An explosion in your head
Not so shallow as our nihilism
Or cruel as our abuse
He only wanted to talk freely
You couldn’t take his mannerism
Martians aren't so conservative
Instead it became something you read
You were shocked by his optimism
Smiling he lit the fuse
His pink dress flowing freely
His spike heels killing cultural fascism
You couldn’t believe the alternative
Flesh painted red
It was only lipstick narcissism
How else to make the news
His religion spoke freely
A guitar conducted the exorcism
Only God understood the narrative
You wondered who was in his bed
You only could see hedonism
And not the future with nothing to lose
And now we walk freely
The bomb blew up your prison
It is your turn to live

Creativity has its own life
Longing to be free
It's something I must do
Though you may never see

Do these words mean I'm crazy?
It may be that I am
I just let my feelings show
But control myself, I can

You moved into another place
Between casual and intense
It begs for some attention
I'm just trying to make some sense

How should I act around you?
What am I allowed to say?
Our lovers would not understand
And assume we will wander away

I want to be close to you
We have a connection
But life says no for us
So I must accept its rejection

I want to know you
It's clear for you to see
You can be my friend
Are you thinking of me?

Maybe I'm being presumptious
Something I need to be told
Are you just being polite?
Am I being too bold?

I've thought more than this
It's hidden from your view
I want to tell you what I think
But can I trust you?

I can be your confidant
Your secret's safe with me
You'll never have to wonder
If I'll reveal for all to see

My age a curse
Yet equally a blessing
I may be too old for you
But I'll never keep you guessing

I give everything I have
Yet never lose control
I am not unemotional
I let my feelings roll

I know who I am
And sadness is part of life
I can live within it
I will remove the knife

It's because I believe in me
Regardless of who says what
I am very strong inside
No matter how deep the cut

But your beauty cannot be ignored
Even though that is what's required
My fantasy world, unrequieted but alive
Focuses on you, something to be admired

It may be you are appalled
You didn't ask for this
You have chosen your path
And wish to follow your bliss

Confusing as it can be
It's obviously the wrong time
It doesn't help your life in any way
I'll never say you're mine

True as this may be
I still think you're great
But I will leave you alone
And accept my life's fate

In a different world we can thrive
Seeing through our mind's eye
It doesn't have to be about the flesh
We will never have to lie

It may be that close friendship
Spiced with coy flirtations
Is all that we will ever have
No matter our inner sensations

It is ok for you to know
That I think you are so attractive
I will continue on with my life
And not be so reactive

But if you need to confide
And tell me what you think
I will gladly lend an ear
From the cup of honesty we will drink

Do not be afraid of closeness
Outside of your spoken vows
You can reveal yourself to others
It can be managed with what life allows

But it's back to the reality
Of what it all means
I'll go back to my world
And see you in my dreams

water falls burning; rivers
boiling; oceans churning;
it’s never love that is wrong
if we remember how we
walked next to hand-carved
banisters; we picked them out
together; the storm won’t care;
the angels said it doesn’t matter

but it does; rebuilding a house,
it’s not home until our memories
decide to join us; can our tears
carve a new path so they can
make their way to us; can they
give thanks to the prayer that
saved our souls because all we
prayed for was to smile again?

a sea song echoing inside of
conch shells; enough to risk
singing it again alone on a still
beach; shadowed by the surge
of seabirds fleeing; their wings
promising their return as does
the melody inside the fear that
knows what it has done

when I saw you wander in without
a thought of the future; it is our
humanity crossing borders and
oceans that transported the divide
we felt when the sky was blue and
the tide was tame; and now when
it is God that tests us I reach for the
love from you that we cannot invent

i write not to remember
what you will never forget
i think thoughts to forget
that you will always remember
we had moments to remember
that we will never forget
we will try to forget
what we will always remember

I can see forever in your eyes
You have become the sun and stars
Where dreams and memories fill my skies
Held together by your heart
I wondered what it might say
But I know they will always stay
Even if I watch for them alone

I can feel forever in your arms
A blanket covering my body
Where the night can cause no harm
Lying still there is nobody
That can make me stray
And I know your love holds sway
Inside a life that needs a home

I can live forever in your memory
A dream that can never end
I am still how you remember me
That is why you are my friend
Even if my heart lost its way
It hears your voice even to this day
Because your love laid the path I roam

