Lights strung above this out of place darkness
create shadows of an invisible existence
Filaments of glowing hopes and wants
droop towards empty heart beats

Alone in this overcrowded nightmare,
checking the time on faceless clocks
in no particular sequence standing
like sentries on broken boundary lines

An endless runway of lifeless orbs
dot the landscape in Morse code warnings
as I turn away in a curved defiance,
unable to accept the words touching my eyes

And still, glistening raindrops fall from overhead wires
reflecting each tear drop of prism’d descent
For even if I wake, screaming as the night disappears
she will still be gone, like every other burned out dream

Ancient wounds ~ Comet wishes


Bleeding from these ancient wounds
Falling to the earth below
Mud red, blood red, softening the ground
My footprints ache in format patterns

So long the wounds, of age defined,
Dripping masses in the mist
Marked for life, while a beating heart
pumps eternal fluid fears

Watching as the puddles grow,
round at first and then obscure
Fading faster than the sun
on its westward trek of daylight shadows

Weak…I find my eyes they stare
off into the crowning moon
Beams of effervescent glow
shroud me in unknown pleasures

Rising above the crusted mounds
Light as any whispered breeze
Words now call in sweet caress
Melodies of past preferred ring

Lyrics sung to me and me alone
A language that my soul does speak
Piano keys in blended black and white
string together lasting impressions

Symphonies of a healing concerto
press upon my quivered skin
Scars now dance at the revival
and still my feet don’t find the floor

My hand is touched, fingers moved
Warmth embraces this awkward grip
as peace flows, smooth, soft, subtle
through my veins

The bleeding has ceased
Disappeared among comet wishes
and my heart, once silent, now sings
in harmony with her voice…and I dream

Beyond the darkness

Shades of painted corners
face these inward fears
Now drenched in lost endeavors
and flat as the cornerstone of suffering
Caught within boundaries along wasting moments,
crying blanket feelings,
pounding on the walls of despair

          “leaving fist prints like so many discarded roses”

Calling out to the endless deafness
“Time it does not heal,
scars merely cut deeper”,  
echoes among the tapered dreams
Fog engulfs the melody…slowly
chasing after poetic symphonies
playing in a westward direction

          “horizontal compass points from this to that”

This weary hand trembles
violently as it reaches, pleads
Where the monochrome sun sets,
beyond the chosen horizon
in heart shaped vistas and opened arm landscapes
Trust in amber glowing beacons
wave banners of solitude

          “free flowing fabric beckoning in rhythmic motions”

Forcing the stoic front door…open
Creaking hinges scream, your fears cup beneath your chest
Breathing in the stench of life
but lured by the fragrance of the future
Where sorrow drowns in cascade pools,
pain hides where it can not be found
and he waits to lift you…beyond the darkness


          *“and you find you have wings, shimmering in this golden friendship”

Alone


Taken to the shadows, amass the frozen fall
Dreams of darkened hours sing
fresh in every mindset, placing avenues in the past

Brick and mortar tendencies
build a fortress around your heart,
as every nightfall wisdom
or sound against the rail, echoes in trust

Footprints in the snow…forward and back again
Never once a closed eye, an unclenched fist,
as I, the lone silhouette against your stained glass fears
stand firmly at the gate of brass and forged steel,
tarnished by weather but steady as devotion,
protecting you from the deepest of harm

Seeking nothing…not an ounce of peace,
for this role is now my destiny, my soul surrender
to a heart that beats within my own existence
in melodic undertones of poetic truths

And I gaze upon the winter moon, shining its light
upon your beauty, which I have come to long
in visions of my own shortcomings…alone

I play my guitar


I play my guitar,
crying in sevens
on a lonely cold morning
with the rain falling down

Sorrowful chords,
on the strings of emotion
in a three quarter tear drop
where sadness is found

                    And the storm clouds they form
                    on the edge of tomorrow
                    with my thoughts ever yearning
                    for you in my arms

Now a chill finds my heart,
it is empty and hollow
I play my guitar
and there isn’t a sound

Nothing shall be

Lost in the desert,
brow beat and empty
Marching the beat
of an old drummers song

Clutching the sand
in a hand I imagine
Thirsting for all
only finding it wrong

Wandering lonely
the shore of a nightmare
Angry moon’s claws
find my heart tender, bare

Slowly but surely
with skills of a surgeon
Ripping my dreams
with the slightest of tears

Daring the day light
to rest on my shoulders
Cast of my eyes
in this heart broken dawn

Hearing the echoes
of seashells that whisper
“fall to your knees,
you are merely a pawn”

Scanning the heavens
for only a flicker,
eyes that I seek
staring down on my face

For soon of this shadow
following closely,
nothing shall be
no, not even a trace

What is it to smile…

when the eyes you cherish
turn from you,
peering off into the distance,
seeking another sight,
encased in a theme
that does not include you?

