I write with pain and paper
The tears become my ink
I live each day like it's my last
While standing on the brink

My words become my savior
They tell me where to go
Tomorrow has no meaning
A place I do not know

The paper is my shelter
It hides my past mistakes
My heart will tell me what to say
Before it finally breaks

My soul cries out in sad remorse
But no one hears me cry
No one offers a helping hand
They only pass me by

A poet's words will always scream
Before they disappear
A thousand people will read my verse
But none will truly hear

I learned a lesson a long time ago
Back before I met my wife
I made a choice I can never take back
The worst decision of my life

Now don't get me wrong I love my wife
She's the apple of my eye
I just do whatever she tells me to
And I've learned not to ask her why

Now you might say I'm henpecked
Well, my wife says that's not true
At least that's what she told me to say
Whenever I writing to you

Now it's not her fault that I'm not that wise
She says It happened before we met
Sometimes I just sit and stare at her
'Cause there's some things I just don't get

I used to be smart but not anymore
See my brain was stolen by a thief
My wife says it happened when I went to the dentist
And he pulled all my wisdom teeth

While sitting in a quiet room
My thoughts become so loud
The voices stuck inside my head
Somehow become a crowd

There's no such thing as silence
It's something we can't find
An empty space is just a myth
The noise is in our mind

Whenever you think you're all alone
A memory is by your side
It's something we cannot control
No matter how hard we've tried

Even when we're fast asleep
A dream will share its voice
Hidden things our minds must say
And still we have no choice

Sit for just a minute or two
To see if you resist
Your mind will betray your quiet time
For silence doesn't exist

Two strangers meet and fall in love
The way it's meant to be
Their love is pure and meant to last
As anyone can see

They start a family like lovers do
Two kids and brand new house
They fight the world to make it better
This husband and his spouse

They both attend the PTA
Their football games and such
They always do the best they can
But soon it becomes too much

The world keeps getting heavier
And they start to grow apart
Then distance sets up residence
Inside the lover's hearts

Then inside an empty courtroom
Custody becomes complete
Now on every other weekend
Is where two strangers meet

Beneath the altar of broken hearts
I find a shallow grave
A headstone stands in evidence
Of all the love I gave

A broken heart lies void and still
Yet no one seems to care
I watch as people slowly pass
But no one knows it's there

No flowers were placed upon my grave
For I play my part so well
I try to hide my broken heart
While hoping people can't tell

I start to wonder how many graves
Lie silent without a sound
How many hearts lie broken
And yet they're never found

Beneath the altar of broken hearts
Lies a shallow grave
A headstone stands in evidence
Of all the love I gave

I found a land with broken things
Scattered upon the ground
A place that only heartache brings
That's where my heart was found

I found a pile of broken trust
And promises everywhere
A wedding ring that's starting to rust
Too broken and bent to wear

I found a pile of broken dreams
Dreams that didn't come true
I climbed a hill of broken smiles
Smiles I gave to you

I found our future in tiny pieces
Beside a lake of tears
I tried to hold some long lost hope
But it crumbles and disappears

I even found our second chances
But the hurt just weighed too much
I found, "I'm sorry" a million times
But it was way too painful to the touch

I found a land with broken things
Scattered upon the ground
A place that only heartache brings
That's where my heart was found

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hills
The kinfolk were drinkin' and tending their stills

The longjohns were hung by the chimney with care
No stockings were found, just underwear

The children were nestled so high in their bunks
Their quilts made of skins from rabbits and skunks

Granny with her false teeth and gun on her knee
Was waiting for Santa as she sat by the tree

From out of the barn there arose such a noise
We thought it was Grandpa drinkin' with the boys

But what to my wandering eye should appear
It was just cousin Cleatus in mama's brassiere

And then from the rooftop we heard it at last
Like the sound of thunder or a shot gun blast

We have Christmas dinner, it's finally here
Granny kidnapped Santa while we shot his deer

Venison all covered with onions for stew
And even old Santa enjoyed some too

His belly was full when he walked out the door
But he couldn't resist when we offered him more

Well that's the story of our Christmas here
Merry Christmas to all 'til the same time next year

I borrowed your old picture
I just couldn't help myself
I picked you up and dusted you off
From high upon my shelf