I am
With whomever I speak
Wherever I sleep
I am
Every form of season
Rain, snow, falling leaves, heat
I am
Not bound by culture or belief
For whatever I was
It is only truth I seek
I am
Every color of reason
Suffering and meek
I am
Travails and travels
Loneliness
Unique
I am
Someone to meet
Bowing to my host
Sharing a heartbeat
I am
Restless
Every man a brother
It is you who I keep
I am
The moon that never sets
Circling, reflecting, holding
Secrets that make me weep

Did you close your eyes like I said
You won’t see anyone else
You won’t miss anyone else
This is moment where you begin

Remember how you felt as a kid
Everything is still inside you
The time is now for discovery
Like a child on Christmas morning

You just got here
You brought all your fears
You remember too much
The past only makes tears

You’re too beautiful to care about that
You’ve felt too much to hate like that
You’ve seen too much to pretend
You’ve loved too much to let it end

Don’t try to be old
Don’t try to be young
That’s not who you are
But you are going to care

You just left that place
You think there’s no other place
That’s not true that's not true
Unless you're too tired to dream

You just got here
You brought all your fears
You remember too much
The past only brings tears

I know you care
I know you’re there
Even if you don’t
Soon you will be
Standing alone
Is when life begins
For a human
Who finds itself

The last time I actually forgave someone
I felt like Jesus or something
Until that precise moment
I realized I was good for nothing
Why was it so important to me?
I knew what the book said
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
But I acted like the words had never been read
Trust becomes bigger than all of us
It's a hard thing when you learn about a lie
What's worse is how they don't like who you are
It was no longer about another guy
I don't get all this stuff about change
I was who I was the first night we spoke
Then the moment we shared wasn't good enough
I became a fish flopping in a boat
Why couldn't I stay in the river?
That's where she found me
It's not like I asked to be different
But it became her life to always disagree
I think I should treat a girl like everyone else
That way she knows what's real
Then she can decide if I'm the one for her
Maybe she'll understand how I really feel
I saw a picture the other day
Of an earthy girl and her man
They seemed happy with each other
Just like the first day their love began
She knows how I felt back then
She knows how I feel now
It took an awful long time
To get over a broken vow
It's not that I even loved her that much
I just thought I'd never understand women
I can't say that I do now
But I've learned they need to be forgiven

She always made him laugh
She'd say crazy things like
"It ain't cheatin' if we done it before"
He couldn't argue with that
'Cause some of him was wantin'
what she was wantin' some more

That country straw logic
He knew she was a good girl
But she lived like a survivor
The scars always did the talking
She remembered how good love felt
The way it was is why it wasn't over

Burnin' the bible with sin
She cried and cried over him
She found her another
And he said he loved her
But true love was the devils friend

She never finished school
but she was smarter than him
Having to 'splain her to his friends
She said that's how it would be
He said let me worry about that
But her heart was too hard to mend

Burnin another bible with sin
She wanted to love her old friend
What's wrong with a mistake
One kiss for sinners sake
Then a prayer before death do her in

How can she be real?
Beauty drawn by God's hand
A painting behind a glass
A Monet or Rembrandt

How can I make her feel
The things that I see?
How can I be a part of the picture
And make her part of me?

Standing in the crowd
A flower in a vase
Bathing in beauty's glory
Wearing fantasy's face

Is she lonely?
Is she sad?
Will she ever know
About the love we never had?

I am a myth and a sinner
And I am dead
I wrote the words some preach
But I forgot to include everyone
You never met me and can only imagine
How is it that I was so wise and so cruel
It took two hundred years
And widows and slaves
And burning crosses
And bridge marches
Did it finally make shame my neighbor
And blood on a cross their only savior

I am a ghost and a prophet
And I am dead
I wrote the words some hate
But I did not mean it that way
I never met you and yet I guide you
To the place where a man lives in squalor
Is it his or another man's faults
Is his welfare your profit
Is his grieving your happiness
Is his sadness your blessing
Did it make indifference my neighbor
And an empty tomb their only savior

I read up on something about forgiveness
He was sayin' seventy times seven
Lord I think that’s why I keep gettin’ lost
Is that the address on the door to heaven?

