The hug you gave me was special.
I’m a connoisseur of hugs,
So I would know.

It was not the side hug.
What a horrible invention.
The awkward hug.
The hug that doesn’t want to hug.

It was not the friend hug.
A pleasant hug,
But around the shoulders.
Quick and sometimes embarrassed.

It was not the family hug.
Tight and close.
It’s full and comforting,
The best of hugs.

I’m not sure what you gave me.
Not a hug, more like a gift.
Jumping into my arms
Like you needed them.
When it was I who needed you.

Your soft cheek on mine,
Arms thrown around my neck,
my fingers on your waist
like they already knew the lines.

You gave me joy
standing on tip-toes.

Nymphs clothed in white dance out of porcelain walls.
Swirling earth lies below their light feet,
Trying to woo them with perfumed kisses.
The vapors cannot see what love lies below.
I stir the waters with my condolences.

He showed promise 
That's what they said
Never knocked out
Next in line for the big seat
He could take a hit and hit right back
Then the Depression hit hard
The money, the promise, gone in an instant
Injury after injury, loss after loss
He was beat up and beaten down
No more boxing
Third night in a row without dinner
Bills stacked up on the counter
Out of money, out of credit, out of milk
Power's shut off, kids are cold
Wife is tired and so is he
Working at the docks with a broken hand
When he's lucky
He comes home from a thankless day
Children gone, wife in tears
We couldn't keep them warm, she says
They were getting sick, so I sent them away
We couldn't even feed them, Jimmy
She cries and he can't handle it
So he leaves
He goes to an office, fills out a form, waits in line
A woman hands him money, but he can't look for the shame
He takes it anyway
He goes to his friends, his old bosses
Please, I just want my children back, he begs
He sacrifices all self respect, all dignity
What makes him a man, gone, for his children
They throw him some spare change
A true friend makes up the difference
His family back together, there is happiness
But, dear God, will he ever make it out of this hole
They come to him with a fight
A glimmer of hope: money
He fights, he wins, but he doesn't dream
At least he doesn't say
He says it was just one fight
But they come again with another matchup
He wins again 
And he doesn't stop winning
Until one day he's in that same spot
His shot at the big spot
And his opponent is mean,
A true killer of men
But he is stronger, tougher
He fights for the beat up, the broke down
He fights for those who have to beg
He fights for his family, for milk 
He fights for the very right to live and breathe
And he will not lose this fight
He will scratch, bite, claw his way
But he will not lose
And he doesn't 
And we won't
because losing isn't an option
because everything is riding on it
because suffering makes us stronger
because when life hits you hard, you don't fall down
You hit back

Loneliness
Can be very frightening
All that time 
spent searching in the darkness 
Full of hope
That you will find her someday
You can't help
But still feel lonely today

I thought I knew what love was like.
I thought I could ride it like a bike.
Go fast or slow as I saw fit
with a cushy seat on which to sit.
Hop off when I got tired or sore
and ride again if I got bored.

But there is no rhyme or reason
Love is unexpected
and so were you

When you're sick and feeling bad,
That's no reason to be sad.
I still like you when you sneeze.
I still like you when you wheeze.
I like you with hair askew.
I still like you when you're blue.
Because you're sweet for my own sake,
Even when your belly aches.
And you will still be cute,
Even if I see you puke.
I'll bring you soup, I'll be your boon.
I hope that you get better soon.

In my heart I am a knight
A man born to strive for right
The world likes to worship might
But I have seen a brighter light
I have been blessed with clearer sight
The world has been filled with blight
That makes the day as black as night
Which head of the hydra do I fight?
Thank God He is on a higher height
I need only serve and be contrite
For he will redeem all his broken wights

She tiptoes through the woods like a pilgrim through a cathedral
The great wooden pillars meet above in leafy arcs
Dappled light dances across the mossy carpet
The brightest sunspot,
Swirling and swaying in the rhythm
Her wide eyes close to take deep breaths
Only to have them stolen away on the breeze
I watch in a dream and she turns,
Eyes stormy with a smile playing at her lips

I've been told I love too fast
That I love like I loved the last
You haven't known me long enough
Just go back to acting tough

