End of the hall, last door on the right
Lies a sick child thats put up a fight
Her body sits broken and bruised as can be
While wars rage on inside her, we see
She still holds home base, with help from a few
Those protecting her heart, keeping her mind like new
So pesky invader, it's time you beware
And leave this strong body with each breath of air

Over and over
I argue this and that.
Maybe not the little things,
Maybe just a few.
Sometimes out loud,
others deep inside.
A constant guilt trip,
never smart enough--
never fast enough--
never thin enough--
never there enough--
never good enough...
Well I can yell,
as loud as my lungs will let me,
from the top of this city,
where I pour in my pity,
to the one with the knife that cuts the deepest,
with a sharpness that makes me feel the cheapest,
ENOUGH!

****** red,
Hovering somewhere between here and there
Dripping hues of orange and pink
Then sweeping purple, majestic and grand
Drapes the fluffy blue
With pinpricks of shinning silver
And a pale white face,
Slowly fading
As the dark breaks way to light,
again

When you close your eyes and open your mind,
What is it you see?
Does your mind draw up images,
Or just intense splashes of warm light?
What do you feel when the day ends?
Sorrow for the setting sun,
Or the mystery of what is to come?
What do you hear when the birds sing?
A pretty little tune, sung for your enjoyment,
Or an entire language you'll never know?
Where do you call home?
A place determined for you,
Or somewhere you have yet to invent?
Who is there when no one else is?
The person who always is,
Or the person you never realized was?
Why do you do that which you do?
Because you can,
Or because you should?
What do you say when the words run dry?
Nothing,
Or Everything?

Liberation, short lived by cold reality
Just a hapless bird, trapped
Who flew outside her gilded cage,
to find one larger still, made of soild glass.
Veiny lines of futile escapes
stretch across the surface, thin as gossamer
Pounding and banging she flutters to the ground
Devoid of strength to resist anymore.

A single tune, a note never purer to be found
Escapes her lifeless lungs
Like thread through a needle
Or water through cracks
Her song, melodic and frail, barely even heard
Reaching the ears of those with open hearts
A single word, her last resort.
**"Help"

Long hours, late nights, many sleepless nights
Tired feet galore
Dorothy’s discarded her Ruby Slippers for shoes of glass
But Glinda kept the magic
The feminine Tin man with his girlish heart and voice
Has had a *** change now
And how a dress of mesh fits 'em oh so well

Toto was put down for eating one of the slippers
Been replaced by house keeping mice
At least they can't chew glass
Scarecrow gained prestige and balance
Those things of which he lacked
The Cowardly Lion shaved his curly mop
We still haven’t seen him since
Aunty Em gained the crown she very much deserved
Uncle Henry preferred the merchant life
Since the Wizard foresaw their separation

Now Cinderella’s in a tizzy
Her stepsisters make her dizzy
And truth be told, you never hear
She had a bit too much to drink, so near
to the ball, first dress was ripped
The other slipped far off her head when she tripped
One shoe on, the other gone
And the rest….
Well, you know.

Always the journey home that calms me
Zipping by familiar sights
Views that never cease to dazzle
As the train speeds from the city lights

Over a high track suspended over forests
Maple and Oak spread as far as can be
To a place where the sun starts to dip
Enough to set the valley, after the next hill, a blaze
Orange, red, purple and pink, the suns best requiem

Though not every sight is beautiful
A tear was shed for Mother Earth
When passing through a polluted marsh
Water too murky to reflect a shadow flicking by
Deep gashes like open wounds in Earth's flesh
From man's machines, she bleeds soil on a hill side

Outside the city's realm, the stars shone
The moon, like a friend that was lost
Too dark to see, I closed my eyes and slept
Letting the gentle chug of the wheels
And the hum of the engine lull me deeper to dreams
Peacefully dreaming of beautiful things
On that journey home, to the end of the line

To myself, the words are hidden
The power behind it suppressed
Others hear the words ring clear
They see my heart like glass
The tender care behind the phrase
The months of emotion
poured into three words
To myself, I won't admit
To others, an open book
To you, a complicated mess
Don't shoot me down
Please let me admit it
Deep breath, gentle voice
I'll whisper the truth
"I love you"

Without you warmth
I shiver and shake
these seats where I sit
are cold and unfit
the pale sun brings me
no comfort or joy
these gloomy Autumn days
make me long for you
I wonder, too, in my selfishness
if you are longing to see
the girl who's missing you

Your arms are comfort, your chest is warmth
your touch stirs my blood
and clears my head
But what do I do to you?
My heart feels heavy...

