We're always trying to see the future
Never looking at our past
Not thinking about the things we've done
Or the shadows that they cast

We crave the mystery, that we haven't seen
To see what road life takes
Marching ahead and never looking back
To learn from our mistakes

For today is only a stepping stone
That leads to tomorrow's door
The signs that history has placed in our way
We only choose to ignore

For yesterday's gone, it's slipped away
And never even put up a fight
So we'll go through life, searching for things
Just barely out of sight

Stepping on butterflies, both day and night
Where ever butterflies are found
But no one's around to hear their screams
For the future can't make a sound

At the bottom of every barrel
You'll find the broken and the cracked
The people who live in shadows
Those who don't know how to act

The backward and inverted
The awkward and the shy
Just people looking for answers
Just people asking why

The outcast and the lonely
The scared or the abused
A person without a friend
Or a friend who's been misused

Just people looking for people
To fill a hollow hole
The empty who hunger and thirst
Or maybe a tired soul

At the bottom of every barrel
And maybe you didn't know it
But if you're looking hard enough
You'll even find a poet

Oh lady fair, of twilight mist
Why must thou leave so soon?
What beauty will thine eyes have missed
Beneath the coming moon

Thou hath never seen the dark of night
Neither the stars so high
Thou hath never seen the bright sunlight
That kisses the eastern sky

Trapped between the night and day
In a place thou can't escape
Never to see the magical way
The shadows change their shape

Just a prisoner of the inbetween
That vanishes in the night
A legend told, but never seen
A mystery to the light

Though fleeting is thy life long curse
Thou art blessed never to know it
For thy name hath inspired many a verse
To many an unknown poet

Oh lady fair, of twilight mist
Why must thou leave so soon?
What beauty will thine eyes have missed
Beneath the coming moon

To all who write from within their soul
I leave to them my muse
A curse to me I couldn't console
A curse I couldn't refuse

To all of those who write of romance
I leave the spirit of my lovely Lenore
For maybe in death I'll get a chance
To be with her once more

To all of those who write by night
I leave the darkness, my captor of dreams
And all the demons that held me tight
The reason for all of my screams

To all of those who write of pain
I leave my broken heart
A lonely spirit that left its stain
And tore my world apart

And to all of those who write of death
By the light of an empty moon
I'll send the reaper to steal your breath
For you'll be with me soon

Touch not the heart that doth not beat for you
Plant not the seed of sin that grows to lust
David and Bathsheba already knew
The fire that burned within would ****** trust

Keep not hidden this flame that tempts thy soul
Cast out the embers that cause thee to fail
Why keep a flame that thou cannot control?
Doth not the embers spread that lead to hell?

Temptation comes in many hidden forms
The forbidden fruit grows on many trees
Why cause the winds to blow that bring life's storms?
Rather be content with the gentle breeze

Let not the eyes condemn thy very soul
Cast out thy lust and keep thy body whole

Today I found an angel's wing
Just lying on the ground
As I held the feathers in my hand
I couldn't even utter a sound

I wondered if she had fallen
Or maybe been hit by a plane
I had to go ask my mama
I knew my mama could explain

As I ran into the kitchen
I couldn't find her anywhere
She wasn't on the front porch swing
Sometimes I'd find her there

When I stepped into the backyard
I saw mama on the ground
I ran to my neighbors as fast as I could
And told them where mama was found

The neighbors called the ambulance
They said mama had gone to Heaven
Daddy came home as fast as he could
To his sons just six and seven

Daddy tried his best to explain to us
Why sometimes that people die
He said she's in a better place
And that it's okay to cry

Mama took us to church on Sundays
And she was always the first to sing
But I knew Jesus needed my mama that day
To help the angel with the broken wing

Three red roses placed on his grave
And a toast to the fair raven's friend
A master of words, born to die young
A poet with an untimely end

His Tell Tale heart now silent and still
Never to be heard anymore
But weeping still heard, tears fall like rain
From the spirit that he called Lenore

Forty years old when his quill ran dry
And could barely even make out a sound
"Lord help my soul" were the last words he spoke
Before they buried him deep in the ground

He wrote of the darkness that haunted his soul
And the spirits that invaded his mind
Sanity was tempting him just out of reach
The one thing that Poe couldn't find

A bottle of cognac and three red roses
A stranger would place on his grave
A small price to pay to the poet of poets
For all of the joy he gave