I wonder if someone is keeping track
This train’s headin’ for another wreck
I can’t keep count and I can’t ride true
I only see a plank that once was a spec

I’m not keeping a list, well
that’s not exactly true, sometimes it’***** or miss
I know I need to get stronger, but
that kind of forgiveness is like walking on water

I started thinkin’ maybe it’s somethin’ different
Is it just a number or somethin' about a trinity?
I keep tellin’ everybody the things they do to me
Maybe God’s sayin’ you only have to count to three

Is that the way
Is that the number
Is that everything
I can’t count high enough
I can’t forgive often enough
Why can’t I live the way of the King?

Four ninety
Four ninety
Is that the address on the door?
I'm gonna' go ahead and knock
But I don't know if I can forgive her anymore

I have the power to over-react
Or make people feel uncomfortable
But I'm the one who has to live with it
I can't change the world
Only how you feel about me
But that might take a lifetime
I'm going to let you be who you are
That's the only love I know
I hope that's not disappointing
Honesty can be that way
So can freedom
Especially if you don't want it from me

Where the sun always sets
They arrived
Armed with nothing
But truth
The Bill of Rights
Courage
And faith
They came
To do the right thing
To show them a rising sun
And how it exists
For everyone
No matter what they were told
No matter the lies
No matter the hate
Yes
The rising sun was there
Eclipsed by fear
Morning in America
Blinded their eyes
And they knew not to look
It was not for them
And as they looked away
Their long nights were empty
Without peace
Without justice
Without sleep
Not even a dream
And yet they remained
Although silent
They knew
Because hope grows
In the dark
And as they tilled the garden
They did dare to cultivate
Hope
By awaiting
The deliverer
And when the truth
Perished
In their midst
Those who were privileged
To see the sun rise
Remained silent
Even though they knew
Of the truth
And how it could never live
But finally
The deliverer did arrive
Heralded not by a trumpet blast
But with God’s message
In his heart and mind
And man's own words
As they were written
In his hand
How all men are created equal
He came
With solemn righteousness
With words
And a dream
He came
And told us of unmerited pain
And of burning churches
Where anguished cries
Once again were not heard
And how those who remained silent
Were the key to the idea
Of America
Where liberty
And Justice
Is for all
Where the sun rises
And sets
For every man
And woman
But on that day
When the evangelists
Of civil liberties
Were tortured
Killed
And buried
So their mothers could only weep
Over unmarked graves
The sun did set
And failed once again
To rise
As the children wondered
Why am I different?

I have never been able to straight line a draw
Nor my name,
a letter missing always when I sign
Nothing so grand that would a painting make a camera sad
Beyond these perfections,
I fell short yet to speak was still mine
I have nothing to stare at for so long except the rain
So different, yet the same
Today I watched it’s fabric,
like wind across fields of wheat
or corduroy pants
But I do not have any to wear;
still,
I am dry as the balcony only feels the water like light
The rain does not care what I think
Nor of my sight
And though I am moved forward in my chair
Nature is not one to meet
Not anyone or anything
No language
Or memory
That is for me only
Like something I said to you long ago
Something that was true
I wonder if you remember
Or if only it was like the rain upon you
Not a place to live
A smile
Or a frown
A face to the sky
Or to run because your dress was new
But you know
As do I
The park will be there for you in the spring
There is nothing vain about rain upon your heart
Like the words I once spoke
Uneven as they were
Without every letter I wished upon you
A crooked line
An unrecognized signature
My life
Not perfect
Instead, discovering what an accident blessed;
still,
I will remember what love broke
Will you remember what love spoke?

No dream
And no fantasy
Come to me now
I want reality
I want your flaws
And your moods
That’s what we are
A race that broods

From you
I expect no less
From me
Why don’t you guess?

Yes
I am the same
As you
So are you game
To pay the price
Of who you are?
To risk rejection
To rip open an old scar?

Come to me
In the daylight
So I can see
What I will love at night
I do not want darkness
I need the sun
Because I walk in what I see
Let me be the one
Let me be the answer
Let me be real
As you are
And from fantasy we will steal*



Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Mark Lecuona

He thought it would take another mountain
One taller than the last
But covered in ice
Frozen with images of his past
Would it be another fairy tale about love
Or a story yet to be told but one that needed to be said
But straight talk was what she wanted
So he had to remove the confusion from his head
It was about making a decision
It was about making a mistake
What time in his life was it ever exactly right?
He always seemed to speak one second too late
But he knew he had to stay up all night
The plan was to go anyway
Sleep was not something that would cooperate
He didn’t want to just dream about what he would say
It was a word that he knew so well
It was a word she was ready to believe
Every slippery step stared back at him without remorse
But his heart told him this time he would never leave

Jump on come on
Gonna lay you out
Flirt zoo showdown
What's it all about?

