heroes and zeroes
It was a time
A time of unrest
A time of
Lies and distorted
Truth
Political smoke
Screens
Filled
One’s
Senses
Just a kid
Of 19
Too young to know
To unwise
To realize
The consequences
Of my decisions
She
That little
Blonde girl
Of
17
The vision of my dreams
The answer
And direction
Of my desires

forgive me
i
was not
there
when
you most
needed me
when
in
the
dark of night
monsters
beneath
your
bed
i
was
not there
to
scare
them
all away
not
there
when
you
fought
off
the bullies
coming
home
with
your first
black-eye
when
you
need me
the most
i
wasn't there
when you
kissed
that
first girl
there
were
questions
that needed
answers
times
you needed
advice
when
no matter
where
you turned
there
was none
forgive me
although
you are
somewhere
in
my
imagination
and simply
what if
i
find myself
at times
still asking
and
asking
forgive

jSweptson

saw you out
on
the street's
today
rain
pouring down
your umbrella
long since its
day
but
i
had places
to be
as
i
hurried on
my way
saw you
down the alley
of that
famous
little diner
as you
busily
dug
though
the trash
appearing
to be
caught up
in your
little
chore
me
much to late
my latte
getting cold
saw you
today
on the
information
tube
you and all
those others
some
said
in the distance
bombs
were falling
but
so little
i could do
i'm
just too
far away
you were out
on the highway
the one
beside
the mall
holding out
your little
sign of
cardboard
i know
not what
it read
for
i had cash
in my pockets
i was
on
my way
to spend
so as you knock
on that
door
to my
glassed in
little world
its
not
that i don't
notice
but
i
can't
just let
you
in

jSweptson

merica
land of  
greedy
corporations
home of
i got mine
you
get
yours
merica
where
some
live in big houses
that
climb
to
the skies
still others live
in  getto's
where some drive
around
in cars
that need
their own
zip code
america
we got
neimanmarcus
gucci
saks
chanel, dior
some
do
their
shopping
in
the
5 and dime
next
door
merica
its own
worst enemy
for its
destroyed
more
than
it
will
ever
be

jSweptson

3 in the morning
its
3 in the morning
blue light
From the pod charger
Fills the room
Lately
Its become the norm
To lay awake
In these early
Morning hours
words
banging
round inside
my brain
as rocks
in a
can
of
tin
words
pop
pop
popping
like popcorn
in a
microwave
need to throw
back
nights covers
pull my
duff
outa bed
take out
pen and
paper
release
the words
from
inside
my
head
****
its 530
in the morning
jSweptson

Tears will fall

Before

The Morning

Comes

Fall

Before

The new

Day

Separates

From

Night

Fall

Before

The departing

close as the wind

That whispers

Past

Its story told

On a nightingale ‘wings’

Close as a nights

Wet kiss

Our skins

Close

As passions

Breath

Yet

The distance

Is as walls

To high

To scale

Little blonde girl

That little blonde girl

I remember

All too well

dressed in her

little

Pappagallo shoes

Black tights

Oh so short

little

black  skirt

and

white cotton

blouse

I remember all

Too well

Those

Hot summer nights

spent

riding

In her
front porch swing

The two of
us
riding

In that

Moments

embrace

living on buttons and caps
staring through
the window pane
found me burning
life at
both ends
found me
climbing
life'
razor edge
always looking for
that
balanced moment
just between
heaven and hell
at times feeling
the horizon
through the
purple haze
just getting by on
buttons and caps
not quite seeing
life' horizon
not yet
feeling hells
burning gates
just slipping
just sliding
down
life' razor edge

jSweptson

i wear my heart too near the surface
just below the skin it sits
waiting
for the first
slight
waiting for the first
swing
searching for something
anything
to cause a
tare
a cut
sitting there
just out of reach
of my
soul
waiting
waiting

jSweptson

A Place..."
There's a place I go when my spirit lays low
when the light dims within my soul
A place I sit and ponder, replaying the circle
Plowing things under from the depths of my mind
A spot to sit in silence, escaping life's violence
Through dreams of tranquility
A place where life's troubles-n-woes drift slowly away as smoke from my angers fire

