I am a lonely sole
No one is ever there
to talk to, or ask
A question or two
  
From my window above
I see them
Backgrounded by the traffic's din
So empty
Their lips silent

At a table set for two,
        in a quiet corner,
they sit across;
       an emotional sun
sets acrimoniously
       behind them.
She goes on munching
     something in silence,
never once lifting her face,
    to make the picture perfect.

He sits there, like dumbstruck
    not a single moment
taking eyes off her pretty face,
    as if, she'd vanish if he does.

Entwined in a
      mutually absorbing deliquescence?
Or each one beyond
     the reach of other's mind?

Over a cup of coffee
    going  too cold, to drink now
an intrusive character
     idling on the table next
staring  alternatively at both
        inanely wonder:
"The beginning or the end?"

Poor Willie Williams
Waiting for the train
Traffic Cops stole his money
It's a sad story; it's not funny
  
Poor Doctor Williams
Awake in Lincoln Park
Arrested for his scribblings
"We don't like your kind" they bark
  
Carlos won't you come back
Give this old town a haunt
They crapped on paradise again
Your town is full of greed and sin

He didn't meet many expectations
With the shell that he wore
Though the people gave nothing
They expected more

He'd stroll into town
With the clothes on his back
And the tools he would need
In an ancient, holey bag

He'd search out those
In need of repair
A leaky roof
Or a broken chair

This man seemed to know something
About every field
He'd smooth bumpy roads
Even doctored wounds 'til they healed

There was never a charge
For the service he rendered
One need only ask
And perhaps remember

If a stranger's in need
And passes your way
Just give him a hand
That's my pay

The more that he helped
The more tradesmen would fuss
This man's stealing the thunder
That belongs to us

So the tradesmen all gathered
And plotted and planned
The weapons they chose
Were not in their hands

They began to spread lies
This is our competitors' ruse
If he keeps freely working
Consider the business we'll lose

They convinced the masses
In spite of all he had done
This enemy among us
Is a dangerous one

So this strange humble servant
Who was mocked in the end
Had no one defend him
Not one single friend

If you'll lend me your ear
I'll return it with truth
The enemy among us
Is me and you

I've been known to comb through the
night hoping for Dawn to quickly arrive ,
falling asleep with the first rays of light
Waking up at Noon to adjust blinds ,
securing the house , staring down the
answering machine , afraid to return calls
Lighting one cigarette with another till I
dozed back off , drinking Pepsi and dining on
M&M;'s in the dark , watching 50's sitcoms
and getting nothing done
Taking pills for depression with red wine ,
hoping I might die
Writing sad songs with an only friend , something
in tune with your mood that would never think of
leaving you high and dry
Laying in filth till rescued somehow , starting different pills
with a new job , a new month , a new time for alienating
new friends and burning bridges to the ground

There will be days when everything goes wrong
There will be days when you cry yourself to sleep
There will be days when you just want to end it all
There will be days when you wish you didn't exist;
When you wish your father or mother or sibling didn't exist
There will be days when you question how you can keep moving on.

But on those days, I want you to remember:
You've survived this long
Why give up when you have made it this far in life?
You may not have lived each day but you have survived
Survive just another day, so that you may live many more.

I live in Chemical Valley.
It sounds horrible:
Better you than me.
Perhaps.
I grew up here,
Where the southern sky burns
Bloodstone red,
Mixing colours with the evening suns.
The St. Clair carries Huron's ghostly horns
Past the flaring refineries,
To Detroit's waters.
We have stop signs
And other amenities
Small cities are proud to maintain.
I heard the housing market
Is sustained on the divorce rate,
And not the petro-chemical industry;
We're closing another high school next year;
And there was a gruesome woodlot-****/******
Last week on the Reserve.
Maniacs living out some sick web-site.
But the soccer pitches are full,
And our Mayor is the longest serving one in Canada.
Just around the corner
(everything is just around the corner),
Our flag flies over the bones of our second Prime Minister,
(he's from Edinburgh, Scotland);
I've walked a good stretch of the fifty miles
Of beach we have running north,
Past cottages, parks, camps, etc.
We've way too many ***-holes;
And for many years,
We were featured on the ten dollar bill.

But the new houses!
Who is buying them as we move eastward,
Away from the lake and river?
Newly minted single moms;
Rejected men.
We lived in one house,
Once,
One house.
We now occupy five.
Two of which
Are too far away
From Chemical Valley.

The light, shine brighter at dawn and dusk.
The rain, is sweeter when it falls from heaven.
My spirit, it fly's once more again.
The birds, sing effortlessly backing your voice.
The world, spins to a happier future.
The thunder, it roars to the beat of you heart.
And your soul...
Your soul, has captured mine, to fast for me to see.
Without you the world is black.
The rain is like acid.
My spirit, it dies.
Birds do not sing.
The world spins to war.
And thunder never roars.