We all have
our dreams but so many
of those dreams are shattered
because the world
isn't what it seems
as everybody has their
own little schemes.

No one is real
but we all are the same
just with different names
and either part of the have's
or part of the have not's
or one of the many
in betweens.

This is the world
that we live in and things
will never change
because the rich get richer
and the poor get poorer
so all we can do is
open the door and try to get
some more of what society
says we need to make
that dream come
true.

So we try
and we lie to ourselves
and everybody else
and end up being
not what we
really seem so we can
live that dream                                    Jon   York    2012

Problems are not
      stop signs,
they are guidelines.
                                                                                       Jon York   2019

Some memories
                  never  leave  
       your  bones.  Like  salt  in
           the seas they  become  
                 part  of  you.
           The smell of her hair,
              the taste of her
            mouth, the feeling
                 of her skin  
         seemed  to get  inside
              of me, or into
            the air around me.
                    She had
      become  a physical necessity
          and  we  were  in  bed
     together  laughing  and   we  
                didn't  care
            about   anything.
         The  strongest  drug
   that  exists  for  a   human  is
         another human being
                   and the
                little things?
         The little moments?
                They aren't
                      little.
                                  ­                                                        Jon York   2019

Aging is an extraordinary process
              where you become the
            person  you  always  should
                        ­  have been.

              A satisfied life is better
         than a successful life.  Because
OUR SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY OTHERS
      but our satisfaction is measured
          by our own soul, mind
                  and heart.

    The greatest prison people live
in is  fear of what  other people  think.
   Everything we hear is an opinion,
                        not a fact.
   Everything we see is a perspective,
                        not the truth.

      People don't want to hear the truth
            because they don't want
           their  illusions  destroyed.
                                    ­                                                  Jon York   2021

In my history
                 of  education,  the
                         greatest
          teachers I ever experienced
                      were those
                    who  showed
                me  where  to  look,
                       but didn't
                 tell me what to see
                       and what
                  I saw  was people
               who  I  thought  were
           created to be loved and things
                   that I was taught to
              believe,  were created to
                            be used
               had it completely turned
           around, which may be the
                  reason the world
                  is  in  chaos  today,
                   ­          Things
                       are being loved
                        and people
                                are
                           being used.
                                                           ­                                 Jon York   2019

She loves moonlight,
and rainstorms,
and so many other
things that have soul.
                                                                                  Jon York   2019

Live by choice, not by chance,

Be motivated, not manipulated,

Be useful, not used,

Make changes, not excuses,

Excel, not compete,

Choose self- esteem, not self- pity

Choose to listen to your inner voice,  
not the random opinion of others
                    (especially those on FB )
---------------------------------------------------------------­-------------------------

I don't pay attention to the
world ending.
It has ended for me
many times,
and began again in the morning.

One of the most difficult tasks
in  life  is removing  someone
from  your  heart, but  sometimes
you just have to turn the page
on  certain people, but  if  you
loved, that was  a reward in itself.

You know, I don't think it's what
we say that keeps us up at night.
I think it's what we don't say.

Tangled thoughts, twisted words,
mixed up feelings, loving hurts,
you don't just miss the person,
you miss the feeling.
                                                        ­                          Jon York    2019

The love that you feel for someone,
Your fathers last breath,
Your anger toward your mother,
Your mothers remedies for everything,
The betrayal of your brothers snd sisters,
That feeling you get when you find love,
That feeling you get when your are the best at something,
Your lies about loving someone,
Your sweet little white lies about your life,
Your reasons for living,
Your emptiness,
Your hurt from old wounds,
Your soul,
Your memories,
Your disgust in yourself,
Your fate,
The beauty in ordinary things,
Your unfaithfulness,
Guilt about something terrible you have done,
Your lies about your past,
Your determination,
Your promises,
The pale walls of your existence,
Your walking away wordless from someone,
Lies about other lovers,
Talking down to people,
Your sanity, (if there is any left)
Your will to survive
The feelings you get when your are alone,
Your failing health,
The thoughts of those standing around your grave.     Jon  York          2012

I want to kiss
           you  so  thoroughly
     that you loose your ability
                    to stand.

           I will slip my hand
   into  your  soul unzip  you and
          touch your inner core,
                      rub your
                  imagination.
                     I wanna
                     feel you...
                     taste you...
                     touch you...

