Carving his message in a tree
while high above the ground
Wondering what that boy would think
in the future to have found
Would his eyes be open wide and sharp
the wind to call his name
A treasure for only those who climb
—intrepid to proclaim

(The New Room: January, 2024)

The magnitude of ignorance
staggers beyond
the scope of imagining,
a weakening throng

The danger of assumption,
its dual cutting edge
empowers deception
shoved over the ledge

The vacuums of denial
we fight to defend
are lost in the moment
pushed out to the end

This emptiness we carry
and knowledge we fear
footnote our destruction
—as fools shed a tear

(Rosemont College: November, 2021)

All virtue intended,
but darkness conspired

The moon bringing shadows,
the wind bringing liars

Our memories entrapped,
as time’s myth reigns again

From clouds that are hidden
—where thunder begins

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2017)

Whittling the point
paring it down
cutting the volume
honing the sound

Sharpening each line
words drop and fall
meaning to thunder
— lightning recalled

(Dreamsleep: February, 2025)

What’s in a title,
what’s in a name

What does it matter,
praise—or to blame

(Dreamsleep: May, 2020)

Shepherds
of echo  
sirens
that call
Masters
of legend
trapped
in the Fall

Moonlight
on ice fields
whispering
still
Voices
stay buried
destiny’s
will

Sunlight
awakens
mountains
that sigh
Hidden on
summits
new answers
there hide

But with
every Spring
a melting
ensues
Flowing
life’s message
recalled
— and renewed

(Memories Of Absaroka: May, 1997)

It’s not what
you’re called
But what
you answer to

Your true
voice inside
As questions
renew

It’s not what
you say
But what
you mean

Spoken in
whispers
The truth
— never screams

(Dreamsleep: August, 2024)

Eavesdropping
the liars
where poison is stirred
Their message
rings toxic
the future interred
Foreboding
forsaking
all hope is unstrung
While deaf
to the mantra
— where truth waits unsung  


(Dreamsleep: January, 2025)

Doing more with less,
I cut out the middle
Doing more with less,
all life from within
Doing more with less,
I qualified nothing
Doing more with less
—Nirvana begins

(The New Room: July, 2021)

To be anything more
than what it is
To be anything more
than who you are
To be anything more
than what’s been said
To be anything more
—than anything more

(Dreamsleep: August, 2022)

When I got to Heaven
the gates were listing
a ‘going out of business’
sale

The Angels on clearance
Saints on deep markdown
Grace and the Cherubs
e-tailed

When I got to Heaven
the Devil in line
waiting to go in
and buy

His credit card ready
Cerberus in tow
the ****** and the wicked
— behind

(The New Room: January, 2025)

Writing a torrent
hoping for one

Words are endemic
tide zero-sum

(Dreamsleep: July, 2023)

He outlived his father
to outlive himself
The shadow he chased
—an ace left undealt

(Dreamsleep: January, 2022)

Dare to make
it rhyme

Fight for
every sound

Change with
every breath

Leave the world
—profound

(Dreamsleep: January, 2024)

Imperfection keeps me fertile,
like the storm upon the plain

Measuring the distance,
of what’s lost and sometimes gained

With my thoughts I mark the hours,
left uncounted looking back

The choices made and prices paid
—endorsing what I lack

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2020)

Dogs obey,
Cats defer,
the difference something grand

Loyalty wags
its loving tail
—as purring hides the fangs

(Dreamsleep: June 2021)

Prose on one side, verse the other
—distance in between

The bridge has burnt, the Muse now two,
each seeing only green

The breaths that flow are then contained,
no synergy allowed

The chasm deep between their words
—whose river both endows

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)

We’ve lost the ability
to laugh at ourselves …
P.C. humor both lifeless
and dry
Our levity as tepid
as our character flawed
Fraying the tightrope
—awaiting a fall

(Dreamsleep: March, 2023)

Science
never answers
the primary
questions
it ponders
in circles
deck chairs
rearranged
Reciprocal
theorems
of self
aggrandizement
indentured
to kingdoms
where dilettantes
reign

Why
is there love
why
is there war
why
are we human
why
do we grieve
Why
do we question
why
is there joy
why
are there feelings
that
foster belief

Is
consciousness
timeless
do thoughts ever die
is prescience
a quotient
does truth
ever lie
Is looking
for answers
outside the true
realm
the act that
betrays us
and damns us
— to hell

(Dreamsleep: March, 2025)

Life,
but thread and thimble
—struggling with the hem

(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)

When writing the words,
are they thought or then felt
Which to come first,
cards different once dealt

But sometimes together,
as in straights or a flush
They win back the reader
—with more than potluck

(Rosemont College: December, 2021)

He never met a man he didn’t like
—or ever let a sunrise become old

(Dreamsleep: August, 2021)

A flash of light,
a cloud of dust,
a joyous moment
beneath the rust

A hearty vision
with silver streaks,
unmasking boyhood
—in memories deep

(Garrett Hill Pennsylvania: March, 2021)

On which side of the authority line
  do you fall…

      The pulpit,
      The assembly line,
      The suite down the hall

Who makes the decisions,
  do you stand—do you kneel

Is it giving or receiving,
do you take—do you steal

How many horizons,
  do your dreams fall behind

Are they distant—uncertain,
  not in view to remind

Where your memories lie,
  are your promises kept

Is the past now your future
  —will the present forget

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2016)

(Abbreviated)


Are Promises Kept

Where your memories lie,
  are your promises kept

Is the past now your future
  —will the present forget

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2016)

Time ...
the enigmatic
trap
we’re all caught within

(The New Room: November, 2024)

Nothing
describes an era
better
— than its vision of the future

(Dreamsleep: June, 2024)

You’ll never find out who you are
among those things you lack

You’ll never find a greater mask
than a mirror looking back

You’ll never find the answer to,
as questions pass you by

You’ll never catch that rising star
—until you learn to fly

(Dreamsleep: April, 2021)

Every life dies
rebirth in the nest  
Waiting for fate
again to reset
Moments of laughter
moments of rhyme
Burning like candles
in forever time
Light for the masses
light from above
Shining resplendent
perpetual love
Carved on a gravestone
names in the air
Wings in the distance
—prescience to share

(Dreamsleep: March, 2023)