heavy rain from a darkening sky
and buildings  fall

no one knows what will be left
running down the nowhere
where dreams die
on a metal tray
at the hospital morgue

trouser leg pushed up
the search for black ink
and a child's name
begins

perhaps the arm
the hip

the back?

and the children plead,
lie to me,
tell me,
i won't die,
today

and the silent screams
are left in an eternity of why?

foul and bitter hearts
will prevail
on both sides,
this is the poetry of death

Open the chambers of my mind,
Where memories are enshrined,
Some clear, some blurred, but all profound,
A tapestry of my lived life, unbound.

I watch them play, like reels on a screen,
A kaleidoscope of moments, unseen,
Some joyous, some sad, but all real,
The chapters of my life, they reveal.

From childhood days of carefree glee,
To teenage years of angst and spree,
To adulthood's trials and tribulations,
Each memory holds its own vibrations.

Though some may bring a tear to my eye,
I cherish them all, for they're a part of me.
For in the tapestry of my life,
Each memory plays a vital role, without strife

Your tragic family:
The little wealth
You had is gone.
No place
To call home any more.
No welcoming friends
To take you in.
There’s nothing left to do
But leave.

Leaving should be
Very easy.
Theres nothing left
For you to pack.
Nor any trunk for
You to put things in.
No need either
For a suitcase -
You’re wearing
Everything  you own.

Who can help you -
They need help too.
Who can find
An answer in the ashes
That are the tombs
Of relatives,
Cremated
With no prayers spoken.

How is it
You must fly away.
You have no passport;
You have no funds
Beyond the dollars
In your pocket
When you ran.
You can’t go to
The bank for more
The contents of the vault
Are charred.
And papers with
Your name on them
Are gone.

You cannot call.
The wires are down.
The towers melted in the blaze.
The Post Office
Is in ruins.
And no one answers
When you shout.

You have friends
And relatives
In other places
That are safe.
The only thing that you can do
Is wait
For them to come and save you.
I hear jet engines
Revving up.
Hope must not be
Let to die.
             ljm

i asked her to dance.

"so,"  she smiles, "dance with me,

sometimes
I feel like
I'm almost gone

and i want you
to hold me,
she says,
hold me tighter

I want you to feel
my heart beating
and tell me
you'll never
let me go.

will you think of me?"
she asks, smiles,
always?"


rain is the night's
beating heart
icy heart,
wind and rain
and a memory
birds are winging west

tired and broken
the ribbon in her hair
footsteps echo
going down the hall

and i could tell by
her smile
she's not coming back

fumbling
shards of broken heart
fall through cupped fingers    

here comes the night.

What I relentlessly seek,
to be a soul liberated,
Free from every attachment,
Bound by nothing, tempted by naught,
No unnecessary latchment.

The soul needs nothing, it's true,
To be free is its nature.
But my flaws have held me back,
My vision's a blur, a facture.

What do I really need?
Nothing, if I'm truthful.
Yet greed consumes, my soul depletes,
My life, a wasteful ruth.

Devoid of true knowledge,
I seek what's unclear.
My vision blinded, my eyes closed,
I'm trapped by my fear.

Lies will bite, anger will burn,
Karma's wheel will turn.
I wait for the reckoning,
My soul to learn.

Who will wash away my sins?
My thoughts, my inner foes.
They've led me down a dark path,
Where nothing grows.

My body deteriorates,
My mind fades, my memory erases.
I speak in riddles, no sense to make,
My soul, a maze.

Who will decode the mysteries?
The real truths that liberate?
The answer lies within,
My true self, my fate.

Oh, to be a soul liberated,
Free from every attachment.
To live my life authentically,
With true detachment

Easily done
If you’re a draught horse,
Or ******* pulling a cart,
Or pointing a gun,
Or under a yoke.

I’m fine staying here;
I’m not moving on.
I don't want to.
Such advice as, You need to move on,
Sounds cheap, pithy and unaware.

What do we know about moving on?
Or moving up, or out, or in.
It’s decisive and aggressive.
It’s a judgment call.
It’s supposed to be good.
A learning experience.
For whom?

This is what I don’t need.
I have enough friends.
I've met with enough romances.
I won't move on.

Move on.... Indeed.

All I want was a shelter to feel comfortable with.
A warmth that you felt safe.
Trust for mutual understanding.
  And the pleasure you fully pledge to.  
  
    Seems like loving someone at this age makes us feel unsafe and unsecured, and mostly – at times, temporary.