"Look at me," the letters cry out
As they fall to the paper below
Words taking shape as letters escape
While forming an intricate flow

The "M" takes its place beside the "e"
And a word is suddenly born
The "N" takes it slow but makes friends with the "o"
And a brand new allegience is sworn

The "U" and the "s" are standing in line
With each one awaiting their call
Up comes the quill who just had its fill
Now "us" can finally fall

The "T" and the "h" call out to the "e"
Though nothing but silence is heard
The "e" has been busy which makes him quite dizzy
But joins them in forming a word

The "E" and the "n" wave to the "d"
The last letter the poet will send
His quill running dry, he now says goodbye
For he has finally come to "THE END"

You are my need, my understanding
You are the prisoner of my stare
You're my fantasy, my reality
You are my comfort in despair

You are my need, you're my hopes and dreams
You are the very breath I breathe
You're the words in every love song
You're the magic up my sleeve

You are my need, you're my confidant
You are the blessings in my prayers
You're my rose among a world of thorns
You're the diamond my future wears

You are my need, you're my resting place
You are my shelter in the storm
You're the fire in the cold dark nights
You're the ember that keeps me warm

You are my need, my satisfaction
You are the reason that I succeed
You're the love that only comes once
And I am captive to my need

Vanquished by my hopes and dreams
Held hostage by reality
I stumble through this thing called life
A prisoner of mortality

I know not what tomorrow brings
My mutinous dreams have fled
My hopes have long since passed away
To never know where they led

Humbled by my crippled past
My spirit, weak and weary
By casting lots, I choose my path
My future, bleak and dreary

Hampered by my lack of faith
I wander to and fro
Absent from my hopes and dreams
I know not where to go

An abyss of hollow understanding
For nothing's as it seems
A life no longer worth living
That's barren of hopes and dreams

In a brand new box of crayons
A love begins to sprout
Black and White would finally meet
When the box was emptied out

Black was used each time he fell
While White was usually ignored
The other colors would go unnoticed
For it was White that Black adored

On a cloudy overcast afternoon
A wedding of sorts takes place
Black met White in clouds of gray
As the two would finally embrace

It was a drawing of utter perfection
On paper of purist white
The roses were made by the color Red
While Yellow would draw the light

Silver and Gold would draw the bells
That rang throughout the land
Silver would be the color of choice
To draw the wedding band

A rainbow of colors would soon appear
The grass and leaves were Green
A colorful wedding would soon take place
To finish this beautiful scene

The box again becomes their home
As they're gathered back inside
This colorful wedding is finally over
With Black beside his bride

The words I write are best defined
As tiny pieces of soul
Trapped within my troubled mind
An ache I can't console

The memories and the heartaches
Dripping through my pen
Tell the stories of my mistakes
And regret I feel within

They will tell you who I am today
And what I used to be
They'll tell you all I have to say
If you'll look carefully

The words I write are lifetime earned
Through joy, strife and pain
Memories of the things I've learned
Are now my paper's stain

"How do I love thee, let me count the ways"
A poet of old was known to have written
So how many ways can we say I love you
When our hearts have truly been smitten

Yes box, No box or Maybe box
Has been known to give us a voice
Passed back and forth with high expectations
'Til the reader has check marked a choice

Pigtails and spit wads can say I love you
As chewed up paper flies through the air
Or maybe a tug on those beautiful pigtails
Will show them that you really care

Sharing your snack is very romantic
Or their initials enclosed in a heart
And of course, "Will you be my valentine?"
Is always a good place to start

The ways that we say I love you
Are really too many to list
But you'll know when it's right and love is in sight
When two lovers have finally kissed

Held captive by her agony
Her quill, the hero's sword
She writes like a damsel in distress
With freedom as her reward

Her knights in shining armor
Are the words that set her free
They surround her pain in one accord
To slay her misery

This dragon known as "Heartache"
Has left the poet maim
The words she writes will heal her soul
And extinguish the dragon's flame

The sword once more in the poet's hand
Gathers together her knights
Each hero lands a lethal blow
Whenever the poet writes

The poet lays her weapon down
Rescued from all her pain
The damsel closes her eyes to sleep
Her dragon finally slain

A thousand kings of old, honor your name
Through prophecy handed down through the age
While blessing the hour in which you came
To make the world and hearts of men your stage

