Watching you stretch
Your leg extended along the horizon
Always reaching for the sky
Determination so fierce
You inspire me to put my ink to use
Writing effortlessly
About the way your body moves
How your genius creates the steps
Suspended animation
I can’t wrap my head around
Constantly moving
And consistently untouchable

Four miles I ran
dense was the darkness, light there was none,
neither what lies ahead nor behind does it allow me to see.
Five miles I ran
dense was the darkness, light there was none,
neither what lies ahead nor behind does it allow me to see.
Six miles I ran
dense was the darkness, light there was none,
neither what lies ahead nor behind does it allow me to see.
Seven miles I ran
dense was the darkness, light there was none,
neither what lies ahead nor behind does it allow me to see.
Eight miles I ran and cried out in pain,
dense was the darkness, light there was none,
neither what lies ahead nor behind does it allow me to see.
Nine miles I ran ... the North Wind.
It licked at my face,
dense was the darkness, light there was none,
neither what lies ahead nor behind does it allow me to see.
Ten miles I ran ...
... I’m  near,
...running for miles.
Eleven miles I ran and came out before the sunrise.
Twelve miles I ran and it grew brilliant.
...it bears lapis lazuli as foliage,
bearing fruit, a delight to look upon.
The pain endured
Was worth every mile
Still a few more before home.

Winter Vacation was coming
The kids were all set
They were thinking of Christmas
And the gifts they would get

But, Millie sat waiting
Thinking of nothing but snow
Watching the class clock
That was moving so slow


They did arts and crafts
Made cute cards for their folks
Sang old Christmas songs
And told old Christmas jokes

But Millie, our Millie
Was miles away
Thinking of Michigan snow
In which she'd soon play

She packed up her things
Then the bell filled the air
She waved to the teacher
And burst out of her chair

Faster than reindeer
She was gone from the school
Off to get packed
For a vacation so cool

She ran all the way home
She had sweat on her face
Left her books at the door
And grabbed her pink case

Millie was ready
With one thing on her mind
She was off to see snow
And leave the sunshine behind

She'd packed and unpacked
Twice every night
Now she was sure
That her bag was packed right

Winter vacation
In the north in the snow
She'd be there in hours
Just one night to go

She tossed and she tumbled
But she woke right at five
She showered and dressed
She felt so alive

They loaded the car
And they left in a rush
Millie was set
And gave her hair a quick brush

They got to the airport
At nine twenty two
They checked her small bag
Which was nearly brand new

They went to the gate
They met a woman in tan
He said "Hello, there Millie"
"I'm your steward...names Anne"

"Before we go on"
"There's someone else you should meet"
"He's a pilot, our Captain"
"And his name is Pete"

She kissed Mom goodbye
And she kissed her dad too
Anne took her aboard
To sit in seat number two

Millie was nervous
But, excited as well
She told Anne her feelings
Anne said "I won't tell"

The plane taxied out
Left the ground with a roar
Millie's tummy, it rumbled
Like it had never before

Anne came and sat
In the seat by her side
She said "Look over there"
"Those are clouds right outside"

Millie and Anne
Talked all the way there
Of the Christmas to come
They made quite a pair

The Captain announced
They were all set to land
When the plane hit the ground
Millie grabbed Anne's right hand

The big door then opened
They got off of the plane
At the end of the ramp
She saw her cousin, named Jane

Her Grandparents met her
Thanked Anne, said good bye
Anne said "Have a Good Christmas"
Millie said "I'll certainly try"

Jane and her brother
Had come for Christmas as well
With her Grandparents and cousins
Christmas was sure to be swell

They went to pick up her luggage
And then go out to the truck
Her bag came out first
It was her Christmas luck

The first thing she saw
As she held Grandpa's hand
Was no snow on the ground
This was not what she'd planned

Her parents had told her
About the Michigan snow
About snowmen, and snowballs
And the wind, how it'd blow

She kept quiet, said nothing
There was no snow to be seen
As she looked out the window
The grass was still green

Maybe, just maybe
I'm early she thought
It'll snow here tomorrow
Today is too hot