What is it to desire…

if what you long for hides
behind curtains of pain,
blacked out windows
redirecting the sunlight
to a place
that longs for nothing?

What is it to breathe…

within a life that does not matter,
in full view of your imagination
crumbling like so much dust
beneath cushions of your heart,
mingling with lost change
alone in muffled visions?

What is it to love?

A heart waits

While sifting through the questions
piled high in a mountain of doubt,
reaching heights beyond belief
and scraping ceilings of torment

A heart waits…

Now tiring quickly, loosing strength,
finding the walk longer than you expected
Closing one eye to find the other does not see
and falling to dark corners of fear

A heart waits…

As volume amasses upon weakened shoulders,
and pain breaches the avenue
of store front sale signs
on locked door close outs

A heart waits…

When it all seems too much,
memos become lists of forever paper,
words scratched in blood ink
of empty pens spilling

A heart waits…

If you have found that point
where your mind says no more
and you feel that nothing will ever be enough,
please remember…

A heart waits…and that heart is mine

Scattered on dusty winds
Zephyrs of despair
Saddened wings of ashen crows
Grey skies
Morn the sorrow
That weighs down your heart
On lonely ground
With folded arms
And defiant whispers

Still the softness
Of your soul
Flies in circular wisdom
Sailing to new heights
Catching the breeze
Of wishing wonders
Under your arms
For that day shall come
When you smile…again

11/26

Multi-colored candles
Melting wax tear drops
Between candied letters
Staining soft white icing
Frosting covered sadness
Felt in layer upon layer
Sliced open to reveal
Pre-heated emotions
Empty and hollow
Baking memories
No sugar coating
Can fix…11/26

Nothing more, nothing less

I have been told that I am nothing more
And nothing less than what all I might see

Just as another with words to impress
Merely a phrase on a sheet penned by me

Gray floating shadows on walls of despair
Painted in shades of an off branded smile

Generic emotions with only a price
Left on the rack labeled way out of style

Mirrored reflections of everyone else
Acting alike every face on the page

Watching the curtains rise up to the sky
Accepting applause in a crowd on the stage

Of all these feelings that live in my heart
Not very special in spite of the view

All that I wanted was you by my side
I did whatever I thought I should do

I didn’t notice, perhaps I was blind
Everyone else, they were doing the same

I was no different, not even a bit
All I can say is my heart was to blame

Now I will wander the ends of the earth
Where ever life places in front of me

For, I have been told that I am nothing more
And nothing less than what all I might see

Give me a whisper and give me a sigh

Those soft words following the emotions in your eyes
Exhaling poetry on my whimpered dreams
Take from me all that I can give while
reaching for that sunset…a distant prism of light

Give me a kiss before you, tell me goodbye

Soft lips in sad shapes, downturned towards darkened fears
Moist as they meet in wilted wishes
Walking away…a silhouette of that which I long for
As tears drift on questioned zephyrs

Don't you take it so hard now and please don't take it so bad

To know this feeling, I swear I don’t
Still calling out in echoed chants flowing naked valleys
Hoping you hear, praying you smile, asking you to listen
Before the moon fractures in cosmic sorrow

I'll still be thinkin' of you and the times we had...baby

Eternal visions find you and me, hand in hand
Dancing on quiet shores, melodic surf rhythms
In memories of what once was, what should be
and the stars drip into anguished teacups pleading

Don’t you cry tonight…

Found on the corner of sleeping dogs lie
Came to the spotlight with one crooked eye
Painted a portrait in spite of the light
Hoping the canvas was centered and tight

Poured off the foam before going to bed
It’s easy to sleep when you don’t have a head
Dreams are the reason I tend to escape
Picking up pieces that fell off the cake

Coupled with sailors now off on a trip
Some sunken treasure on some sunken ship
Last time the cannons did roar at the sea
Green was the canvas of the canopy

Blown into port with a quart in your bag
Looking quite close at the half masted flag
Wondering who might have swam with the fish
And ended up sinking and getting their wish

The mist in the air hung so thick on the ground
The bell in the lighthouse could broadcast the sound
Ringing that rang as the tide wandered in
As night storms from southern most points did begin

Anchors were dropped to the depths of the deep
Big leaks were fixed but the little ones seeped
Batons were hatched or whatever that means
Opening gaps welded closed at the seams