             Sometimes  home
                 isn't 4 walls.
               It's  2  eyes  and
                   a heartbeat.

  Your arms wrapped around me,
         your head on my chest,
              my warm breath
        caressing your forehead,
                    your breath
              warming my chest.

                  For both of us,
           this is home no matter
                         where
                     we may be.
                                                             ­                                Jon York   2019

I love you, enough to  fight  for  you,

to compromise for you, and sacrifice

for you,  if  need  be.


Enough  to  miss  you  when  we're

apart, no matter what length of time

it is for and regardless if the distance.



Enough to believe in our relationship,

to stand by it through the worst of

times, to have faith in our strength as

a couple, and to never give up on us.



Enough to spend the rest of my life with

you, be there for you when you need me

or need my words, or just want want me

to hold you and never leave you.

                   I love you that much.
                                                           ­                                  Jon York   2019

I believe life
            is better when you
        turn the music way up
    and  think about  the  lyrics,
                  eat too much
         chocolate, smoke a lot
    of  marijuana,  walk  barefoot,
            talk about weird ****
                     like magic,
       with  weird  people  who
              believe  in  magic.
                Hug strangers,
      and have good adventures
                  with a lot of
        road trips to see all the
 the  beauty  that  surrounds  you.
                  These things
        won't make life perfect,
                 but they sure
        as hell make this strange
                ride  more  fun.
         Be fearless  in pursuit of
               what sets your
                soul on fire.
         Remember  what it's
               like  to  really
                   feel alive.  
    It's not what we have in life,
              but  who  we  have
                     in our life
                          that
                       matters.
                                ­                                                   Jon York   2019

It seems that all my life from place to place I go
like a rolling stone, no moss and no face,
as the ladies just come and go,
leaving without a trace as though
I was drifting through an endless space
of this time called life.

And oh what a magical, mystical trip it has been
and I have no idea when it will end
so all I do is wish on a four leaf clover hoping
that I will be given more time to experience one
more love and the many gifts
it has to offer before
it is over.

Yes, there has been much hurt and much pain
but that is all just part of the game
and we have to realize
that there are always two sides to everything
that happens and where there is good
there is bad and where there is happy
there is sad and this is a fact
no one can escape.

I know that I am approaching
the end of my journey
and that it could come at any second
or at any hour, on any day of the week,
or even as I speak and if it does
this is what I had to say on this warm
wonderful day while living
this time called life.

And I am grateful for the many loves
that have come my way making
this ride a little easier and I am grateful
to have been blessed with long healthy life  
and the ability to write about it
and all of its ups and downs, smiles and frowns,
devils and clowns.

Of course I am sad that I am alone
in these remaining years but the other side of that
is I won't have to shed any tears
watching a love fade away
and disappear or watch as tears
are shed for me as the years go by
and my health may
fade away.

But it isn't over yet and I still have
a long way to go, and a lot of love
left to show so for now
I stay busy living and
with my words I keep giving.                                            Jon York      2013

"I'm going to ***"

    I love hearing you
     say those words.
                                                                                           Jon York   2019

You thought I would never
      understand. But I think you are
   the  one  that  doesn't  understand.
          My hunger for you is far
       greater  than  you  ever  knew.

            And there was  back  when
      we  both  ached  for  each  other,
          craving each other's hands.
       lips, and a simple touch touch in
                         any form.

            You just wanted to feel me
      feeling you. You are the end of
  my road after a lifetime of missed exits
    and wrong turns,  you are my home
              and one journey ends and
        another finally begins after so many
                             years.

            I wanted to tell you all my
      secrets. But you became one of them.
   It's  hard  to  pretend  to  be  friends with
        someone special. When every time
you look at that person all you see is everything
                       you want to have.
                                                           ­                           Jon York   2020

A New Year  = three hundred
sixty five  opportunities   to :
                    create,
                    evolve,
       ­             thrive,
               and above all,
                     love.

          use them or lose them.
                                                           ­                             Jon York   2019

It can go
ever so slow
or just way
too fast.

When you
hurt it just
seems to last
forever and ever
as the pain just
seems to
hang on.

When
everything feels
right time
just flies by at
the speed
of light.

When you
watch the clock
time just
creeps along like
a giant rock.

Like lightning
the present
becomes the past
and you blink
and you don't
even have time
to think....

