I took a chance
And took a swing
At this thing called life
And its meaning
I've struck out
Many times before
But always I
Come back for more
As the hour
Is growing late
I refuse
To give up the game
If knocked down
I'm up again
And won't succumb
Until the end
And then when
The end does come
I won't even
Know I'm gone
Through the swing
In the chance
Life's meaning
Inside the dance

I've seen them come
I've seen them go
I've seen the needle
Take another soul
I've seen the vacuum
I've seen the hole
I've seen things
I'd rather not know

I've seen them beg
I've seen them cry
I've seen them lose
I've seen them die
I've seen broken mothers
Wonder why
I've seen it all
Through tear-filled eyes

I've seen the needle
I've seen the cost
I've seen it all
Through thickened walls
I've seen men when
They take the fall
Get up again
Then do more

I've seen them do
Without a doubt
I've seen them cut
Their clientele
Treat them worse
Then they would a dog
Send them to hell
With Fentanyl

I've seen them come
I've seen them go
I've seen them beg
For another dose
And when there's nothing
Left to own
I've seen them die
All alone

This is God and...

            I see you straddling the fence
            I see you with one foot in the stream
            I see you calling me your Master
            With the attitude of what's in it for me

I see you praise only when there's blessing
I see you with no mark upon your knees
I see you turning from your brother
When your brother is desperately in need

             I see the dust that's on your Bible
             I see you yawning in the pew
             I see you passing judgment on my people
             When your attitude is what is judging you

This is how the world views you as Christians
This is how you represent my name
How can you expect a dying world to listen
When they look at you and then themselves
*And you appear to be one and the same

I'm partying down at a Hollywood bash
The reason I'm here is that I crashed
I figured that if I would have asked
I would have been told to kiss their...

Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies
I'm not even close to being a famous guy
Something I often ponder and question why
But that's another story for another...

Time to see if there's anyone that I know
As I'm rubbing elbows with the escargot
Something smells fishy at this table bro
Wondering should I stay or should I...

Go ahead and think what you will of me
I'm just here to meet Justin "The Bieb"
Once I do then I can leave
Wait a minute, in the corner is that...

She gave me a glimpse from behind the bar
I'd take her home but don't have a car
With that deduction I wont get very far
Still do you think she thinks I'm a...

Star light helps to guide me home
I was found out and kicked out of the Hollywood bowl
It's a lonely walk that I'm walking home
Hey look! Another party, what the heck, you never know...

Losers can be winners
If they take the hurt
Tie it to their senses
For all that it is worth

Giving them the reason
For something great to strive
Losers can be winners
When it comes to life

Losers can be winners
If they don't keep score
Focus on beyond
The times that they all fall

There's no need to feed
What you need not recall
Losers can be winners
In this life after all

The proceedings are a circus
Justice is a joke
The jury's out deliberating
On whether they should take another ****

Cameras in the courtroom
So we can watch the lawyers lie
Toss up between them and the defendant
On who commits the bigger crime

Media in a frenzy
Toss a line into the public pool
The uninformed bite at the hook
Where both fact and fiction plays the fool

Black robe takes up the seat of judgment
To hear of all the indiscretions
Disorder in the courtroom
Where the unbelievable is now in session

I hear Albert Einstein's eyeballs
Are packed away in a lock box
Somewhere in New York City
Under golden key and lock

I can't help but wonder
About what it is he sees
Stuffed in that darkened rectangular box
For all of eternity

Do they pull them out and dust them off
Every now and then
Let them look around without a sound
A wink without a grin

Are they kept inside a pickle jar
Or do they roll around freely
These are a few of the questions
That keep confounding me

Do they MC square as they sit there and stare
Do they soak them in Visine
They must dry out rather quickly
With no way to possibly blink

Why would they save Albert's eyeballs
What could they possibly find
Unless they just love the color
Of the brown tint in his eyes

We are all poets
In the same boat
The reason we write
Just to stay afloat
There's no other reason
Of that I know
For us as poets
To stay afloat

So draw the anchor
Hoist the sail
We'll all rhyme our way
Clear outta here
Sailing the pantoum oceans
With the sonnet seas
Casting our lot
In the poetic breeze

