when you try
to
                         escape
through the cracks
    of an
empty space
your theme music
                dis-
                      si-
            ­               pates.

Take a chance and fly with me.
Let’s take a walk in the park.
The sun falls as stars take rule.

What makes you believe?

I swear I won’t deceive you.
Take a chance and fly with me.
Hold my hand and clutch my heart...
and follow me out of the dark.

as the wind blows
through the desolate trees
of a forbidden forest
and the falling of the leaves
is all that can be heard
everything stands
                                         still
there is no time
only peace

There’s a hole in my heart
when you’re not around.
One left from a missing
piece so profound.
I think about you
when my skies are grey.
You brighten my world
on the cloudiest days.
My wish was granted
and you became mine
as my feelings developed
over much needed time.
Like a snowman outside
on a bright winter's day,
my insides melt
when you are away.
Here is my heart,
treat it not like a toy
because I am your
forever boy.

Just like the vastness of a deep ocean,
your blue eyes penetrate me with
the swiftness of a clean sword strike
falling its enemy in one single blow,
leaving behind nothing but a trail of
desire as deep and red as the blood
that runs through my veins.

Just like a glazed shrapnel of ice
melting on the floor,
I am under your spell;
a spell to which you must have cast
a thousand times before.

Just like the dew that dances upon
delicate blades of grass on
a brisk, spring morning
or the rain that falls and
covers the bare earth,
your beauty crashes upon me
and blankets my existence.

I am unto you,
for now
and forever more.

Oriental paper cranes
and waterfalls of lemonade.

A sunshine-scented, smoky haze
covers candy-coated everglades
while whispers waltz with time and space
and raindrops roll down ceiling drains.

Sacramental epitaphs
and water streams on sassafras.

A dismal, dark decrepit path
mourning missing morning's sunlight laugh;
singing songs so sweet at last
and flying free oe'r breaking glass.

Artificial floating clocks
and water droplets burning hot.

A million, melting mountain tops
shadow somber sunken river rocks
as amber ash advances spots
and transverse travel never stops.

When a fire cripples
and comes crashing down,
the burning fireflies
that jump up
                                     and out
are the remnants of
the heat that
burns so intensely at
the center of the blaze.
As they
scatter
frantically
in every direction,
they are filled with joy
to be liberated
from their
benevolent captor
only to regret their
emancipation
moments later as
they dissolve into nothing
in the cold of the night.
Embers littered
across the sand like
stars lying against
the canvas of a
dark winter’s eve
resemble the same pattern
that you left me in;
Free
         but lost.

The idiosyncrasy of
the elasticity of
a heart
that knows how to mend,
bewilders the mind
of the drunken fool
who thinks that it is the end.

To ameliorate
his rate of devastate
he must look
to his celestial mother
who he not yet knows
and out of cool, still air
soon he will discover.

But the throttle of
the bottle that
he cradles
deep in all his grief
kidnaps his abilities
like a devious,
forlorn thief.

And soon then when
again he finds
another
to hold tight
his mother will have
shown to him
the beauty of her light.

wilted flowers degrade
to recipes of splendor.
she looked
and he was gone.
anonymity
his name.

I sharpen my wits and pencil.
She lathers lotion on her hands.

Like an aged piece of wood
that has
sat idle for too many years,
I am petrified.

Like the rotting leaf
that has
left it’s safe spot on the branch,
I have fallen.

Like the sweet sticky sap
that cascades
down the surface of the tree,
I am running.

Like the seed
that has
sprouted from trees before it,
my love is growing.

What do you think, man?
I don't know what I think, man.
So do you think, man?

I asked him twelve times to do it.

Then he died.

So I did it.

I should have done it all along.

Senses of lethargy
                         the clergy files in
                                                metal flowers grow to the sun
                                                             ­                     disperse, disperse

Surges of transparency
                          the harrowing feat
                                                  intimate illusions squander
                                                        ­                           the hearse, the hearse

Symptoms of atrophy
                          the pale wind prophetic
                                                       ­  fourteen dead
                                                            ­               the horror, the horror

the breeze
                 brisk
the sirens call
a dance of a million
stars is
      upon us
wait for the awake
of
dawn
cherish her
   natal light
for the stars
                 shine
not only

    at night.