Swabbing the deck seemed like pure wasted time
As buckets were emptied with rain in the sky
Sails were pulled down, pulled in, put away
While clouds housed a marvelous lightening display

A bottle of *** and a parrot named bill
They drank and they sang until they had their fill
When off now to sleep they did fall with a thud
Tomorrow the war and the spilling of blood

The enemies’ close they could feel in their bones
Because of the bank and some late payment loans
They shuffled us off to some brightly lit rooms
And offered low interest in brand new doubloons

They had us signing here page after page
As if fountain pens were just coming of age
Now put them away this place sure is a mess
Or move them to somebody else’s address

If the dog is not home and the cats on the chair
Licking his tail with the long flowing hair
For after this voyage we look up above
And whisper a poem that doesn’t speak love

Standing on the ledge
I can see below, jagged reminders of happiness
Treetop dreams of echoes traveled
Toes tipping the cliff face, pebbles fall
bouncing to their own beat,
unlike that of my heart,
staggered and frail

Peering down on those lives,
white picket fences in quilt top designs
like tiny ants, moving about,
frolicking between corn row wisdom and apple blossom beauty
Never once looking up to see
this man who knows he can not fly
reaching for the depths calling his name

A strong gust of wind whistles
beneath dark clouds mingling with my stare
Still moments have escaped,
replaced by the emptiness that is my mind
holding only one thought, one view
footsteps, a straight line, uncounted
in a fashion of leaving…far below

Golden horizons beckon
of a last setting sun, one final time
Flowing rays of watercolor brushstrokes
That I…we once enjoyed,
hand in hand, singing songs of a forever love
that fell like autumn leaves in silent
multicolored tears, puddles of drained melodies

I cling to my hopes…
like a crooked root protruding,
grasped tightly for fear of falling
Yet all along know I must…let go, release my dreams
I find so hard to forget…your kiss, your smile,
your laugh filling my soul with joy…but I can’t
if even there is the slightest chance…but there is not

Standing on the ledge…someone push me, please

Nothing lasts forever




“And when your fears subside and shadows still remain”


Dark places floating in rear view mirror journeys
on empty highways, slick and cold but in the past
Within my hand I hold you, warmth finds the place,
leaving behind the sorrow on leaf covered shoulders


“I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame”


Taken upon my soul, those incisions of pain, deep
Draped on heavy sighs and forward motions
Cast aside, tossed for loss, rendered useless
and my heart sings for you, come to me for I shall love you

“So never mind the darkness we still can find a way”


Shrouded in worry, clouded escapes stood firmly
Together we can draw back these curtains, embroidered blankets,
revealing the next hillside spilling a sunrise
in bright smiles and good memories rejoicing


*“'Cause nothin' lasts forever, even cold November rain”

Eleven :/ eleven


In a cavern long about the edge of time
dwells a sadness deep upon my heart,
where fragments of my imagination
cry out from a desolate vault,
iron clad and riveted
of a stone mason’s might
Welded shut, encrusted with fear
and loneliness in unsealed envelopes
addressed to someone other than me


Where neighbors retrieve and process,
regardless of names and stamped signatures,
unwilling to pay the postage now due
of an encased glass tube shoveled
away to linger on each odd figure
that falls from the reaches far above my head,
dropping square tears from round eyes,
mapping my cheeks
in solitary traces of dual vertical weeping


Self imposed some may say,
and they could be correct, though
when it comes to Forgotten, that heart of gold,
worth more than its weight in life,
pays more attention to the fate of others
than collecting breaths of this or any
next door, across the fence wisdom
For if they hurt…those who shouldn’t,
then what is the use


With heavy stone in hand I tap…
loudly on the reinforced tarnished structure
in a series of dots and dashes, eleven-eleven,
chaos on some calendar's clock, but patterned to the beat of my heart
saying…you are loved, you are missed,
you are needed and most importantly,
you are not alone…hoping the numbered echoes
land upon listening ears, (if even on my final breath)
and she can smile once more, and I can feel it...once again

This forest of black fern, scraping thorn’d tree trunks
It all looks the same
Tearing at my flesh…ripping wounds upon my chest
Severing slowly
Pain merely a dashed figment of my stoic imagination
Sharp blades twist
Wandering for nights on end as days no longer exist
Getting nowhere fast
Frowning moss grows on the east side of sorrow
Dying north spins
As I hold in my hand this thing that still bleeds
Two parts, gaping
Seeking the perfect hiding spot in charcoal stone ash
Shadows fade desires
This is of no use to me, take it, I don’t want it anymore
It is broken
Rains soften this hell as I dig deeper into the sadness
Buried in teardrop mud
And I sit, amongst bramble and thistle spun chains
Waiting for the end….

