Me and the Babe
First Class all the way
The Missus insists that no one will miss us
We’ve got 14 days
Well, I earned it and I deserve it
That is what I say
One needs to enjoy life
At the level A-OK

Life is an adventure when you’re hangin’ with your hon
Love is the ingredient to ensure its fun
With commitment as the glue, there’s no going wrong
All provide the words and music to this song

I look over at the Babe, she looks back at me
She gives a little kiss, then let’s me know she believes
In our future, and that’s all we need

It’s me and the Babe
First Class all the way
Me and the Babe
What more need I say?

I get tipsy when I’m around you
I always feel that way
My heart is palpitating
My thoughts await
What shall I say?
For I’m in love
But you don’t know
It’s always been that way
That’s why I get tipsy
I just wish you’d stay
And just sit a while
Before the fireplace with hot chocolate
I’d try to say I’m amusing things
Get you to laugh and say yay
I’ve been working up my courage
For the last two months or so
Today, I think I’ll make my play
With a heidi heidi **
I’ll smother you with compliments
Each one of them sincere
I’ll ply you with fun anecdotes
I’ll make it very clear
That I am in love with you
There’s no place else for me to go
Except to be near you
To be with you
To make it so

Historical events, I’m reminded everyday
I see it in the news
The news of yesterday
I’m brought back to the times
What I was doing and knew then
It’s always about romance
Did I have a special friend?

Yes I did, I remember as I review the news of yesterday
I wanted to marry her
I made the play
Only to find I was yesterday’s news
She’d gone away
Had a new lover which I didn’t discover
Our ship had sailed

The news from then brings back sad memories
Not only for the world, but especially for me
A broken heart in broken times
The former is me
I still smart when I recall what happened then
I’ve moved on but never all the way
Some of the hurt never ends
It doesn’t go away

We were all head honchos
That was way back when
With youth and vigor
We thought we could do anything
We almost did
But life caught up with time
In the middle class we hid
Making our way
Fighting to make a life
Some broken hearts along the way
I don’t miss the strife
I look back in dismay
At the love I have lost
The ones I still think about
Measuring the cost
Those ships have sailed
Gone to foreign shores
Memories are our buried treasure
One way we keep score
You can’t be indifferent to what really matters
We keep searching for more
Life is an adventure
Love is the fuel
We may no longer be young
But we’re very much alive
And dare I say cool

This is a starter poem
Above is the beginning line
Others shall follow
Once it gets its legs
As it forages for the next rhyme
Taking baby steps
Word by word
Trepidatious
Hunting for that special bon mot
Just around the next phrase
Barreling toward my brain
Trying to relate
But only going so deep
Into the emotion underneath

I can be alone anywhere
Sauntering down any rue
Taking in the sights
Yes, and missing you

How did this happen?
So I ask myself
Here by my lonesome
While you’re with someone else

Cities are filled with people
All the connections they do have
You and I were once an item
Now I’m Mr. Sad

All by my lonesome
That’s no way to be
You are gone forever
What has happened to me?

I promenade alone
I see lovers grin
That used to be us
Remember when?

Nobody wants a broken heart
Especially me
Broken hearts are for losers
Who wanted to be
In the thrall of it all
Vulnerable
Having a ball
Chasing love
Embracing love
And then it ends
What was infatuation
Became elation
Turns into desperation
Why must that be?
What am I to do
With this emptiness?
What’s to become of me?

It’s a good morning
Good morning to you
Good morning to life
Good morning to all
A bright day ahead
Soon I’ll surprise
My lover and let her discover
That if we try
We’ll build her a future
A beautiful sigh
For today is the day
I’ll ask for her hand
Today is the day
When she’ll understand
How much I love her
That I always will
Today is the day
Today is a thrill

She’s awakening now
Those big bright eyes
Greet me with a smile
It’s a natural high
Hanging together
Hanging forever
Hanging today
For the rest of our lives

Tall and languid
Elegant and cool
A dream to view
With each each encounter he knew
She was the one
His future

It took all the ingenuity
Of this clever lad
Such patience required
He nearly went mad
For Denise was elusive
Seems the whole world wanted her
Poor Alex was worried
For he was sure
Sure that he loved her
And oh, her allure

They laugh about it now
She was the one who almost got away
But he followed his dream
He got his way
He followed his heart
She is the one who came to stay

