This is a place where prayers are made
Where the children of need are born
We grow but even a forest can burn
Before their time to shed their skin

Though the sun hides behind dark clouds
We learn to hide our fears behind a smile
We enter our closets to put away our day
Knowing we stand in the chamber of prayers

We pay for a body guard with our tithes
We leave the fallen harvest on the ground
Alms and first fruits are blankets we weave
And faith is sand facing the next hurricane

A bullet speaks of peace after it comes to rest
The damage bears no guilt as it forgive its victim
The life we endure when we bury our children
Is the resurrection of a prayer we learned long ago

We were both impressed enough
At least our eyes were saying so
I asked her where she was going
For some reason she didn’t know

I wonder what you are really like
Is there any faith in what you know
I wonder if you are even aware
You went the wrong way long ago

You have no idea
No idea if you're gonna stay
And I'm so weird
You're gonna walk away

She tried to be everything that’s good
It makes it hard to face the truth
It’s easier to say I forgive you all the time
And only think about the games of youth

I noticed she was still looking at me
She had no idea how my mind just exploded
The entire thought was like a shot of whiskey
It went down hard but now my heart is loaded

You have no idea
No idea if you're gonna stay
But I know
You're gonna walk away

You’d never know’d I was rich
It’s not that I am
But I always seem to have a dollar in my pocket
And a glass left from last night’s bottle

If it ain’t aged it aint’ no good
Neither you and neither me
We learned some things along the way
How to love is all that’s left to do

It’s good to surprise yourself
You leave it on the shelf
And the money builds on itself
But love don’t feel like waiting
No it don’t
No it don’t

I say you’re mine
It’s not how long we were together
Time don’t care how long it lasts
But I sure do
It’s a lifetime of you always remember

It’s good to surprise yourself
You leave it on the shelf
And the money builds on itself
But love don’t feel like waiting
No it don’t
No it don’t

No matter the darkness in others
They still recognize kindness
Even if they cannot trust it

No matter the stone
It can be cooled beneath the sun
And warmed beneath the moon

No matter how they respond
They will remember how you made them feel
Even if the love they never had remains a mystery

No matter
You cannot change the world
But you can turn on the light

She asked if I’d ever looked at a bed
Knowing all the things that I’d done
That’s not how her momma’ taught her to pray

She had a husband once
He bought the bed but that’s all
It was up to her to make him want to stay

I didn’t mean anything by it
She asked me, “What did you say?”
I was thinking it was a sad story
She could tell because I looked away

But why do you believe it?
Why do you believe something
There was a white dress and everyone stayed to pray

It had to be right she said
The preacher gave us the word
How could a new bed know he would not stay?

I didn’t say anything about it
She was ready to close the door
She wanted to feel like a woman
But he never could think that way

She asked for roses once
He said it’s not the same to ask
I’ll bring ‘em he said but today was not that day

They never did arrive
That’s why she was so surprised
I gave 'em to her one at a time
One for every tear that ran that day

I didn’t know anything about it
I knew then we’d have to get our own
I wanted the one she had in mind
The one where only true love can lay

Writing a song alone at night
That's how I get someone to listen
Nobody does when they're yelling
A dark light is all I can believe in

A poor man can't accept his wife's misery
That's why he's so angry all the time
Nobody can live if they failed as a father
His neighbor said it's a mountain we all climb

There's no dignity
And no pride too
It's harder than they can imagine
Pretending is what rich people do

Dying was something he thought about
Who wouldn't want to walk streets of gold
He wanted to ask the preacher about it
But the gold crosses made him feel cold

He watched her drive off with the kids
They were scared but he knew it was best
The pain inside was louder than sorrow
That church bell guilt won't let him rest

There's no honor
And no pride too
It's as real as he feared
It's something he always knew

He didn't know who he should forgive
Isn't that what Jesus taught us to do?
But he was the one that life had wronged
They would forgive him if they really knew

Living between heaven and hell
That's only life he knows
It's easier to be a criminal than a saint
That's what he told her when she decided to go

There's no hope
And no pride too
Everybody said he was lazy
Her family said it was true

I want the reflection from me
To be of the life lived by you
There is no reason to pretend
My scars are all that are true

