These woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.*

My woods are but a figure of speech.
Still, they are lovely, dark, and deep
And we have promises to keep.

The miles separate me from you.
Love and friendship stay through and through,
But a broken heart will stay true.

Your strong arms are wrapped around me,
Holding me close, helping me see.
We don't have to touch to feel.

I lived in a war zone
Streets filled with razor wire
Nothing much to cling to
Nothing to inspire

On one side was my enemy, and
Filled with angst and hate
I lobbed all sorts of insults
The war would not abate

But one of my neighbors
Suggested that I find
Some forgiveness in my heart
To give me peace of mind

And so I started cleaning
Picked up all my waste
Swept up in all the corners
And found peace at last!

Across the street they saw plain
The white flag I errected
It was a thing that gave them pause
Not what they expected!

They threw trash, and they threw dirt
Upon my sidewalk paved
But i expect that I just swept
And gave a friendly wave!

After a while of this response
They were in retreat!
They could never get a rise!
They knew their hate was beat!

And so together as one
We removed the razor strands
And had a big BLOCK PARTY!
We even had a band!

And so "us" and "them"
Finally became "we"
No more HATE! Isn't that GREAT?!!

*At last we're finally FREE!

Oh, spinner of dreams
In the depth of imagination
Spin a dream for me
A tale of adventure and romance
Of myth and magic
And fragrant mystery
Spin lively for me
To take me elsewhere
To a place where gravity's pull
Is minimal
And reality
Has no hold at all

                                         By Phil Roberts