Steering riddling rudders
Across verses in waves
Until the very last day
We're made to walk the plank
As we are all poets
In the same boat
Trying our best
Just to stay afloat

Came this morning, joy wrapped in a bundle
Named her Sarah, knew it would fit her ways
Up above could hear the angels singing
This new born joy has surly blessed this day

Outside the Southern skies grew brighter
Tinder beauty, put the morning horizon to shame
My heart, my soul, couldn't feel any lighter
Thank you Lord for giving this angel away

Sarah dear, there's no need to be afraid
When the weight of the world tries to drag you down
Your Daddy's here, just call my name
No matter where your at in life, I'll be around

Sarah one day you'll find a mate, get married
Soon to have a family of your own
Want you to know, the love inside you will carry
Will make this a better world than you have ever known

Just remember though...*

Sarah dear, there's never a need to be afraid
When the weight of the world tries to drag you down
Your Daddy's here, just call my name
No matter where your at in life,
*my love for you can be found

I took my time
And saved my dimes
So I could buy
The best of rhymes

But in my haste
I gave away
The best of all
That I had saved

From my first rhyme
To the last dime
Every bit of it
That I could find

Then remembered Ben
One time did say
Haste makes waste
I'm afraid...

I've been out on the hunt
From the moment I heard the news
That you my friend are in need of a smile
Since yours has been used and abused

You've always had the sweetest of smiles
But when you continuously give it away
And it's not returned after awhile
It can really put a crimp on your day

So I'm out looking in every direction
To find you the best of all smiles
One you can wear on any occasion
A nice one that will last you awhile

I'll continue in my searching
For the perfect smile I'm hoping to find
But if you wouldn't mind in the mean time
My friend could I give you mine

I'm the caretaker of a lonely lighthouse
On the edge of a small New England town
Not much here has ever happened
That is until Stephen came around

For weeks now I've been haunted
By the ghost of Stephen King
I'm quite sure that he is still alive
Which makes this very strange indeed

At first he wasn't doing much
Rattled chains, walked through walls like a normal ghost
Then Stephen discovered the roaming light
That I shine up and down the coast

Now his favorite pastime every night
Until the break of dawn
Is to make shadow puppets in the light
I don't have the nerve to tell his ghost  it's wrong

Yes, Stephen loves his shadow puppets
On the jagged rocks below displayed
Butterflies and puppy dogs
Is Stephen's ghost's forte

But all the puppy dogs have monster heads
And the butterflies giant bat wings
I guess you just can't help yourself
When your the ghost of Stephen King

This light house is no longer lonely
Since Stephen Kings ghost did arrive
I'm still not sure how he does it
Since Stephen King is still alive

HIDE ME FROM THIS PAIN INSIDE
HIDE ME FROM THESE TEARS I CRY
HIDE FROM THE FACT I WANNA HIDE

AND THE FACT I WANNA DIE

HIDE ME FROM THIS PLACE I'M IN
HIDE ME FROM BEGINNING UNTIL THE END
HIDE ME FROM THE SEEN AND IMAGINED

AND WHO IT IS I THINK I AM

HIDE ME FROM THE DARKENED SKY
HIDE ME FROM MY DARKENED MIND
HIDE ME FROM THE WORLD OF STRIFE

WHERE I'M AFRAID TO GO OUTSIDE

HIDE ME FROM THE MENTAL ILL
HIDE ME NOW BEFORE IT KILLS
HIDE ME FROM THE GRIP I FEEL

I JUST WANT IT TO BE STILL

HIDE ME FROM THE ROCKS THROWN AT ME
*HIDE ME FROM THOSE THAT WON'T LET ME BE
HIDE ME FROM WHAT WON'T SET ME FREE

BUT MOST OF ALL
                                          HIDE
     ­                                                  ME
                                                        ­      FROM
                                                ­                           ME.**
                                                       ­                              .
                                                               ­                          .