~

That barren branch
high above this desolate space
Crooked shade designs on a dying earth
Bent and twisted of past sunlight reach
Naked to the green-less world
Rough hewed collections
Of ant trail pathways
And rot of all that was good

Once filled with life, happy on the breeze
Summer fashions of leaf pattern wishes
Colors of blissful post card greetings
Bearing fruit of friendlier times

Now rests in solitude’s wicked grip
Knotted and splintered bark winding
to a tapered end of winter’s calling
Cold fingers on gray-cast skylines
Dying of desperate missings
Fading into a bleak sunset
Disappearing somewhere beyond the dark
That barren branch…is me

~

I breathe
as if it means nothing,
no thought or planning
A rhythmic thing
that just happens

~in and out…silently~

Little notice is taken
until I find your smile,
your beauty, your love
and then I gasp, for in that instant…
I am breathless

~

Shadows move on sheet rock barriers
framed in time of late
Spaces filled with unknown visions
dance about with feet of clay
Gowns of nightmare carpetbaggers
thunder on the floor
Drippings in a mist of nervous breath
blanket my safe haven
and the sounds scream
in voices of past mishaps
Lost in lonely corridors,
wailing on aching skylights
permitting barely a moon glow psalm
to echo of their meaning
in songs from a distance,
of pleading skeletal desire

“I fear for I have no choice”

Doorways yawn in weary ovations
Slanted photos dot the landscape
Windows prove little relief from the cold
as heat pierces my cavities
Gaping wounds of frail memories
clutch at my last ounce,
measuring the words I am reading
Taking a breath, sweet, stagnant
Clawing for an exit only to find
it has stood before me all along
Baby steps, I have been told
Find that trust, slowly…make sure,
reach out for the hand
offered on a dreamscape message

“I fear for I have no choice?”

Eyes, so tired, weeping pools
out of focus since that day, open
(As if sunflowers float on silken wings
and glorious becomes an understood word)
slowly and tentatively,
blinking sorrow’s pathway free
to lead me to you
The imprint of that butterfly
marks my palm in red lines of love,
mapping my skin with a long awaited
smile, dry lips curve as I take your hand
trusting, for the very first time
realizing the feeling
which hath finally…set me free

“I no longer fear, for I have a choice”

~

Standing to fight
In the heart of the city
The jungles of asphalt
where neon flashes evil
as sidewalk dwellers
window shop hate
and find peace labeled “Not for sale”

I cling to my beliefs
in lamp post graffiti
Spray painted wishes
fading in color
and store owner nightmares,
defacing the brick walls
surrounding my very existence

Fear falls in pamphlet raindrops,
pages scattered
beyond the welcome mats
of big box politicians
in paisley ties
and sharp creased slacks,
shaking hands and scamming votes

Promises made
circled in cigar smoke and cheap wine,
fall on unsuspecting ears as truth
until the “sorry we’re closed” signs
spin in favor of loss…
opening for business
to the throngs of the needy

I see their eyes, hollow,
faltering of sorrow as worry
becomes the next day’s problem
Reaching into my pocket I retrieve
the multi-colored wings you gave me…just in case
and I fly to be with you
Unable to face the fall…of humanity

~

Dusty leather laces
Knots of endless fraying
Caustic on the ribbons of a heart now in the shade

Promises are broken
Thin ice on the river
Postcards tossed into the trash so long ago displayed

Darkness finds the corner
Shadows hold the meaning
Does the world still spin when every other place is spared

Tight along the border
Guards embrace the fence line
Lost along the boundaries of love no longer shared

Knees are feeling weaker
Tears now find their falling
Puddles drench the wingtips neatly polished on the strand

There outside the window
Sunlight streams the valley
Teaching us the woman doesn’t always make the man

Sometimes she breaks the man…

When posies are ill,
gardens bloom in sadness,
butterflies cry

Losing is a habit
engrained upon my hands,
claiming to be something I am not
Peering in with one wicked eye
fashioned of big words
from worn out dictionary pages

my thoughts are fire in lower case flames
complete with soiled ash
and filaments swinging in the breeze
searching for the unburned match,
the last one… in a long line of empty phrases

blank pages filled with everything conceived
along street water girths and cigarette butts
arranged in the shape of a question mark
on my Walmart coffee table…
never once questioning why

Oh I have written, I have penned
and my quill is soft and filled with ink
of another’s pain, dripping on tree leaf mosaics
and carpenter footprints,
leading down that path that I lure
unsuspecting verses now lost with me

