there's a million dusty back roads
which tell a million
dusty back road stories
sinners and saints
redemption and judgment
retribution and love
and there's a million alleyways
cobblestone or brick
where a million
dusty back road people
tell tales of travel
in the glow of a flaming trash barrel
and there are a million bridges
which have been layered
with poetic inspirations
street preachers
spraying their words
from aerosol cans
and a million dusty back road people
sleep beneath those poems
almost every night
I have a million blown out pairs of shoes
and I wouldn't get rid of one of them
because each one
tells my dusty back road story

Wind torn sails
and old wives tales
both tell a certain truth
like sailors forlorn
'round the cape horn
drowned or frozen to death

The waves and the wind
punish for sins
that frequently go untold
dare to begin that voyage to win
bring in the most liquid gold

Whaling was the name
of this sailors game
learned from my pappy before
when the tall ships call
you'll answer for all
the misgivings that you ever did

Swabbing the decks
like a beer hall *****
sickly from waves and decay
this is the life
for months at a time
from New England
to the ports of Biscay

First sign of a blow
shouts to below
from where the watch sits above
The decks come alive
thar be the prize
the deadly game awaits

Set sails to the wind
and get that boat in
harpoons and crew await
haul on the ropes
or abandon all hopes
the behemoth  will get away

Hearts pound like the oars
sending us forth
Oh, how our quarry evades
better keep your eyes peeled
or your fate is sealed
if she comes up underneath

With a mighty hurrah
the striker lets fly
the harpoon sinks deep in the whale
it plunges below
taking us under tow
blood staining the deep blue waves

I cry for this sin
as we haul the whale in
and cut up all it had been
trade a shilling in the purse
for a life long curse
never to sleep again

When I shut my eyes
I can still hear the cry
up from it's blowhole it came
shivers my spine,every time
I bolt upright wide awake

Someday.

A crisp fall night,
Evident by the gentle breeze,
The calming trees,
And the changing leaves,
Your chair slightly overlapping mine,
We look at each other,
Our subtle embrace grows slightly stronger at the dwindling fire,
as we try to make up for the heat that we are losing,
Your skin is ripe and mine is bruising,
From the pain of letting go,
I knew you wouldn't see the fall,
You were a somber metaphor of the dying fire,
Reaching for something more,
Something to keep you going,
But there was nothing,
The physical attachments of this world seem not to matter as much when the pain is so great,
Sometimes the best thing you can do is let go,
They always said if you love something let it go,
But how can I let you go,
When it is fall,
And my bed is cold.

The listless wind the only sound now devoid of life this once lively home groans to come down a little
Girl’s curls use to bounce as she pranced and played her laughter was more of a song to her parent’s
Delighted hearing now the parents lay in the church yard just down the road the little girl listens to her
Daughter’s laughter in a house far away now as a stranger a brooding sadness grips you as you look at
Windows no longer in place once golden light use to shine forth a comfort would rush to meet you now
It’s more of a torment a dread keenly felt with imagination you try to reconstruct what was but the gray
Weather beaten wood tells a stronger tale the sagging roof does more than expose the once tight and
Secure rooms that held such joy now the tolling of years will not bend to happy thoughts the oasis of a
Truly wonderful place gives the loudest cry time has been here and has gone only forlorn memories
Drag thoughts from your heart this decay befalls all living things what gravity and neglect doesn’t
Consume then rust condemns dooming those pride filled wonders of steel that took you too many
Places Wide was the ring you lost boredom in you extracted every bit of the city and country side all of
Its Charm was in those times you and your families alone but when running was done it was
Back to Base the sturdy strength of a familiar place now another your thoughts he tries to discern he
Came upon this emotional swell just by chance but he gave into the words it spoke of days of glory now
Gone the hold it has is perplexing but with a painful haunting it lies within in a perfect sweet peacefulness

Re-posted for Easter

Walk within close out the outward world the still the awe magnificence all in all you as a living part make
Up the essential missing part all is null and void you give it a living heart the voice that stirs before
Lifeless sterile all so sharp the cold gleaming not in one corner was life streaming books without singing
The word without confirming just a foreign space out of place knowledge without a receptor a scepter
With no one to bless the makings of the truest ideas that fall as waste in this disregarded place hold
Forth blessings the infilling the attester a divine origin with capabilities that reach beyond the criminal
Behavior of a fallen tribe who seeks only wantonness who spill blood of innocents then devise means that
Are continuously unholy all the while out in a world that is a breeding ground for injustice hold ever
More tightly pursue death your chosen desire life within these walls pastoral scenes show intimacy
Peaceful calm gentle streaming water does it not reflect the horrors of conflict the abuse suffered
By the weak and helpless when they went their own disastrous way yes but headstrong is the only
Real way otherwise you are nothing but the stupor vexed underprivileged so it is the child with the
Greatest father protective unlimited love patience that allows the widest growth process with built in
Guides that steer you ever deeper into the dream you were conceived in the full quality of life you
Are assured its truth over shadows the smallness of a cathedral what is that when you are a temple
Of the holy spirit designed to hold all that is supremely holy your very countenance brims surges to its
Fullest capacity it passes to others at a distance a special realness not tainted with deceit they know and
Feel peace emanating from your life when troubled they seek you out the cheap thrill of this world is no
Longer desirable they want substance a tranquil isle that offers tried and true help marriage trouble
Children in dangerous circumstance the world only offers it glittering false shine the tease of temptation
That hides the chains within its sullen folds of death and destruction at this bitterest and most
Delusional point is where your greatest opportunity exists to find help the devil thought he was leading
You to death that being true but where else would the wisest father place an intersection for life a
New beginning complete fulfillment and happiness it’s only a prayer away you will be held by the
Strongest hands and arms tucked away safely and find delirious love and affection your world View will be forever altered to one of tears for those still trapped there