A well worn path in the grass
A permanent smudge on the bell
Both put there by U.P.S.
Bringing me more of which I delve

Whether Infomercial or Shopping channel
Maters not they're both the same
I have both they're 800 numbers
They have both my number and name

My family thinks I have a problem
It's plain to me they don't understand
Shopping and T.V...the best of worlds
With remote grasped firmly in hand

And the deals, why they keep on coming
3 easy payments are done in a snap
I might have a bit of a habit
But it's not like I'm addicted to crack

Of course I only purchase what's needed
Though every so often I do have to splurge
But only if the object is shinny
On that you do have my word

Now if you'll pardon me, here's a new item
And they're getting ready to spill the deal
By the way, I'm also expecting a package
Would you kindly listen out for the bell

The day starts off bitter and dark
Splattered and splotched with watermarks
From tears of us forced to watch
Battle cause against battle cause
Shoulders flaked in hatreds frost
Rolling rocks collect no moss
Foes and friends this war has cost
Who could have thunk who would have thought

A world like this would take top billing

A time like this would come of age
Raising fists in fits of rage
Here's the pauper where's the sage
Keeping truth locked in a cage
Same old look different name
Nothing's changed it's all the same
Unknown ghosts make us afraid
Set the date cut the cake

A world like this is quite revealing

Unless you find you like the lies
Being spewed out on all sides
From the upper left to the lower right
As we feed the hand that bites
It's a case of do or die
Whatever it takes to win the fight
Sign of the times I  me mine
Raise your hand and close your eyes

In this world of truth concealing

They're keeping score behind closed doors
Where they have mine and they have yours
Where the disease thinks it's the cure
And only peace can come through war
If that's not enough there's more in store
Times are rotten to the core
Days like these are hard to ignore
Once we've opened Pandora's door

A world like this is hard in its dealings

A world like this is primed for stealing

A world like this has lost all meaning

A world like this is in it's keeping

A world like this...

i woke up this morning
to find a fairy floating
in and out of my line of rhyme

with the slightest bit of fussing
she commenced to fairy dusting
over all the poetic gems she hoped to find

with pure elegance and timing
in her finding of the rhyming
words this lovely fairy eats and breathes

she can not help this that controls her soul
an urgency this fairy knows
all too well she must pay it heed

always is this fairy's pleasure
to  find this rhyming hidden treasure
amongst the rows in this her field of poem

she takes the ones she can't live without
adds them to all wanderlust allows
before she spreads her tiny wings and heads back home


knowing once again, a job well done...

Two demons escape their fate
From swimming in the fiery lake
They'd grown tired of the heated pool
Needing to dip their toes into something cool

So it was out of flesh and bone
They made for themselves a sailing boat
Without a word they bade hell leave
Sailing off to humanities sea

They sailed by and it's just as well
Dante's nine circles of hell
They found nothing funny along the way
But to Dante himself they both did wave

When their boat broke the surface
They both grew rather nervous
The first thing they saw was a fiery ball
Thinking they'd made a u-turn and were both back home

But the atmosphere was way to cool
The shrugging demons never knew
Not owning any winter gear
Not sure they were going to like it here

They headed out in search of some
Good old fashion satanic fun
When what happened to catch their demonic eyes
But the ***** and Gomorrah of todays city life

They both felt at home, they fit right in
To the debauchery and rampant sin
The only difference with these human fools
Is not a one of them has a clue

All the while thinking they are free
******* tight onto Satan's leash
Paying the ever so heavy cost
Of a man who is...but doesn't know he's lost

The demons had seen all this before
That's why they got so easily bored
Yes, this they'd seen and done it all
So they placed a person to person call

The boys both had to really dance
When it comes to Satan there's no second chance
So after six hundred and sixty six days
They got back in their boat and sailed away

Mom could you please
warm these waters up
Yo ** **
and a tub full of suds

Pirates in the making
on their personal high sea
Don't dare pull the plug
on this Caribbean dream

There's treasure they know
in the depths down below
They saw it when it sank
in mid bathtime flow

Send the divers in
to this porcelain surf
Holding their breath as long as they can
for all they are worth

They'll come away from this
if nothing else, clean
Where in tomorrow night's bath
they'll set sail once again

A couple muddy bathtub buddies
sailing on a sea of suds
In a life filled with adventure
because there's never enough

