A jazz musician
wonders back
to his days at the keyboard…
each note over practiced
until melody pure
and magic releases

A poet in laurels
wonders back
to his primers and notepads…
each word placed in order
until imagery calls
—and syntax digresses

(Villanova University: October, 2021)

I lived to find silence,
chasing hither and yon
till morning turned inward
reaching deeply beyond

Now firmly embedded
inside of myself
my eyes turned away
—from what’s spoken unfelt

(Dreamsleep: October, 2021)

The music of passion…
it comes from within
Untouched by tomorrow,
it lives to begin

In corners of darkness,
through fits of despair
It waits like a songbird
—to sing out a prayer

(Dreamsleep: October, 2021)

I look upon the angry ice
and men that prowl its form
to stab and poke in rich delight
a chance to ride the storm

With blades on fire and sticks held high
they weave and crash as one
in search of that elusive net
—still guarded and unwon

(Dreamsleep: October, 2021)

To bloom
where you’re planted
Flower
on the sill
Magic
with each budding
Forever
—and until

(The New Room: October, 2021)

What did it cost but regret,
what did it take but denial

What did it bring but despair
—what in the end was worthwhile

(Dreamsleep: October, 2021)

Religions embedded,
division commands
which savior, which heaven,
epistles in hand

Devotion to difference,
each split ever wide
one bible three meanings
—all preaching a lie

(Dreamsleep: October, 2021)