In the bathroom, the change began --
Not from a can,  
but a bottle  
with a model  

advertising the bold color  
on the cover
Stirring toxins --
a concoction  


of basic, mindless chemistry.
Identity  
changed – simply by
mixing hair dye.

He stares into her eyes
Cold, and hollow.
Long past expiration
Yet still so blue and swimming with life
He keeps her around
Skin pulled back with a taxidermists touch
Remaining young, and eloquently soft
Forever
He moves her around
Like they're dancing in the rain
But the rain would make her eyeshadow run
Darkened tears streaming down
A sallow yet preserved face
Young and fresh forever
To do with as he sees fit
He's mad
Preserving mommies corpse
With the tenderest touch
She still eats dinner with him
But when he feeds her her mouth goes slack
Since he did not sow her lips shut
Eye lids peeled back forever
Mouth stuck in an Icy grin
He'd always loved his mothers smile.....
But she hadn't loved him
She was focused on the home owners association
And impressing her neighbors
While her son she loved to call darling
Was festering, desperately wanting her attention
But he was never good enough
He just wanted to make her proud
Now her face says she's proud of him eternally
He'd always loved his mothers smile..
Mommy smiles forever now

Skyscrapers scarfed in dawn's mist,
their torsos shrouded by nature's wisps
a reminder that man made this,
that wind and the water could show it
its end.

Metropolis unharmed,
lit windows like the glints of a thousand eyes.
Unknowing and blissful.
The fog unfolds like an opened hand,
palms upwards, swaying in the boulevard.

Happ'ly I stand, upon the mountain's edge
and admire the regal coexistence
of man and its maker.

Distance has twisted my arm
I spend my time in the bar
Dodging advances
I miss the chances of seeing you
The glances you'd shoot at me from across the room
And that playful smile
That made life seem worth while
You gave me something to look forward to

I can only imagine
What it would be like,
To see my baby girl
For the first time in my life

I can only imagine
Holding that little bundle of joy
Seeing my baby girl
Smiling back at me

I can only imagine
Taking my little girl
To her first day of school
Seeing that face,
Fear, happiness, sadness,
What would it be like to let you go

I can only imagine
Watching you growing up
Bringing you to ballet and
Teaching you how to ride a bike

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Teaching you how to drive
And handing you the keys

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Seeing my baby girl all grown up
In her senior year of school

I can only imagine
You walking across that stage
Receiving your diploma
Graduating from college

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Seeing my girl in white
Walking you down that isle
Giving you away
To your prince charming

I can only imagine
What it would be like
To see your little kids
Running up to me

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Laying in that hospital bed
Staring up at you

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Seeing my little girl
for the last time in my life

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Saying goodbye to my baby
And what it would be like to let you go

I can only imagine
What it would be like
Looking down from above
Seeing you standing at my grave
Helpless, crying, and not wanting to let go

Dust
From dust we were formed,
Made in his image
Created from the depths of the sea,
Formed into perfect humans

Blowing in the wind,
Making its own path,
Just as we humans carve
Our own paths

One spec can blind a man,
Just as one man can change the world;
One spec, one man, one change, one world,

From dust we were made,
And to dust we shall return,
Living species in a world of dust,
And in the end all we are,
Is dust

With such vigorous opposition
The only thing that is left is perdition
Will the soil ever produce quite the same
What a shame
War and peace carpooling in the fast lane
Justified through producing excuses and rage
A dissension the history books might explain
But those who carry the pain will wane
All empathy lost in the jagged print of a factual page
How many contradictions will we endorse before we realize
How many children will die before we sympathize

We could say the obvious
about a leaf,
typically flat and thin,
terminologically rich:
an angiosperm
with petiole, lamina
and stipules (lots of these).

But enough for now
because I want to be
poetic about the leaf
and its collective:
leaves.

As the haiku goes
Leaves lose trees
And trees lose leaves
Who can walk without
Dancing on windfalls
As crisp as these.

It is their dance,
their dancing,
(these veined forms),
that bring me
gentle reader,
to the page.
It is the wind’s doing:
rustling and rubbing in
summer airs,
turning and falling
in September’s gales,
path-bound then
leaves leap and glide,
twist and scatter
in the winter winds.
In spring they are like
babes in the womb,
attached, full of life,
hidden in the bud.