A revelation of beauty and grace
Foretell the legend that you shall become
As men cast eyes upon your lovely face
Thanking the Heavens, where you've fallen from

A thousand love songs will tell of your eyes
And radiant smile that brightens the night
Polished perfection, a diamond, a prize
That rivals the sun for the morning light

A vision of beauty that's been foretold
And honored by a thousand kings of old

I bid you stay my queen of hearts
Tarry here till morn
Take not your love and go your way
'Tis allegiance I have sworn

I bow my head in purest heart
Consumed by shameless desire
Quicken me with one last smile
Enough to quiet this fire

I press you please, consider fate
Let its spirit guide your path
Turn not unto your heart of stone
Lean not toward its wrath

Cast not aside familar dreams
Nor memories patiently earned
Douse this flame of your rejection
Where the fire of love once burned

Quench this thirst that haunts my soul
Heed my beckon call
Tarry here just one more hour
Lest our love should fall

She picks up a photograph
And cleans it with her dress
A smile, stolen from better times
Strewn among the mess

A coffee cup with a broken rim
An earring covered in gold
Tiny pieces of who they were
Memories, she can hold

The dream they called their loving home
Lay scattered upon the ground
Her joy becomes her agony
With every piece that's found

A mirror stands without a crack
Reflecting the morning sun
The twister chose to pass it by
Among the damage done

Her future ripped in tiny pieces
Her husband, now lay dead
A day before her birthday
Her wishes turn to dread

She finds the family bible
Its pages wet and torn
All alone she stumbles on,
In silence, begins to mourn

Another day has come and gone
For this lonely widowed wife
She tries to find her way back home
Through her tiny pieces of life

He left His home in paradise
And stepped through the portal of time
He chose to come and pay the price
And die for another's crime

Leaving all He knew behind
His throne was empty and bare
Knowing the only thing He'd find
Was a lowly carpenter's chair

He who made the Heavens and Earth
Had no place to lay His head
He becomes a man through ****** birth
A King without a bed

From a manger to a rugged cross
To set the whole world free
Both Heaven and Earth felt the loss
That day on Calvary

To die for a stranger, a sinners death
Ten thousand angels at His command
Father forgive them still on His breath
A Journey, I'll never understand

Have you ever had one of those days,
When nothing goes your way?
And the night is long with noises
Please don't tell my wife what I'm about to say

You see my wife snores
More than anyone I know
She even shakes the bed at night
Like a herd of buffalo

Sometimes the people next door
Will even call and complain
They say they just can't stand it anymore
And it's driving them insane

I've tried everything I know
But all I do is fail
She even registers a 4.0
On the earthquake richter scale

One night I even tried duct tape
And wondered what would happen
She just laid there and kept on snoring
'Til the duct tape started flappin'

I even tried some super glue
On her lips to make them close
Until I heard that horrible noise
Like a trumpet got stuck in her nose

Well, I guess I'll always love her
And learn to live with this curse
I'm just glad it's not the other end
'Cause the smell would make it even worse

She calls her family together
To tell each one goodbye
From the oldest to the youngest
Her children begin to cry

She's fought this fight for many years
But this cancer is much too strong
Her will to live is fading fast
And she knows it won't be long

Her daughter asks when she'll be back
She's too young to understand
Only four years old, a tear escapes
As she holds her mother's hand

She says, "Mama you have to hurry back,
For I'm going to miss you so"
She climbs into her mother's bed
And begs her not to go

Her mother tells her not to cry
As she wipes her tear stained face
I'll always be inside your heart
You'll carry me every place

I'll be the breeze that kisses your cheek
When sadness comes to call
I'll be the smell in the autumn leaves
That ushers in the fall

I'll be your comfort when times get bad
And in everything you lack
And as her mother passes away
She whispers, "Hurry Back"

Time starts ticking the day that we're born
Today becomes tomorrow's past
Yesterday is just a forgotten memory
That's fading away too fast

Everyday when the sun starts to set
We draw closer to the grave
Death keeps calling us, every hour
'Til we become his slave

When we are young, we live forever
Living life to the fullest, we're bold
But one day soon time comes to collect
Then the grave awaits, we're old

Looking back and counting our blessings
We curse the things that we've lost
For time doesn't care who we were
And all must pay the cost

Our life is only an echo in time
Destined to disappear
From birth to the grave, then we're gone
It's like we were never here