I told you how much I miss you
I know you had to leave
While talking to your photograph
A memory finds my sleeve

Your eyes still hold me hostage
The way they used to do
And I still see a little of me
Each time I look at you

We couldn't have known forever
Would only mean ten years
Another memory finds my sleeve
Then slowly disappears

I never got to say goodbye
Before you went away
My heart's become the picture frame
Where you will always stay

I'll hold your hand and keep you close
It's something I love to do
I come alive and forget to breathe
Whenever I'm touching you

Your perfume wakes the morning sun
The envious flowers as well
For their fragrance is always second best
When the breeze picks up your smell

The food of the gods has been retired
Their ambrosia has been replaced
Your lips are now their prized possession
For there's nothing like their taste

Each time you speak the angels will come
They listen as they draw near
For they've never heard a voice so pure
And each one has to hear

God made the sun, the moon and the stars
To keep you in the light
The world couldn't miss this treasure He made
For you're His most beautiful sight

The sun will rise each morning
While looking for the moon
He tries his best from dusk 'til dawn
To make his beauty swoon

He waits around at twilight
Hoping that she'll appear
But everytime she smiles at him
He has to disappear

The stars will all bear witness
To the love that can never be
They're like two ships lost in the night
Just passing on the sea

The sun will help the flowers grow
And the moon controls the tide
A present to the bridegroom
And a present to the bride

Though they'll never be married
They live to light the sky
Content to pass and say hello
As each one passes by

He loved her from the day he met her
New love at its best
A love that stands the test of time
And every other test

They decided at a very young age
To walk together through life
Promises made, that he tried to keep
As he made this woman his wife

The years went by as their eyes grew dim
But the love was there to stay
Their new love becomes their old love
As their hair starts turning gray

Each morning he tells her, "I love you"
And again, before he goes to sleep
While keeping all of the promises
That he pledged that he would keep

Their old love becomes their new love
Each morning when they awake
For when old love turns to new love
It's impossible to break

I watched the sun come up today
Its beauty made me cry
I watched the sparrows fly away
They flew so very high

I stopped to pick a garden rose
And held it in my hand
I marveled at the one I chose
Its stem too weak to stand

I smelled the rain before it fell
Before it made a sound
I've really learned to love that smell
Like nothing else I've found

I watched the moon begin to rise
As the sun began to set
A beautiful glow lit up the skies
Something I won't forget

But I'd trade it all for one more day
When you were here with me
It's really a very small price to pay
For the way it used to be

Enter a land of shattered dreams
And cast aside desires
The gates are built on broken smiles
And promises made by liars

A place where love's not welcome
For it simply cannot be found
A land of crushed and hollow souls
Where screams don't make a sound

A place where hope does not exist
And compassion cannot survive
Where second chances are just a myth
And pain and heartache thrive

A land where lakes are filled with tears
And memories once made, now lost
A bridge that leads to nowhere
With a void that can't be crossed

A place you've made with years of hurt
Your priceless work of art
An empty shell of a broken man
Welcome to my heart

A disease I've found that can't be cured
Contagious, to one and all
Your knees grow weak, your speech is slurred
Some say you even fall

It will rob you of all your memories
You can't even remember your name
Though some don't take it seriously
And been known to call it a game

It will cause you to do things you just don't do
It will literally control your mind
It can even cause you to lose your sleep
A disease that makes you blind

It will cause you to lose your appetite
Your food won't taste the same
You'll wonder why you just can't eat
This disease is surely the blame

Well, maybe by now you've figured it out
This disease I'm speaking of
The only sickness that has no cure
Is the one that we call Love

I've never seen the rain so clear
As I do when it floods her eyes
I feel the pain she's going through
Each time my little girl cries

How do I tell her that she's dying,
That her hero can't save the day?
Some kind of hero I turned out to be
I can't even say "It's okay"

Death is something she don't understand
I don't think anybody really does
She keeps asking me, "Will it be over soon?",
And, "I want it to be like it was"

What do I tell her when she asks me this?
I just hold her hand and smile
I say, "Don't worry sunshine, I know it hurts,
It will all be over in a while"

There's nothing worse than losing a child
It will tear your world apart
She says, "Thank you daddy, for being the hero,
That I carry inside of my heart"