If life has been good for me
It means I'm a lucky man
There’s no reason to pretend
My own life is in God’s hand

There’s no reason to pretend
Sometimes I try to fool myself
I don’t want to fool anybody else
Why would I do that to a friend

When I think about the way
You live your life each day
I want you to see it in me
I can only live life my way
I hope that when you pray
You pray for a life with me

There’s no reason to pretend
There’s no reason to lose a friend
There’s no reason to pretend
There’s no reason to pretend

Where have all the moments gone
I think I spent them all on you
Come back find a way to begin
Fit your way in between
Rising and setting suns
Day and night
And the reasons that made it end

It’s the constant motion
You won’t sit still
You always painted a mood
But my eyes could no longer follow
Now there is no time to pause
No time to reflect
Like normal people should

Should we instead chase being ordinary
Being fulfilled is not always equal
We can find it in music anyway
There is too much pressure
Yes, too much pressure
To ride white horses
And wear red lingerie

Memories, some aren’t meant to last
Stories, it’s tomorrow, not the past
When you see me, it’s not a mystery
I’m like you, we share the same history

I’m grown now
It doesn’t matter how
You picked him instead
But that stuff is already dead

I not worried about it
I’m not sorry about it
Not anymore

Doubt, I’m not there anymore
Without, I’m feeling stronger
When you see me there’s a story
But it’s not the one behind me

I’m grown now
I don’t have a vow
You decided to move on
You found out who was strong

I don’t cry about it
I don’t ask God about it
Not anymore

I tried to consider everything
Then I realized that was the problem

The ego that believes

Not every creek bed can contain a river
when clouds drift too slow to avoid
letting you know how they feel

I tried to be so normal
Then I realized it was only for them

The ego that is afraid

Not every forest can contain a fire
when lightening decides it is time
for nature to try again

I tried to love you more
Then I realized it was only for me

The ego that lost

Not every dream can contain a nightmare
when the one who believed in you
learns to live without you

Mock those who do not smile,
be glad you are not one of them;
but know you have not begun to live, until
you have found a way to live freely,
with everything that happened to them,
when it happens to you

Thank God you’re back
Did you find a home there?
Was it why you went that way?
Did you adapt it to your life
Or did you reject it?

Are you euphoric?
Are you at peace?
Are you disappointed?

Because you did come back
You’re eating
You’re talking
You’re in the middle of where you lived

Did you chase fate
Or fortune?
Did destiny meet you there
Or was it just a hint?

I wonder how far it took you to come back
Did you think you’d lost your way
Or did we accidently meet again?

You changed your shoes
Are you preserving the dust
Or burying the memory?

It seems you aren’t yourself
Troubled but determined
Not wrong
But not right

I know you don’t want to be here
You expected to be there
And there was not there

Yet

It’s only your desire
But a dream is never fully formed
It’s an idea
Like a song
But the rain
The heat
The wind
The cold

These are the things that are real

And they weren’t there in the dream
But they are there in your life
So maybe you are already there
It’s just that you didn’t recognize it

You almost did
But you didn't

You just have to get used to almost
Almost as you imagined
Almost as you wanted
Almost
Not exactly

Like life

Almost
Not exactly

I don’t need help with money
I don’t need help with my kids
I spend my time on what matters
Nothing’s easy that’s important

I’m not looking for a princess
I hope that’s all behind you now
It takes time to believe trust
Nothing lasts without honesty

Don’t be impressed
Just believe in who I am
People say they know things
Like the back of their hand
I don’t really know mine
But I know my heart

I’m looking for more than life
Not a list of weekend plans
It seems hard to understand
Nothing loves like a dreamer

Don’t feather my nest
Just believe I’ll come back
People say he can’t love
If he’s too restless inside
I don’t really know my mind
But I know my heart

My body was ok
My heart
Not so much
I wanted to be close
I wanted to feel your touch

Then I had a dream
But it was the same
Only pictures of you
And now you're gone
Along with the love I knew

We were lovers
But that day is done
For a moment we forgot blame
Now we live apart
Our desire lost its aim

We were standing so close
You couldn't hide your smile
You remembered how it felt
But you are too strong now
There was nothing left to melt

Should I lay my head, soaking in a tub covered in white paint
It is how you think I live, pretending to be a saint
I do not ask, but it is my children who must overcome my teachings
But what should I tell them of another man's preachings?