For I am the loser in this game
only because I chose to play by my rules
Penalties don’t count in my court
for I am blind to the truth
that I am nothing more than me…only what I seem

O’ heart so fine in charcoal skies
of breath my mind does see
This captured feeling locked inside,
alone as to believe


For what shall come of morning tides,
along the wish filled shore
In seashell decorated time
to want your love once more


What sent this ship of harbor dreams
to sail a course so lost
As currents bide my every whim,
now simplified the cost


When once the sunrise happiness
did take a weathered turn
For but a few words offered up
in lessons I have learned


My sails, the moon’s reflective light,
does glow an empty grin
Atop the wave’s deserted flight
to want you here again


For this shall be my journey true
in aimless rambled roam
If I have not the love of you
I sail these seas alone


Of courses kept in lock and key,
an island beach does call
Upon this deck on bended knee
Amidst the darkened squall


As life will raise its mighty hand
of you that I do seek
Collapsing firm upon this man
in testaments of weak


Come set these chains that hold me tight,
my body craves the pain
As on these seas of bright moon light
I cry within the rain


When time does dance and hours pass,
I plead to charcoal skies
Explain to me how this can be
in scenes before my eyes


“Take me home,” my heart does plead
begin this journey new
For I now live a nightmare’s creed
without the love of you

“I saw her today at the reception”

My eyes filled with changing emotions
In satin gown and fire brand hair
A china doll beyond the display case
Happiness was breathing the air

“In her glass was a bleeding man”

A shadow of someone on the platform
I could see his face wracked in pain
Scars of here and prior altercations
Acid falling in the guise of rain

“She was practiced at the art of deception”

Behind that sequined mask she stood hiding
A smile painted in pastel red
Pretending a friendship is more than just golden
Wishing the other were endlessly dead

“Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands”

Pointing fingers dripping in excess waste
Smearing the drapes of lipstick tapestry
Planting the seed of doubt deep within
Smirking as she said these words to me

“You can’t always get what you want”

I am helpless, tied to my daily routine
Knowing that distance stands in my way
Concrete and asphalt paths may lead to you
but the detour called life keeps me from moving

        You lie in pain, it is endless it seems
        Draining of smiles and stamina, encroaching on freedoms
        Bringing your heart to the curb, wallowing in confusion
        Deep within the grip of fever’s melting shadows

Invoices pile up and calculator batteries run down
A swift arm across this desk reveals my frustration
As folders and tape dispensers collect in a pile on the floor
staring up, wondering, “What did we do?”

        You cry of dreams shattered and an eclipsing sun
        swaying in darkness on couch cushions
        deformed and buckling under the pressure
        as illness makes itself at home

If only I could be there, by your side
Doing what…I don’t know, something, anything
Holding your hand, brushing your hair
Silent whispers of affection, whether they do any good or not

        You sleep, short periods of painless still
        Beneath sweat drenched sheets, locked away in nightmare cages
        Seething and fuming on horrors door step
        Pleading for help that you know wont come

And here I am, shackled to a wooden structure with sticking drawers
Smirking employees and annoying customers
doing their best to distract me, as I write…poetry
Yeah, poetry…love verses because…well…because

it is the only way I can touch you
and
        still your skin eludes me

~


Soft flurries of affection
find my eyes lost in the prism
of the beauty that engulfs my world

For to inhale is to fall into
the scent of sweet essence riding
the breeze exhaling from your skin

As words pour on the page,
my fingers dance in rhythmic patterns
now wrapped warmly about my thoughts

I have wondered, quietly to myself
where is it they are born,
how do they flow so easily

from a mind that constantly spins
in whirls of dream-like visions
kaleidoscopic views and frantic desires,

where each vowel, noun, adjective or verb
in feathered shapes of ink, somehow
scribble silhouettes of my love for you

It is now that I notice,
sitting in the frail sunshine of the dawn
whispering on salmon clouds, you are awake

that my hands are empty, my fingers still
for it seems as I write of you, my endless everything,
it is my heart that holds my pen

~


Changing directions
In a forestalled motion,
balanced on the side of truth while practicing losing my step
in the rushing waters of life…
I slip

Clinging to a lone branch
I find it blocking the sky, pulling shadows from mist
and teetering on the edge of someone’s sacred sanity

My eyes,
stern and fashioned of blinded occurrences that swallow
the light of day and the masks of sympathetic stares,
focus

For in the distance,
tapestries woven of heartbeats glisten on the ripples of a naked moon beam,
motioning to me in pleasing movements a’ dance on its reflections

Passionately in syncopated volumes she whispers,
louder than the hope now swirling in the rising swells
and broken slivers of drastic wastelands which
sit vacant in my mind

