I was given a riddle where the waters run red
I was given hope from a forgotten friend
I found a hard stone lying in the soft grass
I sat and I waited for more time to pass

With each breath, the clouds drifted by
The song bird hummed and the day became night
A crack in the distance as the land split in two
The handmaid fled to an evening rendezvous

Bright ripples formed in the fabric of time
I showed up and found I was last in line
I peered at my watch looking for answers
The clock exclaimed “now!” and the futures been canceled

And though the cold tightens my skin
And the cricket sings my song
The road is full of twists, turns and heartache
But it was never very long

The mirror is shining
It’s reflecting me
I’m not so sure I like the picture I see

Yes, I love this person
I love this me
But I’m not so sure I like the picture I see

My eyes blink
Eyebrows ruffle
Been some long livin
Seen some short troubles

Unwinding through turns
Bends in the street
I’m not so sure of this trek I seek

I see where I come from
I discretely feel free
I’m just not sure of the trek I seek

Footprints form
Owls wing
The future unfolds
While destiny sings
I’m not so sure what all of this means

Sat down to listen to the world today:

Heard a holler from the wood shoutin’, “They’re takin’ my land away!”

“They’re takin’ my fish and poisonin’ the waters.” I heard the ocean say.

And the air blew by with all the same problems ~ except it was enjoying the day.

I am trying to feel anything
Like others across the land
With senses dulled
And feelings cold
Here alone I stand

Made everything so simple, it became complicated
Found what I was looking for.. couldn't get situated
Now I'm just frustrated

My best laid plan was a dream all along
Tricked into believing about right and wrong..
Now feels like the right time to move on

Stupid, I say
You're all dumb and dull
They're a ***** and she's a troll

I'm right there too
As lame as them or her
Whose the dumbest? Of that I'm unsure.

So lets run a test
To see who knows what
An IQ exam should tell us a lot

She got a 5
They got the same
I failed for not even writing my name.

Always oranges, purples and yellows
Always springtime, always in meadows
Dew on the leaves - a doe stirring at dawn
The finches each chirping their favorite song
An eagles screech under high mountains peak
Always blue skies up above
A tree line of pines
The passing of time
These are the memories that I love

Constant sounds, lights & bustle
Constant reminder of a daily hustle
Screeching bus brakes, the jingle of change
Consistent feeling of oncoming rain
Car horns blare in the thick gray air
A restless sleep if any
For buildings sway
And minutes pass like days
Of these dreams, I have had many

Another time, another space
A breath from fear and grieving
The sunlight fills an empty void
But soon I will be leaving

Tire tracks on dusty roads
Her crimson heart lay beating
Generations of divided families
Yes, soon I will be leaving

The destination was never known
Each path opaque and deceiving
As soft as ravens opal wings
And soon I will be leaving

Watching rose blossoms grow
This gift is for receiving
Comfort found in the daze of summer
So, soon I will be leaving

Don’t run, please stay awhile
Hope and love can be deceiving
My back turned towards the bell tower
For now I will be leaving

And where were you when I needed you the most.
As I was wrenching on the floor -- pleading with my ghosts.
When my burden was too much, when I looked in your direction.
Nothing but the wind I felt, and the cold tear of rejection.

Close the window
For the wind echoes my name
The snows have passed but the cold remains
And I feel the distance of summer again

I am held lovingly in the arms of the season
But at the mercy of nature to do as it pleases
And the winter knows better than to argue or reason

I've got problems from here to there
I'm balding, lonesome, and someones taken my chair
Now my knees hurt as I stand without rest
I'm beading sweat, stomach hurts, and there's a pain in my chest

My wrinkles remind me of how old I am
My back is so tight, I can't seem to bend
I dropped my pencil back two weeks or more
It's still where I left it, down there on the floor

Boss man says he can't stand my work
I caught my wife cheating, but I'm still the ****
Here comes the rain, there goes tomorrow
I can't find my sadness, so I need some to borrow

So borrow me yours, spare only time
reap all my pleasure, drink all my wine
stare at me solemnly, stare straight and true
know that my problems are yet to be through.