It is the unjust law that should be buried by glorious upheaval
For no law of despots and thieves knows equity, only evil
But thought repressed by those who will not allow others to speak
Is a law of mad men who would not give what it is they seek

In the judgment of those with too much power or nothing to lose
We are either ruled or blamed, but it is they who choose
I would die on the island of my father no matter the depth of peril
For the blood in my veins is not of the anger in your barrel

There was a green meadow
And on it a house
Inside were bright curtains and wooden floors
And a garden on the side
Where she got dirt on her blouse

There was a desire to love in her heart
Then there was a man
In him there was fire and feeling
And strong hands gentle enough
To till the garden where love began

He walked proudly next to her
But she did not feel the same thing
She wondered if she was on the rebound
He wondered why she kept that old ring

But like a winter bird she finally flew
It was not how he wanted it to be
They had their ups and downs
But something more made her stay away
An empty horizon was all he needed to see

He slept like a baby next to her
One night he had to find a different dream
She finally left him without a sound
Except the echo of a lost lovers scream

A rock glancing across a pond
thrown before we knew who
would care to set our life in motion

How long before the last leap forward?

When and how
The only questions that remain
When… and how

The questions, never asked within
the pleasure of my own flesh, even
as it aged slowly by the currents
that guided the rock, became nearer
as clear waters revealed where I
might come to rest

But now, when fear of loss looms
along with what I can feel but
cannot control, the question of
when becomes that of how
for what accompanies my fears
now is the pain inside those
who would love me for the
mere fact of my existence
and my love for them

When all momentum begins to cease what
will you feel with the end rising all around
you; what once propelled you forward
now draws you near to the questions
you once ignored but now must confront

When and how; now you know

But the question has now become who

Who have you become?

Is it the stone hurled by someone
else or the stone sinking because
life became something you could
not prepare for or know?

Who will you be when the world
doesn’t value a stone seeking
the floor where all sound must
cease and the sun and the rain
can only be seen through the
prism of fate and destiny colliding
all around you while you wonder
if the choice ever mattered

But what you brought with you
are the secrets of a life with one
more chance to help another stone
hurtle further; held aloft by your
wisdom even though it may never
know that what sunk to the bottom
was not to be forgotten but instead
God’s hand if you will only believe
in your purpose

I cannot build a pyramid
I cannot imagine how
Except to dig a hole
But I’m already in one
So why dig another?

I’ve never wanted to run away
Especially without love by my side
But I cannot believe what I hear anymore
Lying is the new morality
I thought of it
But I know what is true when it comes to you

I can tell how hard you are trying to forget me
But you can’t if it has become your life
I know everything about you
At least what you decided to show me
Again you brought me to the brink
So close without admitting it
Was it to tell me what I could not have
Or was it to find out something you did not know

Yes I can
Yes I can
Yes I can
Whatever it was that you asked
Even though I really didn’t know
Yes I can
And I did

We swam together
Our bodies were submerged
Our faces like swans
It was as if we knew one another
The beauty was a reminder
But the way you swam away was too

The temptation of you is greater than ever
But so is the will that I have to live my life
You made me wait as I did you
In a game of getting even
We only fooled each other
But we knew that already
Because true love is that way

She once was just another star you drowned in your light
But when our little world stopped spinning
All that remained was the end of another long day
The night sky seemed good only for a long goodbye
Instead it became the light that helped me find my way

I decided I wanted to be in love again
But you said I fell for the first star I saw that night
Maybe what you meant is not what for me to say
There is nothing to regret if the first hello always lasts
And nothing to forget of the light that chased your shadow away

It’s not our opinions upon which we must judge
Sometimes we wish to untie old knots with words that bind
Our hands were left free to choose another place to stay
But what was left of our minds held close our parting
Knowing our spoken words were not how small children play

I am older now
And I have reached the mountaintop
But I am not ill
Nor is my time short
No more so than any other sane man
If that is how I may be able to live

Rational
Hopeful
Sober

I carry nothing on my back
No deeds to draw upon to quench my thirst
Only a mind full of conscious humility
And regret

