The day now split
  drifts off unpromised,
  the dream remains with me

Our words as jewels
  now treasured pawn,
  their tickets burning free

The nights by measure
  mornings fled,
  those times you woke and lied

My heart remains
  my own to wed,
  your wound still deep inside

From spells you cast
   upon our gift,
   and quarried into stone

The past is black,
  the future gone,
  —this present mine to own

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2017)

Often accused of abusing the words,
  I stand guilty here as charged

Their purpose to serve my feelings unnerved,
  when into the darkness I bard

Used as a shield, my will not to yield
  their ink splattered blood stains aglow

No guilt do I bear for those letters unspared
  —as their corpses define what I know

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

My mind often visits
  those places you fear

My soul, my protectress,
  my words as my spear

My voice now a fortress
  from oncoming attack

My spirit embracing
  —those feelings you lack

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

From Lederhosen
  a monster chosen

Whose ***** is ******
—gas slaughtered lambs

The eagle rises
  truth despises

A country shamed
—those quiet blamed

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

Today is for the living
  fate yet to take its toll

The reaper’s threats lie cold and bare
  when not yet on his roll

Life belongs to those who bleed
  with joy and pain redressed

The will to live—Your love to give
  those things denied to death

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2018)

Everyone wants to teach
  until that day of learning comes

No longer needing to find themselves
  in accolades, praise—or love

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

Those of us who give nothing
  ask everything…
    —from those who give it all

(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2013)

Tell me you love me,
  tell me you’re sure

Tell me again,
  tell me once more

Say it resplendent,
  one breath to endure

Say one last time,
  those words evermore

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2016)

The dreams of a soldier
   lay dead on the ground

A warrior’s spirit
  his enemy found

The battle once over
  a new war to find

Though death be not imminent
  —all sleep to remind

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2015)

The vineyard has ripened
  new words on the vine

The meanings have deepened
  new blessings Divine

The verses fermented,
  I drink unto thee

Consecration so sacred
  the blood pouring free

The vineyard has ripened
  fresh words on the vine

With faith still unshaken
  —my thoughts and prayers, Thine

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

The vineyard has ripened
  new words on the vine

The meanings have deepened
  new blessings Divine

The verses fermented,
  I drink unto thee

Consecration most sacred
  the blood pouring free

The vineyard has ripened
  fresh words on the vine

With faith still unshaken
  my thoughts and prayers—Thine

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

Escaping the prose,
  I hid in the verse

My mind to compose,
  instead of converse

Defying description,
  I sang through the notes

And placed my inscriptions,
in lyrical rote

I chose to hear music,
  over reasons again

To dine with the mystics,
  where forever begins

And when forcing my pen,
  back to stories untold

The Muse starts to darken,
—threatening Kobold

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2016)

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 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)

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)

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 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 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 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 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)

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)