Peace!
Sang the turtle
Life!
Croaked the frog
Love!
Chirped the crickets
From under their home log

And the owl raised one gloomy eye
To witness the parade
"But love is just a camouflage"
He said within the shade
"Delusions and intrusions, why
That's just no place to be"

The owl rambled on until
A cricket climbed his tree
Now this brave fellow hopped and jumped
In the great owl's face
To squeak out
"Love is everything, in every time and space"

And the owl moved his beak, annoyed, intent to have a snack
But a skip, a jump, a somersault
And the cricket's safely back
Among his friends, and as they turn
To march themselves away
They sing out to the owl
"Hope you have a grand 'ole day
And love will come your way
And love will come your way"

You have to believe
    otherwise, there's
            nothing to be done

When the lights go down
all I hear is this moment
   and the soft reflection of
   lamplight on our faces is
                           all I see

eleven eleven perpetually
they should dub this
our well

                                                            four holds in the
                                                            holster for this happi-
                                                            ness

"break glass in
emergency"

                            but no matter how
                            vigorously I break the
                            water's skin, it laughs
                            and sends me home

to hear the music singing, an unfiltered
hum in my ears always

and want nothing else.

Your mind is a fortress
My mind a battlefield
Your views are precise
Mine deluded

Your love is new
My love is worn
Your pages pristine
Mine wrinkled and torn
You observe the truth
And dish it right out
I fuel the fires
That only lies spout

Sure, you have your faults
But that's quite alright
I'm happy to have
You with me tonight
And as for mine, dear
There's no need to fuss
I can assure you
Of all this because

You are the air I breathe, to clear my head
You make my life worth living
And that's the truth
Please let me in.

listen
   the sound of a million tears
       soaking you

drenching your mind, and
  won't you come outside to join them?

a million more
and they keep coming

        no light but their own
          no warm, yellow glow

             just gray-white, off-color
               liquid sadness

               pouring down from the sky
                    and into you

just silence.

                   
silence        and       rain       and
               hidden screams

fight
   as it seems we both do

we're so alike it's
scary

No one else loves purely for love

Sometimes the very act of putting
                   Something onto paper
                                        Is in itself
                                         A way of
                                            Letting
                                                   Go

I aim to make you uncomfortable
Crunch off every ounce of your mentality
And float away, dancing inside flowers

Heavens crash upon a raindrop in a flurry of
Sighs

These words that span two hearts
       polarize each day's interlude
              

so close when elbows hug.

this feels like waking up and
falling like the
       rain outside my window

where messages
    stall when they're in sight and I am
                   tortured by the unknown note

        unhinge and swing wide

  I can't sleep inside this
       distance that's between

There is so much to tell you
before I wake and with the ongoing
countdown of patient fingers, one
by thirteen days left in our time apart

the heart allows a small smile

for how time has sped along and led us to
where we need to dream, where we
need to be

and you stitch up my world
like a soft winter scarf, warm
and woolen, beautiful and
all your own

Christmas lights wove a
rainbow across the trees where
I sampled sound tonight

^

and you, in your far-off wonder, I
believe your mom was smart in allowing
us memories to refresh our smiles

^^

love, you connect my days, string
hope 'tween the branches that grow
overwhelmed with sensory
reflection at the most
inopportune times

^^^

I know you still, so
thoroughly glad we continue with
our lovely living story

our house lights dim, a
hush spread thin as a whisper
caught on your tongue embraces
eyes, hearts, calls them closer

to the passionate vibration between
mind and string from my
girl across the world, it seems a
symphony of indelible impact,
vocalization
to sympathetic heart-drum as
I close my eyes

once more dreaming
for two hands in the dark

Some days you wake up and don't want to do anything
Some days you lay on the couch and take a marathon of naps to the tune of endless sitcoms
Some days your body aches and your mind vaguely recalls what you put yourself through the day before
Some days you don't think you can continue

Those are the days that make you stronger
But only if you get up.

I don't care who you are.
If you have written something heartfelt,
Post a link or direct me to it
In the comment section
Please

When was there ever something to talk about?
                          I cannot recall an instance
        in which I, you, we voluntarily
                                     downed a conversation
                 without any gagging after the fact.

Take everything as it is, child
I will not be here forever
Sad as this notion
Kisses your forehead, let it
Whisper words of hope

And welcome them in
And welcome them in

For even among these darkened days
There is a glow about you
That must not fade

Preserve your innocent ideals
Retain your thoughts
And know they amount to
Far more than you
Might have imagined

When put to practice, child
Your ideas and your light
Can burn the world
In a fire that warms, soothes
Holds, and comforts
All who question the nature
Of human love

We are merely shadows of
Who we might have been
Darkened puzzle pieces
Floating downward
Inside a cool glass of river water

Seek out others
Connect and share
Each one of us has something for the other to gain
Each one of us has in his or her possession
A glance, a word, a whisper that can
Change the life of another

Do not hide.