jSweptson

The Afternoon Hour............."
Its a quite afternoon. Silence softly plays in the distance.Come dance with me.As afternoon clouds look over my shoulder as blue skies looking over theirs come dance with me.As green uncut grass sways in the warmth of the summer breeze come dance with me. Come take my hand, cup you hand in mine.Come place your arms in my arms, with your head laying softly on my shoulder come dance with me. Its a quite afternoon and the silence softly plays, come dance with me

jSweptson

LIFE IS NOT
OF ONE
WHO STRUTS
AND FRETS
THEIR HOUR
ONLY TO
NEVER
DANCE THE DANCE AGAIN
LIFE
IS REVOLVING
EVOLVING
SPINNING
AS A TOP
GONE
MAD
SHOULD
ALL IMPLODE
OUR ENERGIES
AT LAST
FREE
FREE FROM
THIS PRISON
OF
BONE AND SKIN
FREE TO
ENTWINE
ONE WITH ALL
FREE'
TO
BE
ETERNAL
SUCH IS
LIFE


jSweptson

Closing Up Shop...........The bright yellow orb once again slips past its horizon as again the curtain of night crashes to the earthen floor haphazardly scattering sparks of silver across its dark purple skies.Once again silence fills the void left behind.Gone the honking,screaming forces of day. As evenings breeze gently surrounds us.In the distance I hear the song of the Night Bird. Whispering to me. Talking in his voice of song.Whispering to me. The day is done, the day is done.

jSweptson

SHOULD I TAKE MY FISTS AND BANG
AGAINST THE HEAVENS
RAISE THEM HIGH TOWARDS THE SKIES
SHOULD I SHOUT AND RAGE AGAINST
THE INSANITY
WOULD THE WORLDS SUFFERING SUBSIDE
FOR THE ROADS WE TRAVEL
HAVE BEEN WALKED BEFORE
THE PATH WORN
DEEP AND WIDE
BY WEARY SOULS
THE WORDS WE SPEAK
BUT SIMPLY
ECHOS OF WORDS
HEARD LONG BEFORE

jSWEPTSON

A cold chill
confronts
me
As I Stand
Staring
Out Past
my
minds
borders
far past
the confine's
of
my
daydreams
far
past
the giant
maple's
with
leaves
of
amber
of crimson
red
that dance within
the tune
of autumn winds

jSweptson

Dying embers from evenings fire rekindle flashing as stars across the purple skies
As my Love and I lie together in loves embrace
Our hearts sound as one, her fingers entwined with mine
As vines would clutch we hold each other so tightly
so that nothing could impart
Two of us one inch away from a whisper

jSweptson

all too often i shed
a
few

felt them run down my cheeks

caused

tears to fall

felt
their pain
tasted
their despair

tears
caused
by
heart

break

tears

caused by
anger

tears
caused
by
ignorance

j Swepston

TIMES THE WORDS FLOW
UNENDING
AS A RUSHING RIVER
THEY HAS NO BORDERS
THEY ARE
AS THE HARSH WINTER WIND
THAT PRESSES UNFORGIVING
AGAINST MY BACK
CLUTCHING ME
I AM
VOID OF FREEDOM
IN THE DARK OF NIGHT
AS THE WIND WHISPERS
THROUGH TALL OAK TREES
THAT STAND NAKED, AS GIANTS
THEY APPEAR
WITH THE MOON PLAYING SHADOW GAMES
TIMES THE WORDS
BALL UP INSIDE OF ME
HIDING BETWEEN
THE CREASES
OF MY SOUL

jSWEPTSON

She touched my soul but from a whisper unheard by all, my ears attuned
She touched my soul from gentle motion unlike violent quakes neath life's oceans
She touched my soul with tears of joy that fell as rain from a summers shower
She touched my soul, but from a kiss
It quenched my thirst it fed my want
She touched my soul.

