Night kicks up streetlights that scream in my ear
Over all of the laughter and bottles of beer
It's a quaint little place with red lights on the wall
It's a motionless apartment that's cozy but small
And it keeps you safe from who you know you could be
And it keeps you awake but it lets me sleep
Because your dogs never bark and the wind is kept outside
Where we'll end up walking and dancing beneath her; the Moon.

I drank my poison quietly in the recesses of reality
Spinning ever spiritedly
Into
The solemn silence of my sanctuary

We spent the night dissolved in words: the hours were only rain drops
Pounding ever persistently
Against
The rip tide of the clock’s cruel countdown

I braved the path of honesty and the road of mischief in my turn
Vacillating ever vividly
Between
The intersection of fragile concepts defining good and evil

If you grew up in Canada
Or in the north of The States
You know of the rules
Road hockey creates
shoot the ball wide
and it's your turn to chase
Keep shooting wide
And you'll surely lose face
Keep the stick down
don't slash and don't hack
Or once this game is done
You'll never be back
Don't run up the score
Don't shoot for the head
You can shoot at the nuts
But, if you hit them...you're dead
It has it's own language
It's a world different by far
And there's more game to play
But right now......CCCAAARRRR!!!!

This  morning eating breakfast
I saw an image on my toast
Was it peanut butter?
Or did I see the Holy Ghost?

I looked again and noticed
that it just looked cold and plain
Was I seeing things I shouldn't?
Or was I going...well,...insane?

I've a picture in my basement
Of the Madonna, and it cry's
I think a pipe behind it's broken
But, it just comes through the eyes

I'm not very religious ...But, I know...
there's been a message sent to me
I know this 'cause I read this
"Did you get the message?" in my tea

I was working in the garden
And I saw the face of God
It was green, and slightly muddy
In a twelve foot piece of sod

I've seen images and icons
And to prove I am no slouch
On Tuesday, I saw Jesus
He was sitting on my couch

I know I need to speak out
To prove I'm not here to deceive
But, with what I've seen here lately
It's **** hard to not believe

The other afternoon I got a message
From a friend about my latest musing
He said he didn't understand the poem
And in fact, it was confusing
He told me how he'd read some others
And they made no sense at all
And he said, he'd fix my problem
And he gave me a number to call
As one who likes a challenge
And not one to turn away
I phoned the gifted number
That's why I'm here today

"Welcome to the Group Encounter
It's group therapy for beginners
Your problems we will fix
And will help make you all winners"
At least that's what the sign said
I felt like I was being led to slaughter
But, I told my friend that I would go
And if I say yes....I gotta!!
The room was bright and cheerful
No silly signs upon the walls
I saw nothing else of much importance
There were no chairs, just *****
Eight people came, we took attendance
Which I found funny, since no one knew
Our real names, or our problems
I stood behind a ball of blue
The leader was a man...a doctor
He said it was good to see us all
I smiled back, and gave a greeting
I remembered the silly sign out in the hall
He informed the group that at this meeting
We didn't have to say a word
I thought that wouldn't help me with my problem
But I might learn from what I heard
"My name is Bill, and I'm an addict
came a voice so soft and meek
I like ******* and thighs and *******"
"Bill, you say that every week"
For those of you new to our meeting
Bills a butcher, not a freak
He always says this as his welcome
I made a note...Bill's help..don't seek!!
"I am Julie, I'm an addict
I drink all day and through the night"
Now, we're talking..I was thinking
Here is someone who's not right
"Hello Julie"....we all answered
I was anxious for her tales of *****
But, what a downer was old Julie
She just drank milk, her tale's a ruse
Julie really didn't drink much
She just needed to get out
Her mother thought she was a loner
She's sit around the house and pout
Bill the butcher and our lactaid milkmaid
really made me wish I'd not
phoned the number from my buddy
Some magic beans...that's what I'd bought
I stood and looked upon the faces
I'll make up something for their ears
I stood and said "My name is Shecky"
"and what I'll say, will bring you tears"
"I'm an addict, a man of knowledge"
"I have to know what makes things tick"
"I know this meeting's for beginners"
"But, I am here because I'm sick"
I told them that I liked dissection
Like Bill the butcher, only more
I described a surgical procedure
And two folks ran right out the door
I smirked a bit, my act was working
I had them wrapped, intent and deep
Now into their heads, I would start working
And in I'd run, I would not creep
More tales of blood and carnage
Sent two more people on their way
The lactaid milkmaid made her exit
I thought for sure, she'd be one to stay
I talked for oh, say forty minutes
The doctor, stood, his mouth was wide
The others too, sat gobs wide open
I think a small dog would fit inside
The doctor said, our time was over
He'd pulled me over for a chat
"I think you need more than you'll get here"
"Did you really do that to a cat?"
I just grinned, I'd had some fun here
I'd not return, that much I knew
The night was not a total loss
On my exit, Bill said I could be a butcher too!!
I called my friend when I got home
I told him of the night of fun
He listened close to what I told him
And he laughed loud, at what I'd done
He told me he had learned his lesson
And my meetings tale was most amusing
From now on, he'd not dissect
And not look deep into my musings
I said my words were there to look at
To confuse your mind is not my task
But, if you like what you have read...please
click "like" or comment....that's all I ask.

She stared into the glass,
Saw tears that were not there;
A cat hid in the grass,
Glimpsed a bird and snatched at air.

She brooded by the well,
Heard a sound that went unheard;
A fortress shuddered and fell,
In its ruins promise stirred.

She opened her necklace charm,
Kissed a photo no one could see;
Sailors escaped the storm,
But were captured by the sea.

She sang a silent song,
Said what everyone else saw:
A bird that was not wrong,
Caught in an alley cat's jaw.

You were a shadow to me,
You would follow me without question
Around every corner and on the fold of a bedsheet.
You would leave the house
Explore a tree
But you always left a trail of pinecones
To find your way back home.

The graceful thud of your paws
On my sleeping body,
Black fur darned with white socks
And I loved you,
I always loved you.

Life had dealt us a silent friendship,
Language was our deficiency
But we made it our own
Speaking through pupils
And reading the curve of our bodies.

And you were small,
You were always so small.
The runt of the litter
But you had the personality
To **** all the demons
That had scattered in my head through the day
And lull me back to sleep.

This knot in my stomach,
And the tears I concede
Are all for you and I don’t want to stop.
I will atone for every summer as a child
Lost in a dizzy haze of fun,
As you sat in the window
And waited for me.
Just waited.

Now it is my turn.

I saw you break into a shadow of yourself,
Even smaller every day
As you faded away by degrees.
I saw you fall limp into a dreamless sleep
And now as you are buried beneath the snow
I hope the first thing you see is me sat at the window.

the first time you smiled the world went weak at the knees
the first time the sun saw you it blushed and the winter snow melted
the first time you said i love you i knew i was in trouble
the last time we talked you said it wasnt permanent
the last time you walked out the door the clouds came
they havent left
i dont think they will
you are the whim of the willing and the only true assassin