For everyone has a beginning
And soon, we all have an end
The beginning and end barely matter
It's the journey, we have to defend

I've chased some rainbows in my day
I've even caught a few
But it couldn't buy me happiness
Or make the world look new

It couldn't make my pain go away
Or even wipe my tears
It didn't offer no comforting words
Or calm my deepest fears

It couldn't show me right from wrong
Or pick me up, when I fall
It's never there when I need a friend
Or hear me when I call

It never made me feel whole inside
Like I do each time I pray
It couldn't light my darkest nights
To help me find my way

The rainbow can keep its *** of gold
And you may consider me odd
But I'm no longer chasing rainbows
For now I'm following God

Do you recognize these teardrops,
That's flowing here once more?
My cheek's become their resting place
Like a thousand times before

My sleeves reach out in sympathy
To heal this liquid pain
But the scars stay hidden in silence
As the hurt begins to stain

You couldn't hear my heart break
But you can see it in my eyes
My tears bring forth the evidence
That my silent pain denies

Do these teardrops look familiar?
Each one feels the same
I'm tired of crying these reused tears
With only you to blame

You told me that you're sorry
But I've heard those words for years
It's time for me to say goodbye
And cry some different tears

Nothing will ever look the same
When you're told you're going to die
The things you took for granted
Will no longer pass you by

The flowers become more beautiful
'Cause you take the time to smell
And the things that went unnoticed
Now live to say farewell

The things you touch seem different
While marveling at the feel
You wonder why you have to die
To make things seem so real

The gentle winds that kiss your face
Now bring you to your knees
You never notice until it's too late
The joy that's in the breeze

The past becomes your future
Remembering your mistakes
You live each day to right the wrong
No matter what it takes

The hardest part is saying goodbye
To all the people you love
One more day is all you want
It's all you're thinking of

You're amazed by God's creation
While counting every breath
The world will never look the same
As you look through the eyes of death

By the time you read this, I will be gone
I will simply no longer exist
I'm using the last words you said to me
To drain the blood from my wrists

Your words cut through me like a suicide knife
Like the very sharp edge of goodbye
"I'm sorry" will not stop the bleeding
Nor will the tears that you cry

You filled my veins with your poison
With promises, that you didn't keep
You pierced my heart with all of your lies
The scars, I carry so deep

So how do you know when it's over?
When you given them all you can give
The tears that I cry are shaped like goodbye
With no longer a will to live

I never knew that words could ****
But today I no longer exist
The ways that I died are all trapped inside
And are simply too many to list

The petals on the reddest rose
Blush as you walk by
Your beauty causes the willows to weep
And the mighty winds to sigh

The sparrows sing you love songs
Each morning as the sun gives birth
A gift from God to the hearts of men
You're the flower that paints the earth

Words can't describe your beauty and grace
The poets would only fail
Artists have tried to capture your smile
But no one will ever prevail

My heartbeat whispers I love you
It leaps with joy in my chest
Your name supplies the air that I breathe
As my love for you is confessed

You're much more to me than a person
My heart has made you my need
I am the garden where romance grows
And your beauty, the only seed

He sit by the door day after day
Waiting for her to return
Ready to play he'd patiently wait
'Til time for school to adjourn

A child and her dog, bonded in life
He became this little girl's friend
Raised from a puppy, he slept on her bed
Together, until the end

Walking home from school one day
She tripped on the sidewalk and fell
Rushed to the hospital, the little girl died
When her brain continued to swell

She didn't come home, he didn't understand
It was time to play their game
They tried to call him away from the door
But every day was the same

He'd sit by the door day after day
Waiting for her to return
Ready to play he'd patiently wait
'Til time for school to adjourn

Mama raised us children
In the image of our Lord
She taught us how to walk and talk
With Him in one accord

She would always read the bible
Before we went to bed
She told us we'd sleep better
Just knowing what Jesus said

She took us to church on sunday
And prayed with us at night
She taught us to love our neighbor
And always treat him right

Late at night by candle light
I could hear my mama pray
She asked the Lord to guide our path
And help us find our way

Mama went to be with Jesus
When I was twenty-three
And today I teach my children
The things my mama taught me

Late at night when all is quiet
And everyone's fast asleep
A mournful sound is sometimes found
When the poet begins to weep

Her tears are in the raindrops
As she tries to cleanse her soul
An empty shell, trapped in hell
That time cannot console