As she utters those final words of love
She quietly closes her eyes
I gently kiss her on top of her head
As a piece of her hero dies

She would see it in the window
Each morning as she'd pass
The sun would make it come to life
This doll that was made of glass

Her eyes as blue as the deep blue sea
She was truly a vision of grace
Her mother marveled at her magnificent smile
Each time that they passed that place

This princess made of crystal
So fragile, yet so strong
Could somehow take her pain away
That she'd suffered for so long

Stricken with cancer at five years old
The chemo would come too late
There was nothing else anyone could do
To change this little girl's fate

They bought that crystal princess
And placed it by her bed
But two weeks later as the sun came up
They found the little girl dead

They put that doll made of glass
On the tombstone where she lies
And in the spring each time it rains
The crystal princess cries

At three in the morning she turns on the light
While clutching her teddy bear
She runs to the closet as they start to fight
Knowing she's safe in there

Her pillow is tucked beneath her arm
As she silently starts to weep
She whispers to Teddy, she'll keep him from harm
A promise, she can't possibly keep

Night after night for sixteen years
Her closet becomes her bed
Her nightmare comes true, it brings her to tears
As she finds her poor mother dead

She's all grown up with a son of her own
Married to the love of her life
But bound to repeat the seeds that were sown
She becomes the next battered wife

At three in the morning he turns on the light
While clutching his teddy bear
He runs to the closet as they start to fight
Knowing he's safe in there.

Poets will try to hide their pain
Where tears will go unseen
They'll hide the countless demons slain
With words they find serene

Emotion will always find their sleeves
It's part of who they are
A special way the poet grieves
To mend that hidden scar

A poet is lost until they're found
They just can't find their way
A silent scream without a sound
Will chase their pain away

A poet is made of different stuff
They're not like all the rest
Peace, they never seem to have enough
Until their sin's confessed

They're haunted by their need to write
Their ink made to console
For most are prisoners to the night
And they're born with a paper soul

My wife's been whining for some time now
Wanting me to take her on a cruise
Now we've been married for twenty-five years
So she wasn't gonna let me refuse

So we packed up our bags and off we went
Kinda like a second honeymoon
I said, "Fix us some sandwiches to eat on the way"
Then I told her we'd be there soon

She said, "Where are we going Hawaii or Bahamas?"
I said, "This place is better than that"
We stopped at a place that said, "Paddle Boats Here"
I said, "We're here, now don't forget your hat"

Well, now needless to say, I did something wrong
'Cause my wife started throwing such a fit
We went around circles for at least twenty minutes
'Cause everytime I'd paddle, she'd quit

Now I wasn't gonna pay for no life perservers
My bicycle tubes worked fine
My wife had that tube wrapped around her neck
And both of her hands around mine

Well, to make a long story short, she'll never forget
That time I took her on a cruise
And everytime I even try to forget it
I remember that horrible bruise

The stars reflect her beauty
While competing for her smile
Each one thinks her love is theirs
While filled with blind denial

She continues to entice them
As each one feels her stare
Her love belongs to all of them
But none will choose to share

A falling star is nothing more
Than a star with a broken heart
Crippled by her rejection
It will suddenly fall apart

Whenever you see a twinkling star
It's just the Lover's dance
Vying for her attention
In its quest to find romance

The Dippers, both big and small
Were formed to quench her thirst
They stand in line to honor her
As they battle to be the first

The Northern Star takes precedence
As he points which way to go
His countenance is blinding
As he absorbs her radiant glow

So, don't forget to watch the stars
And smile each time they swoon
For now you know this love story
Between the stars and moon

Have you ever seen a sunrise
As it climbs above the trees
Or, maybe, when is finally sets
And melts into the seas?

Have you ever felt the wind blow
As it's whispers through your hair?
A force of nature we can't see
But yet, we know it's there

Have you ever felt a raindrop
As it's rolling down your cheek
Or hear the sound the water makes
As it's running through a creek?

Have you ever seen the lightning
As it lights the darkened skies
Or watch an eagle spread his wings
And wonder how he flies?

Have you ever heard the thunder
As it sounds it's mighty roar?
Never wondering even once
If there's something more?