But they don't understand what I mean
This "love" word isn't all it seems
It just means that I care a lot
That, for you, I would take a shot
That you can call me when you're sad
Or scream and rant when you get mad
If you get lonely, I'll hold your hand
I'll pull you out of that sinking sand

We may break up, and our paths part
But you will always be in my heart
I hope you are deliriously happy
Because you deserve it
With or without me

I hate the winter
Dreary skies against dreary skylines
Cold winds over cold streets
Puddles pooling with pollution
A sick city, runny with pain

I love the winter
Dark skies against dark trees
Winds dance in frosted branches
Snow falls in a white hush
The forest meditates on fury

Sometimes I will talk like Dr. Suess
Using fuzzlewumps and scalashamoosh.
Made up words are lots of fun to say
Like bimbozzled, fimtosseled, and swinsway!
But some people give me funny looks
When I compliment their parpingsonsooks
Madame, you misunderstand my thoughts!
I mean that I like your polkadot socks.

Adults were once like you and me
They were young and wild and free
But something about growing old
Can make your imagination go cold
But if you practice every day
You'll never forget how to play
And as every child knows
The best grown-ups are the ones who chose
To never really grow up at all
So fun can be had when you get tall
Just remember to always leave room
For your imagination to spin it's loom

Three generations on a tailgate
Stretching out for our aching limbs' sake
Resting from work in the summer bake
Sipping slowly on a few Pepsi's
Wipe away the sweat so I can see
My heroes talking casually
We laughed and joked despite the hot sun
Work long, work hard but try to have fun
Life is as good as you make it, son

There was a gap between the trees
And when I pushed through all the leaves
I saw a wizard standing there
With pointy hat and snow-white hair.
His beard grew down to his feet,
The most wizardy wizard you could meet.

"Come on son, you're late you know?
We don't want to miss the big show."
"Excuse me sir, but you really should
tell me if your magic is bad or good."
"Oh yes of course my magic's good.
Don't you know your in Merlin's wood?"

So off we went to see the thing
That Merlin called a great big fling
Dragons were dancing in the meadow
We laughed and giggled at those big fellows
Great wings flapped around ***** nilly
It made all the beasts look rather silly

Then Merlin said it was time to go
A wave of his wand and what do you know?
I plopped down, back at my tree
And there was Mom calling for me.
One last look, behind my back
I thought I saw his dancing hat

Ah! What good is this fire?
Yes, I held it aloft,
Gazed into the depths of its beauty,
Displayed its brilliance.
My soul danced in the flames.
I was so taken I did not feel the burns.
The betrayal of your gift!
The sword has no bite as deep.
My shallow soul has no substance to sacrifice.
I am consumed by it and softened as the strongest steel.
Everyone leaves their mark.
This is no salvation if I cannot bear it!
I would gladly let the eagles at my breast
If you would take this torch from me.
For I cannot abandon it myself,
My soul has been claimed.

Where is that secret glade?
The one where time seems to fade
In that place magic pools
And fairies lounge on toadstools
Through it flows the silver stream
I can still see it in my dreams
You can hear the trees talk
Just close your eyes while you walk
At night all the stars will wink
And in fly Peter Pan and Tink
On his pipes he calls the Wild
And if you are a beast or child
You can feel the song in your chest
But I now have a silent breast
I can't find the secret spot
I think I grew up and forgot
But you are young and know the way
I know full well that I have to stay
Just tell me stories of your fun
And I will remember being young

I’m glad to say I’m over you
Your not the girl I thought I knew

It’s not your fault I dreamt you
You never tried to hide what’s true

I wished and I wished and wished
But a winking star isn’t a confirmation

My imagination likes to play tricks
Daydream and reality tend to mix

I’m really getting tired of this
Maybe I’ll see a psychiatrist

I wished and I wished and wished
But a winking star isn’t a confirmation

Maybe if I open my eyes
I won’t think up so many lies

But I’m scared to look and see
What’s going on outside of me

I wished and I wished and wished
But a winking star isn’t a confirmation

If there was a woman with integrity
She would be the one for me
If there was a woman with wit
She's the one I wouldn't quit
If there was a woman with fire
She's the one that I'd require

