A Prince of Life—A Prince of Death,
  two courts for him to flee

One horse disappears under a ransomed
moon,
  —a drawbridge now unseen

Eyes close tight and turn within,
  all royalty disowned

As the King calls once and the Queen
  calls twice,
  —the Jester on the throne

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2016)

A better critic
  than writer…

Your tongue sharpens,
  as your pen hacks

Bastardized on the altar
  of cold description

Disavowed by the jilted Muse,
—ink bleeding red

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)

It can take a lifetime…
  to learn how to write like yourself

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2019)

I walked with Colby,
  he never walked with me

His spirit to guide us,
  his love in the lead

We circled the globe
  a time and a half

His tail was my compass
  to guide us steadfast

In all kinds of weather
  we stuck to the trail

Under sunshine and rain
  our forays prevailed

In May of last year
  he collapsed on our walk

And with valor he tried
  but his body would balk

Its been downhill since then
  with him not knowing why

The knowing inside me
  his neuropathy slide

I knew it was coming
  as he struggled to stay

And he fought till the end
  on this very sad day

As I looked in his eyes
  for the last final time

Willing to give up my life
  for his health to revive

The fates were against us
  his clock had run out

The pain in his parting
  —the joy I’m without

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November 9th, 2018)
‘Today, I lost The Best Friend I Ever Had’

Poets…
  spiritual escape artists
  in a shackled and mundane world

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2016)

Poets…
  spiritual escape artists
   —in a shackled and imprisoned world

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2016)

Poetry…
  the key to Cosmology

A question for every answer
   —in search of itself

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

Does weaponizing a stolen truth
  give you the right to lie

From this perverted use of power
  do others run and hide
  
Is this how force is wielded
  on the knife edge of denial

With rules you change to suit your needs
  your sly deceitful smile

When the real truth comes upon you
  will you hang your head in shame

And see what’s false in all you’ve made
  —for temporary gain

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2018)

Senses untamed,
  spaces to reign

Bodies that die,
  spirits to fly

By length or by width,
  time is a myth

Dimension aground,
  essence refound

Eyes looking forward,
  eyes looking back

Eyes looking inward,
  soul reattached

All that was spoken,
  providence sings

Grand sublimation,
—last bell to ring

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)

The one answer left to me
  is captured in verse

Old roadmap destroyed
  old play unrehearsed

The light becomes blocked
  as it shines from without

Its story an old one
  its warmth left in doubt

The road to this moment
  paved over in verse

Its bedrock a question
  an inner rebirth

My eyes closing tightly
  the last chant has begun

Past-future in ruins
  as within—I become

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2018)

Life’s ending is short,
  its beginning unknown

The middle is long,
  chasing stone after stone

Memories most vivid,
  from decades ago

Feelings now drifting,
  like wind driven snow

Our seconds tick off,
  as minutes run down

The big picture fades,
  tracks left on the ground

Beginning or ending,
  the next step unclear

The last cut the deepest,
—to suture or sear

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)

Divorcing the rational
  freedom began

Releasing the spirit
  all can’t—became can

One final decision
  to charge and break through

The future and past
  left betrothed—and untrue

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2018)

What is the baseline
  of your life?

How deep is the chord structure
  of your meaning?

What is that riff that no raff
  can destroy?

How long is your drum roll
—at the end?

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2016)

Once the words are written down
  —you'll never die alone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)

Age is a demon,
  age is a shield

Age is a weapon,
  age makes you yield

Age is redundant,
  age self-defies

Age is the truth,
  age often lies

Age calls within you,
  age calls without

Age comes to get you,
  age never doubts

Age self-enlightens,
  age brings the dark

Age keeps the ledger
—age the last mark

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2017)

Playing defense with terrorism,
  —another name for suicide

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2017)

The sun in arrears,
  its moon in default

With stars in foreclosure,
  the cosmos to halt

All time repossessed,
  the Creator has gone

Awaiting implosion,
—that last singing swan

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)

The end rose up to greet him,
  the last traveler undisposed

Its final words, the last he heard
  —as the past and future closed

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2019)

Growing simpler with
each passing year

The leaves turn
and my mind releases

Freeing what it’s taken
a lifetime to acquire

Freeing what only this moment
can understand

(Grantham New Hampshire: January, 2012)

Growing simpler with
   each passing year

 The leaves turn,
    and my mind releases

  Freeing what it’s taken
    a lifetime to acquire

   Freeing what only this moment
     can understand

  (Grantham N.H. January, 2012)

Growing simpler with
  each passing year

 The leaves turn,
   and my mind releases

  Freeing what it’s taken
    a lifetime to acquire

   Freeing what only this moment
     can understand

 (Grantham New Hampshire: January, 2012)

A warrior can be an artist,
  but can an artist go to war

Can the craftsman ever breathe the fire,
  that tempered the blade he forged

The warrior-poet, not the poet-warrior,
  the difference in the score

All fury then his words inspire,
—to bridge the liars fjord

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2016)

Your arms lift me up
  as your words take me down

And I’m caught in-between
  your smile and frown

Your arms making promises
  your words never keep

My spirit in limbo
  my heart left to weep

My soul is in turmoil
  my mind double dealt

As your fear and your passion
  collide

What’s to be known,
  and what’s to be felt

Is it your words or your actions
  —that lie

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Your arms lift me up,
  as your words take me down

And I’m caught in-between
  your smile and frown

Your eyes making promises,
  your words yet to keep

My spirit in limbo,
  my heart left to weep

A soul now in turmoil,
  my mind double dealt

As your fear and your passion
  collide

What’s to be known,
  and what’s to be felt

Is it your words or your actions
  —that lie

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Can you ever really lose
  what you’ve never really had
  
Can you ever be good
  if you’ve never been bad

Can you ever pose a question
  that’s never been asked

Can the answer prove elusive
  when the future is past

Can the moments live on frozen
  if only in your heart

Can the love you give unspoken
  shout the loudest unremarked

Can you ever really finish
  what was never yours to start

Can your light shine on eternal
  —without passing through the dark

(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2019)
      ‘From The Book Of Prayers’