Have you ever watched a snowflake
As it tumbles to the ground?
Marveling at its silence
When it doesn't make a sound

Have you ever thought of Heaven
And maybe think it odd?
How can someone see these things
And not believe in God?

A shadow of imperfection
Sorrow caught in a jar
An empty space filled with doubt
The heart of a falling star

A cry heard by no one
An ember, once a flame
A teardrop without a reason
A puddle filled with blame

An answer without a question
A silent lonely stare
A hand reaching for nothing
No one's standing there

A mirror with no reflection
A heart, cracked and worn
Today without tomorrow
A soul that's withered and torn

A blade colored in crimson
Without a reason why
Nothing can stop the bleeding
No one to tell goodbye

******* holds tight my heart
Benign, it will not grow
Held captive by my endless need
The scars begin to show

Your whispers try to warm my soul
But your voice is filled with lies
Your kisses tell my heart the truth
A truth my heart denies

Borrowed dreams have passed away
They were not mine to keep
A thousand times I've tried to leave
But I think I'm in too deep

It's me I think that went astray
With this picture that I've painted
I'm sorry love turned out this way
A love I somehow tainted

Little by little I fall through the cracks
With no one to help me get out
I'm truly mundane alone in my pain
With no one to hear when I shout

A shadow's shadow an illusion at best
A memory that fades like the breeze
Hidden from view that nobody knew
I'm nothing that nobody sees

They gave me a name that they never use
I don't even know who I am
They made me this way I'm sorry to say
They've proven they don't give a ****

When I look in the mirror the reflection is gone
I can't even describe all my pain
My body survives my heartache still thrives
But my spirit is only a stain

Little by little I fall through the cracks
And I'm starting to disappear
For it won't be too long before I am gone
Just like I wasn't even here

The flowers in the bible
Her thoughts of yesterday
Pressed between the pages
So they couldn't fade away

Grandma would read us stories
From her bible every night
But she'd stop to smell the roses
That the pages held so tight

She'd always smile and close her eyes
As she traced the petal's form
Her mind would drift to things long passed
As her broken heart would warm

She'd tell us of a oak tree
Where Grandpa carved her name
The place where they got married
Where two hearts beat the same

He gave her on their wedding day
This rose she loves to touch
It takes her back to yesterday
To a man she loved so much

The day that Grandma passed away
And we laid her in the grave
We buried her with that bible
And the flowers that Grandpa gave

A poem is never the words you read
It's what's written between the lines
For the words can only plant a seed
To grow the emotion a word defines

A feeling trapped inside our hearts
Or maybe a place we haven't seen
The words are where emotion starts
But the meaning is always in-between

For our words can never write a smile
But yet you know it's there
It has nothing to do with the poet's style
Or even the words they share

The words we write have a silent voice
That the poets call their muse
But interpretation is the readers choice
From the words we didn't use

Emotion is always, the in-betweens
Our words are only the signs
To understand what the poet means
You must read between the lines

I planted the world's last flower
In the garden by the brook
Its beauty took my breath away
It only took one look

It's as precious as the finest gold
And jewels cannot compare
Nothing is quite as beautiful
As the flower I planted there

Its smell is like no other smell
That I have ever known
It's got to be God's pride and joy
The best He's ever sown

I covered this flower so carefully
As I placed it in the dirt
The tears I cried has quenched its thirst
But for me it only hurt

I planted the world's last flower
Under skies of purest blue
It was hard for me to walk away
For the world's last flower was you

I'll write your name with rose petals
And lie them on the bed
Put lilacs on your pillow case
Where you lay your lovely head

Your beauty renders me speechless
My words have run away
You steal my breath, with just one glance
I don't know what to say

Your smile can blind the morning sun
As you cause the flowers to faint
You could make da Vinci more famous
But you're much too perfect to paint

The poets of old lay down their quills
For all of their muses stare
For none can find the words to write
Of a vision, they find so fair

Even the diamond as it touches your skin
Sheds tears in utter disgrace
For no one can see its perfect shine
Compared to your beautiful face

Even the words that I've written here
Are scared of making mistakes
For they've asked me to read it a million times
Or ever how many it takes

As passion burns, my heart starts to melt
Consumed, by the flame that is you
A fire so bright that the sun starts to fade
Confused, it knows not what to do

