Love, I came so late to know You.
Beauty, always fresh,
Yet older than the world,
I came so late to love You.

I was looking for You
In all the wrong places.
I was looking for You
In flowers and in faces.

I became so ugly
Looking for You
Outside in the lovely
Things. They aren't You.

Things that are lovely
Only because of You.
Things that are ugly
Because they lack You.

Yet through my closed ears
You announced yourself.
You opened these ears
Deafened by too many answers.

You shone like a sun
Burning away the blindness
Of these eyes. Eyes drunken
By a lustful chase for beauty.

You breathed on me
And my breath returned.
The stench of my dead soul
Washed away. I'm alive!

Here You were
All this time
Hidden, quiet, soft
In this heart of mine.

Here You were
Waiting for me
To clear my eyes
To open my ears

Here You were
Hidden in plain sight
Speaking to my heart:
"There is so much more!"

I live my life. I don't live yours.
I choose my set and dress my doors.
You'll disagree and share your thought.
You'll preach perhaps 'bout what I aught.

I'm glad you dare! I'll lend my ear
In hopes you'll share a new idea.
But if old rote truths are all you have,
I know them cold, don't waste your salve.

If that's the case, please save your breath.
Give me my stage, I'll play Macbeth.
Embrace your way? Perhaps I will.
Come truth what may but not until.

This lonely, sad year
               is now passing by.

This year where each day
              brought more tears to cry.

Each party that was,
             was a bit melancholy,

They were all missing
             one guy's joyful folly.

It seems no one knew
             quite what to say

Or how to pretend
             that we held grief at bay

Or how even to smile
              when you were not near

With your great big grin
              stretching from ear to ear
  

We keep looking for you
               in each passing day

Wishing you'd been
               given more years to stay.

Each day convinced
              any day you'd walk in

And we'd all be laughing
              with you again.

But hard as it is,
             we go on for that's what

You would demand,
            though the pain's a deep cut.

And we know that this pain
             is no less then

The proof of your love
            since the day we began.


In this next year
            help us to see

You're here with us
            in our family.

In a brother's voice,
           we'll hear your laugh

And know sister's hugs
          are on your behalf.

In arms of love
          you still hold us all tight

And everyone will,
          at the end of each night

Envy our privilege
         to be called the 'bambinos'

Of such a great man,
          (that's you Dad), our Dino.

To still silence was the call-
Was post upon the wall:
"Dollars need be dished,
for poets to be published."

But today the bells do ring
Today again, poor poets sing
For the generous and the rich
Paid our share--thanks Buffy, Mitch.

Now it's up to us, my friend-
Poor poets now we must send
Sweet music that can sound again.
Be worth price, or at least intend.

I'm no perfect saintly man.
I'm nothing like a Peter Pan.
And my mistakes I oft take out,
By sending you a wicked shout.

And when I've really f'd things up
I spew my venom in your cup.
With wicked silence, evil eyes
I work to hide where true blame lies.

But no full-on self-delusion,
No raged satanic collusion,
Will hide the fact that it's my fault
That I'm not proud of me.

I fail to be the best of me,
That image which I'm built to be -
So on I jump that train of blame,
A ride designed to stop tear's reign.

I know there's hope, I know my heart's
Not wicked, just tearing apart,
Not angry, growing passion's fire
For those whose love I most desire.

When first you let your beauty go,
I saw a heart deep below
Layers of peanut butter
With brown sugar

When next you let your beauty go,
I saw a heart deep below
Layers of insecurity
And cruel words.

When then you let your spirit shine,
I saw the insecurity was mine,
Layered in confines
Of false confidence

When then you let your love show,
I saw my heart was shallow
Seeking external beauty
Missing your heart

When at last you shared your mind,
I knew then I was unkind
Demanding only the fine
Expecting swine.

Yet my presence you demand,
To satisfy your base command,
Do I stay and smile and nod?
Do I walk, and cry unshod?

In the dark a secret is safe to tell.
Without the sun, there is no heaven or hell.
In the dark, a soul can hide its shame.
Without sun's flame all sins looks the same.

The path to walk is easy to stray from.
The lost are each and impossible to sum.
Failures never see the light of day,
When the night is where we play.