I want to be trending
Nothing gives me more delight
Than to know I am wanted
For my wordsmithing and insight
That I’ve moved enough viewers to be worthy of a click
Maybe even a like
When I’m trending I’m self-satisfied
It’s a high
Trending is tough
The competition fierce
From writers with taste
Making good sense
I try so hard to be worthy
Seeking perfection
Imagining smiles I may cause
Or a tearing eye
To trend is to live
To trend is to fly

Some things you want to remember
Some things you can’t forget
Some days are filled with joy
Some days are full of regret

Some days are meant for love
Some days that love is gone
Some feelings last forever
Somehow you just carry on

Everyone’s got a someone
Their good old used to be
Someone who still lingers in a heart
But will never be
That one and only
Yet is a lifetime love
Here’s to those special loves
Some have more than one

Sometimes it just turns out that way
No matter what you do
No matter what you say
Sometimes it just turns out that way

Friends and lovers were in my path
Now too many are in my past
I regret the loss
Yes, and the cost

Life is measured by love
When I consider my history
It’s the love I shared
That matters most
The most to me
I’m lucky to have loved
Lucky, lucky me

She can’t hurt me anymore
I have no more tears to shed
If that means being alone, then, so be it
I know what’s ahead
Oh good times will come
I’ll just wait and see
I’ll get a new baby
Someone who will be
In my corner
In my heart
Who will be there to stay
So she can’t hurt me anymore
It’s a brand new day

Nights of passion, days of wonder
Life is a dream
Love is better than that
There’s no in between
So we have become
A miracle that has come to be
Each day better than before
She’s still with me
Good fortune and a good life
So naturally
I’m in love and I love it
Let’s hear it for love
Let’s hear it for us

This is a house of love
I love so
First, because she is in it
Second, me too
It’s easy living
Sunshine coming through
Delicacies to savor
Who knew life could be so kind?
Two fireplaces
My, my, my
In her loving arms
No need to go anywhere
We’ve got it made
In this love we share

It’s a crazy gamble
But you should teach me to love
A diligent student I shall be
Give me a chance, you’ll see

I’m easy to teach
Bound to please
Reliable, relatable
It’s undeniable that we should be
Engaged in a common goal
Of unity
Take a chance
Take a chance on me
Let us live in love
Completely
Forever
Effortlessly

He went to all my Little League game
“Attaboy,” he’d shout
My biggest fan
Went on Boy Scout campouts
Played touch football and catch
With that big smile of his
He always made us laugh
Daddy was great fun
The leader of our clan
A great guy was he
The perfect man
So Daddy up in heaven
I hope you’re proud of me today
I owe my accomplishments to you
“Attaboy” you’d say

I’m safe with you
Completely secure
You are my home
Wherever you are
I am in love with you
I’m not letting go
Your affectionate soldier
As you well know

You are ever with me
In my thoughts and heart
Ever forever and that’s just the start
My life began the day I met you
I have faith, I believe in you

With hearts in her eyes
With love in her heart
She thinks to herself
It’s a good way to start
She has just met someone
She thinks she knows
He could be the one
She’ll see how it goes
It happened by chance
First, a brief glance
Then a bit of small talk
Which led to a walk in the park
Followed by coffee
The day was spent with each other
With little time to recover
As this is the very next day
It’s true, you know when you know
And she clearly does
Yep, Jim is the one
Her special someone
Such a good one
That’s why she has hearts in her eyes

Modern lovers
Fall asleep together
Wake up and read the paper
Nod and harrumph
Have coffee with each other
Yeah, that’s the kind of love I want
That’s the kind of love we have

This is today with many tomorrows
We’re way past yesterday
We own the world
There’s no sorrow
Let us pray
That our love lives long
Stays strong
That we’ll always find a way
To bring joy to the other
Each and every day

Valentines Day

Getting old means looking forward and looking back
It’s just the way it is
We must face the facts
Remembering what was good
Yes, those were the days
There are more to come
Bring them on, we’ll be unfazed

Notwithstanding sorrow
Which exists for us all
We remain optimists
To be in the thrall
Of our common human endeavor
As time races us and we race time
To an end we cannot define

She calls it a merger, but it was really an acquisition
A not so hostile takeover at the Tiki Room
When Johnny first took stock of Ruby as an option worth exercising
He figured she was someone to hold on long

Though the market for love goes up and down
Rapid trades the norm
Featuring besoins, quips and retorts
“I’m your dividend,” she did inform

Johnny couldn’t sell her short
The price was so very right
Two people taking a chance
Giving themselves to the night

Now they’re an annuity
Going for perpetuity
They made that romantic bet
An equity investment that pays off well
What they sought, they now get

I’d like to have a talk with Time
Tell me its story
Why does it exist?
What’s in it for me?
Does it understand its power?
Does it even care?
Why is it so mysterious?
Why does it not share
What is coming tomorrow
And after that?
Who does it answer to?
Is God concerned that
Too many waste the time they have?
(I can sure relate)
Who uses time the best?
Whom does it appreciate?