This is just another love poem set to rhyme
Really no need to waste your time
Whether it's love you lose or love you find
It's just another love poem so nevermind

Just another love poem in your hand
Low on ideas, still high in demand
Been here for years yet to be banned
Another one of those poems way out of hand

Just another love poem tossed in the breeze
With just enough umph to fill a few needs
One or two I love you's with a few you love me's
Just another love poem brought on the scene

Just another love poem to come cross the wire
Just another love poem pulled from the mire
Just another love poem to jump into the fire
Just another love poem in dire need of retire

She woke up with wings on her heels
Which brought to mind, that's all she wrote
With no need for shoes to escape the blues
Although she did grab a coat

She floated an inch off to the door
Leaving no prints on the linoleum floor
Opening it wide to the great outside
At that very moment she was seen no more

I like to buy different magazines
And bring them to my home
Cut out all the faces
And replace them with my own

I always look so happy
In other peoples lives
I can be the best of husbands
Along side the best of wives

It all depends on my mood
On any given day
I could be hang gliding in the South Pacific
Or hiking the hills of Mandalay

On a beach in Florida
With perfect kids flying a kite
At a Hollywood premier
My face on any star I like

I used to lead a boring life
As I sat around at home
Now pasting my face in different magazines
I go and do anything I want

I just purchased NASA monthly
Dare I go to the moon
If they picture two astronauts together
You know I'd go with you

There's this island magazine I've been saving
From a travel agency
Can't wait to paste my face out swimming
In the bluest of the bluest seas

I'll flip through all the pages
Till I come up with the perfect tan
On top of the perfect body
Then I will be the perfect man

It's not always fun and games
I do have a serious side
When I paste my face onto orphans or the homeless
Then wet the pages as I cry

There's so many different things I do
Depends on the mood and the magazine
What peaks my interest at the store that day
And who it is I'd like to be

I figure you and nature
Must have something going on
Otherwise why would I hear your voice
Each time that the wind blows

Or see your lovely face
In puddles the rain makes
With your form in every shadow
As the day grows late

And those midnight rendezvous
Where I spend time with the moon
Knowing that as I do
He's keeping an eye on you

That's why I figure you and nature
Must have something going on the side
Because no matter where I eat, sleep, and breath
You are always on my mind

M. So Mike I hear you've been gone?

MH. Why yes I have!

M. Why the absence?

MH. I just needed some time to clear my head.

M. That should have taken no more than a couple minutes

MH. Ahhh...no, I was gone a couple weeks. I was going to stay out a month but this site is so addictive! I'm sure our listening audience can attest to that!

M. Audience? No ones listening to this...

MH. But you said...

M. Me?

MH. Yes you said when we were talking that I was going to be on the radio.

M. Dude your me...

MH. I know!

M. Your blowing my mind here...Can we just get on with this?

MH. Sure...What I was trying to do was really just find myself.

M. Find yourself...were your lost?

MH. No just needed to try and do away with some of the junk in my life.

M. I'm starting to wonder if I'm you then why is this the first time I'm hearing about it.

MH. That is odd isn't it..

M. Almost as odd as interviewing yourself.

MH. Almost

M. So any good poems written while you were gone?

MH. To tell the truth I couldn't stop writing...If they're any good only time will tell.

M. How do you think the interview is going so far? Am I doing alright? Asking the tough questions?

MH. I think your the best...That's why I only let me interview myself!

M. Speaking of interviews I've got another one scheduled I really need to run...

MH. Really? With who?

M. Oh it's you but you the World Famous Nuclear Physicist!

MH. But I'm not a...

M. Hey...It's what we call in journalism as a lead in...makes them want more.

MH. But I'm...

M. Don't worry, we'll make something up...

MH. We always do...

M. Ain't THAT the truth!

MH. Shall we do it over lunch?