Under the silence of bye
Stars blanket the sky
which reflects off your eye
that will soon become my
happiness and reason to fly
far from the fear to die
Giving you reason to tie
a bond between the sky
and my eye

An elevated surface, a pulpit so to speak
This stage that chains so many
And makes them all but meek
With feet made out of iron
Redness creeps into the cheek
Every exit curtained in a cage
I stand atop a lowly stage
And pray my lines don't squeak

Frustration runs amidst them
Like blood in the water to a frenzy of poetic sharks
Poor Elliot, the wetsuit clad diver
Mistaken for a tasty seal
But the diver is hidden now
Missing an arm or two and some pride

But we hungry sharks are not abated
Something is missing, something is lost
Perhaps if we had a place to converse
This mystery would be solved
And we'd return your arm...
but only one, even we need collateral
*Evil Smirk

Today in the mirror shown, the pale reflection of a girl
With eyes of cloudless sky, she sees her life
Blotchy imperfections speckle the curve of her cheekbones
Light brown in winter, harsh freckles in the summer
Oceans of envy  poured into her Rapunzel-like hair
Hoping it to be long, she lives a full life
A catalyst for the phrase,"It's complicated"
She smiles and nods
With a secret upon her lovely lips

Come here, Duckie
Rest your head in my lap
Tell me your worries, your troubles
Just leave it all in my lap
Allow my love to enclose you
Until joy fills your emptiness
In return friend, please let me
See your smile, again :)

When the final note of the overture ends
When breath has ceased to come
These graceful fingers no longer bend
The heart has stopped its hum

Upon leaving this earth, I pause a minute
And kiss the top of your head
If only you had been it
Alas that I am now dead

For in my life, I came to know
A love unlike all other
One that only brought me woe
And a wish to meet your mother

As I leave you now, all clad in white
Let go of pent up anger and hate
For a car that ran askew in the night
Unworthy was it of such fate
keep a smile, please remember mine
Still in it, I'm alive

The words I leave unsaid
Throb like police lights
across my mind reminding me of
those that escaped to early
That hit their target
With weak strength, gently shot down
Several other's words of similar nature
Left upon thine deaf ears of mine
Who's focus remained on one alone
And yet these words of mine
hold fast to thee, adamantly
A phrase once said, yet unwhole
With maybe and much thought
The gaps left room for acceptance
"I think I might be in love with you"
Those words best left unsaid
For now

For every word, you have so uttered
The heart beats with each letter
I'll stand and stare, yet undiscovered
Until I know you better
With smiling eyes of clear blue sky
And freckles here and there
You stand before me, once again
Like snow fall from a heaven
And like you, I too
Now see with eyes of sky
So please don't let the clouds come
Please scare away the rain
Just hold me tight and kiss me sweet
To chase away my skies of grey

Bliss in a falling object
Joy in tiny flakes
Glee coming as cold kisses
Happiness drifts downward
Excitement from grey sky
Love of winter's chill
Gladness in white, wet drops
Tiny, Wet, White, Cold
Flakes
Of
Snow

Glance behind the heavy oak door
Smell the air, thick with dust
Quiet your voice, below a whisper
Creep silently up to the ceiling high shelves
Reach up on tiptoes, up above your head
Pull down a leather bound book,
Stroke the old binding
Leaf through the pages, inhaling the musty smell
Leave a mite bit happier, book in hand
The Library

So unreal, the sorrow
The spark of life, snuffed out to soon
So much pain, so many tears
Burdened hearts cling to each other
Your life was stolen, untimely
We care, We cry, We're overwhelmed
To soon for you to leave
To soon for you to go
We truly did love you, we still do
If only we had known your pain....

Any of you out there
Who feel your lives are worthless
Know there are people who love you
When you take your life, we take your pain
Love life, it loves you.

Dedicated to: Justin Storms R.I.P. (11/11/09)

I saw you today, from a balcony above you
Like gazing through an open window to your future
About fifteen years older, yet still familiar
You smiled down at your three children.