My silent face is a sign of contemplation
For vanity and pride die where the air cannot be set on fire
My heart beats slowly like a peaceful creek
Fed by unknown headwaters
A confluence of  spirit and silent motive

I see how I have measured myself wrongly
For what glory upon which man may dine
Is of benefit to my dead body?
I desire only the destruction to a legacy of pleasure
For now I see the journey has just begun

Each plateau of discovery
Met by one of even greater challenge
Where men of ******* echo their stories
I made haste from the dangers of the unknown
Where men of privilege boast of their medals
I lingered with what I have always known
But what concern was it to the clouds that gather above me
For their charge is to rain and thunder upon every man equally
But what is equal to one who must shame those with an umbrella?

I will not have the use of the tools upon which I relied
For they are as beneficial as a feather for a rebuke
Or a cane for forgiveness
My legs have reached the end of their useful life
And I have no wings
There is no emotion that will carry me beyond my excuses
Grief, joy, bewilderment
None can avail themselves of purpose to me

We are all walking on a grade of sliding pebbles
Some of us realize it more than others
We all live with uncertainties that can happen at any time
But what is uncertainty when the top of the mountain is all there is
Is it the uncertainty of our marriage to disappointment
Or how to live born into ******* whether enslaved or ignorant
What we must find within ourselves is the discovery
For the mountain is only another obstacle before the doors of freedom

To be free
It is a choice
Right or wrong
To believe or not
To know where another man may fail
You may succeed
And to know the full measure of another man lies within your patience
And your desire to give him all the time he needs

Beauty without empathy
A smile without depth
A thank you without sincerity
Your believing heart is out of breath
You are chasing a mirage
An oasis of fantasy
But you will know its breadth
When kindness wears no camouflage
And deception knows no honesty

how easy it is to pretend
that they would never feel the things we do
that they are so different from us

Do they look out the window as the past disappears
Are the words of poets more meaningful to them
Is freedom for the soul or for God
Who could know what is right

how easy to assume we will ascend
that we are forgiven while treating them cruel
that they are a race to distrust

What in their life accuses them of being in contempt
Is it outside God’s ability to control the message
Is freedom about fear or disobedience
Who could know what is wrong

how we try to dignify the end
they cover the bodies we expose like fools
but we both begin with a single cut

Is it what our parents taught us that we trust
Rebellion is only the ignorance of our youth
There is no world to possess
Only the moment to make them cry

Occupyin' Blues
Today we made the news
They told us to go
Nothin' sleepin' on concrete can grow

It’s their tea
So don’t take it
The ones who got nothing
Want someone to share it
Where they sit
No matter
The whole thing
Will just get swept
Under another rug

The limo’s are full
Of unrepentant braces
Full of themselves
Throwing dimes at the faces
Of the poor
But they’ll be back
And take that too
Because the money
Is for them
And not for me
And not for you

Occupyin' Blues
Today we made the news
They told us to go
Nothin' sleepin' on concrete can grow

They think it’s over
You got your rights
So why you complainin’
It was better
When they were sayin’
You was a lazy good for nothing
Now they think it’s fixed
You see yourself
In a big White House
But it’s no big thing
To them

There’s no hoses or whips
Instead you get pink slips
Maybe it’s better now
Instead of stringin’
They just singin’
That song about boot straps
And all
So it’s just words
They don’t hurt
Do they?

Occupyin' Blues
Today we made the news
They told us to go
Nothin' sleepin' on concrete can grow

There’s a problem though
Some of the complainin’
By folks who were never livin'
On the streets like poor folk
It's getting’ a little close to home
‘Cause they look like them
Acted like them
Except now they’re not
And they’re sweatin’
‘Cause they know the game

But there’s no guiltin’
No remorsin’
About lootin’
Or pollutin’
No sir
They might be pausin’
‘Cause your causin’
Some kind of ruckus
But they’ll be back to schemin’
And you’ll be dreamin’
‘Bout the time you thought
You was somthin’
On the streets
Protestin’
And occupyin’
While the police was arrestin’
The gutter rats for nothin’
But exercisin’
Their rights to be assemblin’
It's right there
In the Constitution
Or so they were sayin’