Forget about glory, you know I never triumph
If you ever need me I'll be down at the dumps
I'm trying to find some decoration for home
All that I've found is a skull and cross bones.

A wary sign, of which I've had many
I left all my good days back in my twenties
Now each one rolls into the next
They're not all that bad, but far from my best.

Hang me high,
closer to heaven when I die.
I'll have less steps to climb.

Place my ashes on Mistral winds
over tranquil pastures.
I will spread to the lands I have traveled.

Wipe your tears with pictures of us.
On better days
with any luck
I will live in memories

I say again you’re special
I say again you’re loved
I think it’s time you realized
That you are enough

I’ll write one because I have the time
One for the angels and for the devils combined
To yin and yang to black and white
I write this for the conflicts of day and night

To duality of man and nature I scribble
To the top and the bottom
From the outside to the middle

For the rich, for the poor
For the hungry and the filled
I write my words to the adult and the child

My physical body describing spiritual thoughts
I ponder the living, the dead, both the cold and the hot

Moving forward, looking back
Spinning around while staying straight on track
Masculine, feminine, struggling and thriving
To those walking, to others flying

An occupied room, a vacant lot
The lines that were empty are now filled up
While both exist in different hours
I wrote because I had the power

Farewell, farewell my darling boy
Farewell as you take your depart
I'll look for you where the sun meets the sky
And I'll keep you close to my heart.

Farewell, farewell my darling son
Farewell I bid to you
As you follow the wind to some distant shore
In your soul I will help you see it through.

Each day, each day I dream the same dream
The words of a wise old man
He says the willow she weeps through winter and fall
Come spring time she proudly stands

Don't steal the heat from the fire
Don't steal the meaning from the words
Don't take the darkness from a shadow, my dear
And don't forget the wisdom you have learned

Farewell, farewell to the open fields
Farewell to the dew on the vine
My destiny's a-waitin', she's somewhere at sea
Please Neptune would you send me some sign

Her body was acoustic
Her skin a melody
My mind hung on every note
As she sung her life to me

Her passion was a crescendo
Although her tone was soft
With a cadence of bounding horses
She threw my rhythm off

I felt all of my heart strings
Pop, break and go out of tune
Her voice cracked -  All I heard was feedback
As she measured me up from across the room

I walked to her in 3/4 time
I struck up a chord - she told me a rhyme

She was well versed in French poetry
A deep bodied bass with fine copper strings

I was her rosin
I was her trill
Together we sang
We're singing still

Her body acoustic
Her skin a melody
Her mind on different wavelengths
She's the song I sing

A lot of times I walk alone
And wonder as I walk
How would it be if I were never born
12 bells of the midnight clock

I think first of my family
And then -- to my friends
And the times we had spent together
That never would have been

The many people that crossed my path
Even if only brief
For it doesn’t take long to share a moment
That lasts an eternity

So I may never know what could
And couldn’t be
But looking back at all I’ve done
It’s been worth it to be me

Vertical lines met horizontal ones
They were different, it was sad
Until they mixed with one another..
Together they were plaid.

A leaf, a leaf!
Some red, some yellow, some green
They're jagged
They're smooth
Some ribbed
Some pruned

Fallen from the tree or bush they once grew
turned brown and crinkled then stepped on with a shoe!