But much to my dismay
It is not too presumptuous to say
That such a girl it seems,
Exists only in the confines of my dreams

Perhaps my hope was blind
And perfection is only in my mind
No real girl could have met
The impossible bar that I have set 

Or maybe there is that perfect girl 
Around who my thoughts now swirl
But I am not the one she chose
because I am not the one she knows

Or she knew me well enough
But found me lacking in the stuff
That makes the heartbeat flutter
And causes her to stutter

The latter case is the worse
To think I have some sort of curse
A frog denied the saving kiss
The prince of unrequited love will not be missed

Childhood memories linger
Teenage distance was closing
Stealing away together
for secret hours of rapture
Suppressing smiles in the halls
Furtive glancing around friends
Too slow, too sacred for others
Unspoken love oft brings pain
Oh why did I not tell her?
For that fateful day she was snatched away
Frozen wings brought icy death
My angel plummeted down
So, too, my heart fell that day
I mourned, but not completely
We had only been good friends
That lie is all I could believe
I could not stomach the truth
I pushed the pain down deep, deep
Locked up ‘till a brighter day
A day when I was stronger, and could cope
That day has come and with fire
for my world is burning now
A departed friend is missed
but my love? I cannot live!
Yet somehow I rise each morn
I find joy in life’s great tale
and hope to write but a line
On that day when I’m called home
I’ll find the fairest angel
Hand-in-hand, we’ll walk to His open arms

From the darkness you created
and formed me from the clay.
You made me king of all you’d done,
though I hadn’t worked a day.

Your love was overwhelming,
but I was not content.
I fell asleep and you to work.
A rib was all I lent.

Oh what a gift that you had giv’n!
A partner made for me.
Paradise with one condition,
don’t touch the dying tree.

Then the serpent whispered softly,
that death does not await.
He told the lie that he believed,
“Godhood could be your fate.”

So scorning all that you had done,
we chose our own conceit.
What great shame and fear we had felt
at the sound of your feet!

Then we told of our fatal act
in words of wounded pride,
on your faultless back set the blame.
No sin did we confide.

You cursed us all for our hubris;
we walked with heads hung low,
across ground cursed from Eden East.
God, I wish I didn’t know.

But though my sin had sown my death
and you the one I scorned,
you walked beside me all the way
to comfort while I mourned.

My love has sailed beyond the sea
Standing on the beach, she left me
I swam until I could no more
I washed back up on the shore
I fought the waves until I fell
And despaired of reaching my belle
Beneath the tide I slowly sank
But a man drug me to the bank
The fisher of men softly said
With a voice that made the ache shed
Your time is yet to come my son
There's a world that needs to be won
There are reasons she could not stay
But you will see her some bright day
I'll be with you, no need to fear
Now come with me and wipe your tears
We have work to do that can't wait
Then you'll rest with your life's true mate
I gazed across the great expanse
One day soon, I'll ask for that dance
But not today, I softly sighed
For a while I must say goodbye
One last look across the water
Then to the work of my Father

Searching for the salty stinging
I find myself breathing deeply
The same lament I keep singing
While caged, I flutter weakly

"Beyond the hill, beyond the glen
Beyond the plains, beyond the fen 
I hear her voice lilt and sway
And all my pain is washed away
She sings secrets no man may tell
Through the modest magic of a shell
Between the land, beneath the sky
O lover hear my lonesome cry
Sing out to me, the song of the sea
Draw me out where I should be
Among the waves, among the spray
Not in the cove, nor in the bay
Take me where I am free
Sing me back to the sea"

I give this last note to Leo that he may race to you while it's words are fresh. He lopes across the night's great canvas with sufficient grace to draw your eye for beauty. Know that my last wish in this waking world is for you to dream all that is daring, and to wake on the morrow and see it in truth. I now bid you goodnight and farewell. We may speak again in the light but now the darkness creeps and my own adventures await.
With love,

I write these poems that no one reads
They are the outlet that I need.
This world would make the most fiery romantic doubt 
And forces the happiest optimist to pout.
I cling to my verse against the storms of the age
At least some sincerity will be preserved in this page.
It is the floating bark
That saves my broken heart
From those who have done it harm 
And against them I am armed.
In my loss I will not lose hope
As long as I can rhyme, I cope.

