At first pain
Then first breath
Life awakens to Life,
Embarking
With tears protesting
This first Change.
Then growth starts  
A new mind mapping charts
Mastering wind, making waves
Learning like lightning
And wondering Whys.
In a world so vast
Each sensation overwhelms;
Each second impossible and new.
This world is yours
But you can't have it all
The first sorrow  subtly reflected in you.

My brain inquires what my heart feels
Are we ever certain that Love be true?
My bones ache
Remembering this body broken
My heart murmurs
Old wounds heal
And my brain wonders
Is this real

This soul believes in impossible ideals
If I place faith in my gut
Am I to blame for any deception
My brow sweats
Murky be such waters
Life being ever contrary to human love
Yet, something glitters from the river bed
My teeth grit
This might be real

It’s almost too good- too right!
And still my heart beats onward, marching
Through fogs of ephemeral thought
I may be fickle, but I might be sure
That this time I see light
Making these shadows swirl like ghosts
In my mind
My mind decides
This is real

So I wander forth
So I enjoy this vision
So beautiful  
My lips so wet
My love so strong
And you, so perfect
Real or imagined
Or imagined and real

These last words
My mouth speaks
"Be my human experience."
My faces smiles
At the act of choosing heart over head.
But my eyes tear
And a last warning is issued
"But know that these clouds may never clear."

…A new day breaks forth

Dreams are the stuff that makes stars shine
Bright, lustrous, so sublime
Hard to capture, may turn you blind,
Yet worth the journey every time.
Yes, dreams are the stuff that changes worlds.
Without them, who would face the dark?
Without them, life would lose its spark,
And toward the End we would never start
If not for dreams,
The stuff that makes stars shine.
Dreams,
The stuff that makes worlds mine.

You crackle and pop like backyard fireworks
Lighting up the darkness without a care in the world
Lovingly set alight to too soon fizzle out
So enjoyed for your sight, but with lingering doubt
For I’m wary of you, despite your fancy frills
A false innocence encourages your unexpected thrills
You’re hot then you explode, dangerous and stunning
And if I don’t watch out, I’ll soon be sent running
Back under the sheets with you by my side
A curious devil that without life I can’t abide
Yet, I know that deep down you’d shrivel inside
Without me to light you up like backyard fireworks
Lighting up my darkness without a care in the world

Partying partly ‘cause I know I’m doomed
I **** the truth and drink to lies
I’ll parlay my life into my dreams
But in this business of strife everybody dies.

‘Tis not the only truth so bitter sweet
Like when one dances with the heart
To choose to love is to choose to grieve
And, yet, we let such good things start.

In old age I’ll learn what I’ll never accept
That maybe the middle meant the most
You judge the journey by how, and not where
And, in the sinking, swim; To happiness, toast.

Dreams better left forgotten wake me to reality
Muddled memories, fuzzy faces flash ‘cross my mind
I soon confuse what I dreamt with what I now imagine
It’s cold and the wind makes the trees sigh in the night
I shiver, watching shadows swirl in ceiling corners
Before I pull my knees to my chest and reflect on the past
I ignore the gut feeling that tells me not to dwell
And let my heart swell, a mixture of pleasure and pain
I rise up remembering faces I haven’t seen in a while
I smile… but then I begin to fall
Like a man in a battle, like my gut warned me so
And so, this death brings not a greater peace.
The storm cloud comes and bitterness settles over me
I sink into my sheets seeking safety long lost lifetimes ago
From this fear that I’ll never be rid of this human condition
Loneliness… It finds me and I weep,
All so sweetly, all so soundlessly
As I drift back into my dreams trying to recall
If there is any reason at all to wake me to reality

So this is the New Year, old Time’s fingered strum.
Hard hearts beat fast for the changes to come.
Old dreams seem tangible and tired eyes set alight,
Yet Fate knows that not all will get kisses tonight.
You can laugh loud and rejoice or just grimace glum,
But the New Year is now, so love whom you’ve become.