M. Sounds good...you buying?

i am getting bored
using the same old words
the same old cords
the same old lines
time after time time time

is it such a crime
to always want to find
in this demented mind of mine
the perfect rhyme of rhymes

i maneuver it
so it all will fit
onto the page i've writ
for the perfect bit
perhaps a major hit

but i still am bored
with the heights i've soared
is someone keeping score
in this poetic realm
white knuckles at the helm

i steer off  course
as my one recourse
to get me through all this
goodbye with a kiss
back to poetic bliss

We all have a place
Where secrets are made
The ones we would rather hide

More often than not
God takes what we've got
And brings it into the light

Beyond the shadow of doubt
Your sin finds you out
No matter how hard you try

It's best to make
The paths you lay straight
Keeping God right by our side

Just got back from Venus
It's a secret, don't ask how
I really mean it
You know, government and all

I am going to tell you though
Most of what I seen
Oh, remember that fella Elvis?
Yep, he's still the king

With a planet full of women
Big, short, skinny, long and tall
Brunette, red head, black and brown
Don't worry guys, there's plenty of blonds

Most men would call it heaven
And give their right arm as a witness
Flying there at any cost
Which brings me back to Elvis

You see Elvis was never much keen on
All of that fortune and fame
He did it all with a purpose
Allow me here to explain

Being a shy kid from the country
For entertainment he'd read comic books
Read one once about the Women of Venus
And that right there was all that it took

He borrowed an old beat up guitar
Figured he could make a few bucks
He'd build a rocket ship out in the barn
And leave on the day it was ready to launch

But alas fame and fortune took him by storm
As his music and charm did us
Being caught up in it all for years to come
He'd just have to wait for his trip to Venus

Of course over time it got overwhelming
As his mind ventured back to the ship
Down on the farm still hold up in the barn
The only solution...fake his own death

And that's where today you'll find him
Viva Las Venus my friend
Elvis in a world of women
Where he still reigns as king

Oh the what could have been
Is not always the what should have been
If we could begin again
I wonder where we'd be

Would we be the here and now
Or perhaps somewhere else some how
Would we even know to tell
That which clearly can't be seen

How about the you and me
Would there be a time we'd even meet
And if we do would we both see
That something we could trust

Let us leave this where we're at
For us there is no turning back
Past, present, future we've never lacked
Always will and has been us

yes i admit it
that yes i am an addict
give me something to cling to
and i'll take it to the limit

no i'm not proud
of some of what i've done
hard some days to keep the count
but definitely more than once

and now my latest addiction
seems to be poetry
some have even mentioned
that's not a bad place to be

are they too in denial
are they themselves to far gone
not knowing all the while
they're also playing to its song

with anything once you lose control
and it has control of you
the deeper it is you dig the hole
the more you tend to lose

to me it's a constant battle
i'll be fighting till the end
because yes i am an addict
and poetry, my latest addiction

I'm going to take myself to dinner
Guess you could say a date
I'll make sure to bring myself home early
I know how I hate to stay out late

I'll order off a fancy French menu
Just to try and impress myself
Cause when it is that I go out
I treat myself like no one else

I'll carry on  a great conversation
But of course underneath my breath
I don't want those at the next table
To think I'm talking to myself

I might even order off the desert menu
Though I know I'm trying to watch my weight
I'll ask for one spoon instead of two
Don't want to get too weird on this date

When the bill does come around
I won't hesitate to pick it up
And I won't rudely gasp and comment
That I think I ordered the expensive grub

I'll drive straight back to the house
Then tell myself goodnight
Saying I had the best of times
Then go inside and shut the lights

Three words...Witness Protection Program
That's all I have to say
So if you think you see someone that's me
Just turn around and walk the other way

They've got me hidden in the middle of nowhere
Don't worry, you've not heard the name
Any who when it comes to small towns
Aren't they pretty much about all the same?

I'm the guy with the funny accent
The one without any friends
You know the one down on the cul-de-sac
Last house on the left, down on the end

With a slight suspicion that you know me
Can't quite place the name
It's right there on the tip of your tongue
There's something about me that's just not the same

Is it the different hairstyle?
What little there is left
Perhaps it's in the nose job
New teeth with a smile, the freshening of breath

Three words...Witness Protection Program
So if you see me out on the street
Don't nod, don't grin, don't shake my hand
Walk nonchalantly by and don't even wink...