“Float to me”,
I hear as the cool waters so elegantly gather about her perfect feet
Her toes grip the rocky floor in such beauty that I fall helplessly,
allowing nature’s crest to take me, singing me sweetly to this pristine dream

Disbelief churns in fountains of doubt fed wishes and desires
as I submerge in the beauty that is her
Engulfed by white capped rapids beating faster…only my heart

She, with silken fingers plucks me from the surf,
her fragrance, lilac and magnolia, intoxicate me

We stand, shades of the deep sky and starlight beacons illume her face
As fireflies play in the trees and
our lips meet, my pulse floods with fever

Her desperate thoughts invade my elated mind and I agree
Together we plunge to the depths of forever and I slowly drown in her love

~


Collective eyes on the shoreline
Ripples meander unaware of who they touch
Glimmering surface reflects a doubtless moon
and fireflies abandon all hope of neon goals

Stone and sand meet in driftwood destinies
Autumn grips the night with postcard tendrils
Feet beneath water paddle slowly,
hiding in plain sight in the center of this liquid target

Alone on the wrinkles of waterlogged bed sheets
Silence finds no home here
while voices cackle and point slanderous fingers
and buoyancy is in question

Words fly like arrows in cultivated sentences on thin air
When what was once sacred sinks
into the stagnant reaches of heartless ink
and I wait…a sitting duck

~


There, beneath the rubble,
the ash and the debris,
you’ll find a faint image
looking something like me

As I too stand, peering into the pile
wondering, trying to make
some sense of the torment,
though this pain is imaginary…

for I have strode this wasteland,
walked these barbed wire foot paths
many times in the past
and what once was pain,
is now what I am

and the silhouette of what is seen
in a visionary echo of long ago tears,
repeating through thorn crested decisions
and a true lack of self confidence,

dances on the acidic breezes
that engulf my heart
and paint my frown
in weeping watercolors of my forgotten dreams

~


Laughing, only to hide the tears,
now gathering in the corners of my mouth,
drowning me…(I should be so lucky)

staring at a reflection in the protective glass,
not someone I recognize at this convenience store counter,
even if it is me

When facing a fool, as I often do,
I close my eyes as to not see the sorrowed face,
yet I know…I have been warned

“Don’t reach for what you can not have…
No hands in the cookie jar,
it’ll spoil your appetite”

But I don’t listen, I hear, but…I am hungry,
she can’t mean me? Not me,
not the dancing clown that brings smiles

Watch me juggle, my heart, my love, my soul,
spotlights transition my lenses
and the stage goes dark

The minimum wage clerk is not amused,
wiping his nose with his hand,
then extending it as if requesting payment

But I have not purchased, I have only looked,
watched her walk to another, thumbing her nose in my direction
as if hitch hiking on her face

Still I reach for an empty wallet
filled with past due receipts and plastic poison,
fattening the faux leather Fossil with I.D. holder

Another swipe of the card, slowly as directed,
magnetic strip inward…

declined

Drinking from the fountain as the distant shadows pour
Remnants of a feeling that has passed beyond the trees
Leaves amass in piles of an amber flavored tint
Engulfing all that I can now conform myself to see

Shaded in the mystery that wraps about your smile
Clinging to the aftermath that still has yet to flow
Reaching for the volume titled “anywhere but here”
Drunk within the answers that my heart is soon to know

In a splash the difference does wash my pleading skin
Cleansing in the daylight dance of silence on the square
Marching bands so far away yet cymbals break the sound
Tempo’d to my nightly dreams that always find you there

In of every morning as the words jump from the screen
Waiting on a sandy beach this cup of flavored grins
Beckoning my tired eyes to wake before the sight
As a new day breathes a sigh and once more does begin

Times are tough, I know it’s true
As walls keep caving in
Still here, my heart it beats for you
I miss you once again
~
When all it seems to be too much
You’d like to run and hide
Just close your eyes and feel my touch
I’m always by your side

~




“Well she's walking through the clouds”

Little wings keep her upright
as she strolls through the sunrise
now brightly glowing within my heart,
blind to my feelings

“With a circus mind that's running wild”

Beneath azure tents of atmosphere,
smiling at another perfect day in her world
While tame white tigers
roar on cue

“Butterflies and zebras”

Watercolor happiness fills her eyes
as she chases the beauty that is her nature,
caressing all that she touches
with the wonder that is her essence

“And moonbeams and fairy tales”

Moonbeam, something I have not called her
and once upon a times, when poppies and dandelions sing
the saddest of songs for my desires
flood in a downpour of dreams not realized

“That's all she ever thinks about”