Head game voodoo
Think about do you
Smack talk all uptown
**** strut walk around

Turn it on ignite your flame
You never be the same
You see you're my plan
Get up girl I'm your man

Funky Gotchy don't I girl?
Rhythm method dance floor whirl
You want I like hot lips pouty
*** love exotic dark-eyed beauty

Hypno mind-zone freakout
Hip sway barfly holdout
Walk toe shuffle foot
Love starved crapshoot

Breakdown hard to get
Intrigue mind is set
Crazy hold mind on you
Alcohol stumble on thru

Funky Gotchy don't I girl?
Rhythm method dance floor whirl
You want I like hot lips pouty
*** love exotic dark eyed beauty

Drunk walk dance floor queen
Move stop tease my dream
Close far wet hard rock
Rhyme poet walkin the walk

****** ***** push away
Eye look what you say?
Smile coy make me wait
Night life stay up late

Funky Gotchy don't I girl?
Rhythm method dance floor whirl
You want I like hot lips pouty
*** love exotic dark eyed beauty

She was a garden of a girl
Petals falling all around
Being stared at without a sound
Foot prints uninvited
Picked without permission
She felt like a church
Kneeling close to her thorns
They knew only pain
Though her beauty drew them near
But then everyone left
They expected she would stay
While she lived quietly
With the rain and the sun
Sadly knowing she had no name
It was like she was an arm
Or a nose
But instead it was a flower
Or a bee
But what about a life line?
Neither water or sunshine would do
She was alone though you loved her
You only wanted to touch her
And take a part of her home with you
But you left her behind
Because that was how you wanted to think of her
Like a garden for you to visit
While she waited
Devoted to you
But though she felt trampled
It was alright
After all she was a garden of a girl
And not everyone knows what to do

You cry perfectly
I had to watch
It was so beautiful
Your sadness was so you

It was the end
We both knew it
And what was next
Looking for someone new

I won’t forget
The feeling you made
I can’t leave it behind
The remains of what’s true

Your tears so deep
But you wiped them away
Your smile was your revenge
That’s when I knew

There is nothing left
Only to know the past
Walking away from sorrow
I watched a bird that flew

I dared to be happy for so long
Now I'm almost afraid to smile
I wonder if it's time for me to pay
For when I laughed all the while
Nobody told me how to get old
It seems my body knows what to do
My Daddy has the same problems
He's been through all of this too

     now it's my turn
     you never think this day will come
     then it's here
     your entire life in an instant

I know hard times are waiting for us
It's something money can't solve
I guess the glory days are in the past
Now it's time to face deaths resolve
I think I'm gonna have to move him in
Soon he won't know who I am
He say's it's my responsibility
Taking care of a parent is part of being a man

I only had minute to dance with you
Then another cloud tried to cut in
I said not this time not this time
This picture is mine this picture is mine

Today was your special day
The ice in my glass didn’t melt
My umbrella made no shadows
That’s not really true
But this time it seemed that way

If you think I’m happy
that’s not the point
If you think I’m sad
that’s not the point
I can be any of these things
But I know what I want to be

I only had a minute to say I’m sorry
Then my pride decided to cut in
I said not this time not this time
This girl is mine this girl is mine

Today was your special day
What once froze cooled my mind
What was dark lit candles for us
It’s all true my love
It really did happen that way

If you think I’m gone
that’s not the point
If you think I’m here
that’s not the point
I can be any of these things
But I know what I want to be

i wonder if you are joy
entering my arm
or a needle
reminding me of the pain
the inside of a pill
ready to melt into my body
or the way I choke
as it clutches my throat
the smoke is the mist
you are walking towards me
or is it how I cough
knowing it cannot last
i want you deep, inside
the only way to my heart
it’s not laughter or a smile
it has to be that way
a drug that will **** us one day

Go ahead
Move the camera closer
Either eye
The both end up in the same place
Even though they don’t look the same

There’s a dream in there
Can you find it
Or is it your imagination that must do the work?