Bound and determined where it is at
To be more of this and less of that
To take the miss and bring it back
Less of this and more of that

Bound and determined where I stand
To be more giving and less demand
To build this house on rock not sand
To give it all and also and

Bound and determined to leave the past
Where it belongs is where it's at
With no need to bring it back
In the digging of past regrets

Bound and determined to let it go
Grab the new, let loose the old
To untie the tightened that has a hold
That for so long has held life in choke

Bound and determined is the new me
With the shackles gone I'm feeling free
Free to be who I should be
Bound and determined is the new me

I've got a Bobble Head Buddha
That nods on the dash
Some guy named Gideon
Whose Bible rides in the back

Rainbow covered Rosary beads
Hang from my mirror with ease
I've got all the bases covered
As pretty as you please

Have my cassette of Hindu chants
Where I hum along
Shaved my head for Hare Krishna
In case I get it wrong

Holy water in my reservoir
So when my windshield wipers wipe
I have that added protection
Never knowing what might

A Yarmulke from a Bar Mitzvah
In the seat next to me
With a case of Watchtower in the floorboard
I pass out for free

No cigarettes or coffee
Like a good Latter Day Saint
In case Jesus comes back a third time
Who's to say that he ain't

With all my bases covered
I feel pretty safe
Guess I can now crank the engine
And start out my day

How come some people catch a breeze
That blows through simple life
While others watch it all pass by
Seated on the train of strife

I was handed that train ticket
A ride that never seems to end
Boarding the day of my birth
The day hell grabbed hold my hand

Family always tells me I am worthless
In fact they tell me all the time
Guess they feel the need to remind me
In case it ever escapes my mind

Leave it to your family
To beat up any joyful time
Must think if they're not happy with their own lives
Why should I be happy with mine

Next time the train pulls into the station
I'm jumping off this line
And catching that breeze that's always blown by me
Leaving this train of strife behind

a slight tingle beneath the skin
let's little out and little in
as memories flood of where you've been

they will forever whisper alice

when what you knew you thought you knew
is no longer holding true
as mountain winds are passing through

on the breeze they whisper alice

a ****** of crows are left behind
on this the darkest of lives
they fillet the soul but leave the mind

as the beat of their wings whisper alice

Sometimes I wish that I
Was a Tuna fish on rye
One that you often find
Is always on your hungry mind

When I'm gone and all that's left
Of me there'd be no need to guess
All that lingers on your breath
Is me when all is done and said

You would think of me and sigh
I would wink and you would smile
I'd be all in all you like
Tuna fish on rye

I woke up this morning
Let out a huge sigh
As I looked in the mirror
At my twitching left eye

It took me a moment or two
To see what was wrong with me
Seems I lost a few lashes
As I was visiting dreams in my sleep

That's when I started counting
Seven, eleven, twenty four, twenty seven
When I reached thirty one
It was just as I suspected

I know how many I had
When I went to bed last night
Because I wrote it down in my journal
The magic number...thirty nine

Not sure I'll be able to handle
All the laughter, all the shame
After all I do have this image
I've worked years on to pertain

With all my lashes intact on the right
All that I can think
Is how truly off balance
I'll appear to be

I'm the owner of a large plantation
From generations has been passed down
On my property, close to a hundred slaves
Need I mention it's in the South

My slaves all know their place
Though I know they all love me
Cause I don't beat them when I want
I just beat them when I need, tied to the Whipping Tree

Lately I've heard the slaves a whispering
There's definitely something going on
I'm pretty sure I know what it is
My birthday's soon to come

They must be planing for me a party
I'll act surprised when that day comes
They fall all over themselves to please me
Not just because I'm the one that holds the gun

So here it is my birthday
I awake looking for my help
They are nowhere to be seen
Who's going to run my bath for me, I can't do this for myself

Then it is that I remember
About my big birthday surprise
I run expectantly out to the front yard
But find nobody in sight

So I head down to their one room shack
Where they all sleep on the cold dirt floor
Readying myself for my birthday surprise
I swing wide the wooden front door

I see no cake, they sing me no song
The surprise they have for me
Is the noose they throw around my screaming neck
As they hang me from the whipping tree