While frolicking childlike atop cotton candy visions
never once looking my way,
finding this love I hold so gently,
only for her

“Riding with the wind”

On whispered zephyrs she disappears
as day drinks of twilight
and weary eyes find star light harsh…I sleep,
waiting for the new day, waiting for her…once again

~


Wood grain suspenders on beams of unattractive thought
grasp paper cups holding the morning’s coffee just outside of
smudged glass reflecting off of these prison walls
in the heart of the shopping district,
where everything is on sale
and yet nothing is to be sold

as shoppers take advantage of nap time…and still I sit

Clinging to every hope a mind can cling to,
shadowed by my beliefs that it doesn’t matter when
grays pull years out of youthful smiles wearing ties,
for no good reason and
wasted breaths fall from hapless dreams caving in on the summit
where asphalt spills and curb side deliveries melt

rolling down the window to nothing…and still I sit

Limestone pillars stand guard in fours,
Cozying up to attached railings painted to match, but don’t where
empty tissue boxes wear a gaping mouth of perforated edges,
yawning with all of the enthusiasm of an Japanese translator
at a Metallica concert trying to sing opera in verses…
Collected but unseen or spoken of in black and white words

flickering and waiting a review…and still I sit
  
Poetry gathers in corners like food crumbs beneath the fridge,
hidden in the dark until the tile floor is replaced as
small piles of words are sifted through but not taken
for the sunlight changes everything
and this is not as cloudy a day as was forecasted,
though the gloom still exists

scribbling non-stop while leaving… and still I sit

~


“Seagull, you fly across the horizon”

Parallel dreams and sifted thoughts
on an amber thread, thin as the beliefs
once found as hope, now falling
beneath sorrowed wings, gliding


“Into the misty morning sun”

Through hazy eyes and broken hearts,
tarnished memories flow within this dawn
as you fade off in the distance,
soaring ever higher, disappearing into the east


“Nobody asks you where you are going”

Silence fills the maze that is your mind, leaving you
staring at dead ends and fractured turns,
as the realization that you didn’t matter
forms on clouds of whispering truths…no one cares


“Nobody knows where you're from”

And in the end, you are not sure yourself
from where you once came, a blotted image
on empty shorelines of tangle debris
which you easily have forgotten, as you as well will be


“And you fly away…”

Each breath hurts,
in my chest and in my mind
Such a poor example of life,
this heaving chest,
up and down, break dancing inside my shirt
not even a consistent rhythm

You see it mirrors my heart (a broken metronome)  
in silent convulsions
that no one sees

and I become the fool, the giggles from the back row,
that guy picking his nose in the car
thinking he is invisible,
like that cloud on the horizon
attempting to sneak past the sunset
without being noticed…bright florescent pink

But I have always been this fool,
I fall, I get up only to fall again…
you would think I would have learned by now

My fingers hurt as
they move about the keys
in interrupted design patterns
finding small lettered squares (shapes)
pushing up, harder than I push down,
but not because of the action…

it is the words, all of these words
thoughts, ideas, dreams, just as a Christmas tree in a fireplace
up in smoke…though slower, more painful…

Pine needle ashes in reruns, always reruns

~



Perhaps…it is the light,
reflecting in symphonic visions from dampened roadways,
serenading my heart in melodies of whispered thoughts,
painting lyrical lilacs on a gray canvas
with fraying edges


even as clouds connect the sun,
I sit alone, on a worn leather seat,
fingers tapping the steering wheel in rhythm with
the endless miles connecting my cultivated dreams
with pictured fantasies that may prove to be just that…
fantasies


still I look,
optimistic eyes perusing spring fed corn row wishes
and sunflower sonatas,
which my heart faces with fevered emotion
and anticipation of each new coming day…


(constantly aware of roadblocks set up
along the shoulders of your heart)


Distractions come as an eclipse darkens the sky
or is it my heavy eyelids causing the detour,
yet my soul is alert to the possibilities
of what might be waiting,
behind that locked door
where silence allows me to hear your words…
written in the wee hours of the morning


an invitation to share this morning with one who matters,
one who touches me, one who feeds me
with a simple hello and a cup of coffee
or something more…fantasies become realities…perhaps

A painting of a flower
in a glistening cut glass vase
Captured of a time before
when the light was perfect,
the fragrance sweet and the petals
soft as vanilla pudding

still life ~

Our love was that of dreams,
picture perfect
Captured in a photograph,
placed in a heart shaped
ornate silver frame
displayed proudly on the mantle

still love ~

days later petals lie
scattered on the floor
in random patterns
wilted and curled, pale and drab,
a brown stem in stagnant water,
the vase stained and glistening no more

no life ~

months later, shards of glass lie
scattered on the floor
an empty broken frame rests
face down in the ashes
of the photo, torn to shreds
and burned

no love ~

Your ways
( tes façons )