Time is precious as is
We would do good to not waste it
And stop your clocks now
Heartbeats will suffice

Amidst the lies, the pain, the turmoil
That most harbor
Let your light
Your love
Your inspiration
Flourish, rejuvenate, and make whole

My sickened heart


But I am not alone.

There are others who have endured far worse than I
Who have succumbed to their addictions
Who have lacked the support and love I found
Where I would have least expected it, and
They need you more than I

Go to them
And make right
What only you can.

"Maybe not tomorrow
but someday"
She tells me
"the flowers will wilt
the light will dim
the roads will diverge"

And I wonder
How will it be
When I no longer recognize you
And you no longer see me
Will I feel the knife
Slowly as it inches into my heart
Or feign indifference and burn all traces
Of you

A valuable question, certainly
And one to consider
But no answers come to mind
At least none I can bring myself to
Singe this page with

There are times when everything is right.

Such times are coming.

Woke up this morning and for a little while
Was confused as to why my eyes were bloodshot and hurting
Gingerly prodded to assess the damages, deemed workable
And then I remembered

My cheek pressed into the carpet
Riding a seemingly endless flow, mouth
Twisted open and eyes shut
It was the watch that got me

It felt like the equating of sides, the returning of possessions
And then the door. I hate the door.
When I heard it close, I lost it
Forced myself to remain composed until I could escape upstairs
And let loose.

A long while has passed since I poured my heart into a work
The last few songs have consisted of stories, wishes, falsifications.

Substance is vital to fuel passion.

Excuse me while I search for it.

In this space
Resides Fortune
Jealousy and Fear
In the corners
Glowering miserably
Sadness stretched out
On the couch
Head inseparable from hands
Joy is tied to a post
A humiliating position
Fingers brought together with
Barbed Wire
Casting out a smile
As Anger sharpens his ax

I want to throw a bomb
Amidst it all
To end this
But decide to
Watch how the scene
Plays out

Flint of question,
Steel of theory
Light a candle in a mind

Let me tell you
             something
this world, our
         world
                              is not merely in constant flux but a state of revolution
                                                the periods of war and disease, of poverty and greed are
                                        coming to a close but
    hunger
                       hunger will remain close to the heart, hunger will
                 remain transformed, a hunger for humanity because
                                                         ­          this world, our
                                                                ­            world
                            craves understanding
and to
     deny its plea is to dim the lights on
                        dreams of our people, therefore
               a new system will be implemented, a system
                                                  in which our schools will no longer spoon-feed prior
                        accomplishments to students but will
encourage and
                                            inspire them to bring forth their own

Let me spin you some lines
from the top of my mind
there's not yet enough for an album
I want you to hear all the things that I've said
and I yours and let's talk about them

great
    green
       galomping high lights

amorphous purple elephant.

In a moderate, questioning tone

          She whispers

    What do you think would happen if we dated again?

                I think it would be the same melodrama as it was back then.

And in a soft, resounding murmur*

           He answers
  
     I don't think so.
  
                 Not this time.

You're right, let's
see where this will lead
and in an hour I'll concede to
spending all my afternoons the
sun rising and setting with you
reliably

like after-hours swimming pools, we
lead the way and make our own rules
******* to the ordinary, bring on
hula hoops and sherry

I'll send my heart wrapped in a letter,
hope that it will get there over shimm'ring
sails and stormy weather, hope that it
will find its way to you

I thought they were kidding when they casually
proclaimed the stars that night spectacular

now, faced with a crowd of relative strangers on a learned rooftop seeking
solace in the sky, I know what they knew then

that each day, night, moment, nuance flickers once
and burns out, though light continues

and when the darkness smothers me in night, walking halogen-bright streets
I run for my pen

All choked up inside because
                             there is so much I never say, wanting
                                                    to share everything and grow up
           way too fast, that's not how
                           things work around here, not
               now under microscopes

                                  I love you to the point of
  not breathing, a precaution to
     ensure such radical notions remain where they
       are, but today you

                                           told me the greatest thing you could
                                               ever have brought to my ears, that you
                                                             ­          recognize
                                                        the simple truth, the difference, this
                                                wonderful knowledge you and I have of each
                                                 other, something others chase for so much
                                                            time­, and yes we have some of
that loosely-defined handhold on
reality, the ticking, but
                                           I need you to know, I
                                                               ­         
still cannot find words.

If you really wanted to
    
   grab
                   my attention, you
would have tried something a bit more

            sophisticated
                                     and it
might have worked, if
                                                  not for the fact that
                       I want nothing to do with you

The air in this room is






                                     heavy.

It's hard to think with you here
It's   to     with     here

every candle that flares up like a
    match struck between timelines reminds me
            that this world, this beautiful
       misshapen globe we call home has

                   room for me,       for you,
                               and most importantly
                                         for us.