Go ahead
Talk too loud around me
I used to be you
But it took me to a difference place
I wonder if you’ll ever make it there

A man said I sound like a bird
And though he cannot remember
What it meant was he knew life while I could only pretend

Go ahead
Walk on by as if we never met
I know everything about you
But still I want you
I wonder if he can take it like I could

You trampled through my life
But I didn’t notice the mess
Until you left and I realized I wasn’t ready to clean it up

I walked in
God’s gift to women
I had nothing to offer
Except my presence
You
Cleaned the place
Set the table
Tea cups
Flowers
Spoons and forks
Scones
Art work
Books
Candles
A thank you note to someone
A duvet
Pillows
A rod iron frame
Pictures
Everything matched
It was perfect
The scent of femininity
Baked in the allure
You smiled at me
You had done all this
For me
And I thought
I’m not worthy
But it had no effect
Because I’m God’s gift to women
And that's my problem

what no other has ever known
except maybe my mother
is how I see myself

what no other has ever known
is to see how I know I've done wrong
they always say I'm so sure
but the only thing to be sure about is gone

i told more than one how I felt
and though I did for a bit
mostly I didn't belong

there was once a feeling I had
of being wanted
but she could only feel
the things that no other has ever known
except maybe her mother too

they never did meet
but they both know
what the other has known
that their children
aren't always so strong

What is important to us is no longer to you
A story without an ending is what we hope for
But to those looking for another page
The loss of your love was why we wanted more

Were you looking for something
Or is it what you have now found within?
The shock of you is the reason
And the loss of you is where we begin

Something we always knew will always be
You are now the one we will miss
When you weren’t around we felt it
And that is why it was you we could never resist

You are human and that is now our story
To be admired for being more than us
And to know what it is like to be gone
Is why we ask God if it is his will that we can trust

I don't have to know you to cry
I don't have to know you to pray
I am unable to say goodbye
And hello I never did say
But I know I saw you
As we silently walked by
The ground you trod
Was the same as I
To know where your feet have been
Is enough for this message to send
That a stranger can still be a friend
Even if it's too late to try

Once he said, "I have no King but Caesar!”
And the Roman obeyed his command
Now instead he has become a believer

Once he watched him suffer a whip
And lusted for his blood to flow
Now it fills a grail for him to sip

Once he hid behind the garrison
He saw him fall on a stone road
Now he's become a good Samaritan

Once he had a hammer and a nail
And used them to fulfill a prophecy
Now he hears a mother's painful wail

Once he made a crown of thorns
He pierced his side and found only water
Now he makes halos out of horns

Once he moved a stone to seal a Tomb
He stood guard in front for Rome
Now he's born again from a holy womb

Once he was a doubting Thomas
Then he asked to see his hands
Now he believes the Lord's promise

Once it was he who would not repent
Until ashen palms blessed his skin
Now he fasts forty days for Lent

Once he was flesh upon this earth
And he was a sinner in God's sight
Now he wonders of his own worth

Once he dreamed that it was too late
And as he stood at the edge of his grave
Now he knows for whom he must wait

I know I’m not broken
I think you can even recognize me still
I’m underneath the things thrown at me
I’m the wall that wears somebody’s hatred

You wanted me to tell your story
A white wall that can’t complain about being poor
I don’t live on the side of town where people die young
I'm just streaks of paint from how I made you bleed

I’m living outside of love now
A fireplace and the dogs watching me are yours instead
You think you feel better because you stained me
I wonder though if you think I’m unable to stand on my own

I’m paying the price for loving you
I chose to walk around inside of you with a candle in my hand
But I was too close and set your heart on fire
I thought it was passion but instead it was only pain

I’m not what you remembered
What I wear upon my face is what I did to you
That is what I have become now
A painting nobody can save that dried up a long time ago

I don’t want to know how you spend your time
Everybody is in love with someone
How can I forget that you're still not mine?
I see girls dancing and laughing all the time
It makes me smile at all the fun
But if it was you it wouldn’t be so fine
I know you’re walking a different line
You once thought I was the one
I hope it’s not his love that makes you shine
Are you playing hard to get or can’t I read the sign
I need to know if we’re already done
Or are we still two lonely grapes on the same vine

