The velvet green forest ferns
tickle her slender pale ankles

The theatre is empty and filled with desire
The heart is lonely, mind fuelled by want
An empty audience ready to consume
Possessions the star cast, becoming 'I am'
The greatest sideshow of swapping cash for our time
Curtains open
Abandoning abandon
Losing the key
The greatest abstract, are we really free

You're incomparable, like a..
****.
Like a...

My father died
from a gun shot wound
to the head

self-inflicted

Don't get all weird about it.

Fathers die
and their passing
though certain
is rarely easy.

So what can I say of this man
so many years
after his emphatic end?

I can say what Whitman said
of Lincoln:
"O Captain, my Captain.
Rise up and hear the bells."

But he will not.

He was ever-present
wise and alert
a boxer in life
a fighter in every way.

And I grew up with the gloves on
quick
elusive
and thanks to him
successful in every ring.  

He died
******* on a lit tobacco stick

Emphysema was gonna
take him down
so he pulled his own trigger
saved his family that way
though that's a longer tale

Therefore
and whereas
this is a belated requiem
for a man I loved.
My Captain.
Dear and departed
these many years
may he rest in peace
as he never rested
in life.

Darling, thank you.
Your love had made me
                sane.
But please forgive me
for sanity had never been
my
       favorite
                       cup
                               of
                                    tea.

This morning
I saw the smallest flower
tucked deep inside
a group of much bigger flowers
it didn't belong there
it wasn't part of the group
it wasn't even the same kind of flower
but you know what?
they were all getting along just fine
maybe there's a lesson to be learned...