Occupyin' Blues
Today we made the news
They told us to go
Nothin' sleepin' on concrete can grow


Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. Mark Lecuona

if the feeling is all of myself
and to be young is to be alone
then i will be alone
there is nothing about me that is growing old
though time would disagree
i will not accept anything less
there is no generation to which i belong
except the one that spans my past and my future
when my body existed
because that is the only life my blood can warm
but the bridge i have built
is the one that requires no beginning
or end
i have time for nothing else
except to cross without remorse
or regret
about what i discover about myself
and choose to tell you my love

Oh London
We weep for you again
Hatred upon your streets
The cancer over which we weep

Oh London
Is it so the next life to be lost
Is less than the virtue inviolate
We preserve no matter the cost

Oh London
Is it so the fears we harbor
Are less than the courage
Of the martyrdom of the free

Oh London
Is it so we walk the streets
With carefree gait and whistle
While evil threatens our peace

Oh London
Is it so we must forever believe
In faith and innocence first
No matter the life we grieve

Oh London
Never surrender
The final refuge of civilization
Rests upon your ****** crown

What to do with time that may last minutes or years
No way to talk about regrets with anyone who you once knew
Listening to young people talk about the pain of the living
If they only knew how time is so precious and what it can do

Fallen trees, food for the god’s that roam underneath our feet
Broken stone fences, dividing land once known for its welcome
Hope, as wispy as dandelions, blown about by our misgiving
The wings of Falls colors, flutter as the winter cold beckons

What we fail to see are the ways to be what they missed
To know the moon follows a setting sun is the beginning of time
How many times can it be that a chance passes to be forgiving
But to act our age is to allow time to commit another crime

One day I'm going to spend the next ten years in a bar
Don't ask me to leave or I won't come back
I assume you like my life savings
I'm going to sell my car
I'm going to sell my name
Then I won't have to raise my kids anymore
They'll know where to find me
Burning poems into the table with a Cuban cigar
If they're lucky they won't be embarrassed
If they're lucky they'll get it
But if they're not they'll think being a lawyer is being a star

what did they tell you
it was all bad
the water polluted
the people lawless
the champions corrupt
the blood of deceit
what do they show you
nothing but smiles
triumph
while we watch
waving a flag
we are not immune
it is our culture
it must be great
we shall vanquish them
then we will forget
everything we were told
everything we saw
because there will be something new
something new to fear
our differences will become stark
again
difficult to accept
because judgment is the only game we know
and the eclipse of our common interest
will burn into our eyes
searing them shut
as we retreat back into our safe place

I thought I’d been to hell and back
But I went one more time just to be sure
There’s more than one face on the devil
And more than one fire without any cure

I might have seen you there once or twice
We can’t get along but we like the same place
If we’re gonna’ be miserable why not together?
It’s too hard to fight then sit down to say grace

I saw both of you down there
Maybe you lost your way
Maybe I made you that way
I never belonged
Not even for a day
But I loved you once

The fire was so loud
We couldn’t hear each other
Trippin’ on our mistakes
Never knowing the weather

I know how hard love can be when it’s wrong
We made a conversation that couldn’t stay calm
It was almost as if we met window shopping
Mannequin clothes aren't in style very long

I saw myself down there
I know I lost my way
Love doesn’t act that way
I tried to belong
For more than a day
But I only loved you once

She wanted all there is
Because she once had it
She did not know what to say
The snow flake had melted
The storm cloud had no more lightening to offer
The things that were once unique remained as they were
A cruel memory
For there he stood
Waiting to be all that she wanted
Once again
But she could sense no new season as before
They had once run together towards the cliffs edge
Recklessly abandoning prudence
And though they had known others
Together they became first love
But they became lost in time
And as she followed her heart once again
What was new was now only familiar
And as he wondered if her tears were of sadness or joy
She knew he could never be what he once was

I never forgot you my love
The ten years between us have passed
I knew I had no choice but to wait

Every morning I remembered
But I walked slowly on distant shores
Because love said it's never too late

There are no broken mirrors
Or paintings of jagged edged emotion
You were always my friend
Even when you said till we meet again

We both know how we once felt
I don’t know if you live for something new
Or for someone who believes in fate

