The city tosses, turns, and finally rises,
Surrendering to daylight and giving itself over
to the bustling movements of its citizens.
At the crosswalk, an old codger in  rags holds a panhandling sign,

And nearby a bearded hippy plays guitar.
The sound of beggars, musicians, bored businessmen,
And all the teaming masses drift through back alleys,
And float through the air like the heady perfume of car exhaust.

Each street, each block, each break in the never-ending flow of man’s own personal jungle.
Brings to mind stepping into a whole other world.
Here, in one such strange nexus, a building likened to a castle,
Stares across a narrow stretch of road at an abandoned building,
Cracked broken and peeling, tattooed with graffiti from a hundred vagabond artists.
It conjoins directly to a new building,
the fresh, well maintained walls of which offer striking contrast.

The confused, confounding nature of the true jungle is in this manmade facsimile
More well reflected than anywhere else in the world.
The muggy air rings with life, the heat is stifling,
And for all that it has a strong allure.
This city, and all cities.
For in every corner, at every street, life bleeds from a city.
It grows from the crack like a flowering ****,
And in truth,
Is a flower born in the streets of a city, atop the stem of a dandelion
Any less a flower than a rose from the heart in the woodland?
To me, that a flower could be so brazen, so proudly out of place,
Makes it all the more a thing of beauty.

Pins and needles sinking deep into soft skin



Every word, every harsh muttering pushes a little deeper.



I bleed, and scream in agony,



But my injury is nothing you can see,



Buried deep inside of me.



My tortured form is from without unhurt,



And so my pain continues unabated,



And I go unaided for now and for all times.



For none will ever see what she is,



Or what she does to me,



And if they do they shut their eyes.



She weaves a pretty web of how I am the villain,



Such a pretty tapestry of lies.



And still I am the one who bleeds,



I scream within myself,



But all the others turn and comfort her,



And do not hear my cries.

Sing for me so soft and sweet
A song to hold inside

Until the next time we two meet
And as one abide

Walk with me a while now
And let me hold your hand

Please know I will return somehow
And walk with you again

Stand by me forevermore
And when we two must part

Wait for me by celestial shore
and hold me in your heart.

An endless pasture spills out into the horizon,
Like the limitless expanse of the ocean
I can see the ships
Who raise sail on this sea of grass.

Floating gently on a sage-scented breeze
With sails full of thunder
The flotilla of storm clouds ever closer
To the place where I lie on my back
Listening to the crickets flee

My mid is adrift, caught up in the riptide of the moment
Lost to the waves of rain sweeping over me
I send no message in a bottle
I smile as the rain comes down
Content to be
Lost at sea

Fire
Water
There is no in between

Highs
Lows
There are no in betweens

Life
Death
There is no in between

Black
White
Grey

This gauntlet, laid at my feet
Will never rise.
I will look longingly at it,
And act as though I have no hands with which to lift the glove.

While all the time they hang limply,
Feebly pleading for use.
Recalling their old prowess with knife and pen alike,
They attain a sort of swagger in these secret dreams.
But all good things come to an end.
Especially when
You’re attached.

I, their master, crippled by mild intelligence,
just enough sentience,
has

you are the water spot
after the car has been sitting out
for too long
once the rain has ceased
and no matter how hard i try
you won't go away
you just keep fading
and then coming back

you are the telemarketer
the one who keeps calling
even when i hang up
every time

it's this love
the kind that makes my chest ache
and travels all the way
                                         d
                                            o
                                               w
                                                   n
                                                       to my fingers

so i'll continue
leaving my car out in the rain
picking up the phone
because i never want you to leave

First snow
falling
    on the half-finished bridge.

Love, even if you don't believe it.
A smile never needed a reason.
Like the happy never needed a explication,
To make all of us smile.