I’ve already swallowed you
You passed through my vital signs
What they said to you as you gasped
Was a promise that will never destroy you

I don’t have any questions
I’m never sure until I open my eyes
The time between a dream and the sunrise
Is what it feels like to not worry about you

I didn’t warn you as you fell
For once gravity was not an experiment
The only place we feel is where blood is made
Where we love is inside of me inside of you

Heather lives outside the city a ways
Just like her mom and her mom before that
It’s the quiet life of long flat horizons
And everybody loves God just the same

Kaeja lives in the city
It’s not the nicest place to grow up
She’s older now than she knows
She’s poor but somebody gave her the blame

They both go to church
But are the reasons the same?
Is it about hope?
Is it about pain?
They both pray for the sun
They both pray for the rain
But though the pavement grows no flowers
There is no cross that is drawn in vain

Heather loved the smell when Daddy mowed
Kaeja painted the sidewalk green
They both love gospel music
They both love to sing
But filling a cup made of broken glass
Is like pretending paint is really grass

They had a thought about one another
White is night and black is day
That’s what they thought
Being apart turned their minds upside down
But one day they reached for the same carton of eggs
And their eyes met where Jesus scars bear no shame

Heather asked, "Do I know you?"
Kaeja said, "Yes, now you do"
She decided to give her the eggs
And Heather said, "No, they’re for you"
But they divided them up instead of buying two
And they said half of one is better than one you never knew

They both go to church
But are the reasons the same?
Is it about hope?
Is it about pain?
They both pray for the sun
They both pray for the rain
But though the pavement grows no flowers
There is no cross that is drawn in vain

I’m ready for the sun
Though I love the snow
The cold lit the fire beside us
The warmth melted it long ago
Bad mistakes I’ve made make that kind of sense

If you are open to something different
You will ignore everything I’ve said
Can you believe like I do in you
I am not in love anymore
I just don’t have anything else to talk about
The first word you speak will erase the past

I’m tired of pretending
What is there to admire
They don’t think about mending
Instead it’s how they aspire
I hope my next mistake is not about ten more cents

There’s not enough time to talk
Sleep and work take turns living your life
But I’ve learned once again what I’m about
And it’s not to tell you someone to work harder
I hope you can be all that you dream
While I remind myself a sail is always tied to a mast

I can’t spend all my time
figuring out what you want
when you don’t know it yourself
I can only be gentle and kind
the only way a regret won’t haunt
is to just always be myself

I want to have a private moment
A place rocks and arrows can’t find
I wear no armor, only separation
I’m not broken, I'm not chosen
I need a soft voice but I’m not blind
I have to change my expectation

I was thinking about you
the whole way through
I knew where I was going
but I needed to know it’s true
I changed my point of view
not where my heart is pointing

It’s hard to grow old and follow
I woke up a long way from here
There was nothing but a reflection
I looked hard but could only swallow
I prayed hoping you would be there
but you didn't understand my direction

I won't trample upon your garden
I won't pick flowers for myself
Instead you will grow into me
I'm the air you need to breath
The water your roots search for
The sunlight that calls for you
A flower that knows how to live
Inside the soil that is my heart

Side mirror lament
Blinking back the past again
Red bandana tears

I watched her image
I wondered as she talked on the phone
How old must a woman be
To want to live alone?

Forgotten wander
Thoughts that became some other
Another blank page

There are no buttons to push
I am not someone to read
My emotions are not random
But you will never know my need

Rush inspiration
Ego-infested display
Compromised poem

In the yearning for respect
Creation becomes a means to an end
The irony emerges
In thoughts I cannot defend

Watching my children
Oblivious to discord
Reaching for Daddy

In spite of all the hate
I have become nostalgic
They are happy
Leaving worked its magic

Hard work is a gift
For yourself every day
Slumber not want not*

It’s what I do
It’s not greed
It’s all for them
That is why I bleed

There's no plan
I'm not that kind of a man
You just have to like cookie dough
It's sweet enough with no place to go
I walked outside to take out the trash
Since I wasn't carrying any cash
I decided to hike up a hill
But stopped close to the thrill
Because I wasn't ready to go on
The day already was too long
And the night was just as confused
As a magician without a ruse
So not asking any questions
I figured no plan no confession
The secret was too much for a priest
Not that he cared in the least
That part of me is better than none
Because the oven said so before I was done