It is said
that time heals
everything leaving me
to wonder how long
do I have to wait
for this pain to end
even knowing that
by keeping it
I have nothing
to gain.                               Jon York                     2012

The greatest gift you can give someone
is your time because when you give
your time you are giving a portion of
your life that you will never get back
and time is more valuable than money
because you can always get more
money but you cannot get more time.

Time has a wonderful way of showing
us what really matters because good
things take time so live every moment,
love beyond words and laugh every
day and don't let your struggle become
your identity because nobody can go
back and start a new beginning but
anybody can start today and make a
new ending.

Age is not a guarantee of maturity and
sometimes your heart needs more time
to accept what your mind already
knows so know that any time you enjoy
wasting is not wasted time because good
things take time and if you have time to
whine and complain about something
then you have the time to do something
about it.

Hard times will always reveal true friends
just as time discovers truth and time is not
free but it is priceless and you can't own it
but you can use it and you can't keep it but
you can spend it but once you have lost it,
it is gone forever.

                                                               ­           Jon York     2016

Time is like a river because you never
touch the same water twice as the flow
that passes you by will never pass again
so enjoy every moment of your life and
make the rest of your life the best of your
life and one day you will be at the place
that you always wanted to be.

Have the determination to make things
happen, the strength to overcome all things
and open your eyes so that you may see all
of the beauty that surrounds you and open
your ears so that you may hear all of the
joyous sounds of the world and be aware
of the marvels of life while not taking the
rest of your life for granted.

Within you lies the determination, the
strength, and the will to survive even
when life seems overwhelming and you
are preoccupied with the troublesome
details of life.

Realize deeply that the present moment
is all you ever have and that you must
make now the primary part of your life
righting the past wrongs and accepting
what you cannot change and turning
toward the positive knowing that in
order to be loved, you must be lovable.
                                                               Jon York     2016

So many loves that
never had a chance
too afraid to take that dance
and so many dreams lost
to circumstance that are gone
and won't be back.

Enough loneliness
and enough pain and emptiness
so it is time to
start again.

Sometimes I feel
like a soldier without a war
or maybe a sculptor
without a stone
with nights as speechless
as the days always looking
for a new way
because there is no one
to be lonely with.

How can I speak
of yesterday when
it was so bad that I don't
know what to say
and there is a courage
that has deserted me
so I cannot tell you all
what I feel except in poems
as I come to realize
that it is time to
start again.      Jon York         2012

A picture is so much more interesting with contrast,
movement, and different points of view
and so is life so be kind to yourself
if all of your pictures don't turn out
because it happens to all artists and know
that your most patient model is the one that you see
in the mirror and learn from looking at yourself
and be patient as the times goes by.

Time waits for no one and I wish I knew
why it is always in such a hurry
and still I am guilty of trying to **** some of it
or trying to pass it and if I could only
steal away a minute, I'd try to recall
all of those lost years and then I'd take a second
to reflect on all of my mistakes and wrong decisions
that resulted in so many lost loves
and all of the times I should have worn gloves
when handling a situation.

In my remaining days or years, however long I may have,
I will measure in moments the loves that have found me
and the many times that I faced death only
to rise from the flames and even though
I can't control it, I can set the tempo to a rhythm
of an infinite beat knowing that it might be
in seconds,minutes, hours or years
and it is not  about how long we are here,
but it is about what we leave.

Before my sands slip through the hour glass
I hope my words will build a legacy to last
from my poems about my life, my loves
and my battles in the past in a time that
went so fast as I try to relate that love
is something we all embrace, not something
just found on a face and sometimes it
is an unwanted feeling creeping inside
and impossible to hide as our hearts are broken
and feelings down inside begin to be awoken.

Love, hate, selfishness, temptation... all play out
in a matter of seconds and the battle between
heart and mind begins and love becomes a story
that never gets old, like the poetry I wrote when I was young
that inspired words of long ago tomorrows so enjoy it
while it is here because we look up and it is gone
and we never had the time to say "so long."

Life's coming attractions are born of our imagination
and the only real actions in our lives take place
on that bridge between one another and while
on that bridge pride says "it is impossible"
and experience says "it is too risky" and reason says
"it is pointless" while the heart whispers "give it a try"
and it is only then that we can make a new start
and play a new part.                                                 Jon York         2014

Getting  your  **** together  requires
a  level of honesty you can't imagine.