What's up, Chicken Little? Whatchu think you know?
The sky is fallin', Skittles droppin’ out the rainbow.
Don’t hate me cuz I’m fast. Don’t hate me cuz I’m keen.
Hate me cuz I got more tiger’s blood than Charlie Sheen.

My rappin’ is a skill, wait, matter fact a habit.
This rhyme is so rare I threw a Masterball at it.
Ima get you to the point when you done think you had it
then keep on chuggin’ through like the Energizer Rabbit.

Runnin’ this game since I was born in 1990.
Ball so hard like Waldo everybody wants to find me.
Watch me as I fly free, practicing my Tai Chi,
soarin’ through the sky like Ben Franklin with his kite key.

I slay wicked verses like they fire breathin’ dragons.
Always down for an adventure so they call me Bilbo Baggins.
You got your feet draggin’ from all your pithy laggin’.
Chokin’ on my farts, left you in my dust gaggin’.

My girls be elegant while yours be nothing but ******.
No diamonds in my ears cuz I don’t like to be flashy.
You just can’t get past me, kilo in the backseat.
NOS tank in the front so them piggies can’t get at me.

Lyrics like the plague so they call my **** Bubonic.
Sittin’ at the bar gettin’ drunk on gin and tonic.
Blowin’ on that chronic, so fast they call me Sonic.
Watch me transform as I go Megatronic.

Is my **** too fast? You need to stop and smell the flowers?
I am just a human, I ain't got no special powers.
I could go for hours. The rap game I devour.
Like Frodo with the ring takin’ down the Two Towers.

My rhymes are heavy duty while yours be made of plastic.
Better call the Doctor cuz this **** is getting’ drastic.
Snap back like elastic, I made an instant classic.
Light the roof on fire with a flick of my matchstick.

I’m tellin’ all them haters that I’m wicked sick nasty.
Dissin’ all they want to but they too scared to come at me.
I go where the cash be, rappin’ makes me happy.
Don’t wash my hair for days cuz I like that **** *****.

All I really wanna do is have a rap battle
cuz my rhymes are so disgusting they’ll make your head rattle.
You’re in a boat with no paddle, on a horse with no saddle.
It’s lookin like you’re gonna hafta ******* straddle.

I know I have the sickest flow that you have ever felt.
There’s nothin’ you can do it’s just the hand that I was dealt.
Killa Kraig will make you melt, yes it matters how it’s spelt.
Get it right the first time or I’ll leave you with a ******' welt.

My game will give you chills from your head down to your feet.
Sittin’ on the couch cuz I love to chill with Pete.
I’m the man to beat cuz I bring all the heat.
Grew up in the burbs, didn’t grow up on the street.

They gave me a gold medal when I scored a perfect 10
cuz I got the versatility of an erasable pen.
Singin’ like a ren, no need to pretend.
Murkin’ rhymes like zombies like my Asian friend Glenn.

Honesty’s a virtue so you know I never front it.
Always swingin’ for a homer, ain’t no need to ever bunt it.
Now you really done it, watch me as I run it.
I made it to the center of the Tootsie Pop in one lick.

Crusin’ round town in my green 6-4 Impala.
Drop so many bombs that you think I worship Allah.
Dolla’ after dolla’, cute as a koala,
but ruthless as a renegade Viking in Valhalla.

My lyrics kick you in the nuts now you talkin’ like a munchkin.
Drop you to the floor like some Mohammed Ali punchin’.
Where is Conjunction Junction? Do the number crunchin’.
Get you home by midnight so you don’t turn into a pumpkin.

Stickin’ to the game like some universal duct tape.
Give you three tries while I nail it in one take.
I'm the sugar on the cornflake, the reason for an earthquake.
I'll toss you like a salad or a chicken in some Shake n’ Bake.

Now grab a pen a paper cuz here’s the final lesson.
I know who’s on first so now tell me what’s on second.
I did the number checkin’, I’m the best I reckon.
While you standin’ at the wrong end of my ******’ Smith & Wesson.

Faces on the ground.
Great Good God on high.
Bring back the peace,
that we used to let fly.

We were... all that we were fighting for.
We were... all that there was to fight for.

Sweet sleep come to me.
And fulfill my needs.
The rain on the ground,
covers the bare leaves.