An island swept by the tide
But was soon to dry
Palm trees bent further than the horizon
But their roots held fast
The birds and their nests scattered by the wind
But they remembered which way was south
For they know that life is made of such things
And that every broken heart is blessed

There was so much between us
And we came together
But the path was not the same
No matter our pleasure
I told you how I felt about it
My meaning is plain
Why should we not love each other
Even if it is in vain?
I could never hate you my love
No matter how far
For life is only what we can bear
That is who we are
It is time for you to think about us
And what it is that I said
Can we love what we once loved
In a heart left for dead?

When you know
Of their blood
And their children
And what they are told
Then why are you surprised?

Who gives the orders
And who decides?
Hearts have no borders
Rivers take no sides

When you know
Why they come
To breathe the same air
To live with hope
Then why are you unforgiving?

Who gives the orders
And who decides?
Hearts have no borders
Rivers take no sides

When you know
That they are desperate
Because of no birthright
Except love of family
Then why are you afraid?

Who gives the orders
And who decides?
Hearts have no borders
Rivers take no sides

When you know
They only want what you want
No more no less
Than a happy home
Then why are you angry?

Who gives the orders
And who decides?
Hearts have no borders
Rivers take no sides

Can a man go his own way without a
covered wagon, a horse and a lantern;
he only knew that the world had changed;
there are too many fences to be free

He sees too much before he dies and he
knows a man is not supposed to cry; but
the tears he holds back are the same as
the tears of a man whose eyes are blind

He knew a woman once whose memory
of the war was only about love that
became a ghost in the night that always
loved her because he knew why she wept

He knew a man who was not afraid to die
for his country or to love the same woman
for life; it was the only way he could sleep
for duty was more soothing than fear

He wept alone because his prayers were
answered yet another man suffered for
his desire; how could he know what to
ask of a God who confused our faith?

He saw the pain of explaining the men she
once loved; his own weakness was honor
among men yet she was forced to deny
the shame of how loneliness made her feel

Floating aerial fish warned those who could
only wonder why those who care for them
must **** another innocent child for a zero
sum game of death by most favored nations

These things he read about; he wondered of
their terror, but their lives were embroidered
by history’s desire to reward those who gave
so much for those who weep upon their graves

It was the same during his time
His blood came from a bottle
The shape was the same
The cork
But he could not live by its memory alone

The further he descended into feeling
The less engaged he became
He could only observe
A ******
But he could not live if he could not love another

He drew every wall near to his hands
As they gestured aloud
His voice listened
A thought
But he could not live if it did not matter to anyone

He was a canvas for every person he met
He remembered their smiles
More so their tears
A reflection
But he could not live if he judged them wrongly

She knew his eyes were different
It wasn’t how they looked
It was what they could see

His eyes shined down upon her
He told her she was beautiful
Though she turned her face to his
She didn’t believe he was truthful

She knew her eyes were different
It wasn’t how they looked
It was what they couldn’t see

The mirror cast shadows upon her
She thought it was being truthful
Still he turned his face to hers
His heart only saw what was beautiful

Without knowing how it happened
A man’s heart can fail him
His father gone, his spirit dampened
His children near, for a while, but then
Gone as meant to be
Would it be worse if they stay
But while longing is an empty knee
The time must come for them to fly away

But which pieces did they take
And which pieces do remain?
There is no accounting of what did break
Only a heart that must learn to live again
To trust once again in the sky
An old friend watching as you return
Is to know life becomes a cry
As wings become flight and ashes an urn

To wait for the next great love
Is the way of heartache
The time we give to what we are thinking of
Is only what we decide to forsake
But did my every loss soften my mind
For I know of your sadness too
And in it I have finally come to find
That the time is now for me to comfort you