Watch the moon go across the sky
as you lie on your back and wonder why
or how on this planet we came to be
evolved from fish or decedents of Eve

Though none of it matters for we cannot go back
time moves forward as a matter of fact
just as the past, the future is unknown
except to the mystic and their crystal ball showing

The paths of men, women and beast
the future of war and lacking of peace
They see such doom and unfortunate pain
They see the young who end up insane

And other youth ruined as they grow old
tainted and rotted -- lost in the world
lost in themselves from the moment of birth
some unlit candles lacking self worth

lacking the chance their ancestors got
who ***** all the land, bickered and fought
A blind group of creatures who just couldn't see
the sacrifices WE made so they could be free

See me in the mirror
I have aged
The same, but different
I feel that I am here
I see that he is not
As time passes, again I will stare
But I will not be there
I see that he will

Let the sails billow
Let the winds drum
Bring forth the waves
In the red setting sun

The future is still
A glassy sea comes
Now is not that time
In the red setting sun

Hold firm the stern
There's work to be done
If we are to see another
Red setting sun

Sing with me
Dance with me
Take me to the stars
Give me things I don't deserve
Diamonds, clothes and cars

Be with me
Hold Me
Tell me to be true
I'll give you everything you need
I promise this to you

Respect me
Defend me
As you and I are one
Bonded since we came together
To remain 'till our days are done

Listen to me
I whisper to you
Never should our spirits part
Today I vow forever more
To keep you always in my heart

I can write no poems
I can write not a rhyme
I haven't the effort
And can't afford the time

I lack any patience
Of which is necessary
For a poet is all too diligent
And I am the contrary

I haven't got passion
I haven't got soul
I lack what it takes
I seem to lack it all

No, I am no poet
No master of verse
I don't feel like a poet
But I can string together words

Trot trot goes the jolly young trotter
Who runs down the beach with the help of her spotter
And *** *** goes the silly putty potter
Who pots all his pots with the help of his daughter

The young trotting trotter and the silly putty potter
Are the two proud parents of the little darling daughter
The sibling of the daughter is the sure stepping spotter
He runs down the beach keeping an eye on Ma trotter.

Like molten lava red and hot
It swells from in below
Takes me to a tragic place
Where happiness does not go.

An excitation like no other
Uncomfortable, not unique
For others too know this wrath
Others just as weak

10, 9, 8 we count
Until we get to 1
To ease away away the fury
And get back to where we belong

And then once more some petty event
Ignites rage from his slumber
To lead again to the place
When I am at peace no longer.

Start a new one, better this time
use bigger words and think of more rhymes
invest some time to diction and theory
use alliteration like "while I wandered weak and weary"

That was stolen, yes, from Edgar Allen Poe
read some of his and the rest of the pros
think it all through, write a rough draft
fix the mistakes you've made in the past

In this odd way you'll make better yourself,
evolve as an artist, and make the top shelf
if that's not the goal, if you've never realized
that you're the true reader, you may be surprised

Before we can share and influence the rest
an author should feel they've produced their best
and if not accomplished or unsatisfied..
start a new one, better this time

The shackles will not break for you
The sea waves will not cease
The dawn it does not shine for you
Fair lily in the weeds

The wind it does not howl for you
The thunder does not crack
The eagle flies not on your breath
Dear princess draped in black

The lion does not hunt for you
No song birds sing your name
The earth will quake in spite of you
No other will feel your pain

And though the moon may shine on you
And the leaves crunch as you step
Though the crow, he may call to you
And the bull may fear your whip

I alone live for thee
You are my every breath
If you and I together are whole
You are the greater half

I posed, if noble, on bended knee
Unto my half I did prithee
Forsake all comfort
O're Earth o're sea
Were days long gone my half and me

I lay entwined o're burning hearth
For fire fueled by dampened mirth
All that is
What once was earth
My half and me at rivers firth

I fell from daze to far below
And forget not to what I know
Of shrinking time
As darkness grows
Before my half, before I go

I sit divided on crooked path
A frown hath stolen my lazy laugh
To dream of days come cross our paths
Myself and my better half.

