I gaze into the eternity beyond pupils dilation
Where soul has lost sole control of the spirit
And the darkness that grips twists the mind
Warping memories into incoherent phantoms
Wailing in anguish as I brush them aside

Gazing deeper,
Beyond the pale of of my mortal coil
Searching for an answer that nature neglects
Written not in emerald green starbursts,
Shrouded by grey washed blue skys,
But further, beyond the heavens
Where night stretches beyond Terra Firma
And empty space reigns in perpetual waltz
Aging as my eye progresses towards the birth
When light was given life and purity was pure
Before the infection of the question
That has no answer or cure

Nor did it need,
For there I found looking back as if a mirror
My reflection staring at itself in amazement
For I had solved the theory of everything
By knowing thyself… beyond myself

“To live is to learn“
He said as he held his crying son
Between sobs he felt fresh tears seeping into his coat
Damp reminders of times he himself broke down
Feeling the pressing weight of life and it’s expectations
He held the boy at arms length

“There was a time not too long ago…

The magnolias were in bloom
Sweet summer consumed sweet home
Alabama sang from the back of a black pickup
Doors open and tailgate down we loved the sound
Touchdown! rang across white cotton fields
Swaying in the gentle southern breeze
Whose caress cools the heat of the day
That buzzes with whirling dragonflies
And Hovering Toms humming to a bees melody
Blue Jays fought Bluebirds under blue skies
Pocked by slowly drifting cotton clouds
Lazily shape shifting into reflections of the land below
…
A rabbit, curious, ready to bounce
…
‘Ol Bo, the bird dog, pointing to a fresh ****
…
A deer, alerted, spooked by murderous cawing crows
…
All of this, seen by a boy in a tree
…

“Until he fell”
The father whispered to his son
Rolling up his sleeve he showed him the scar
“You see, my boy, I have broken a bone or two…
Some hearts
… Some dreams
Said things I didn’t mean…
Yet those magnolias still bloomed
The bees still buzzed
And birds either love or hate the color blue
Such is the nature of nature:
It is alive because it has learned to live“

Division runs rampant through unity on the break
Torches flare as rage flickers smoldering kindling to flame
Erupting the perpetual boils that fester beyond infections wake
Fearful that lives saved are endangered for propagandas sake
Nay, the divisions that split rip to shreds the patriotic fabric
Shorn to threads amiable friendships that broach enmity
Between brothers bound by blood shared
Bleeding red in concealed unison given to each at birth
As mighty Gaia trembles under the weight of shrugging Atlas
Beseeching the old gods to return to former glories
Resting lonesome Olympus from its divine pantheon
To quake and shake the shared foundations built
Atop mountains of lies stacked one after another
Before the heavens part and holy Elysium repels
The hearts of both men and women who dared divide
A house unified on sacrosanct liberties inherent
Gifted to the corruptible souls of humanity
On the premise that justice should be for all
That hold the highest values inviolable
By any that would rabble-rouse the masses to forgo
The established law of the land on such flawed premises
Where words hold greater authority than actions convey
And peace is but a pipe dream puffed in perfect rings translucent
Fading before the light has a chance to cast dark shadows
Imperfect in their reflection yet somehow flawless in impression
Oh, if only we were not like that famous allegory
Confined to our own individual caves
Then maybe our eyes could open wide and once again
Let in the truth that we have for too long allowed to blind us in hate
Perhaps the fates would halt their furies
And end our shared torment avoidable
Unifying a once noble people to again stand proud
A beacon to a world begging for freedom
Clearing the fog of war and lighting the path
Back to the house we once called home

By L.R.Thompson

My eyes alight softly upon pale velvet waxing
Whose grace is as weightless as a tilting feather
Slowly orbiting between gentle arches
Caressing the space that separates two hearts
And minds locked in a tidal waltz

Waning, my gaze shifts to supple curves
Outlining the crescent shaped body
Which loving light reflects in full
As the beats of my pulse rapidly impact
Scaring the surface with my every rotation
That births a new phase with every rise
Yet sets my sights again upon distant beauty
Teasing the mind to reach out and embrace my muse
Relenting to the gravity ever drawing me nearer
Until we collide in throes of violent passion
Two bodies merging in the fires of love
To become one forever more