Maybe I’m just a bridge you once crossed
But the fire you see in the distance is my torch
Because the moon tild you never to walk straight

There is no broken glass
Or songs about bitter love that was lost
If we can only be friends
I will still smile about you no matter the cost

Can you take a chance with me
Having faith with what you can’t see
Can you walk away with me honey
Away from what we don’t want to be

I’m going to say forgive me first
I already know what I’m going to do
It’s going to be a very human thing
I’m telling you the things that might come true

I remember how it feels
Building a life around love
We’ve both seen our homes fall apart
We can leave the pieces on the floor
Or see if we can build one more

Falling down from heaven
The promises of we make
Falling like leaves all around
Reminding of the chances we take

I’m never too sure of myself
I never dream of tears to come
But I will let you break my heart
Because that’s where I come from

Do you remember how it feels
Building a life around love
We’ve both know how to live on
We can forever give up on love
Or see if we are what it’s made of

As their lips neared the shores of chance and promise
He stopped the water and swept the sand clean of candled muses
The wind swept air paused for them to decide
They didn’t know about love when they could still feel their bruises
She thought she heard him say the word forever
But how could it be when it was only what she’d given away before
Though he stopped her breath she opened her eyes
She wanted to see what kind of man it was who finally wanted more
The fortress she made was only made of sand
But when he pulled the moon close the tides of love swept it away
And while fires burned inside glowing paper bags
The roar of exploding shells fueled their desires where they lay

Do not be afraid of my honesty
Every concern you harbor is tied to my mast
I’ve decided to listen to a French woman sing
Though I do not understand, she shares my past

It’s not so hard to know
Listen to her voice, the softness
While music suggests how we should feel
Only a singer can live within our sadness

What exists in the unconscious is fully developed
I don’t need any more time behind the mask
I’m only obsessed with the knowing
Of who I am or who I should ask

I live outside my own mind
Leaping fences erected to keep me out
I need to know everything about you
For mystery is not intrigue but instead doubt

There is no time for tradition
Or the fears we both know
Though I possess seeds of passion
I cannot wait for something to grow

You must not think of what is to be built
Or why it is that I noticed you
You cannot be offended that your beauty
Preceded what may come to be true

It’s all very simple now my love
It’s an either or situation
Either our hearts are right for each other
Or they must find other accommodations

I live within my own reason
From you I expect nothing less
And until we able to reason together
I will own only one wine glass

I should never have left our apartment
But the courage in your words left me no choice
I watched your face trying to ignore what you said
It all came from a place deeper than your voice

At first I thought it was just a warning
But then you told me I didn’t get it
That’s when I knew that it was real
And now I know that you really meant it

When you find a feather
You know it’s a part of something greater
What flew away once landed at my window
You knew that love for me would never be the same
And now that you have taken flight
How else would I know that you were right

I wish we had been born long ago
Quiet evenings walking a path of leaves
It could be that time has not long enough passed
This the night air told me true love believes

I can see what it means to you
To live a life knowing of a happy end
And as the camera slowly recedes
The movie we made is now a memory
But though I know what is true, still
You play a game of forget and pretend

When you find a feather
You know it’s a part of something greater
What flew away once landed at my window
You knew that love for me would never be the same
And now that you have taken flight
I must live knowing that you were right

It’s wet sand
in the wrong places
There is an undertow
only I can see
I paint the walls
different colors
Anything really
As long as it’s not yesterday’s dream

But who am I
trying to be
I’m just another person
walking alone
I wonder what
I could say
Nothing really
My heart doesn’t know what it means

I thought I built
something to last
But nobody can tell you for how long
It’s too late
to find another place
I can only live with what went wrong

It’s only colors I never thought could grow
How they got here only I will ever know

I need a place
where to belong
So I tried
to make things right
But how to live
in the right time
Anytime really
It never matters as much as it seems  

I thought I built
something to last
But nobody can tell you for how long
It’s too late
to find another place
I can only live with what I did wrong

It’s only colors I never thought could grow
How they got here only I will ever know

It was just a question between kids, or maybe
between a monkey and a tortoise; one who
liked to climb trees; the other more pleased
with taking his time

How did things start; the question waffed
by dry air, watched by the hands that set it
in motion coming to rest as a most fortunate
tenant on the back of the pitching shell