A little boy clung to your sleeve
Gently, you ruffled his short brown hair
The oldest boy stood proud between his siblings
Lifting her head from where it lay nestled
against her mother’s sleeve, a little girl with the bluest of eyes
Her accusing eyes stared upward, penetrating me
With a flick of her long, wavy brown hair
She turned back to her mother

I glanced at the woman, the one who caught your heart
Her image blurred, tears streaked my cheeks
And my heart nearly broke as you leaned over to her
And placed the lips that I longed for, onto hers
The window fades, wiping clear the stinging image
Reality sets back in

With every age I gain,
my wisdom grows ever vaster.
With every fading season,
my hair grows all the longer.
With every setting sun,
my knowledge grows ever deeper.
With every speeding hour,
my melodies sound all the sweeter.
With every inching minute,
my breath comes all the clearer.
With every passing second,
my heart grows all the fonder
of the people all around me.
Who are aging just the same.

Gleefully, with fingers flying fast
she places her eloquent words
down on the page, emptying her head
The reader, with awed eyes
laps up the words
She utters a cry of praise,
for the writer's edible thoughts.

The writer lies dead.
The reader, completed.
For the writer has relinquished her
brain to the reader.

Once more endowed with breath
the writer rises, no longer dead
Pencil in hand, she exhales a sigh
Still dizzy from death
she struggles to stand
Through the reader's bag in search
To find her brain
Once inside her head it sits
She stands, and smiles a quirky smile
Pencil in hand

When geese alight
fluttering moon sown wings
Arise, oh sleeping Kingdoms
Let grace meet Lady Night
Timid mice come dance with the stars
Shinning eyes glow like firelight
Beyond the capabilitys of mind
pictures are painted that none can see
Reasonable neglect is given to the wrong
Gentle winds caress the trees
And the animals take flight
in the encroaching darkness

Breath comes quickly
Sweat pours profusely
Wings where feet should be
Clocks where brains once were
Making every second count
Each step, each mile
each striving child
Inhaling pain, exhaling success
Pounding out a rhythm
To a finish just in sight
Inhale deep and fly the feet
A sweet escape
XC

Dawn breaks
Shattered like glass
Pierced by streaks, sun
Bleeding away it's cold grey
Waiting, it would seem
For something to provoke it
Chased away even more
As houses wake and lamps light
Silence that once was still
Now a ripple in the pond of life
A splash of red
A smudge of blue
Bringing life to me and you
Awakening our wonderess world

Owl listened to Goose's secrets
Fishy could always use a smile
Duckie flew into many a dream
Cat lurked when the sun was high
Bear always gave the best hugs
Giraffe knew the summer's joys
Chipmunk shared in equal annoyances
Yet, Goose befriended them all

Owl was wise
Fishy was mellow
Duckie was comforting
Cat was kind
Bear was understanding
Giraffe was a laugh
Chipmunk was encouraging
And Goose loved them all

Duckie, Cat, Bear and Giraffe all
frequent the same little niche
Fishy swims down the street
from Chipmunk's tree
Owl and Goose fly in similar circles

And where would each be,
without the other
Our animal friends,
Or one another

In hidden heights, of window's sights
I've seen the people pass
Across the way a light shines on
A man paints, what simple ease
Two lights above, some people stand
No curtains mare their joy
Yet in between these lively homes
Empty is it's name
Not once did I yet see the sign
Of human life a flame

I'll wave at them and let them know
Watching is my name
Not a crime, or creepy act
No binoculars do I hold
And honored they should be
With lives so vivid and so riveting
That my attention, they have held
Enough to merit them a place
In writings to unfold

Eternally separated,
The Sea and The Sky
Vast but not endless,
there expanses of blue
Feeding each other
to maintain a show of balance

When saddened rain falls from The Sky
The Sea swells to comfort it
When sunny joy reflects from The Sea
The Sky smiles happily back down
And yet they remain apart

But far off, behind the setting sun
Lays a place, spoken of with hope
Where The Sea and The Sky can meet
Maybe on the receding line
Maybe, on the horizon

Hey Duckity
Cheer uppity
Fear of life
Can turn to strife
The grass may be greener on the
Other side
But they lied
For where you are
Is just as far
As where you may need to be