Is this... really all we are fighting for?
Is this... all really worth fighting for?

In the fields and in the flesh.
We have come here to die.
Pages of the pain,
cloud up my once clear mind.

It is you... that I am fighting for.
It is you... that will break me no more.
This love... is all that we can own.
This love... is all that can be known.

And late one night we'll both be sleeping,
dreaming of our innocence.

Kim and Lee sit stiffly on a wooden bench waiting—the interminable waiting. No words are exchanged, for there are no words to describe the anxious feelings they hold inside them. Like an infant bird trying to break free from the worn shell it has been hiding under for so long, their minds race with what could be spoken. An awkward “So..” Perhaps an inquisitive “What are you thinking about?” would be necessary. But still the two remain motionless besides an occasional head turn to pretend to be staring at something else. There is no hiding it though. Kim and Lee each have something on their minds. The dodging, diverting glances from one end of the bench to the other clearly shows the intense feelings being hidden, hidden behind open eyes.
       Kim thinks, “Well, why must I say something? Lee surely is capable of speaking too.” Yet the waiting continues.
       Lee watches Kim while she glances at an old man feeding the ducks across the park. Lee notices her hair and how it waves and curves to her shoulders and back. The subtle breeze glides through each strand sending an aroma of fresh linen across the bench to Lee where he comes to the realization that the temptation has become too much. The sweet, sensual juices that flowed from the apple consumed by Eve are radiating from Kim.
       He knows what he must do…

He stands up, his heart racing. The emotional lasso that grips him has become too much to bear. He feels that every step he takes or sound he makes tightens the rope's grasp around him. He can feel the pressure squeezing his words and emotions out of his chest, up through the long, dark corridors of his throat and out past the serenity of his sacred lips. Certain things are meant to be held back. But others are meant to be shouted out all the way to the far depths of the ocean where only the mysterious, pre-historic sea life dwells. No trick he tries can distract his mind from the one who consumes it night and day. A fly buzzes around his head and he swats at it. He decides that he will no longer swat at the true feelings that brew inside of him. It is he whom they've chose to slay the evil monster with crimson eyes known only as 'Time' that threatens the well-being of the town and its people.
       He plants his feet firmly on the hard, unforgiving ground below him. He knows if he falls it will hurt so he must be prepared. He stares down at her. Beauty radiates off of her like the sweet, sensual smell that unearths after a light rainfall. The sun glistens off of the silver buttons on her blouse that form a line down the middle of her chest, splitting her into two equally as perfect halves. He gently reaches his hand out to hers. As she meets them and delicately places her palms down into his, she feels the brisk sensation of chills forming at the back of her neck and quickly consuming her entire body. She gasps in pleasure. He pulls her arms up as if to suggest she stand up and she rises to her feet. As he and his subtle smile gaze upon her, he finds himself not in the park as he truly is, but plunging down the first few seconds of a roller-coaster, a feeling he so longs to keep. Her eyes slowly move up and meet his.
       "Oh, what beauty!" he thinks to himself as his subtle smile begins to widen. She stares back into his eyes for a few moments then quickly looks down to the unforgiving ground below as butterflies crowd her stomach. Through with the interminable waiting, he places his hand on the bottom of her chin and tilts her head up until their gazes meet again. The whole world around them seems to set still. Nothing matters besides the fireworks exploding in the few inches of space between their bodies. He slides his hand up the side of her neck to the back of her head, caressing her hair. She closes her eyes, leans her head back into his palm, and opens her mouth in pleasure, yet no words escape. Releasing his hand from her chin, he wraps it tightly around her waist and pulls her in until their bodies touch. He feels her heart beat against the outside of his chest. He closes his eyes and leans forward. At her wit's end, consumed by sheer pleasure, she gives into her temptations and slowly moves her head toward his. Their moist lips meet as they hold each other's bodies. He caresses the back of her head and hip bone and she runs her fingers down his back. After what seems like hours, the two pull away, blushing. And as they stand there, staring into each other's lustful eyes, it dawns on Lee that he and Kim were meant to be together.

In the dark of the night
a stranger appears from the shadows,
in his hand
a golden chalice.

The stranger approaches.
I sit alone
under the only lamppost in the park.