“Shadows grow so long before my eyes”

In silhouettes of dreams past and present
Deep within my desperate heart,
as I yearn for your love, reaching for my pen,
digging through postage stamps and paperclips

“And they’re moving, across the page”

Producing odd shapes on striped paper,
outlines of shaded emotions and verses
Calling out your name in bold ink
and rhyming stanzas of affection

“Suddenly the day turns into night”

Twilight steps over the horizon
as tree top edges touch newly glowing stars
Peering through curtains of cosmic lace
and flickering candlelight with soft breezes

“Far away, from the city”

Miles counted by minutes can be
a daunting task if I hesitate, yet footsteps in the dark
follow paths illumined by your eyes,
as my need grows for your love…I just can’t wait

*“Mon bébé, J'aime tes façons”

~

3:15 am…blurred red numbers tell as
I stir, reaching for what I have seen,
grasping for the moments spent in the presence of beauty
as once again you have visited me in a dream…


Pure white flowing whispered fabrics and butterfly trails
awash of waterfalls cascading and mountain top zephyrs,
rock face delights collect on horizons of hope
as softness frames your luminescent face


My eyes focus in the darkness
as your touch remains real on my skin
I am still while stars sleep in crescent moon hammocks
How can this be, I am alone, yet I was not, for I could see


You were searching for me,
barefoot on lush green vistas, daisy paths and buttercup drops
neath cotton candy clouds suspended
above echoes of love songs harmonizing with our heart beats  


Night outside my window keeps time in silent motions,
slowly sweeping breezes form rhythmic patterns
and poetry settles upon my body
as I continue to write within my now awakened mind


Destiny beckons in fruited winds
as chocolate eyes find luscious views of nature’s majesty
Your skins glows of spring blooms in petal’d bliss
and opal desires in the warmth of the day


But I had found you…you had found me…
my desperate wanderings have shown me the prize, illumined the joy
lingering in your smile…your eyes
your touch which stays with me even as I lay alone…still dreaming


Sun beamed passions follow you, caress you in
dancing shadows of flowing brown hair
breathing of morning glory skies
and shimmering dragonfly wings


At this early hour, with an apricot moon peering through the curtains
and these words which have found me
playing among my thoughts, I now realize
that my every dream is you...you are my poetry

Handprints appear on these elevator doors,
smudged of grinder swirls, yet so very clear
Imprints of need and want lingering
on a stainless steel façade


Rounded numbers beg to be pushed,
no thirteen in this bunch
though appropriate it would be
as my luck has found its way to the lowest levels


Standing on this suspended platform
cables of strength weaken with each breath,
emergency exits laugh at my predicament,
as left again slowly reaches out for right


Before me you stand, tears on your cheeks
“It is the way it has to be,” you say
The doors close, while through a narrowing vertical slat
I see you walk away…my heart drops…palms on metal…


I can not keep them open…anymore
Going
D
O
  W
    N

Fragile wings of stained glass rainbows
Endless your uncharted flight
Still I face the window staring
Praying you fly by this night


Longing in this darkest hour
Emptiness my heart does breathe
Forever more I shall be waiting
Eternally I shall believe

And the harvest moon smiles




The ground beneath my feet
solid as is stone of millennium’s might and fear
Flat on a surface of cultured desires,
formidable, paved in promises kept and windswept actions


This night, chocolate skies of peering pleading eyes,
locks smooth, dark, shining beneath a silent harvest moon
glowing down upon this photograph dream
developing on the breath of autumn’s coming


Softly I lay you down, earth and colored leaves
vibrant as this beauty I hold, tinted in hues of love
Comfort beyond compare, nature’s pristine mattress
engulfs your form as I find my way in the dark


Sultry sighs echo on midnight bluffs and aching cliffs
Silhouetted caverns, ignited by reflections of sensual calls
and names found on the evening canopy resonate
in melodic tones of lust and true endeavors


Sunflower lips, smooth as mirrored glass and fragrant as life
meet mine in passion, touching, feeling, every inch
as we dance to the rhythm of early hour heart beats,
drinking of the pleasure now shared by destined souls


Snow caps melt in violent flow of heated steam, fissures of depth on blood streaked skin,
as your nails scream beneath my flesh, begging this earth, this solid ground to move
when as asked, it moves, madly shaking, convulsing until …
shattering in a crescendo of spark filled ecstasy  


and the harvest moon smiles