The last time you said that you screamed it, "******* parasites, always looking over my fence." although there was no one there. It stayed like that for a few weeks. It was obvious the wobblies had turned on you, no more safe place for a union supporter.
             The tracks that lead to out of town kept rearing through your skull as if an invite had been sent through some unknown path of communication. The maddness lasted, sometimes it was worse. One day in particular you pinned your curtains closed until there wasn't one speck of light to be seen inside. "They're coming, you wait, they are timing everything". On that night you ran the shower and shut the door. As steam arose into the room you swallowed twenty sleeping pills and placed a plastic bag over your head. Radio blearing in the backround either for comfort or to drown out any sounds of gasping or both! When they wheeled you out of the house your arm fell off the side of the stretcher as if you were saying goodbye. You would have been embarrassed at the thought of your cold white hand waving. You were angry and scared and had said goodbye years before. There was no need of one last. You left like you came, sadly and yet somehow smiling as if you might have known something no one else did. Maybe you did sweetheart, maybe you did.

on the edge
of this ravine, I’ve stood
so long that the grass has grown
between my toes, moss hanging off
my fingers in tendrils,
wildflowers in my hair,
but today it is time to move.

the darkness yawns wide, though
it wasn’t always this way.
once, it was a child—
like all grown-ups once were.
once, it was just a crack in the dirt,
the product of a thousand tiny
earthquakes.

when i was a child, running
free as the wind,
i stumbled to a stop at its cusp.

i became afraid like a
fawn turns to a deer with
wide, wide, wide eyes
darting around as the fish
in a crystal sea.
i spent all my years, frozen
there until the chasm grew and so
did i.

but today, i take the leap.

i shake off the dust and replace
it with steel, steel drum for a heart with
a beat for every step,
one foot in front of the other picking
up speed, until suddenly i am
f l y i n g.

fear?
in another life, perhaps.

moving out
from the noise
and the drama
and the control
and the good and the bad
loneliness is freedom
but how far is so far away?
is a blank page empty
or just white?
time in the form of a pen will tell

Twenty years, a lifetime in a breath,
Moments of joy, and trials that test.
A bond forged strong, yet time has shown,
Even the mightiest rivers carve new stones.

Love endured, though struggles grew,
As dreams were altered, plans askew.
Her strength once bright, now shadows cast,
A disability’s weight, a bond held fast.

Yet even love can feel the strain,
When one surrenders to endless pain.
Not by choice, but a path she’s known,
Leaving both to feel alone.

Then a spark ignited, a newfound fire,
A heart once dormant, now lifts higher.
Through your eyes, he sees the light,
A soul reborn, embracing life.

How can one not love a heart so dear,
Yet embrace the joy when new love's near?
Breaking free, not out of disdain,
But to dance in sunlight after the rain.

Steps may falter, but strength is alive,
Together you flourish, together you thrive.
Honoring the past, yet forging ahead,
Two souls united, where happiness spreads.

I met her in a time
of pain

My life would never be
the same

I struggled to find the
words to say

You took my hand
and came with me anyway