I wouldn’t waste the time of Time
Nor run out its clock
I’ve got so many things to do
But  we should stop and have a chat
We would not just be passing time
It would bemore than that
We could unburden ourselves
Take stock of where we’re at
Have a story for all time
About when together we sat

Nothing beats the feeling of falling in love
That emotion thick as honey
That tiny apartment with the lemon tree outside
Where we started
Skinny dipping at the river
Sparks that built a fire
When you don’t expect it
Hope makes it happen
Your paths simply cross one day
You even love their faults
You walk along streets of gold
Hearing angels sing
Thunderstruck by a bolt of love
It’s the passion, the humor, the tenderness

I thought I was over her
Now this
Of all the gin joints in the world
She walks in
Bringing me back to where we used to be
When
Way back when
We were two
United
Complete
Or so I thought

After she walked out on me
I stopped thinking about her every day
I was free
Or so I thought
Of thinking about what we used to be
I thought I was over her
Until she walked in on me

So, again we connect
As I reflect in retrospect
On the magic she worked so easily
I’m helpless as can be
There she is smiling at me

It was her first kiss
She’d waited so long
Summer arrived, and with it, John
Such a handsome lad
Fit and with style
A lifeguard at the pool
Working part-time
Jeannie taught swimming
The kids had a blast
It was at the hotdog picnic
John didn’t ask
He just went for it
That was that
Both of them enthused
They left hand in hand
Johnny is off to college
Jeannie is still in high school
They text every day
Everything is cool
I forgot to mention
That for Johnny too
It was his first kiss
Then there were more than a few

Everybody thought we were crazy
Maybe we were
We took off like a rocket
For places afar
Always keeping the center
Her and me
We’re crazy in love
Yeah, crazy and real

Up and away into the wild blue yonder
We sail
The wind at our backs
Our colors flying

I don’t like to hear our song
I turn it off
Since we’re not together
It’s not our song anymore
It’s somebody else’s song
It’s there to make another couple happy
I used to love that tune
It reminds me of a special time
Now, long ago
Funny, how a happy song
Can later be so sad
I used to know the words by heart
Now I just feel bad
It will always be a great song
Just not for this lad

If life is love
And love is life
What am I doing wrong?
I try so hard, try my best
I sing a happy song
But it’s to myself
My one and lonely
The man who has a heart
That needs someone he can care for
Where does he start?

I guess it’s just a matter of time
Optimism, I say
Here she comes
I just haven’t met her yet
I know I will someday

So I hope and pray
Try to meet her as best I can
From church to meet and greet events
I understand
That could be her at the end of the bar
I’ve got that sense
I just might be her man

The cold distance between the couple as they drive over the bridge
Is evident
Their relationship crumbling
A closet full of skeletons
A house of pain
Which is why they stopped trying
There are kids involved
Property to divide
Trust is gone
He lied
About the secretary and the affair
How he spent the money
There is no love to spare
Intimacy has departed
They ride in silence
It’s gone wrong
So very wrong

The rain falls gently
Softly soothing the sadness
As time goes by
A crackling fire
A happy tabby
A glass of Chardonnay
Everything I need
Except her
And what has come to be
Will she return?
That I’d like to know
Gone for good?
Or just the ebb and flow
The ups and down of any relationship?
I just don’t know

So I like the rain
At least it’s there for me
I stay inside
Inside with my thoughts
And memories
Watching, waiting, hoping
For the doorbell to ring
I’ll have another sip of wine
Try and think of other things

Ice cream memories
Sunday afternoons
Bicycles and swimming pools
No work or school
Friends and neighbors
Just having fun
Those were the days
We sure were cool

That tomboy Diane
Sure could hit the ball
Our club was named The Eagles
We had it all

We had our own tee shirts
With baby blue design
Diane sowed the insignias
Looking mighty fine

We were the best
Then Diane discovered boys
You can guess the rest
Goodbye to those joys

When I have a bite of gelato now
I think of yesterday
Diane is my first love
And though she’s gone away
Her sweetness is
An ice cream memory
Of those happy days