I gather my wits.
The stranger draws nearer,
cold breath smoking from his black hood.
He stops in front of me.

I tremble.

The stranger reaches out his bony hand
grasping the golden chalice
and whispers,
"Choose the chalice for life.
Choose not and wish you had."

My mind becomes chaotic.
Thoughts of triumph and regret
flood my consciousness.
My legs are numb.
My feet seem to mold to the ground.
I feel my very existence
begin to slowly fade.

The stranger,
who is he?
From whence does he come?
Why does he choose me?

The lamppost above me begins to flicker.
It casts a shadow over the silhouette of his face.
His face?
My face?
Can it be?

I lift my arm
to reach for the chalice.
My arm is heavy,
my breath short.

The lamppost flickers faster.
The wind howls.
The temperature drops.
My heart races.

My fingertips are just to touch the chalice when
the light stops flickering.

My breath becomes long
and deep.
The breeze,
soft and subtle.
The stranger,
gone.

I sit there
attempting to rationalize.

An old man comes strolling by
humming a jaunty tune.
As he passes,
he stops.
He looks into my eyes.
I feel again unable to move.

The lampposts flickers twice
then goes out.
I jolt up,
fear looming.

Then a flash in front of me.
I look up.
There is the old man
holding a flame atop his lighter.

"The light will always show the way,"
he says.

I stood there
dumbfounded.

And the old man continued to walk down the path
humming the same cheery tune
and holding the lit lighter over his right shoulder
all the way
until he disappeared from sight.

Woke up on the cold side of
the bed again.
Lit my cigarette by the wrong end.
With decisions to weigh and debts to pay,
I dance better by myself.

Abandoned paved streets
shadowed by bright city lights;
a motionless breeze gives flight
to broken kites.
The man in the hammock dangling
by a string
stays aloft in his solitude.

In the trivial pursuit of a
worthwhile endeavor
a life neatly filed away is run
through a shredder.
Spoonfed as a child then left all
alone;
jilted like a bad penny.

Seeing through a prism of a dull
grey shade.
Bewildered at the ease of a
one-sided trade.
She built you a throne made of
leather and silk;
a throne made with only three legs.

You’re sweet like candy to my soul.
That’s why you’re my sweetheart.

You make me melt like a popsicle.
That’s why you’re my hottie.

You make me feel like a little kid.
That’s why you’re my baby.

You make me buzz like a bee.
That’s why you’re my honey.

You make me feel frozen in headlights.
That’s why you’re my dear.

You make me the happiest person in the world.
That’s why you’re my love.

I was sitting by the bay.
I was thinking about the other day.
The way you looked I just had to say.
I couldn't ask for a better day.

I was sitting. I was thinking about you.
I was thinking about all the things we could do.
The sun was yellow and the sea was blue.
I was lost in an ocean of you.

The waves were crashing and the sea would spray
kisses on our cheeks from far away.
I hold you close so you never stray.
Safe in my arms you will always stay.

I thank my stars for this lovely day.
Deep in my heart it will always stay.
Near or far our love will always spray
kisses on our cheeks from far away.

Imagine a place
where the occupation of space
can all boil down
to one big disgrace.
Like a rat in a race.
A turn of the face.
Until we all disappear
without even a trace.

The calm rush
                       of
warm coffee
streaming
           down your chin.
The hot tears
            of
candle wax
escaping
           onto the floor.
The bitter taste
     of
stale grief
swirling
            in your cup.

Your sorrow
      hardens
to my skin.
Let me pour
                   my
warmth over you
and
         allow
my steam to radiate
   and lift your
         lament.

i
  always
              want
                         what
                                    i
                      ­                  had
                                 and
                       what
                     i
         cannot
  get.
        on
            the
                  hill
 ­                       the
                             grass
                                      is
                       ­                 greener
                                 and
                  sl­ippery
        when
wet.

the stars
align
in celestial
matrimony
her eyes
twinkle
with the
light
of a
million moons
day
breaks
the heavens
impart
their wisdom
of
illumination
and
the stars
align
once
more

daylight
                              breaks
the king of kings
               sheds
his glimmering cape
and sets
     a crown of gold
atop his
opulent head

Remember Mitchell Schumacher?
We all knew him.
Well, actually, his name wasn't Mitchell,
it was Michael,
but you know kids with their nicknames.
Playing video games until the sun comes up,
sleepovers, girls,
riding bikes all over town,
and down that old dirt hill;
it seemed the good times
would never end,
our innocence tying us
close together.