jSweptson

As early morning rubs her sleep filled eyes and night bids its adieu


I sit in mornings silence


With fields ablaze in Indian grass blanketed in mornings ghost gray mist


While high above the tree line a thousand birds take orchestrated flight


I sit in mornings silence


mornings sun breaks through the clouds revealing brightly colored remnants, tattered like ribbons streaming stretched across the newborn sky


I sit in mornings silence


Sitting and simply watching the forest all dressed in green as she suddenly breaks


into frenzied dance


of twists and turns


as a gentle breeze whispers by


I sit in mornings silence


All before the day awakens all before mornings silence is broken
j.Sweptson

SIMPLY A DROP
OF DEW
HANGING
PRECARIOUSLY
ON
THE
EDGE
OF
A
BLADE
OF
GRASS
PRISMED
TO A SHADE OF JEWELED RED
PAINTED
FRESH
WITH
A
SIMPLE
STROKE
OF
MORNINGS
LIGHT

jSwepson

At times the ugliness of the world attempts to over take me
Engulfing my very soul
Then from the corner of my minds eye shines the beauty of the moment
A moment so small, so simple still so powerful
The laughing of children at play oblivious to anything but play
An ancient couple holding tightly to one another as they toddle down the remaining roads in their life
Of an infant child nestled in its mothers love
In the silent music of life, the melody of love
The crunch of autumn leaves that lay as carpet within my path
The twist and turns of those yet uncharted paths
An old homestead that's stood the ravages of time, now
bent and worn yet standing so proud
A Solitary tree standing naked its only companion one last leaf holding on until its time
Flocks of birds in migration who's formation blankets the evening skies
That last rose of summer as it stands alone facing the harsh winter winds to come
The courage, The love that abounds
The simplicity of life, the complication of love
The beauty of the moment


jSweptson

There's a place, I go
When my spirits
lay low
When the light dims
within my soul
A place I sit to ponder
To replay the circle
plow things up and under
from the depths of my mind
A place to sit in
silence
Where I escape the violence
of life
Through dreams of
tranquility
A place where life's
troubles
lives woes
drift slowly away
from the smoke of my angers
fire


jSweptson

i placed my heart within a locked box
Hiding it away in a dark corner of my world
In chance my mind might allow days of yesterday
to wash away
Forgetting the ramblings of my moments of
darkness
A box filled with lifes trinkets
some of glass,sliver gold
peices of string that hung from my soul
like tails of kites that kept me afloat

jSweptson

TOGETHER THEY SAT ON THE RED VELVET COUCH
THE ROOM SOFTLY AGLOW
BATHED IN WARM CANDLE LIGHT
HER INTOXICATING PERFUME
SWEETENED THE NIGHT
AS TOGETHER
THEY SAT ON THE RED VELVET COUCH
TWO ALMOST EMPTY WINE GLASSES
SAT ON THE TABLE BEFORE THEM
BOTH GLASSES TOUCHING
AS IF IN AN EMBRACE
BOTH WAITING PATIENTLY
TO BE REFILLED WITH THE DARK RED WINE
THE TASTE OF WINE STILL LINGERED
AS HER TONGUE
SLIPPED PAST THE CORNERS
OF HER FULL LIPS
FULL LIPS
THAT CRIED OUT
TO BE KISSED
KISSED
FULL MOUTH
KISSED
WITH ALL THEIR WETNESS
KISSED
WITHIN ALL HER WANTING
THEIR HANDS
TOUCHED AND ENTWINED
HE PULLED HER INTO HIM
THEIR WANTING LIPS MET
HER LIPS
SO WET
SO FULL
SO HOT
SO PASSIONATE
THEY BOTH TREMBLED
AS THEIR YET CLOTHED BODIES
TOUCHED
ELECTRICITY FLOWED
BETWEEN THEM
SETTING OFF SPARKS
THAT FILLED THE ROOM
THEIR TONGUES
DANCED WITH PASSION
HER'
FILLING HIS WANTING MOUTH
HIS
MOUTH DRINKING IN
EACH
DELIGHTFUL
MOMENT
GENTLY
HE ******
HER
FULL BOTTOM LIP
INTO HIS MOUTH
HE COULD FEEL HER WARM BODY
AS SHE SANK
DEEPER
INTO HIS ARMS
THE PASSION GREW
THE
FIRE
RAGED
THE
ROOM
SPUN
AS TOGETHER THEY SAT
ON THE RED VELVET COUCH