If it was an explosion maybe that’s why we
cannot live delicately though butterflies
and falling leaves pass through this life; even
as a mirage; owning their resistance to death
as a dream owns our fears

It must be like that; we live like animals;
reacting to forces that we cannot control
or understand; spreading our minds apart
like buildings scattered by what another
man described as victory

Though reason remains within us the decisions
we make cannot stick to walls that refuse to
stand still while time records every doubt
as to the meaning of islands and arks

But why would we blow something up to
create something new unless what was
to come was penance for horrors that a
youthful God witnessed in his progeny;
only the cross knows why

Only until dawn
Will I consider purpose
But I shall find it
Only by day
To become effort
Then I will rest
Only until dawn
To reflect upon progress
Then I shall embark
Only by day
To awaken forgiveness
Then I will measure
Only until dawn
The distance traveled
To turn the arc of recourse
Only by day
Where the sun reveals
What will burn deeply
Only until dawn
For which I shall suffer
To begin again
Only by day
To pray once more
For my strength
Only until dawn

it took his entire life
and a second
as with anything that happened a moment ago
or at least just before
high fashion became not the world
why look?
sanity slowed his gait before decision
there was nothing he needed
a deliberately paced piano foretold the past
it made him feel strange
everyone was doomed but he already knew
so why think of them?
it was only about how, when and why
that is why he grew quiet
as if it mattered to a stranger washing his face
they would never meet
he lost his voice while speaking in obscenities
it served him right
his suits hung loudly while his jeans lay quietly
as did his black shoes and sneakers
a future promise would no longer be negotiable
withhold it until the right time
a still-born breeze waited by the door
she could only wonder
he liked her but didn’t ask her for anything
the obligation was too overwhelming
he wasn’t looking for another intoxication
it was time to be a baby again
to allow what was necessary required innocence
not to attract opposites
interaction became optional as was isolation
a prerequisite controls direction
blinding light prevents outside interference
ear shattering sound for dismay
every sense is a matter of knowledge
until it is overwhelmed
to cleanse is to see because nothing exists
it is not peace
it is the destruction of memory and reason
to be like a baby
crying for something it cannot request
you could climb a mountain
but to what end does the depth exist?
nature of that scope must remain
you could read the same book every day
but do you want to be a robot?
it is not necessary to recite a creed or rosary
ritual only revives torment
but its form is worse than the original
to shock yourself by complete withdrawal from convention
but not to protest
it is to know that every conversation was once yours
as is every car that passes
when the landing gear retracts beneath you
that is when you will know
metal ***** that click together are no longer important
only the ability to see what is true
waking up in a different bed in a different land
it is the same
no culture to defend no God that is afraid
no cynicism
only the desire to be as you were intended
it is the moment
you need to be told because you are waiting
stop waiting in the lobby
if the elevator does not work
take the stairs
if the stairs are filled with people huddled together
ignore the storm
the piano is playing as your heart keeps time
the hands the reaches for you
reveals that the piano plays involuntarily
like your heart
it knows what to do in order to survive
but what would you have it do
in order to begin again
most likely a guard dog must give chase intending to ****
it is time not to care for trends
it is time not to be judged by those you do not know
for fear is the blinding light
and confusion the ear shattering sound
but to know the moment before
is to know that you waited all your life
for this to happen
it is your chance if you will only care to try
nobody has to know
only you
if only you would get out of your own way

I can remember the flag waving against the respectful sky
We sat on the bench watching
The metallic sounds of its status played deftly by the wind
We sat on the bench listening
It is not good sometimes to see how they leave this place
We sat on the bench praying
But you saw the birth of your memories instead of their end
We sat on the bench remembering

The distance between his last breath and my birth an instant
I sat on the bench painfully
Yet I find myself wanting tomorrow to hurry up and arrive
I sat on the bench impatiently
I wanted to try to slow it down and the sun finally agreed
I sat on the bench slowly
The flag waved again filled by the wind his breath kept alive
I sat on the bench faithfully

The ice is cracking all around, melting,
raising up a new sound; a crime against
nature even as we change the arc of
history, not of man but instead in the
ability of irony to command free thinkers
to abdicate their future because they
trust that sufficient caution will never die

A theory so easily spoken; but a pragmatic
not so easily breached, because we stand,
incarcerated by our resentments, regrets
and the life we built around us to wall off
our injured minds from those who could
exploit us in the pretense of our healing

What is sanity when those who deny belief
and those who believe in what others deny
both stand accused of denying reality; the
psychology of every experience elevates us
from the natural to the personality of reason
yet where is the desire to evolve further
than the plunder from which we came?

