her lucid moments
while dozen starlings take flight
they sweep up into the free wind from pavement
scattered by careless child at some game
they roll in turbulent air
and gift the new born day with melodies sweet enough
to lull even this madwoman's mind

i cant even find my way out of the
dark puzzle pattern of her eyes
all the arranged pieces like tin soldiers
poised just so in the thunder of war
for romantic effect

the things we never speak of
and the novels our hearts weave
are worlds apart
the sunlight reflected as the day wanes
the thoughts held near and dear
we bring out of their hidden box
like trappings of a secret life
costumes we try on in the secret of night
masks we all wear to hide the truth
from ourselves

far out to sea
deep in wild woods
in the crisp dawn on the high desert
there are still places it can be heard
but it takes a heart to hear
it takes a labor of love

countless miles hand to the tiller
to find that brief moment
on the crest of a twenty foot breaking wave
as a nor'easter wilds the sea
when you glimpse it
in the stillness between heaven and earth

under the bewitching stars
in the anvil of desolation's wasteland
of high desert
on the cusp of the suns imminent rise
you can see it in the broiling fire
as the edge of the world itself burns

a viper in the garden
moves with intent and stealth
a shadow in moonlight
this is my gravestone
cold and grey
chiseled with name and testament
overgrown with weeds and grass
leaning like a leaf in a wind
low to the earth
thick with aroma of the natural world

small holes in the tapestry of my life
the viper has wormed his way into the colors there
mixed his toxic blood with her pure loves
swift is his nature
dire are his eyes
this is the swan song never before uttered
this is the last chapter never written
small holes in the tapestry
life long obsession
with the one truth never attained
in her eyes
a viper in the garden
and seeing him there i knew
that the truth had eluded me

as a young man i had thought to dream
and nourished that dream until it was a
beautiful garden  
where waiting for me was the truth of me
that i was born to find her
and to love ever after
but as with all men comes the world
comes the truth of our lives
a viper in the garden has taken away my dream
small holes in the tapestry of my life
let slip the moonlight
that peppers my gravestone
cold and grey
where the viper rests this night
sated by its dark vision

winter calls me
ease into the walking away
maybe it'll all have meaning someday
maybe it will all be clear to me
when iv found the home iv searched for all these years

i can watch the snowflakes fall
spiral round and down
intermittent feelings bring me back
winter calls me so quietly
that its sound is no more than a soft kiss in my ear
it says to leave a trail behind me
move forward and know that there is no knowing tomorrow
till it comes
there is no knowing how much holding hands means
till its gone

winter calls me
and i reply
ever so softly i tell quick stories in poem form
ever so quietly i speak to the heart
winter calls me
and i loose myself in its dreaming
look back and see the trail i took
to get here to find
winter calls me
a soft kiss in my ear

in nightfall's grey hour
look intently into the reflection
peer into the face looking back at me
trying to find the flaw in the heart of that stranger i see
seeking to mend what cannot be
if you look within you will never see
what is and what should be

rain infects the last of the daylight
and i walk out into it raise my face to the heavens
cleanse the soul of guilt and pain
from the evil that you refrained
from deed that would have stained
if you look within to see broken dreams that have remained
look within will leave you insane

night has come
darkness will hide you
tears will obscure
what you really should be living for
light kiss upon the tender thought before
and you will find what love really is to your core
mend this heartache you dream to see what is in store
there is a tender true love that awaits for
you to open your hearts door

my empty hands sprawled
the healers of magical minds watch intently
as i rush to speak all my madness thoughts
as i spill the visions and voices that come to me in the night
they pour out onto the madhouse floor
stained like blood red wine
sharp taste to the minds electric eye
wrap tin foil around your fingers when you type
lest the alien signature machine sees you in a dream

the healers of a magical mind
tell you of reality that you cannot see
they give you small pills to make it all better
to soak up all the fears
your magic mind speaks inside your ear
tells you not to swallow the pills
that they make your face look funny in the mirror
that they control you with secret machines
in magazines

sit on the bare floor
straight jacket wrapped warmly around you like loving arms
and watch the cursed moon rise neath the clouds
sing in a whisper to the voices in your head
your eyes wide open
to the magical mind