A Bigger Threat

Incompetence…
  much more dangerous than corruption
    —when skillfully applied

(Note To The President-October, 2013)


    A Greater Wrong

Within a lesser right
there is a greater wrong
   —begging to get out

(Villanova Pennsylvania:  Watching the 60 Minutes
Episode on Benghazi - October 27th, 2013)


          Implacability

As our resolve hardened
  —the viewing platform changed

  (Villanova Pennsylvania: October 28th, 2013)

Never Act

Be what you are
  just don’t act like it

Be who you are
  —and never act at all

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2014)



      The Answer

Did you die alive
  or did you live dead

The answer saying everything
  —meant to be said

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2014)



       Faithful And Alone

Writing to no other standard
   but his own

He was forever faithful
  —and forever alone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2014)

Up Or Down

Unchallenged,
  we have nowhere to go
    —but down

(Villanova University Campus: July, 2014)


    To Believe In Both

I can believe in you
  and not believe in your art

I can believe in your art
  and not believe in you

Wouldn’t it be nice
  —if I could believe in both

(Wayne Pennsylvania: July, 2014)




The Bottom Line

What you get
  is not always
  what you choose

What you choose
  is not always
  what you want

(Bryn Mawr College: July, 2014)

Why

Why is it
When people are
Telling you
That you
Shouldn’t,
You better not,
And don’t…
That you most
Feel like you
Have to,
Need to,
And will

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2014)

       Here Not There

Where I am
  is where I will always be

Where I will always be
  —is where I am

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2014)



Juctim Tamquam Unum

When one man is cut
  every man starts to bleed

When one man is healed
  —all men become as one

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2014)

Searching through the forest,
  chasing dreams your sleep abandoned

And losing yourself in the mindless
  spatial distance

You play two handed poker
  with the devil of the night

The Prince holding only one card,
  as you gamble it all…

Forever promising:
“This hand will be your ticket out”

He relays his wagered truth,
  with a baton of shattered tears

But time recovers,
  the present firing upon the night

Hitting it at last dead center,
  the debris now quicksand

Drowning the last excuse
  of your bloodless past refusals

Salvation now in full retreat,
  —all exits thrice denied

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)

Broken feelings…
My chest of gold
A torments ransom
No trinkets sold
The treasure bounteous
Walls lined with blood
Its hurt and pain
I have withstood
The jewels lack sparkle
But shimmer deep
Their cut and clarity
My soul to keep
And words if cheapened
Must leave this throne
As the lid reopens
  —on the pain I own

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2016)

Broken feelings
My chest of gold
A ransom of torment
No trinkets sold
The treasure bounteous
Walls lined with blood
Its hurt and pain
I have withstood
The jewels lack sparkle
But shimmer deep
Their cut and clarity
My soul to keep
And words if cheapened
Must leave this throne
As the lid reopens
—on the pain I own

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2016)

Like a wounded dog,
  I can never forget

As the memories grow,
  not fade

My warning stated,
  “The Ice Is Thin”

Where my sun turns
  into shade

If I told you once,
  I told you twice

“There’s a line,
  you’re not to cross”

But your love trespassed,
  with payment deep

As my bite breaks through
  the frost

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2017)

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he could now remember his name

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his medicine kicked in once again

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he knew his daughter by her face

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he was now back home in his space

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his dog was closely by his side

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his eyes though saddened, opened wide

Through the keyhole darkly,
  her voice unwrapped a precious gift

Through the keyhole darkly
  a love once anchored, set adrift

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he felt the light begin to dim

Through the keyhole darkly
  his markers fade, his reference thin

Through the keyhole darkly
  the killer thief arrives once more

Through the keyhole darkly
  all loss of self—a closing door

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2016)

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he could now remember his name

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his medicine kicked in once again

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he knew his daughter by her face

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he was now back home in his space

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his dog was closely by his side

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his eyes though saddened, opened wide

Through the keyhole darkly,
  her voice unwrapped the precious gift

Through the keyhole darkly,
a love once anchored, set adrift

Through the keyhole darkly,
he felt the light begin to dim

Through the keyhole darkly,
his markers fade, his reference thin

Through the keyhole darkly,
the killer thief arrives once more

Through the keyhole darkly,
—all loss of self and nothing more

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2016)

Through the keyhole darkly,
he could now remember his name

Through the keyhole darkly,
his medicine kicked in once again

Through the keyhole darkly,
he knew his daughter by her face

Through the keyhole darkly,
he was back at home in his space

Through the keyhole darkly,
his dog was closely by his side

Through the keyhole darkly,
his eyes though saddened, opened wide

Through the keyhole darkly,
her voice unwrapped the precious gift

Through the keyhole darkly,
a love once anchored, set adrift

Through the keyhole darkly,
he felt the light begin to dim

Through the keyhole darkly,
his markers fade, his reference thin

Through the keyhole darkly,
the killer thief arrives once more

Through the keyhole darkly,
  all loss of self—a closing door

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2016)

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he could now remember his name

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his medicine kicked in once again

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he knew his daughter by her face

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he was now back home in his space

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his dog was closely by his side

Through the keyhole darkly,
  his eyes though saddened, opened wide

Through the keyhole darkly,
  her voice unwrapped a precious gift

Through the keyhole darkly
  a love once anchored, set adrift

Through the keyhole darkly,
  he felt the light begin to dim

Through the keyhole darkly
  his markers fade, his reference thin

Through the keyhole darkly,
  the killer thief arrives once more

Through the keyhole darkly
  all loss of self—a closing door

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2016)

No time set aside
The words reformed
Again at their own pace

No place to reside
They’re written down
On a napkin or empty space

When I try to hide
They find me sure
In mountain or in plain

As new moments chide
The past adieu
  —and thunder turns to rain

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

I lived inside her laughter,
I slept inside her song,
I wrote inside her meaning
  —till our wishes all were gone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2015)

I lived inside her laughter,
  I slept inside her song

I wrote inside her meaning
  —till our wishes all were gone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2015)

Easily measured,
  not clearly defined

Often lamented,
  more often unkind

Its loss we all mourn,
  searching heaven to find

The time to become
  —a new past to rewind

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Easily measured
  not clearly defined

Often lamented
  more often unkind

Its loss we all mourn
  searching heaven to find

The time to become
  —a new past to rewind

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Forever rented,
  never owned

The moment leased
  —the future loaned

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

Poetry is more than words,
  some is written—some is heard

Often long—yet sometimes short,
  its power shared in strong retort

Questions cry—demanding verse,
with feelings new, still unrehearsed

Its focus like a laser aims,
  at souls that search—time and again

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2016)