Your breath on my skin can offer relief
With the warmth I feel in your touch
The minute you smile the light blinds my eyes
If I stare at your beauty too much

The moment you speak a whisper of love
Can offer a kind gentle breeze
The beat of your heart makes time stand still
And can bring me to my knees

Each time we kiss, the embers awake
Surrounding our love with your fire
Alarm bells ring when we finally embrace
From the overwhelming heat of desire

The love that we have, no one can touch
Two fires with only one flame
For no one has felt the love that I feel
And I know that you feel the same

I'm the music and you're the song
You're every breath I take
You're my dream when I'm asleep
And my comfort when I wake

I'm the canvas and you're the brush
So paint me as you will
I'm the words the poet writes
And you, the poet's quill

You're the potter and I'm the clay
So shape with your hands
Without form I surrender all
Mold me to fit your plans

I'm the question and you're the answer
To everything I've known
I'm the shadow following close
You'll never be alone

You're the reason God made smiles
He just couldn't help Himself
He saw the world was sad and lonely
So He took you off the shelf

A poem should touch the inner core
Where feelings are only found
A place that you alone can see
Where love and hate abound

A poem is a tear before you cry
Or a smile before you feel
A little pain your being craves
Before your heart can heal

A poem is a memory cast aside
Before your mind is free
It's often dreams that's left behind
A misplaced destiny

A poem is what you feel inside
That makes you who you are
A poem is written with tears and blood
To mend that endless scar

A poem is felt before the words
And can cause your soul to bleed
A poem is never a state of mind
But a never ending need

I'm living in the shadow
Of the one you left behind
It's me you chose to be with
But it's him that's on your mind

You compare me to the way he was
Yet you never mention his name
But everytime I don't stack up
I'm the one you blame

I see the way you look at me
With that cold and empty stare
Holding me and thinking of him
While wishing you were there

You talk about our future
While living in the past
I tell you how much I love you
You tell me I'm moving too fast

I die a little more each day
Because it's him you're thinking of
It's such a painful way to die
This thing called second hand love

Tethered together, we seek no more
For love has planted a seed
Fed by the joy that helps it grow
Filling each other's need

Quenching our thirst on the nectar of life
That only two people can share
Two ****** souls entwined on one vine
Growing where ever we dare

The roots of affection get stronger each day
As our love continues to grow
Like two morning glories touched by the moon
Each one beginning to glow

The season of love has now come and gone
But our roots will never relent
Though the weeds of the world will try to move in
We'll never be broken or bent

Now held together with one common bond
Just one single beat of a heart
We're no more twain, but now one flesh
Nothing can tear us apart

He wonders why she left him
As he stumbles to the bed
He just needed to take a minute
Some time, to clear his head

When he got home her clothes were gone
No note was ever found
She didn't even say goodbye
She didn't even make a sound

Married now for fifteen years
And she threw it all away
He just didn't understand it
How could she leave this way?

He opens another bottle
And takes him a couple sips
He numbs the pain like everyday
As the whiskey crosses his lips

He says, "Why didn't she leave a message?"
His head too cloudy to think
"I didn't do anything wrong", he says
And then takes another drink

The message was in the bottle
He was just to blind to see
She begged him to stop drinking
But it wasn't meant to be

I'm haunted by your memory
A ghost of things long passed
Trapped inside my hollow dreams
A love that didn't last

A spirit that taunts my very being
It will not set me free
Bound by the chains of my regrets
Its echo haunting me

I carry around this broken heart
My reward for misplaced trust
I chose to walk the path of love
But you, the path of lust

The spectre of your lying eyes
Follow where ever I go
Broken promises upon your lips
Piercing my very soul

Still haunted by your memory
No peace for me to find
Tormented by what could have been
This ghost you left behind

Guarded by my self destruction
I tend to fall apart
A hidden seed of imperfection
Lies deep within my heart

Surrounded by my wants and needs
I know not where to turn
I follow while my conscience leads
But still I never learn

A broken stranger, lost in time
Not knowing right from wrong
Caring too much, my only crime
I've called this love too long

The words get harder everyday
It's time for this to end
But I've loved too hard to hear you say
That I'm nothing but a friend

A poet will hear a sad song
As the rain falls on the tin
They write the tears that no one hears
In the places pain has been