Her words become her refuge
As she writes away her sin
The liquid pain begins to stain
As she slays it with her pen

Her tears will bring her comfort
As she continues on her course
For tomorrow, she leaves her sorrow
The two must now divorce

She finds relief, her pain is gone
The poet no longer cries
After she weeps the poet sleeps
And quietly closes her eyes

Late at night when all is quiet
And everyone's fast asleep
A mournful sound is sometimes found
When the poet begins to weep

There is a place where words lie dead
And buried forever more
Hurting words, that someone said
That we've chosen to ignore

Words like cheater, adultery and liar
They simply no longer exist
Words found guilty, tried by fire
Words that won't be missed

Words like lonely, sad and grief
Are striken from our mind
Words like sorrow, heartbreak and thief
Words of every kind

Words like pain, tears and death
Will soon forever perish
The only words found on our breath
Are words like love, honor and cherish

Words like broken, lost and cry
Are no longer necessary
For all of these words will forever lie
In the sad poem cemetery

I know that Heaven's a beautiful place
With plenty of things that I haven't seen
Earth has its beauty, like the stars in space
You are the diamond that's trapped inbetween

The flowers bow down each time you walk by
In the presence of such beauty and grace
The wind will whisper your name with a sigh
While the sun completes the glow on your face

The birds stand in line to sing you a song
As the ocean plays its magical tune
The leaves in the trees will all sing along
As the moon and all the stars start to swoon

Between Heaven and Earth, you're beauty lies
Polished perfection, my diamond, my prize

She gently touches the skin on her face
Where her beauty used to be
The wrinkles reach out for her fingers
Caressing them tenderly

A tear escapes and rolls to her cheek
As she weeps for the years gone by
She paid the debt the time demands
Without ever questioning why

Everything she lived for has passed away
She's left to pickup the pieces
Her memory fades a little more each day
Her forgetfulness only increases

She sits by the window and silently stares
As another day comes and goes
Today she turns a hundred years old
A birthday that destiny chose

She gently touches the skin on her face
Somewhere this story is true
There's no one to sing happy birthday
This woman could one day be you

As the borrowed sunrise, kisses the sky
Your beauty entraps my very being
My future, imprisoned as you walk by
Determined to keep my heart from fleeing

The moon and stars grow jealous of your smile
The mutinous stars, refusing to shine
The moon hides her face in blind denial
But in your presence the flowers will pine

Ten thousand poems are written of you
In declaration of undying love
The artists of old have painted you true
The vision, the poets were speaking of

My love is measured by each breath you take
Sealed with the promise that my heart will make

I adore those painted kisses
Although I must confess
Each time I walk away from you
You leave me in distress

Your smile will always follow me
No matter where I go
I spend my days admiring you
While walking to and fro

I know you feel the same my dear
Though, your voice I've never heard
I see the way you stare at me
You don't have to say a word

Each time I turn to look at you
I catch you staring back
I try my best to be debonair
But it's something that I lack

My beautiful Mona Lisa
Leonardo's pride and joy
It's time for this museum to close
Why must you be so coy?

The hinges on the door are worn and rusty
Its windows cracked, the floors, faded and dusty
The front porch swing lies crumpled in a pile
With mud daubers claiming the bathroom tile

The fireplace brick cast in impotent disarray
The wallpaper peeling in a mournful display
The stairs and its banister ripped apart in divorce
Time stops for nothing, it's taken its course

Weeds set up residence where roses once grew
The trees bent and broken that the wind blew through
I let my mind drift to a happier time
As I stare at those trees that I used to climb

I put oil on those hinges every Spring and Fall
Mama waxed the floors and I'd skate down the hall
On that front porch swing I stole my first kiss
Who could have known it would end up like this?

