               Deep inside,
    you know what you want,
                 let no one
         decide that for you.

                      There
               comes a time
                      when
            you have to choose
                    between
            turning the page
                        and
           closing the book.

                       Don't
           be afraid of losing
                     people.
              Be  afraid of
       losing yourself  trying  
                 to  please
        everyone around  
                       you.
            It always seems
                 impossible
             until  it's  done.
                                                                                   Jon York   2019