Sit here my sweet and listen to
The tale of love 'tween me and you

When I was young and small of frame
I felt no want for worldly fame
Nor did I care for heaps of gold
I had one love if truth be told
I cared for good most of all
And feared not pain nor funeral pall
I wished to see where good was done
I searched beyond the setting sun
I wandered until at last I found
The woods to be my hallowed ground
Beneath those boughs was my home
And there I lay no more to roam

I was content, it's true to say
Until I met a girl one day
She moved among the hills like light
For flowers bloomed at her delight
All the animals gathered 'round
To hear her voice's lovely sound
At night the stars would come from miles
To try and earn her radiant smiles
I was in love, it was clear to see
But could she ever be in love with me?

Then one night both long and sweet
I stayed awake my love to meet
She smiled at me when at her I'd peek
So I lay a kiss upon her cheek
Her stormy eyes tossed my soul
And so I played a bolder role
I leaned in for her lips so red
But her soft kiss met mine instead

That's the story of how I found
The best girl there is around
And when our young love did fledge
We gave each other a wedding pledge
To live each day in free bliss
And of course to often kiss

It is a windy day today,
But I hoped that you might stay
And not blow my heart away.

I fear a fearsome storm doth brew,
That they shall cleave me from you
Oh jealous clouds cease to stew!

Sun, don't permit this darkness fall
Hail winds, and command them stall
Buy me time, however small

I have lived a full life,
Brimming with beauty,
Overflowing with adventure. 
I have seen the Arno, 
Draped in fire and light. 
I have sailed into the burning sea 
And felt it's heat from mountaintops. 
I have seen heavenly waters, 
So distant and close. 
I have watched Apollo fly arrows
Back at his huntress twin. 
Yet none of these can compare 
To the glint in my true loves eyes. 
In it I see my past all at once
And our future sprawled ahead.

Father, Father, where have you gone?
Where are your arms where we belong?
How far from these banks we’ve known
have you moved your kingdom’s throne?
Have you found another home?
Did you forget your children doomed to roam?
Is the family whole again?
New children where we should’ve been.

Father, Father, we’ve flown so far,
with neither guiding sun nor evening star.
Where did they go, where are our people?
We’ve lost a forest to gain a steeple.
We’ve knocked atop the hollow hills,
but could only hear the sound of mills.
Tell us if you slumber deep,
or if you’ve found a better sleep.

Father, Father, who are these men?
They dump waste into the river bend.
They say our people don’t exist,
but we see the faces in the mist.
We’ll sing one last haunting tune,
on tranquil waters ‘neath beaming moon.
We’ll sing goodbye to the world we knew
and go to die and be with you.

Now I know you weren't asking, but here's what I say
You shine as bright as the midsummer's day
If you keep smiling these sniffles won't stay
because the clouds always move out of the way

The poems of my generation are sad
The poets got hurt and now they’re mad
Easy lives filled with human pain
They cry out to the night in vain
The poems speak of love too oft
Yet at monogamy they all have scoffed
The poets can’t compose alone
They need to drink until they moan
Until they make yet more mistakes
More material for the poems they make
I too have fallen down
Into the poems that gain renown
I have tried to please the world
To validate souls bent and curled
Now I know the truth to tell
The night is not a wishing well
Poems should reflect God’s own heart
Each one with a moral to impart
Poems should express things pure and true
That doesn’t mean they can’t be sad or blue
Just that our hearts should be nobler things
Than a metal shell that hollowly rings

She is no longer here
But I have nothing to fear
The sun kisses my eyes
I am hugged by the skies
The breeze caresses me
I dance slowly with the trees
Soft rain sings me love songs
I sleep with stars all night long
There is no reason to weep
One day I will join her sleep
But tonight I will pray
To live for Him all my days

Why am I talented in violence?
Is it not wrong to do harm?
Yet I feel within me the fire of a warrior.
Wield my life as a blade,
Guide my actions as a spear.
I offer my breast for the arrow,
And my throat for the lion,
Only let me shield your people.
Let me mimic you, O Mighty Warrior,
And place me among your host
That I may serve you and see your work.
Let me bring glory to your name,
Use my life for your name's sake.
For it was you who formed me in the womb.
You put the shield on my back,
And the sword in my hand.
You gave me all skill and strength;
It is fit that they should be used for you.
Therefore instruct me O King!
Show me the battle lines,
Point out the camp of the enemy.
Give me an order, O LORD,
That I may rush into the fray.