She played with her cousins
Called her folks about four
Rode bikes that her Grandpa
Bought them all at the store

Nothing was different
It was just like at home
No snow blowing white
Nothing fluffy like foam

She went to bed early
It had been a long day
She kissed her grandparents goodnight
And then hit the hay

She dreamed of the winters
Of the snow on the ground
She dreamed about snowmen
And climbing up a snow mound

The next morning she woke
Ran and opened the drape
Wrapped it round her neck
And looked outside, with her cape

Green as could be
For as far as she looked
There was no snow here
Millie felt she'd been rooked

She sat quiet at breakfast
Made barely a sound
Then she asked Grandma
"Why's there no snow on the ground?

"My big Christmas wish"
"Was to snow, snow...for real"
"It's just like at home"
"Grandma, what's the big deal?"

"We've had some strange weather"
"It's been warm every day"
"They just do not know"
"How long it will stay"

"I'm sorry dear Milie"
"This is just how it's been"
"I'm afraid that this Christmas"
"Is one that is green"

Millie, sat silent
Went outside then to play
There was no snow coming
There'd be no snow today

Depressed as she was
She had fun, best she could
Riding bikes around town
It was fun, but not good

With one day till Christmas
She called up her Dad
In the call she then told him
Of how she felt sad

She loved both her cousins
And her grandparents too
But, she just couldn't go
And do what she wanted to do

She'd come up to the north
To have some fun with the snow
She wanted to leave
But, she'd not let them know

They had dinner at six
Millie went up to bed
She was asleep in a moment
Christmas dreams in her head

At seven oh three
She woke up, looked outside
And she stood at the window
With her eyes open wide

The front lawn was covered
There was snow all around
She woke up her cousins
Down the stairs they did bound

They opened the door
To a yard full of white
Christmas had come
Bringing snow in the night

Out on the road
She says other kids too
All in their pjs
And some with no shoes

They were all throwing snowballs
Making angels as well
this was what she had wanted
Christmas was gonna be swell

During the night
While the kids were asleep
Out to the arena
Grandpa did creep

He'd called in some favours
Got the snow from the rink
Then they brought it out here
"Christmas magic" they'll think

The kids can't have Christmas
With no snow to be seen
It just isn't Christmas
With a yard that is green

Phone calls were made
To some other rinks too
And the ski hill as well
Knew what they must do

A parade of dump tucks
And machines that both blew
Came to help Grandpa Joe
Make Millie's Christmas wish true

It lasted four hours
Then it melted away
But, for Millie, our Millie
It was her best Christmas day

Wishing is magic
And dreams, they are too
So, believe just like Millie
And make your Christmas wish true

In the aftermath of hell
there shone light upon the sea.
As if blessed by God himself
names were burned into the trees.

Every body, every bone
washed away and buried deep.
Seaweed wrapped between the thighs
of the stones He wished to keep.

I have made a pact with death.
And my soul is not my own.
I have sealed my fate and theirs
just to own my rightful throne.

Of the thousands I have watched
slain upon the greedy beach
All my countrymen and friends
I would use the bones of each.

“Gods of wind and gods of earth
I can see it in your eyes!
That you hate the Ocean Lord
As He drinks up all their cries!”

Filled with sympathy and love...
filled with weakness, steeped in hate.
I will rally every god
to meet fate at ocean’s gates.

I have sold myself to plunge
into depths after my death
But if all the earth can fight
I might keep my soul and breath.

So I’ll rally every king,
any source I can exhaust.
I will own the world of men.
I will never pay the cost.

“Gods of fire! Gods of rain!
Worlds will never be the same!
Come and **** the Ocean King!
Taint the water in my name!”

As the roots grow towards the water
and the fire licks the tide
I begin to realize slowly
that mine is the losing side.

As I watch my army crumble
I sink down upon my knees
All the gods I’ve called have fallen
their names written in the trees.

Of the thousands that have fallen
I ask why is it they’ve died?
Will the sea still remain hungry?
Can its King be satisfied?

My dark heart has become empty
I suppose it fits the sea.
Yes, the ocean now is calling
I must let the tide take me.