jSWEPTSON

A PERFECT WORLD

SHELDED FROM THE FIRES THAT RAGE

JUST BEYOND OUR PERFECT WORLD

SITTING BACK IN OUR COMFORT ZONE

TILL THAT KNOCK COMES KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR

FILLING SO SELF-SATISIFIED AND RIGHTEOUS

KING AND QUEEN OF OUR DOMAIN

CLOTHED IN OUR FLAG OF GLORY

CAUGHT UP IN THAT HOLY GLOW

TILL THAT KNOCK COMES KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR

SHELDED FROM THE FIRES THAT RAGE

OUTSIDE OUR GOLDEN CAGE BLINDED BY ALL THAT GLITTERS

DEAFENED BY THE BEAT OF OUR ON CONSTANT DRUM

TILL THAT KNOCK COMES KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR


jSweptson

TURBLENT WATERS ON THE BOIL
BUBBLING UP FROM DEEP BELOW
BLOOD OF NATIONS
JUST A DROP OR TWO
WILL FIT THE TASTE
TOSS IN GOOD SIZED CHUNKS
OF THE FORGOTTEN
SLOWLY TURNING UP THE BLAZE
THREE PINCHES OF HALF TRUTHS
A CUP OF MISTRUST
WHILST THE BOBBLE HEADS STIR ALL THE WHILE
A POUND OF IGNORANCE MIXED WITH LOTS OF STUPIDITY
AH! ITS A THING OF BEAUTY
ALL SET TO BOIL
THE SMELL OF HELPLESSNESS
PERMEATES ONES SENSES
ALL THE BOBBLE HEADS KEEP THE TURMOL A STUR
NEAR THE END TOSS IN SEVERAL HANDFULLS OF HATE
TO THICKEN THE BROTH
A CUP OR TWO OF RACISM
THREE QUARTERS CUP OF GREED
A HEAPING TABLESPOON OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
SERVE WITH A HUGE SLICE OF APATHY ON THE SIDE


jSweptson

times on the tip of my tongue
they wait
wait to be spilled
as rain would slide down
a roof of tin

or at the back of the
throat
waiting
to be spit
out
as song
from
bird
that;s
taken wing

in a dark corner
of
my
state of mind

hidden

by


reality
or
as
it
seems

in whispers
that
echo
from
places
moments
times

from heart
break
laughter
wanting

these

words


jSweptson

TIL THE BLOOD RUNS DRY


EARTH WET IN SHADES OF RED
SHADES OF BLACK
VOICES
NOW HEARD
ONLY IN FAINT WHISPER
MUFFLED BY PAIN
BY SUFFERING
ONES EYES
AND EARS
FAR
TOO ACCUSTOMED
TO SUCH
WE TURN
LOOKING FAR BEYOND
TIL THE BLOOD RUNS DRY
EARTH BLACKENED BY DEATH
DEALT BY
MANKIND
MEN,WOMEN AND CHILDREN
TOSSED
ASIDE
PILED HIGH
AS ONE MIGHT
STACK WOOD
THEIR VOICES
NOW SILENT
TIL THE BLOOD RUNS DRY

jSweptson

I have seen the sea of stars and bars flapping,snapping on the speed swept black topped highways
The glow of candles so meaningfully lit
Burning throughout the dark night
In numbers that dwarf the stars in the indigo skies
Ive heard the moans and cries
chorused by tears that fall as monsoon rains
to the ready swollen rivers of anguish
I have walked down those green rolling valleys
That lay thickly filled with white crosses
standing sentinel
What of these will speak for me
Who among them
Which has such powers to breathe life back into
this box of rattling bones
What glue might they conjure to piece together
my broken soul
Speak to me, shout to my ears
Though, I know the answer
all the spent intentions become arcade
Once the penny drops through the slot the show is
soon forgotten
Once again they speak of war
its line drawn through shifting sands
Again our armor stands ready, our faces into the winds of war


jSweptson