There's nothing easy about realizing
you're  the  one that's  been  holding
you  back  this  whole  time.

     YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE :
No  one is  going  to save  you. This
life of yours is 100% your responsibility.
No  matter  how  you  feel,  get  up,
dress up, show up, and never give up.

If  you're  searching  for  that  one
person that can change your life,
take a look in the mirror.

You don't always have to tell your
side of the story.

Time will.
                                                                                               Jon York  2023

If you have chemistry,
           you only need one other thing.

                                 TIMING

                        But timing's a *****.

                                                         ­                                Jon York   2019

You are beauty...
it radiates from the depths of your soul
to the tips of your toes.
                                                                                                Jon York   2019

"I am simply thankful for your existence,"
I wrote.
"Whether I am meant to be a part of it or not."
                                                                                Jon York  2019

I have
   absolutely
     no desire
        to be
      average.
                                                                                Jon York   2019

Strive not
       to be
          a
     success,
   but to be
         of
       value.

         It's
       easier
      to fool
  people than
           to
     convince
        them
         they
     have been
       fooled.
                                                                      Jon York   2019

Every girl wants a bad boy
that will be good just for her
and every boy wants a good
girl that will be bad just for
him.

Morning    whispers,    legs
entwined, the tickle of your
skin in  the  soft  light  that
traces  softly through these
sheets  as  I  touch   you  in
places   you   never   knew
existed, and I've never been
happier
in this place,
      with you,
      with me,
       with us.

I want  to  be  the  only  hand
you ever need to hold and I'm
ready  to  do  anything  to  be
                      your  everything.
                                                                                 Jon York   2018

In  1964,  60 years ago,  I  was  16
and she was 14. Two souls searching
the universe  and when we met,  the
searching was over.

And I still think about her and those
crazy days together, her young skin
on my fingertips, her young  lips  on
mine.

But the Vietnam war turned my world
upside down and I would never be the
same.  

As I turn 76 today I go into the depths
of night to find my voice - thoughts forming
into feelings, then words on paper.

A poet navigating a tainted world.

When  you cannot  control  what's
happening, challenge yourself to control
the way you respond to what's happening.
That is where your power is.  

I write to capture fleeting moments, to fight
the PTSD in my head from a war, to capture
memories of young love and deep desires.
                                                                                             Jon York   2024

BREAKFAST
Delicious morning ***.




                                            LUNCH
      ­                       Mind blowing midday ***.



                                             DINNER
                              Crazy I can't get enough of you ***.


                                              DESERTS:
   ­                                 Served throughout the day
 Spontaneous kisses, *** grabbing, **** grabbing and Quickies

                                                       ­                                tipping allowed

                                                        ­                                   Jon York   2019

Stop trying

     so hard to deny

      what is so obvious

                to see.....
                                                                                         Jon York   2019

Sometimes  we're tested,
     not to show our

weaknesses,    but    to
discover   our   strengths.
                                                                                          Jon York   2019

Every  time  I open  my  eyes  I  unlock
a world of wonder. Sometimes  I'm
an angel, sometimes I'm a devil, sometimes
I'm in-between.

Sometimes I'm as bad as it can get and
sometimes as good as it can be. Sometimes
I'm a million colors, sometimes I'm black
and white and sometimes I'm all extremes.

Try to figure me out you never can.
There are so many things I am.

I have lived a thousand lives, I have
loved a thousand loves.

I have walked on many different worlds
and seen the end of time, seen life and
death so horrific that it defies description.

In small matters I trust the mind. In
large matters I trust the heart.

For important decisions I empower my
mind to do what it does best and my
heart to do what it does best.                                           Jon York  2022

My soul needs
   your soul
     to exist.
                                                                                             Jon York   2019

Just pick up a pen
and write,
for words are destined
to fall upon the pages.
                                                                                        Jon York    2019

It's the only
way we can
truly love.
To love desperately,
to feel everything.
                                                                               Jon York   2019

Together
is my favorite
place  to   be.
                                                                                    Jon York   2019

Seventy-five years into this life this September and I'm still trying to figure out its riddle. I'm not against aging, I'm against getting old. I've learned that the trick is to live a long time without getting old.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WE MAKE IN  OUR  LIVES
IS  THINKING WE  HAVE  TIME Success is never owned. It is only rented; and rent is due everyday.