I would run up those stairs and slide back down
'Til Mama would shout and scream with a frown
Now broken and battered, just barely a shell
It still paints a picture with stories to tell

My wife, she likes those six pack abs
But me, I've got a keg
She can see that thing anytime she likes
And I won't even make her beg

I see myself as a muscle man
I workout everyday
Watching Tv with my plate on my belly
And putting that food away

My workout plan is a strenuous task
All I gotta do is eat
I know it works 'cause my belly keeps growing
Until I can't even see my feet

I go to the gym at least five times a day
Gym is the name of my fridge
There's so many ropes holding up my pants
'Til it looks like the brooklyn bridge

Yep, she really loves those six pack abs
And she says I'm shaped like an egg
It takes a very long time to look like this
So she better get used to the keg

When people cry they feel relief
Their pain is washed away
Tears can comfort the sting of grief
Or a feeling of dismay

A poet's tears are different indeed
For they form into a word
An ever growing poetic seed
A feeling that can't be heard

The paper becomes the poet's sleeve
As they wipe their tears away
Their words will form an intricate weave
Deciding what they'll say

Each teardrop has a life of its own
As it trickles down their cheek
It stains the paper, their seeds are sown
Their tears begin to speak

So listen close when poets cry
Though it barely makes a sound
You'll hear a soft and tender sigh
When all their words are found

She prayed everynight when the sun went down
I grew up with Mama on her knees
She'd kneel down beside me in her tattered old gown
Asking Jesus, to guide me, please

Daddy was gone before I turned three
The coal mines became his grave
Mama held his picture as tight as could be
And told of the love he gave

She'd sit with the bible and read everynight
As I listened to every word she read
She died Easter morning, before it got light
As I knelt beside her bed

She taught me what love was supposed to be
Though sometimes, life could get rough
When Daddy got killed, it just left us three
And that was always enough

I'll always remember her tears when she'd pray
As she prayed so fervently
I knew that somehow it would all be okay
Just Mama, Jesus and me

Romeo and Juliet, was written second best
For even Shakespeare himself, could have only guessed
That somewhere in a future place, a story would soon unfold
That would last throughout the ages and forever be retold

There would be no fancy thee's or thou's strewn across the page
No feuding families fighting wars, filled with all their rage
There would be no big finale, to only end in death
No poison would be swallowed, not a scent upon their breath

A story like this can only live when love was meant to last
A legendary tale of endless love that would never be surpassed
Handed down through history to make two lovers swoon
A story told ten million times beneath the lover's moon

Romeo and Juliet was just a fairy tale
In comparison to the story we wrote, it would even pale
Written in a language that lovers forever discuss
The story I've been talking about is simply the story of us

At three in the morning she turns on the light
While clutching her teddy bear
She runs to the closet as they start to fight
Knowing she's safe in there

Her pillow is tucked beneath her arm
As she silently starts to weep
She whispers to Teddy, she'll keep him from harm
A promise, she can't possibly keep

Night after night for sixteen years
Her closet becomes her bed
Her nightmare comes true, it brings her to tears
As she finds her poor mother dead

She's all grown up with a son of her own
Married to the love of her life
But bound to repeat the seeds that were sown
She becomes the next battered wife

At three in the morning he turns on the light
While clutching his teddy bear
He runs to the closet as they start to fight
Knowing he's safe in there.

She sits all alone in an empty room
And silently watches it rain
She draws with her finger, a bride and groom
In her breath that's on the pane

Only twelve years old, and already grown
The chemo caused her to age
She'll never grow up and live on her own
She feels like she's trapped in a cage

She searches the window for locks of gold
Her reflection announces her shame
Her hair is all gone, she starts to look old
The cancer alone is the blame

Her breath once more, covers the glass
As a tear escapes to her cheek
She draws with her finger a stone in the grass
Her body keeps growing so weak

With one last breath she closes her eyes
And listens once more to the rain
She doesn't exhale, the little girl dies
Overcome by her horrible pain

A groom stands alone, frozen in glass
His bride was laid in the ground
Beside him stands a stone in the grass
Where the bride on the window is found

I've waited now for many years
Just to hold your hand
I tried to tell you how I felt
But you couldn't understand

You smiled at me, once long ago
For a second as you passed
I even tried to say hello
But it happened way too fast

You walked with me, side by side
But you didn't look my way
I wanted to shout your name out loud
But I didn't know what to say

But one day it's gonna happen
When fate comes stumbling by
I'll take your hand and hold you tight
Until the day I die

'Til then I'll just keep waiting
No matter how hard it seems
One day I hope to meet you
And not only in my dreams

I must feed these demons that tear at my soul
For they hunger and thirst for my death
An offering of sorts, to appease and console
For they're lusting to covet my breath

The skin on my wrists begin to sigh
As the blade tries to comfort my veins
The death angel waits, he slowly draws nigh
Only a prayer for forgiveness remains