I am full of gratitude
You can call it an aptitude
To be thankful for what I’ve got

I’ve led a life of fortune
Located all that’s important
In the simple things that exist

I have strived for glory
Tried to fight all my worries
And I still have a ways to go

But I’m content in this day
More than I could possibly say
And so I just smile instead

I walk along the withered night where none will seem to tarry
Until the Earth breaks morning light, this load is mine to carry

To carry, to share, to mourn the fact
To shape the world and not hold back
Of lovers dance and family pact
I hold this true to me

To test, to move, to run a muck
To sell your time to make a buck
Never look back, couldn't give up
Yes, I hold this true to me

So walk yourself down weary way
And hold this true to you
Some time will come the day
Our burdens will be through

I heard it in my head, I didn't read it in my head
sometimes a poem MUST be read
out loud where certain tones are achieved
something you just don't get when you read
the words within your mind - they must escape and take form
where passion and expression are born
it is a performance.. it is a delivery
it's just a bit of poetry

Roderick is clever, there's no one like him
Annabel is beautiful, they call her a ten
There's no one smaller than William T. Haller
and no team better than Donald and Jim

Marvin says things that everyone thinks
No one's seen Milly in over six weeks
Milton and his spouse bought their first house
and called Pious the plumber to fix all the leaks

General Jones heads the police force
The newly wed Smith's are getting divorced
In school, Mr. Pence, he tutors science
Amy studied hard, but still failed his course

Donald's a driver, from Denver hes born
Frederick's a farmer who only plants corn
Antones' apple fritter is what's severed after dinner
And Daniel's a devil, whose just missing horns

I speak of fire
Wild dancing flame
Of love and of passion
A light hot blaze

And I fear this flame
It’s glint, the terror, the soul
I fear to lose all my control
Yet curiosity... then intrigue
Such marvelous power
Cities raised, hearts cower
And as time trips forward
As flame cast a shadow
May this light never dim
on my internal battle

Death is on it's way, it's coming for me
Unsure may I be of the length of it's journey
Train A leaves the station moving through time and space
Train B catching up at a lifetime's pace
Bound to meet somewhere ahead on the track
At the very moment when earthly life has passed
Into the tunnel shaded in black
Never to return, never even look back

Fantasy is dragons, it's magic and mystery
Heroes in armor, evil and infamy
It captures your intrigue and panders to dreamers
tales of black sheep, fools, misfits and schemers

Where did it come from? We wrote it all down
Thought of some fiction like King Arthur's crown
Mermaids and ogres set on some quest
A kidnapped princess, a witch in the west

It's much more fun than the real world around us
That's missing that wonder and absent of fairy dust
Though there is a place in our world where fantasy's seen
A conjuring of tall tales.. what we call dreams

Imagination's truly at the root of it all
Like how a pumpkin could carriage a maid to a ball
Or rainbows can lead to a cauldron of gold
And a man can favor by selling his soul

There's all sorts of crazy drempt up nonsense
You,ve heard of small elves who make Christmas presents
How absurd is that, who could have thought it up
And the nothing compared to the Tri-wizards cup

Give it a try for yourself some time
Think of a story or something sublime
A wicked beast or a mystic spirit
And whatever you end up with.. I want to hear it.

I went out in the world to see what I could see..
A road, two homes, a river, and a bog
A carpet, an ocean, a bump on a log
There were 4 pins, three bins, man's sin's and a bottle of English Gin

As I continued to explore.. the only thing I found, was..... more
A reel to reel movie picture show
An archer as she drew her bow
A tank, a truck, a tiger lily
Some of it odd, some of it silly

I kept on and on as more and more past
How much could there be? how long could it last...?

A chimeny, a kazoo, some funny hairdo
Cabbage and carrots, an old maple tree
A crack in a mirror, a broken reflection of me
Thats what I saw
Whats left to see?

I was robbed by nature
The only thing stollen was my life

I've been bound and held against my will
Forced to face simple beauty

Made to leave the technologies of man behind
And I have not looked back

There might just be a monster in there
I heard some noise, some snivel, I swear
I called my pap to come check it out
It was just him in the closet mucking about.

A jacket with a zipper
A sweater with a hood
A turtle neck with long sleeves
That'll suit me good

Pants with holes and patches
A belt too big around
A pair of shoes one size too small
I love the lost and found