Good night, everybody
Are we wishing for one
or convincing of one?

I find the places we have been
    miss us while we're away

for rivers to know laughter and then
          only the rush of water

            no parameters, no
         sense of urgency,
                
       nothing compares.

Today the world flipped upside down
          like a teapot out of balance or
                      a warlord out of steam
    and our structure in all of its dense
                crystalline time

              s   h   a   t   t   e   r   e   d

        to the music of clouds, gobbled up raw earth
             and breath and water and choked
                    out a little ball of us, perfect and
                productive
                                     ­   it had no place here so
                      
                            today the world flipped upside
                                 down to shake us off like
                                    the ants we are but
                                          forever drifting through
                                                      daydreams is
                                                             nice because
I enjoy your company

Unwelcome tears
Intruding upon my relative
Calm
Never make it to the surface
But wreak
Havoc inside

Something is wrong
Something is a bit off
And I must live with it

The problem cannot be within
Its cause must reside outside
This fragile charade

Something caused a crack
Something ruptured

Life as we know it
As we live it
Is false
And serves no purpose

Even love
The fearless protector
Balks at this truth

God help us all.

Continuation without meaning, meaning
Lacking merit, chains whose warders have
Long since deserted
Fallen prey to common gestures

There is no editorial for these thoughts
Of sound mind and sight body we
Press on

Some say it is the chlorophyll that keeps leaves
Green
I know it to be hope
I know, should hope grow tires and fail
To recognize her surroundings, leaves
Will drain to brown with
Worry

I challenge you, try to understand
Walk in the depressions left by the others
Feel their breath fueling your thoughts but
Keep them your own, always and
Forever your own, even as
Forever deflates and sags inward, a
Shadow of its former self

Reason, everything's about reason but to what
Ends, for what purpose and why?
A reason
Will not bring people together
A reason
Cannot solve a problem
A reason, a stupid ******* reason
Can't do much of anything at all

What is it for? What
Do we seek to justify somehow with this
Talk of talking we need
Three-dimensional speaking we need
Spheres of understanding not this
Circle we ride in silence without so much as a
Remark about the unchanging landscape

Fallacies will be present in all walks of life, hell
In every stone witnessed in all walks of life,
Hell,
Everywhere
And to dwell on them is to play the fool to
Succumb to defeat to rise above all we
Know and realize there is nothing else but
Cascading color waterfalls and this nub of
a pencil

Nothing crucial, no time for time when
It all is so vibrant, yet reflections adore
Our world because we invite them even
As we recognize the harm done, still welcome
Views built on the backs of the long dead and

Idealistic initial impressions of a
Flower before the wind steals it from the
Tangles of your hair and gifts pedals to
The breeze

My vision should be pretty good
                (but you are all I see)

Bottle up the joy
Bubbling inside you
And pass it along
To another who
Might find it challenging
To combat the charcoal sky
And most importantly
Tell them why

Up the hill
                  drawn fresh from a well
           Fire bubbles over the bucket rim
                  and all is still once more.

Now is not a time for
Scissors

Threads woven here are not
     hampered by distance not
     distracted by the great bulk of
     time's slow passage between their
Two keepers

The prevailing viewpoint:
                      Life is moot
Stands to be swallowed by
     something
                soon

Something wonderful with a
Fuzzy heart

The heat outside must be a result of the
General increase in emotion that sometimes
Follows summer, top down and
Music eased up and maxed
Out among the sunglassed groups

Flipflop tans and cool lake water
Rubbing on bronzing lotion that
Allegedly prevents tanning

Today is a day, is the day
For adventure and discovery
All to ever want a cove in which
To waste away each and every hour

Drink plenty of water, make
Plenty of love and you'll be
Alright my friend, alright

There's always the lemonade if
Heat should assume the role of an adversary
Sparring on the green grass
What better way to live?
And where are you, to wonder
I'll play louder for you

Sick sick sick
eating poison pills that might
taste good if they were tangible

sometimes it's hopeless and
I can't help you until I
help myself.

People are never who you expect them to be
No one conforms, in the simplest sense

We all move on; we all change
Nothing is solid, nothing remains

Walk on as the road behind you crumbles.

The storms randomly appearing outside my window
I thought it was an angry neighbor, rolling their garbage can around in rage
To an intrusive fence or overly vocal dog
But no
It is a full-fledged raindrop fest
That affixes itself to my ears in memory and
As an old friend, this rain

But I am a bit tired
Unused in my 6 months of laziness to any expenditure of
Energy whatsoever
And I ran in your name today
Red-faced and puffing, mostly nearing the end
I ran in your name

It felt good.

I'll trade my heart
for your heart

I hope they surround you tonight
Grace you with the gift of serenity in your evening hours, that
Once they have been introduced to your benevolence as I have
They will do all in their power to grant you safe passage through the
Theme parks and grasslands and flowery meadows of dreams in which
You walk unseen with every whisper deafening