I write poetry in an effort to heal my severe PTSD resulting from a stupid war I served in while in the USMC some 50 years ago.

I write about successes and failures in my life, joys and sorrows in my life, events that made me marvel, mostly relating to relationships and love. I write poems on how to have meaning in life, how to hurt people less and how to get hurt less.

Someday we'll meet again, In another life of course, for in this lifetime you couldn't be mine. I'll follow your trails life after life, for my soul is bound to yours..in a connection that goes beyond space and time. We will meet again.. yes my love, again and again until we become one.

I'm 75 this month and I'm still not sure why I'm still here but I do intend to live a long time without getting old.             Jon York   2023

Two passionate
hearts can create
   just  as  much
    destruction
     as they do
         beauty.
  To love is to be
   ******* brave.
                                                                            Jon York   2019

"When  you  do  not  seek or
need  approval  you  are  at  
your  most  powerful."
          ­         Caroline Myss

To   love  oneself   is  hard
work, but it becomes harder
when you realize that you're
actually  required  to  love
multiple versions of yourself
that show up without warning
throughout  the day, throughout
the week, throughout the month,
throughout your life.

Refine, deepen, and invigorate
your love for all of yourselves.

It  may  be  hard  work, but  it
will also  be  fun  and exhilarating.

                                                  ­                                        Jon York   2022

A woman needs a man

who  looks  at  her  as  she  lies

before him and thinks to himself...

         what kind of noises

would I like her to make today?
                                                                                            Jon York   2019

I will steal
every *******
star in the sky
to make you
  come true.
                                                                                     Jon York   2019

Bite marks,
because sometimes
it's important
to mark your
territory.
                                                 ­                                           Jon York    2019

Sometimes
                 you   just
                 have to be  
                 your  own
                 hero. Some
           days you just have
              to create your
                       own
                  sunshine.

                    Do not
            judge your story
                     by the
               chapter you
              walked  in  on.
          
                 Life  always
                       offers
                you a second
                   choice. It's
                       called
                  tomorrow.
                        And
                       when
            tomorrow arrives
                 keep a smile
                     on your
              face. It's the best
                    accessory
                         you
                    can wear.
                                                                                              Jon York   2019

Don't wait, because life goes faster
than you think and worrying will
never change the outcome so enjoy
life now because this is not a rehearsal.

Time goes on so whatever your
going to do, you had better do it
knowing that to live is the rarest thing
in the world as most people just exist
and that is all.

Every morning that you wake up you
have two choices and that is to
continue to sleep with your dreams
or to wake up and chaise them.

In the blink of an eye everything can
and will change because nothing
ever stays the same in the game of life
and every time that we embrace a
memory we meet again with those
we love and those we have loved.

We worry about tomorrow like it
was promised and we wonder
why that if time is infinite, why
is there never enough of it?

Accept the sweet and the bitter
along with the joys and the sorrows
that enter into your life everyday
because tomorrow isn't guaranteed
so stay patient and accept your
journey knowing that some walks
you have to take alone.
                                                          ­  Jon York
                                                            ­                         2016

Who speaks to you about others,

will  speak  about  you  to others.
                                                                                                 Jon York  2019

A
     certain
   darkness
         is
     needed
          to
         see
         the
        stars.
                                                                                Jon York    2019

A
certain
darkness
     is
needed
     to
    see
    the
   stars.
                                                                                        Jon York   2019

There are too
         many  mediocre  things
            in life to deal with.

                        Love
              shouldn't be one
                      of them.
             Anything less than
        extraordinary is a waste
                            of
                       my time.

               She's annoying,
        she's hilarious, she makes
            me yell, she drives
                     me crazy,
          she's out of her mind,
                   she's magic,
            but she's everything
                        I want.

                 I'm pretty sure
         she deserves a spanking.
                  She loves the
            anticipation of what
        I  am going  to  do  to her.

                       She is all
                  I need to set my
       dirtiest fantasies in motion
                            and
                she's extraordinary.
                            and
                        I love her.
                                                                             Jon York   2019

Notice the people who made an
effort to stay in your life.
                                                                                 Jon York    2019

I'm certain  I  love
with the entire force  of the  universe
and it feels  too  much  to  ask
another  human  to take that  in.
                                                        ­                                       Jon York   2019