born in bundles
under hooks and clamps
in the damp dark
in the hard lack

what agony distorts
the music in the hall
echoes of roars
laments through the walls

riding to the abattoir
with moist protruding eyes
a fox and a baby ox
wearing our finest coats

I rehearse the night,
wide-legged, wide-eyed,
a posture of prayer,
to hold and horrify.

I could’ve torn myself,
just fragile enough,
to keep you watching,
a girl made rough.

You chose the keyhole
to savor the frame,
An exhibit of flesh,
unsigned by shame.

In cinematic detail,
you bought my fireline,
paid in cold cash,
colder still, the outline
of shadows moaning in shrine.

The mattress too wide,
too deep, too stark,
darker than my nightmares
of men made of spark.

I longed to dissolve
in the softness of your hand,
an offering, a fever,
a ruin unmanned.

But instead
you wept into mine,
as if your grief
were more divine.

In the gulf of our desire,
I freed the fleeting regret
of letting you see me dancing
and letting you kiss me insane.
For the sky over the ocean
turned dark and ****** red
as the sun sank below my faith,
witnessing your unbothered death.

Exploding florescent flowers
Refuge of the fallen
Assembly lines for hours
Another night in the sea of summoning dark
Ive noticed a growing paranoia just around the temples
The stress shadow slips two firm hands around my throat
Notations of subtle insanity growing around the curves of my teeth
Strange sensation, to lie free and naked among a field of poppies
Fluttered are the ethereal wings of Hope
Given now the universal hand of Time
Perplexing phantoms of secret coves unite
A symmetry of gravitation lies between
Soothing atmosphere and end of light

I'm lying in my bed
with  expectations that never met
expectation of how beautiful it'd go
those plans i made i sold it pretty short

and i know i can do it all
fly and soar, prove them wrong
but something aches inside it  burns
emotions tangled and motives lost
and i make plans for another day
and yet i procrastinate

i look in the mirror and i see the little girl
the girl who couldn't wait for teenage to come
how I'd stay late night drink coffee and complain
hang out with my small knit of friends
get hobbies learn talents
but the sunshine's fades
and I'm back  staring at my to do list
with thousand a list but
nothing's ticked

so stupid so dumb
how I've been waiting for you for so long
with my plans abandoned
and my heart set
just for the slightest glance-

and you give me a glance
and take my breath away in return
and I, hungry for love
devote my delusive heart
to what could have been us
carelessly and soberly dwell on the land
the land where we aren't apart

no trace of your name
where you live or your age
just the footprint
on the road that we met
a stranger
a complete stranger but yet so dear and close
a stranger that easily could break my heart in two
but when I'll mend my sorrow heart
I know I'd still beat for you
so I'll wait
wait my entire day
for that singular moment of you
though no sound is heard
no trace of your caressing touch
and as the second pass
and we cross the road we met
don't trouble your SPIKY head
cause tomorrow my love I'll take that same road again.

One land, one sky, one sea, one people,
the boundaries that divide us are not on maps,
but in our minds and hearts. There will be
no nations, no money, no jails and prisons.
To heal those who are hurting, there will be
LOVE CENTERS where they will be loved,
not punished. All 8,000,000,000 Citizens of Earth
will have a responsibility and a right:  
to treat others with kindness and respect  
and to be treated with kindness and respect.
All Citizens of Earth are encouraged to do
what they love. Each will have to spend 10 years
between the ages of 18 and 60 to help humanity
and our home, Earth. Every Citizen of Earth
will be free to travel anywhere on Earth.
There will be no weapons on Earth. Our mantra
will be UNGUN EARTH. All needs--food,
clean water, health care, housing, education--
will be given equally to all Citizens of Earth.
A World Picnic will be held on a different
continent every year. The World Picnic will
last the whole year. All Citizens of Earth
will be provided transportation to spend
a week at the World Picnic to enjoy different
foods, different customs, different languages
from around the world. All can experience
differences with joy, not dread.   
Love, not hate. Peace, not war.
Planet Peace.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS

I do not love you
like a traveler loves a view—
I love you
like a secret loves silence,
like depth craves depth.

You are not just water—
you are emotion in motion,
a hymn sung by moonlight,
a soul with salt and storm
in your veins.