A poet will hear a whisper
In the early morning breeze
They write the call of the coming Fall
As it's talking to the trees

A poet will hear a love song
In the waves that caress the sand
They write the kiss that most will miss
Or maybe don't understand

A poet will hear a teardrop
As it's falling down your cheek
They write the sound when a tear is found
For its voice is much too weak

A poet will hear most anything
That others may not hear
From the very start they listen with their heart
And this makes it loud and clear

Sometimes secrets can be hard to find
They stay hidden so far out of sight
Spirits of the past keep haunting my mind
With invisible things I just can't fight

You say that you love me and I know it's true
For your smile doesn't give me a choice
But your eyes are the windows that tell on you
It comes from your heart's secret voice

I try to compete with the phantom of dreams
Someone that I've never met
At least when I'm with you that's how it seems
He's someone you can't forget

You always stare at some far away place
Some place I've never been
You're looking at me but seeing his face
I try, but I just can't get in

Sometimes secrets can be hard to find
The heart can wear a disguise
And though you've tried to leave him behind
I can still see him in your eyes

Where is the passion that once lit our fire
Its embers grow tired and weak
Our love has grown weary, void of desire
Where is this flame that we seek

The candle has burned, the wax now cold
The wick? now gone with the flame
Then trust ran away, as our secrets unfold
With no one but ourselves to blame

The promises made, lay dying each day
As memories are starting to fade
Without reason or rhyme, it turned out this way
Just look at the mess that we've made

Our emotions now fuel this love of a lie
The truth too hard to embrace
The love that we knew has started to die
Becoming a familiar face

Familiar love is all we have left
Yet we both feel the need to stay
So here we remain in spite of this theft
Until one of us walks away

Now I know you've heard the stories
About animals who are smart
But here's a tale of a dog named Jake
Who was a genius from the start

Now, this dog could do anything
He could even add and subtract
He even starred in a broadway play
And, man, that dog could act

Now, nobody ever had to feed him
For, he was even a gourmet chef
Did I mention he was a teacher?
He taught sign language to the deaf

Now Jake was not an ordinary dog
He remembers everything he sees
He has a photographic memory
And even knows the names of his fleas

He wouldn't just bring your slippers
He would put them on your feet
That dog would even remember to flush
And put down the toilet seat

Jake even took the children to school
And stayed with them, all day long
He heard every word the teacher said
And corrected her when she was wrong

Now, you probably think I made this up
And, everything I've told you is fake
But I'll bet you'll be surprised to know
That this poem was written by Jake

You're the breath that fills my lungs
The smile that parts my lips
Your touch caresses my soul within
The reason my heartbeat skips

You're the memories that fill my mind
With dreams when I'm asleep
You're the sleeve that wipes away my tears
Each time I start to weep

You're the answer to all my prayers
Though unworthy I may be
You're the reason my eyes are blind
For it's only you I see

You're the reason why the sun will rise
And the reason why it sets
You're the light that shines to light the night
No matter how dark it gets

You're the breath that fills my lungs
So should you ever leave
You'd take away the reason I live
For I simply couldn't breathe

Today I found a heart of stone
Just lying on the ground
I picked it up to hear it beat
But it didn't make a sound

I wondered who had left it there
Some poor heartbroken soul?
A heart that's forgotten how to love
And turned as black as coal

Today I found a heart of stone
Just like the day before
I put it in my hiding place
And quickly shut the door

I wondered who had left it there
This heart so petrified
And how long did it suffer,
Before it finally died?

Today I found a heart of stone
A "You don't love me shrine"
It hurts too much to pick it up
This heart of stone is mine

Her Daddy was thunder her Mama was rain
And she was just caught in the storm
Rising so fast she'd take cover in vain
After the storm clouds would form

Under her bed the skies were so blue
But the thunder grew louder each day
She didn't come out 'til the rain had blown through
But the rainbows were not meant to stay

She couldn't find comfort in her hour of need
Sometimes it lasted all night
No matter how hard she'd beg and she'd plead
Her Mama and Daddy would fight

Then one day the thunder moved far away
But the rain would always remain
The day that it left she begged it to stay
It was something she couldn't explain

Her Daddy was thunder her Mama was rain
And she was just caught in the storm
Rising so fast she'd take cover in vain
After the storm clouds would form

Is a poet still a poet
if his words should go unread?
Or is he just a dreamer
with words inside his head?

