A cackle of coughs produce sickening echo.
I stand in a line for my morning's scapegoat.
But my relevant thoughts are still absent on trial-
so i think I might just sit here awhile.

I am told to get out is rare in itself,
let alone cleared as a new harmless self.
But my relevant thoughts are still absent on trial-
so I think I might just sit here awhile.

Oh my children, my children, so wonderful and great.
It sure was nice of them to send me away,
but now I believe they expect me home soon.
They need washing up before dinner at noon.

I try to open my hotel room door
but the nurse says "Sit down! You can't leave this floor!"
"But Nurse!" I scream, "My kids need me soon!
They need washing up before dinner at noon!"

The nurse sighs, "Oh Patrick, you murdered your sons.
You're delirious, befuddled, in a hospital for nuts."
So I sit down...I need to...at least for awhile.
I must recollect my memory's past trials

I remember their screams and the blood on my hands,
the knife on the ground and their souls newly cleansed.
I remember so vividly now the truth to my trials
so i think it best to just sit here awhile.

But it won't be long now before dinner at noon.
And I know that my children will expect me home soon.

Arms.
Arms that held me.
Arms that welcomed me
into the realm of womankind
Hands that held mine
with the intent of "for all time."

Hands that were oftentimes
the guiding light.

In these arms I was reborn.

In these arms I was taken
Arms that made decisions
Made choices not my own
These hands shaped me
Shaped me into a stranger.

The debt of joy and grief owed
To these hands and these arms
Has left an indelible mark

These hands and these arms
Hold a place that is mine
Irrevocably mine.
Whether I choose it
Or not.

I like a man with fire in his bones
And where his head should be,
There is a home.

And I wax and wane like the moon
If you turn away you might miss me,
I'll be gone soon.

I watch the stars dance above like fireflies on a summer night
The breeze takes my cares away and I am left with an awe that rustles  in the willows
It brings a scent that lingers like the warmth of a lovers embrace and a reflection which looms on the pond
And I stare for much too long knowing it will go away
Dancing among the grass the wind carries the chirping sounds of crickets as they converse their secrets to the night
And my heart swells with joy at sight of the radiant smile the moon shines down my being
A dancing memory on the shores of the cedar pond