I love how you breathe
without needing anyone to notice.
How your tides rise and fall
without shame,
how your waves hold both peace
and power.

I love that you rage
when the sky grows cruel,
that you speak in roars
when you're no longer heard.

You are not just blue—
you are every feeling
I’ve ever buried,
every tear the world
never saw me cry.

And I,
fragile yet fierce,
quiet yet alive,
found in your vastness
a mirror.

I do not visit you.
I return to you.
For in your depths,
I remember—
I am made of wild things too.

Summer gaarden wand'rer-
Where has your wanderlust taken us?
Strange delirium of weightlessness
Euphoria's outstretched arm reaches  
  down 'neath faerie clouds
O holiday! to traipse among the beauty  
  of nature's subtle trail!

Quite literally-
Stumbled into this mystical realm,
Thinking I will trudge this happy hollow for a spell
Daylight erupts with momentous  
  sunlight, almost celestial completion
Illumination upon the precipice  
  journeyed-to breathe, to ponder life  
  & fragile infinties

A grinning path soon gave berth to  
  moments of arduous activity
Stunning even, were the incline of  
  rocks I scaled upon by hand:

'and even Angels
   littered the  
    ground 'neath
      with golden rays
        & upon this path
         a solace & a blessing'

A hike resumed around the corner
The pulse-inducing sidewinder  
  produced sweat on my brow, yet
  happily grueled on
Pebbles scrape sandstone leading to the final bend-the woodlands flatten
Upon final inspection deciduous trees  
  part & crystal diamonds sparkle
  loudly
A gentle snoring brook abreast an  
  inviting lake

Shadowed ferns nestle among the breath-taking greenery
Bright sunflowers wave hellos
Marigolds and tulips sweet salutations
A bumblebee's flight of shimmered skies
Raucous yet meticulously serene-
The snowy tail of the approaching doe
A hummingbird came to me scarcely a stones throw away

The frogs burp loud furrowed cheer
Reeds line the solitary forge of water
Baffled orioles bounce their cry aloft
Adrift in this sea of Euphoria's
  champagne
Lighting lanterns of positivity,
affirmation against the low vibrations
Clinging to this lyrical paradox

Wondrous lyrics voiced aloud, how
  they have wings of doves
A fairietale of stories have flown
Connoisseur of pleasantries, take me through your golden groves
And spend the hours swimming through the keyhole of my own psyche
Bliss, bliss indeed, is endless

Stanza

Everybody knows what its called
And funny thing is, most everyone enthralled
It’s such a simple thing to say
Yet carries purpose & meaning come what may

When said; life comes to those with heart of stone and dead
No one can deny iambic power of  heartthrob spread
At times my lips are pursed ready to proclaim
Something facile, complete and plain, but marked for fame

What is this silly small notion that won’t leave alone
Oh God, I’ve tried thousand times over to find a clone
Impossible to replace, for it was birthed on heavenly throne
Incredible gift stitched deep inside, wonderfully sewn

Voice of reason teases the soul and gives no reprieve
Thy heart is all over the map: dreams, doubts, fallacy conceive
What is one to do?  Hang on thread of hope, dangle and believe
Sing a song out of tune, out of place jangle, ‘please don’t leave.’

Love, yes thats it!  That crazy little thing that won’t quit
Everything is exercised from smile a while, walk a mile, never sit
Frontage road to heaven or perdition highway forks at the mission
Quest from denial to permission through looking glass commission.

So this seems to be landing between heaven on earth or hell below
Love is as love does and it was never mine to beg, borrow or own
The greatest story ever told is written in the pages of scripture
And for dummies like me who rarely see the bigger picture

Tis good advice to be still, quiet and stop muddle & fuss
A hopeless romantic restless wait in turn to catch the bus
For you see, the lonely spirit slumped with doldrum zing
Must kneel before the King timbre sound of trumpet ring

Rhythmic ebb and flow dusk to dawn breath had me at,‘hello’
Cried for life innocent expression of light to form man’s expo
There you have it, Love in all its glory.  Wow, what a story
From start to finish, You have yours & I have mine: A priori.

Perhaps we shall meet in this ceramic round or another place and time
Maybe we have already been there, holding hands, sang vessel rhyme
Should you smile upon a zephyr breeze and know not from where
The pottery of Man stands to declare, pleas wing & a prayer.

By,
Chris Miller