Does a poet keep on writing
though no one knows his name?
Or spill his soul 'til his fingers bleed,
searching for his fame?

Does he dream of Poe as he writes his verse
in poetic harmony?
Or Count the Ways like Browning did
in sonnet forty-three?

Does he Take the Road Not Taken
like the late great Robert Frost?
Or take the road the others take
to find out that he's lost?

A poet is a poet
if his work should go unread
His words will stand the test of time,
in something that he's said

My wife says I'll never be famous
'Cause Whiskurz is a stupid name
I said, "That's not what my parents called me"
She said, "Your real one is just as lame"

"You'll never be a William Shakespeare,
Longfellow, Frost or Poe"
"You won't even be a Dr. Seuss,
I hate to have to tell you so"

I said, "Whiskurz is easy to remember"
She said, "That's just a dumb excuse"
I said, "At least I don't just make names up,
What is a Dr. Seuss?"

She just shook her head and walked away
While I pondered what she had said
I yelled, "It doesn't really matter who they were,
'Cause like Elvis, they're all dead"

So I'll change my name to Elvis
But if I get sued, she's the blame
I still think Whiskurz is easy to remember
But I guess it won't bring me fame

She softly whispers to her love
Who lay beside her in the bed
"I love to watch you sleep my prince"
As she gently kisses his head

"I love the way you always smile,
Before that little white lie"
"You knew you couldn't fool me
But it was fun to watch you try"

"I love to watch you try to dance
Though rhythm, you have none"
"I couldn't bear to break your heart
'Cause you were having so much fun"

"I love the Father that you became
The kids were your pride and joy"
"You were the happiest man in the whole wide world
With your little girl and boy"

She softly whispers to her love
As she slowly starts to weep
The coroner comes to take him away
For he died last night in his sleep

When words are lost against their will
A search party will insue
The poet will look for just the right word
For nothing else will do

Sometimes he'll look for days on end
While conspiring with his muse
But no matter how hard the poet looks
There's nothing else he can use

The other words stand so tall and proud
Hoping to fill his space
But the poet keeps looking both day and night
With determination all over his face

The letters paitently wait their turn
To fill the poet's quill
But until he finds that special word
None of them ever will

And just when he's almost given up
A whisper from his muse makes him smile
He found the word that he couldn't find
Although it took him a while

Filled with different emotions
The letters are carefully chosen
Late at night the poet will write
When time feels like it's frozen

We write about our happy endings
To cover up our pain
We write our grief to feel relief
But our words will never complain

Each letter takes his place in line
On the tip of the poet's quill
His only care is to try to share
An emotion the reader can feel

The letters start to form the words
That's chosen by the muse
Try as he might the words he'll write
There's a few he'll have to reuse

But once the poet lays down his quill
And everythig's been said
His pain will cease and bring him peace
Each time the poem is read

Bewildered and forgotten
No one seems to care
Alone I sit while asking
Is anybody there?

Growing old was not my fault
Nor was it in my plans
I followed the path life gave me
Just like time demands

Discarded like a memory
That's no longer of any use
Rejected and neglected
My age is no excuse

No one comes to visit me
It's like I don't exist
They think I can't remember
So, I'm silently dismissed

Solitary confinement
What am I being punished for?
You tell me that you love me
But don't visit anymore

No one to tell my troubles to
Or to talk about the past
A prisioner of my loneliness
How much longer can it last?

Banned from all existence
By the wrinkles on my face
One day soon, you'll feel my pain
For you will take my place

Sorrow only hangs her head
While walking to the floor
Pride wants all the attention
While Greed keeps seeking more

Shame hides behind the curtains
While Anger demands his way
Fear is too afraid to dance
Impatience just wouldn't stay

Joy was dancing all over the place
While Lust's heart began to burn
Love just watched with stars in her eyes
While Patience was waiting his turn

Confusion didn't know what to do
While Surprise was doing the twist
Shock was so appalled of it all
While Temptation just couldn't resist

The Broken Hearts just sit and cried
While Doubt didn't believe it was real
Now you've seen the dance of emotions
So tell me, how do you feel?