The demons rejoice in lieu of their prize
I can feel their claws holding tight
The darkness replaces the light in my eyes
I move farther away from the light

The floor turning crimson, the demons now drink
They grow drunk on this nectar of life
Death growing closer, he stands at the brink
And licks at the blood on my knife

The demons devour my last will to live
And mercy fades away like a mist
I gave them a gift that no man should give
Though I probably won't even be missed

Dear heartache, why must you hurt me so?
What must I do to end this pain, I beg you, let me go
You rip my soul to pieces, and steal my hopes and dreams
You've clouded my perception, for nothing's like it seems

Tomorrow holds no future, I'm a prisoner of the past
Cursed to live in darkness by the shadows that you cast
Your taste is in the food I eat, that's salted with my tears
Your stain is on my pillow case that never disappears

Dear heartache, when will you set me free?
What have I done to cause this pain, why must you torment me?
I've written you this letter inquiring of your spite
But I finally know the answer, you're the reason that I write

Long ago, before words were known
Sound simply didn't exist
A smile was the only thing needed
Or a tear, if someone were missed

Love was then, the language of choice
A silent show of affection
Until that day when sound was invented
The heartbreaking cry of rejection

A teardrop had finally found its voice
The silence was broken in two
A broken heart had finally spoken
And the people knew not what to do

No words of comfort could pass their lips
For words were yet to be known
So the sound of heartbreak spread like cancer
For those doomed to suffer alone

Words would one day come to fruition
And comfort would finally be found
But the silence was silenced forever more
Because the invention of sound

What spirit is this that steals my sleep
And haunts me from the past?
'Tis a phantom of a tragedy
That her mournful shadow casts

A restless soul that invades my dreams
While walking to and fro
She bids that I should come to her
As she seeks her Romeo

She wanders through my bedroom door
When I am fast asleep
Awakened by her cries for help
As I listen to her weep

This ghost I fear has evil intent
Though, I cannot see her face
She casts her spell upon my heart
And will not leave this place

Though she beckons me to go with her
I dare not surrender yet
Cursed to be a tortured soul
By the ghost of Juliet

Is a poet still a poet
if his work should go unread?
Or is he just a dreamer
with words inside his head?

Does a poet keep on writing
though no one knows his name?
Or spill his soul 'til his fingers bleed,
searching for his fame?

Does he dream of Poe as he writes his verse
in poetic harmony?
Or Count the Ways like Browning did
in sonnet forty-three?

Does he Take the Road Not Taken
like the late great Robert Frost?
Or take the road the others take
to find out that he's lost?

A poet is a poet
if his work should go unread
His words will stand the test of time,
in something that he said

Woe, unto this heart of men
This mortal soul, I fear is weak
I question God, is this sin?
Bold I was, now humbled and meek

Forsaken by the breath of life
My lungs betray my need to breathe
My heart is pierced by an unseen knife
A foe, my mind cannot perceive

My dreams held captive by enchanted smiles
My hunger, a thing of the past
My sleep now stolen by these wicked trials
A torment, that's unsurpassed

What curse is this that leaves me maim,
And renders my body weak?
Does this demon have a name,
That paints my future bleak?

Alas, this wound will never heal
It festers within a crippled soul
'Tis love that's robbed me of my will
For I no longer have control

He never asked for anything
When they nailed Him to the tree
His only crime was stepping through time
To set the whole world free

He made the moon and all the stars
Then hung them in the sky
The one true Light that shined so bright
Would close His eyes and die

He made the flowers and all the trees
But one became the cross
The dogwood tree would forever be
The tree that brought our loss

He made the rivers and all the seas
But the thing I hate the worst
Before He died the Savior cried
These words, He said, "I Thirst"

No one knows where the wind comes from
But we see can it in the trees
There's nothing there we can touch or hold
But we can feel its gentle breeze

The wind is made of voices
Just whispers in the night
From those who've long since passed away
Reaching, for the light

It sometimes comes in a sweet caress
From lovers who have died
A gentle kiss upon our cheeks
From a husband or a bride

A melancholy wind will sometimes blow
A whisper of the past
From broken hearts who've died alone
A love that didn't last

We sometimes feel that angry wind
A lost and tortured soul
Cursed to shout in a whispered voice
That time cannot console

So when you feel that warm spring breeze
Listen close and you will hear
The wind is made of whispering souls
From voices, no longer here