I walked through every level that supposed
itself to be necessary to extract sorrow if
not by direct application then by witness
of my neighbors bleeding life, but it was
your love that washed ashore where the
sand was grains of glass that had become
only questions of purpose

If I don't have your love
I hope I'm at least on your mind

Out of sight
It hurts baby
To never see you
But maybe you're thinking of me
Like I'm thinking of you

If he has your love
I hope he knows how to treat you

In his arms
It hurts baby
To never hold you
But maybe he can't feel you
The way I do

If we never love again
I hope you know nobody compares to you

Walking alone
It hurts baby
You made me see
But I'd rather see it with you
The way I hoped it would be

The young man
listened
He watched a face
move
He thought about  
words
And then he spoke
deeply
They asked how he became
wise
He said it was because of
them
But he did not memorize
facts
Or carry a notebook full of
blame
He only opened his heart to
others
He was not afraid to show
them
And because they knew it was
true
He was able to bring them
near
Because the truth of a
feeling
Is all it takes to make a
friend

The sun was coming through the window
I knew it would be a cheery day
That’s better than wondering about
And feeling like I’m not very tall

I never wanted to be so different, but
The connection was like four instead of two
It brought me into the light more often
Than the way like minds try but never do

I don’t worry about what I wore
Just enough to cover I suppose
Even so I wanted it to be a message
My shirt decided to give you a call

After we speak I always feel it in my sleeves
The things we are and the things we’ve seen
I like that it’s ok to be on different planets
That’s why my window said get out of bed

You never wanted to be so different, but
The connection was bigger than you
It brought you into the light more often
Than the way like minds try but never do

We vowed never to consider the struggle
It was always about breathing and living
Love was the discovery of chances together
Whatever happened was the might of it all

We never wanted to be so different, but
The connection was even closer than true
It brought us into the light more often
Than the way like minds try but never do

Opposite ends of the sunshine
Though warmth reaches us all
It cannot tell us how we should feel
Sometimes we don’t understand
Why would the sun fail to see
What is false and what is real?

Opposite ends of the ocean
Crushed by water or is it distance
Is the deep the same as the surface?
Still we stand on distant shores
As swells dance with the moon
Another light uncaring about justice

Opposite ends of the earth
Taking turns with light and dark
Leaving messages on the moon
I see you but you do not know me
Will we decide to meet halfway
Will it be midnight or high noon?

Opposite ends of the rainbow
Is it gold we hoard or colors?
Will love decide which is right
Through a prism we see images
The times of our life and pain
Can love share as we share light?

I don't care how beautiful you are
If you don't use your mind then you're ****
You'll always just be the man you married

Love is not about being grown-up
I’m going to stare at you as long as it takes
Don’t you remember how it feels
When are you going to let me fall in love with you

Don’t make it seem too fast
That’s how long it took when we were young
And now we don’t have time to decide
It’s our life now and you know it’s true

It’s not too late for us
Forget everything that has happened
I realize what we’ve been through
But that was with somebody else

Maybe it’s my fault
Every flower I’ve ever sent is yours now
I just have to gather them up
And dust off the memories I’m want to forget

Don’t let our children pass us by
They don’t really know what we’ve been through
I can see the young girl in your heart
That’s what I want, can you give it to me?

As you turned your head slowly
I could see black shadows changing to crimson
While the flame in your eyes flickered in wait
The light walked it's way up my body
Like the sunrise up a stone mountain side
When we met we didn't turn away
We stared longer than we could endure
But the pain of being unsure was not greater than love
The excited faces all around us became blank
Our hearts were no longer buried under our fears
No longer demure, your eyelashes drew me near
Your breath made my hair stand on end to catch the wind
I wanted to sail beyond all sense of where I'd been
And yet as I walked towards you we knew the games would begin