You do not have to pick
from gardens outside
of the forest that is
already thriving
w i t h i n
Y o u
for if you do
your head will fill
with leaves that fall
when You need spring
winter will come in june
and soon You won't have
sight of the moon
(or You)
b e c a u s e
You lost yourself
inside somebody else's
fire and the only way out
is to find Love in the smoke
of your own two tired eyes
like You could before
You jumped ship
f e a r i n g
the possibility
of finding out that
your pieces may not
ever fit together in
the same way
a g a i n
but what is life
if we always float
where the water is
c a l m ?
i don't know about You
but i prefer the rapid descent
of water falls and milky way skies
that can only be achieved through
the most demanding environments
that leave you filled with
P u r e L i g h t

you are enough energy alone

Your Light is what will
always lead you back hOMe
to your own field of wildfires
where your broken heart's eye
can see Your vessel A l o n e
holds enough Light to fuel
all the stars in the sky,
to warm the
hearts of
m i l l o i o n s
and as you breathe
You can feel the Love of
countless stars who all
exploded to fill your
body cavities with
all the strength
You'll ever
need
so
next time
you feel alone
put your hand to
you heart and feel the
rhythm of the YOUniverse
listen to nature sing to you
melodies of the T r u t h
that you’re not a "me"
but are woven into
the cosmos as an
integral part of
“we" & every
thing you
see. . .

Every voice needs an ear
  for it to be free

Every writer, a reader,
  or the words cease to be

In my case I’ve been lucky
  though she came to me late

For my dearest sweet Laura
  —the key to my gate

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2018)
        ‘To My Dear Friend Laura’

honesty
honestly, she says
"this [book] has meant so much to me
and it's not like it ends terribly
just not how you would think"

she hands me over Silverstein -
a copy of The Missing Piece
with that note she wrote inside for me


and it ends just like you'd think