But now he's a cop
and I'm sitting in his jail cell.
My long hair and bag of grass
were no match for his
shiny, metal badge and shaved head.
I asked him about that Game Boy
I left at his house all those years ago
as he sat me in the back of his car
and told me to watch my head.
He looked at me
and laughed.

We used to know him.
Remember Mitchell Schumacher?

It came from somewhere in a tree,
Lord only knows what it could be.
I asked if he could show to me
what it means to him to be free.

He said, “Son, now listen here.
Live your life with little fear
and one day when you shed a tear,
to the answer, you’ll be near.”

I asked, “How much time will it take
to rid the world of all this hate?”
In my boots, I start to shake,
tremors worse than an earthquake.

You see, what he saw was very clear.
“Forget the far, only search near,
and when you do, it will be clear
why we all are living here.”

And as we walked out in the rain,
I asked if I could have his name.
The only names that he would claim
were ****** Billy and insane.

We're sorry,
but something went wrong.
Time was all we needed,
but you took too long.
So please hang up, start over,
and try again once more.
Time was all we needed,
you shoulda' given us more.

Who can determine what is right or wrong?
Standing alone, it will take too long.
The vicious circle your mind creates.
Between you and yourself you must debate.

"Objection, your honor!" one side will scream.
"What about us? Think of the team!"
"Over-ruled!" he will reply with a hiss.
"I want to see what comes of this."

Bicker and banter and all of the above.
Oh, the distances we will travel for love.
Can I or can't I? Should I or not?
Why does it seem that this is all that I've got?

Time presses on and you begin to doubt.
Doesn't water always fall down from a spout?
The way things are and how they are supposed to be.
Wishing and waiting and praying it's me.

Which side to choose? The decision's not mine.
Meet my new worst enemy... time.
Crimson red eyes glaring back at me.
Oh, how I wish I knew what would be.

The fate of the world does not lie in our hands.
Please help me whoever is in command...

"I have two cats!"
         he said with a laugh...
                  as he fell to his knees...
                            and rolled on his back...

The time was all there
                       but the money went flat.
            The essence of nightshade
                                         That will do that.

So onward he marched...
                                              and later he squeezed
but rightfully so,
                       the windowless breeze.

With fortnights on days
                               and cherry blossoms in bloom,
Mr. Finnegan woke up.


It was half past noon.

I look at you
through
          beams
                      of
            ­­             sunlight
and all I see
is the shadow
of the boy
that
I used to be.

The silhouette
                 of your lips
pressed against the
smoke stained,
off-white walls
    mouth the words
I can no longer
hear.

And it is here,
in the space between
shadows
                and silhouettes,
where a boy's dreams
so innocently
lie.

There's a lot of pain
down the drain
of the tunnel that's known as my heart.
Too much to take?
I'll take a break
deep in the shadows of dark.

I do it to hide
the fear inside.
Just cover it up for now.
Take a ****
and blow the smoke.
What nonsense I allow.

Often I run,
hide from the sun
and lock my troubles away.
Tossing the key
far away from me
and in the darkness I stay.

Tired and lazy,
groggy and hazy.
Oh, just what I would give
to get past my strife
and get on with my life.
This can't be the way to live.

Face my fears?
Or have a few jeers?
Time to light up another.
Deeper I sink
away from the brink,
hidden behind my smoke cover.

Now I’m no mathematician
but correct me if I’m wrong.
Last time I checked, ‘forever’
was more than one week long.

My fault, I suppose,
for wearing my heart on my sleeve.
It was there for loving
not as a wipe for your sneeze.

The smile on my face
is a lie at best.
What matters is the sinking feeling
deep inside my chest.

The highs are so tall
but the depths go too low.
It’s too dark down here,
no light left to show.

Such is this life,
no birds left to sing.
I suppose all that is good
needs replacing.

In honor as captain
I’ll sink with my ship.
Carelessly lost
like a last poker chip.

In the depths of the sea
I’ll have much time to ponder.
Why it went wrong
and what lays on yonder.