The sea has claimed all
Our pride has sunk below
Where once flags flapped bright
No sign or ruin gives note
Tall spires were felled low
White walls crashed down like foam
The waves have rolled through
Our hearths are dead and cold
Fair gems have waned dark
Their light shines no longer
All songs have ceased now
The joyful live no more
A cloud has risen here
It's shadow leads the van

Let me tell you something I learned today
It's the reason children know how to run and play
You see they still remember being birds
They are rather new to all our words
This, of course, is the reason why
That with some fairy dust they can fly
The very young will still itch
On the spots where their wings used to twitch
And this is why they are so wild and free
Because they used to sail the air's great sea
Now the adults have all forgotten
Which is why they sometimes act so rotten
So next time a grown-up is being a ****
Remind them that you only just stopped to chirp

One of these days we'll get up and go
And where we have gone no one will know.
They'll wonder and ponder and all scratch their heads.
They'll search our whole rooms and under the beds.
 But we won't be there, oh no, we're long gone.
We'll go to the place where we'll see the new dawn.
We'll laugh and kiss and dance oh so slow.
 Great fun will be had but the sun will sink low.
 We'll walk slowly back to our lives, hands intertwined
And treasure that day in a vault in our minds

I have often wanted to run away
And if you asked me why I'd say
"I can't live within these walls.
I'm tired of pacing up and down the halls.
Ceilings hide the stars at night,
And the sun's replaced by unnatural light.
The lawn is barely nature at all,
The grass doesn't grow over 3 inches tall.
You couldn't find an animal for miles.
Even rats don't like the toxic trash piles.
So down the rope ladder I go
My family will find it still in the window."

But when I topped that first rolling hill,
A crack broke through my ironclad will.
I imagined what I knew would come true,
My family would find out that I flew.
They would cry and be filled with great shame
because they would think that they were to blame.
I gazed out at the Wild without a dry eye,
then turned 'round and heaved a weary old sigh.

Home isn't the place where I can be free,
But it's the place where I need to be.
One of these days they'll come with me, I know.
Then I'll cross that hill, home in tow.

Hello world don’t you look fine
Spinning along on your crazy line
And all the smiles are as big as mine
Today’s the day I’ll get up and go
I’ll meet people I would never know
We’ll share so fast and dance so slow
Today I want to laugh until I cry
I want to steal a kiss on the sly
We’ll watch the stars shoot through the sky
Today nothing will be done
The only goal is to have some fun
Today we will rest from the race we run
And in that rest, We’ve won

I'm lying here in the dark alone,
Trying to figure out where I call home.
I remember the warmth,
I remember the light,
But you're sleeping in another bed tonight.

Oh where did you go?
How can love bring me down so low?

Why did you go back to him?
I ask when I have the greater sin.
If I shouldn't win, how can I fight?
I think I'll just watch the rain tonight.

Oh where did you go?
How can love bring me down so low?

Now I've left the dry and warm,
And I'm running through the storm.
Where are you, love?
Where are you?
There's something that I've got to do.

Ohwhere did you go?
How can love bring me down so low?

I'm standing outside your window pane,
Smiling through the freezing rain.
Raincoat on, you're smiling back.
I've finally found the part I lack.

You're with me and I'm with you.
Isn't it great what love can do?

Midst misty mountains moans
A poor soul doomed to roam
The life he lived was more like death
So after life he was given breath 
His task to guide the wayward son
Back to the love where he'd begun
Until this lesson had been learned
That the angry God whom he had spurned
Had loved him through every fall
And wanted him to heed the call
Of a father whose hope was great
That his son might choose a different fate

Whence comes the dark of night
Whence comes the day's first light
Whence comes the storms of snow
Whence comes the winds that blow

There is one who knows
To and fro in the deep he goes
But seek ye not lest ye may find
Who possesses the lesser mind
For knowledge is fire that burns the fool
It will only be a wise man's tool