She knew then
War is hell
On God's green earth
She heard Satan’s bell
The men approached
An officer and a priest
She fell to her knees
Her joy deceased
Her prayers betrayed
All the good lost
Silently hoping
Realizing freedom's cost
The ultimate sacrifice
To give a son
And now he is gone
While she must live on
To tell a mother
Of her grievous loss
There are no words
Only a white cross
As she plummets
Into the abyss
The spirit moves
Delivering a silent kiss
Her life shattered
The garden forgotten
Dinner has become cold
Will her heart ever soften?
Hatred where there was love
Bitterness all she can feel
As their lips move
Words shock does conceal
As she stares into the night
The nails pierce her memories
His face the mirror
Where she lost all her worries
She floats in front of the bullet
And wipes his brow
There is nothing in this life
That matters now
She covers his pale body
As the blood of life flows
He shivers as he reaches his hand
She smiles because she knows
The mercenary
Loves his mother
It is her special place
There is no other
Did he call for her?
Did he have time to cry?
Or did death give him leave?
Mooting the question of why
His duty to his country
Planted the seeds of pride
Now he is dead
She wondered who lied
Is it time for anger
And the walk down hatred’s trail?
She prayed every night
Hoping for a holy veil
"I pray for my son
Oh Lord remember his name
Spare him a short journey
Do not give Satan true aim
Return him to me
The one who bore the pain
I only ask for life
All mothers ask the same"
And now her prayer
Will never again
Pass her lips
Instead only words so profane
Can she turn the other cheek
For the unknown ******
Or for his “superior” officer
Whose order was the killer
Was he expendable
As a stone over the breach
For others to climb
As they left the dead on the beach?
Did his killer survive?
Or is his mother bitter?
The sons of ambition
Are now only its litter
Glory is no solace
As we fail to remember
Life goes on
But not for a lost family member
Did one more death
Win the war?
Or was he just a casualty?
She wondered what for
She is gone now
Whispering his name at the end
We were not there
Flowers we did not send
She never saw the butterflies
Or heard the birds each day
She only thought of her son
Hoping through God he found his way
As I watch my own son
He smiles with his friends
I wonder about the flag
That seems to cover our sins
And how it was folded for her
Forever never to wave
Will it sit in a drawer?
Whose life will it save?
Can I offer him for our country?
As Abraham offered Isaac?
I cry as I feel the shame
It seems courage is what I lack
Did her son die in vain?
Will my son soon follow?
Or will I spit out
The patriotic pill others gladly swallow?
How can I comfort
A dead woman I never knew?
Tell me the answer
What should I do?
I ask you the same
What would you do?
There are no answers
You love your son too
So as we fall silent
I will pray over how she bled
Hoping never to see lips move
Telling me my son is dead*



Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. Mark Lecuona

He taught me how not to hurt anyone
And not to trade in his name
For my ambitions are not his for blame

He taught me about the quiet air all around
And how what I could not see
Would be the life breathing inside of me

He taught me how not to love war
And why those are blessed
Who tell us only peace feathers their nest

He taught me about the sounds we hear
And how man would discover
That wood and steel could speak of a lover

He taught me to accept all human difference
And to know of his presence
For what I do not understand is his providence

He taught me that what is holy is the ground
And that all who walk are seeds
Planted for those who follow to fill their needs

He taught me that my children are my life
And that time passing is to know
That they will fill the river that my age made low

He taught me that his word is our bond
And though life itself may lie
It was his promise that we would never die

He didn’t think to write it in a language I could understand
But I wasn’t around so what difference to that kind of man?
Somebody finally decided to tell the rest of us what it meant
But the King’s English confused borrowing and fasting for lent

But then
He whispered
No faith is too great for nails
He whispered
No sin is too large for forgiveness
He whispered
No grave is too deep for a resurrection
He whispered
No prayer is too soft for hearing

The dreamer wrote letters to those that were always awake
Though the distance between then and now changes every day
I became lost not in the words but in how I chose to live my life
I held a promise in my hands but I didn’t know how to pray

But then
He whispered
No rock is too big to move
He whispered
No ocean is too deep to part
He whispered
No bush is too hot to touch
He whispered
No flood is too wide for a dove

Hey hey little Davy
Guess that was the last train
But you forgot to say goodbye to Jean
Now she’s crying herself to sleep
Who will kiss the homecoming queen?

Hey hey little Davy
We’re still the young generation
And this is what we have to say
We wanted to be just like you
Now you’ve gone away

Hey hey little Davy
We’re still messing around
Following in your footstep
We hopped on those stones
While we ate our breakfast

Hey hey little Davy
We loved you as children
We always were your believer
Now that we've seen your face
We'll never forget Saturday morning fever