Dawn
light just seeping
through slatted blinds
robins begin
their morning song
at full-blast volume
I am awake, listening

hoping you made it
through the wilderness
and are sitting on the deck
with your morning coffee
listening to robins too
or loons calling on the lake
watching the sun rise

you said you wanted
to be lying naked
next to the woman
you love
when you're ninety
I hope to be the one
in your arms

perhaps completely deaf
to the robin's cacophony
and a little
worse for wear
but still loving
each other
just the same.

We aging poets
Scribble hard in the passive
Recalling the active;
I envoke your separate, central parts,
Merging in the hard ripples of you
In August's evening lake;
Re-absorbing the yellow blur
That dries the pressed grass.
These passive lines from past lives;
This aging poet loses clarity
Re-capturing the passions
Of the young poet's life.

dont ever stop.
do it, when you're bored,
when you're sad,
lonely,
or *****
don't stop.

save all of them.
keep it somewhere
safe
when you grow
a bit more
you can look at them
and watch
how your writing matured
as you did
too.

this world *****.
like, 95% of the time.
know you are beautiful.
know that there are
hundreds of people out there
who would worship the ground you walk on
so if
someone tells you different
know it is just their opinion
one
out of
billions of others.

know that if you suffer,
you are not alone.
but,
just as importantly,
know your suffering is unique
and just as important
as anyone else's.

put yourself before others
but consider others
while doing so
if you are jealous,
understand
that it is admiration
and as much as that person
may be everything you wish you were
they are not you.

you
are also me
I wish I had someone to tell me
when I was younger
that life is really ******
a lot of the time.
but that there are things
that make the shittiness
worthwhile.
feed your passion.
don't let anyone tell you
you can't do something.
because you
can
at least
try.

your thoughts
matter.
your opinions
matter.
you
matter.
if someone tries
to belittle them
because of your lack
of life experience
let it
inspire you
to prove them wrong.

be yourself
share yourself
with those that deserve it
blow
the seeds of who you are
into everyone you meet
they will grow
watch them grow

you
matter
because you change
every person you meet.
you are an important piece
to the puzzle of life
and one day
you will find a place
that you belong
with other pieces
who fit your edges
perfectly
and who stay close
and comfort you
and who recognize
and appreciate
the beauty
of who you are
like I do.

I was wondering how old my blood is
I haven’t bled in a long time
At least not on the outside
Maybe I should set some of it free
Free to find another
Another body to love

Say goodbye when he goes off to war
He won’t be what you remembered
He might not talk for a week
It didn’t make him wise
It just made him aware
That’s why his smile is so old

I was wondering how old my tears are
Seems like they are born every day
A gully inside every reason
A reason inside every drop
No particular place to go
Just a scar soon forgotten

Say good morning when she wakes up
The sun in her hair may set too soon
I will have to live with a regret
But I know I will always love her
So when tomorrow comes
My mind won’t feel so old

Not a lot has changed inside
From who I used to be.
I’ve gained wrinkles and gray hair
But that’s just humanity.
It doesn’t change the facts at all;
I am still who I always was.
It’s the packaging that changes
And that has a reasonable cause.

When I forget something
Folks call me old and senile
But, the fact is that I have
Been doing that for quite a while.
Ever since I was a kid
As a matter of pure fact.
So, don’t mislabel something
That is not an aging fact.

And when I groan a bit
When rising from my chair
It’s a bad habit I learned
Long ago, some bad where.
It is laziness and whining
And that’s the pure truth.
It has nothing to do with
My distance from youth.

When my eyes get misty
At something I may see
It’s not that old age has
Has totally overtaken me.
It’s because I’ve been around
For enough of these years
To recognize the feelings
That go on behind tears.

So tip your hat to me, my friends
And you surely won’t go wrong.
There is a bit of credit due
For sticking around this long.
It has given me some vision
Due to plenty of hindsight,
To make better decisions now
And to make most of them right.

I kept a screen
Before my mind,
To re-run clips
Of your fine lines.
Glad for new-age technology,
The IMAX use of 3D;
I'll use the big screen monolith
To screen the edit
Of your breadth and width.

When I was a younger man,
there wasn't much that I can't
But as the twinkles turns to wrinkles, in my eyes,
expectations dies
All in time and in some time,
there wasn't much that I can


Its man's fate to wither in time,
what's the use of saving every dime,
you came alone, you go alone,
this change in view, is what it does to you,
When I was a younger man,
there wasn't much that I can't


You value things that you never knew,
like relationships and then a few,
Love, Loss, regret, memories,
life is empty without these,
Believe me when I say to you,
these are the things that makes you YOU


And in time if you find someone,
blessed be you, for all I can tell,
a life lived loved, is sublime,
I wish I had some more time,
when I was a younger man,
I would have cherished all I can

How did it happen
My foot isn't straight anymore
But still I walk with purpose
I know what I am living for

How did it happen
I forgot someone’s name for an instant
But still I remembered to be kind
I know what is important

How did it happen
I don’t laugh as much as in the past
But still I have a warm heart
That part of me will always last

How did it happen
I ask questions as never before
But still I have my faith  
That is all I need and nothing more