A candle flickering with light -
The comfort of a lonely night,
Where melancholy shades of me
Blur with the raindrops perfectly
And where my soul, seeking to nest,
On scribbled page discovers rest.
The air is thick with scent of pine,
The heart is merry with a rhyme,
The storm outside keeps on, despite,
The comfort of my lonely night.

You mention that you're tired.
They tell you that you're weak.
You say you had five hours of sleep,
They say that's what they had all week.

It's not that your day didn't ****,
It's just that theirs was worse.
Your uncle's in the hospital?
Well, theirs is in a hearse.

You share a funny story, then,
Some memory you miss,
Only to have them respond with,
"Wait 'till you hear this-"

It's not that you're not funny,
You may be humorous.
It's just that they happen to be
A little more hilarious.

At some point, conversation,
On your end, goes bone dry.
You're left feeling dejected
And don't seem to know why.

The motive of the One-Upper
Is still an open question.
Just make sure you aren't one-
Is my one suggestion.

we do not write poetry
we write mirrors
which are held up
to curious faces
who read
looking for their
own reflections

The dead rest and I rest with them
under the shade of the maple leaves.
Their world is cold, eternal, cramped;
mine: sunny, free,
temporary.
We share a home but they are confined
while I am free to roam and wander,
or lie upon their mossy bed as I read
about yet another world -
Imaginary; existing somewhere in between.
People come and go as the day drags on.
Sunlight glints off the headboards.
They arrive slowly. Leave quickly.
We stay.
The air is fragrant with the scent of freshly turned soil; their blanket, my bedsheet. This is a land of peace
and I am a guest,
temporarily.

She watches me
as I illuminate her
head on the pillow,
still cornering the daylight
into the rear window.

She lays, outstretched,
filling the back seat of the car
with unwrapped thoughts,
too deep;
my rays can only reach so far.

Her sleepy eyelids blink
at me in question.
A suggestion?
I hide my face behind a cloud.
"'till soon," I whisper.
I'm only just a surface moon.

Hate, Doubt
Uncertainty, Fear
Has crept in the hearts
Of many this year

Spirits have weakened
Love has grown cold
As we watch, with defeat
Revelations unfold

'One nation under God'
Now torn and divided
The 'States of America'
But no longer 'United'

Let us not place our faith
In the 'red' or the 'blue'
But instead on God's promise
Which we know to be true

Let us speak, unafraid
To be shunned or oppressed
For it's time that our faith
Be put to the test

Let God be our hope
And our refuge in fear
Let our hearts be made ready
For His coming is near!