As I drift into the darkness
I can feel the ocean’s eyes
and then I begin to hear them
every soul...and all their cries.

There is dread inside my body
and my lungs tear from my frame,
but the current pulls me deeper.
This is fear, it is not shame.

I hear thundering and clanging
Like the sky is falling down
And it shakes the ocean floor
It’s a moaning, groaning sound

I can feel my soul attempting
To let go and meet its fate
But I feel a force inside me
With an appetite to sate

I can feel my body breaking,
But the King has blessed my eyes
I can see with perfect clarity
the fate my heart denies.

As the murky water thins
and the wails have met their height
I begin to see the horror
of the ocean’s appetite.

All the flesh and bone colliding,
used as blocks of solid stone,
and the souls of men are crying
mortar knit into a throne.

Living seaweed binds the frames,
hearts and lungs spill from the cracks,
Souls are tearing from their bodies,
spines are poking from their backs.

I can feel my jaw is fixed,
in pure terror as I scream,
I can feel it dislocating.
God, I hope this is a dream.

But the God I know is cruel
though at least He keeps his word.
My soul rips from its dead body
it’s the last sound that I heard.

And a thousand years from then
I have been at last reborn.
And from time to time I visit
the sea where my soul was torn.

They have sent down many divers
Said “A city must have fell”
but they hardly know the truth
that the ocean floor was hell.

And when I go out to listen
I can sense a soul or two
drifting up to meet its maker
as it finally breaks through.

I cannot reveal the horror
but it’s written in the trees.
All the names of those who fell
and my own name among these.

Every past generation had their turn
on this giant ball.

They had their taste of life, then death,
and now we're here for more.

Reality has gone a long way back.
It's quite the story we're in.

Can you see how such an epic backdrop makes
your own worries appear so thin?

‘Earth’
maybe a mole
in the mountain of space.
But the story is bigger
than any epic tale.

It's the one scoops
the bottom line
of the bottomless space!

Small simple finishing
tells the complete tale
'as above, so below'.
One that takes into
account all the matter
and the entire space.

The story goes on
The fine earth takes its place.
Now the mountain
sits on the mole space!

My mother decided not to fight with the Earth anymore
While she wanted zucchini she let the blueberries grow.
She parked her little trailer by the trees and closed the door
I guess my mother decided not to fight with anyone anymore.

"Just what I needed" she proclaimed as she showed me around
her little trailer in the woods, wheels already sinking in the ground
A sink, a table, two coffee cups, a bed
and almost enough room to stand without hitting your head

on a three acre plot with a five bedroom home...
My mother decided not to fight with that house anymore.
"No shoes allowed," if one of the two rules of the trailer
Because my mother decided she's not gonna sweep anymore

She left home with her baby and boyfriend
in a school bus I wouldn't doubt he stole.
(My mother decided she wasn't gonna fight with her mother anymore.)
And when that wasn't working, she went off on her own.
Her son was the only man she'd fight for.

She married my father because;
"he just wouldn't leave me alone."
My mother decided not to fight it anymore
She fought for her house, her kids and she swore
she'd fight to the death if someone tried to take that from her.

Fought she did, fiercely or quietly
she did what she needed to.
How did my mother always know what to do?
One night we snuck out in the darkness
we left home for somewhere new.

She dressed us up in dresses and we drove and we drove
My mother decided we weren't going to church anymore.
We'd go to prison to see my father even though she was told
if we didn't we'd have a beach house in Jersey, everything paid for.

Because of her I know my father and love him unconditionally
Maybe my mother decided she wasn't going to keep that from me.
Because of her I know my siblings, doesn't sound like a choice
But my mother decided no one was going to separate us.

My mother decided not to fight with the Earth anymore.
She let's the weeds grow taller in the front yard, it doesn't bother her.
She'll pull them out by the roots when they're ready to go.
My mother knows what's worth fighting and fighting for.

Oh, how nice it would be
To live supple minded fantasy,
Where subtle signals from the skies
Augment virtues of humanity;
To look upon the Gods and see
They've--relinquished all morbidity,
And as the evil within us dies
So too, the epic of tragedy.