Here’s to Diane
Wherever she may be
My dear playmate
And what used to be

Long live The Eagles
Lucky, lucky me

I don’t want to talk about it
How she broke my heart
I should have seen it coming
I’m not that smart
The big what if?
I was besotted
Entirely enthralled
It was fun while it lasted
We had a ball
And yes, she still lingers
When I get past the pain
Especially on days
When all it does is rain
When I reminisce
And try to explain
Why she didn’t love me
It seems so strange
For I did everything I could
My best for her
Too bad our romance
I could not insure
Forget the lovers’ dance
Then there’s the anger
She did lead me on
No, I don’t hate her
Though what she did was wrong
I still think of her
I still say her name
When I’m by myself
I should be ashamed
But she got to me
She won’t go away

I’m what you call a cyber-sleuth
A modern tracker
A hunter of who want to disappear
It’s hard these days
The internet is everywhere
Plus, I have my ways
The disappears sometimes incorporate
That’s a way to go underground
Nevada, Wyoming and New Mexico are states that hide your name
Get a new phone number and credit card in the corporate name
Pay with cash
Make up a fake name
Get a private mailbox
Or remailing service
Move, maybe get a decoy house
Stop using the phone for directions
Create a virtual private network for internet use
Encrypt devices when traveling remotely
Wear disguises when you leave the house
Wear a hat, sunglasses too
Maybe you’ll elude me
Hasn’t happened yet
I’ve got tricks of my own
I keep them close to my chest

I was a fool
Poor little me
I fell for her
She felled me
I gave
I lost
My heart
The cost
I gave all
All was lost
So I stand alone on this lonely shore
The perfect place for what’s in store
Tears to account for this misery
She will never be mine
So it must be

Persnickety and rickety
This old car of mine
My old friend
So many good times
Down to Baja with Lars
Still a friend, so fine
It still gets me there
Each and every time

I bet this car remembers
Running round the hills
Innocents at large we were
Growing up in the world
My friends have all dispersed
Gone are the good old days
All that remains is this old car
Still not out of phase

With its clean and classic lines
It’s soft purring tone
I keep it neat and shiny
In a sense it’s my home
This old car of mine
It’s family
When you see it coming
In it will be me

“He touched my heart”
Said the lady in red
We met at a fair
Having good clean fun
I bought her a sarsaparilla
Invited her to sit
And she told me her sad tale
Her husband had been it
A wonderful man who loved her true
Perfect their marriage
Where love ran through
Still in mourning she was doing her best
To keep a brave face
Still happy she’d been blest
With the love of her life
For he was the best

That brings her to me
It’s now my story to tell
Our tete a tete went on for a spell
We went for supper, and drinks thereafter
You see, I’m a widower, and well
I could understand how she felt
I could really relate
For I felt the same, my wife was great
Still, we both knew we had to move on
Those loves we had did not disappear
They will never be gone

Cut to the present, this is today
I told her I loved her, that I would stay
Close to her, now and always
That our new love is strong
No more alone, from now on it’s “we”

Amourfou
It’s a crazy love
Crazy in love are you and me
Amazing, with grace
So go we
Building a future
On our great past

For crying out loud
What do I get?
No satisfaction
For being bereft
I yell at the wall
It just stares back at me
I want her back
That ain’t gonna be

No one can see
Me weep all alone
I keep to myself
And the great unknown
But I know that I loved her
She was the one
Unfortunately it’s sunset
And she is the sun

For crying out loud
All I can do
Love is so ruthless
Aren’t we all fools?
For crying out loud
That’s the least I can do

Harvest time is here again
Dawn to dusk
Then back again
Loading the tractor
Filling the barn
All I’ve ever known
Living the farm
Critters abound
We see life as a whole
A concentric circle
A place of our own
A simple life
But good
It ain’t easy
So we work hard
The wife and me
Will the kids take it over?
That’s wait and see
For the time being
There’s so much to do
Gotta get going
So it’s later for you

Nestle in my arms
As I wrestle in my thoughts
Leaving the day’s vicissitudes
To the hours before dark
I need you
Thank God I want you
I always will
It’s easy to love you
To stay true
You make it easy
Keeping it breezy
With conversations fresh
As the tasty meals you cook
You’re soft and gentle
And tough as nails
Just what I need
My mother always liked you

Where broken hearts go
Are to these desolate cliffs
The waves crash in
Remembering
Missing the bliss
The hugs that endeared
They endure in special memories
Oh, the many good times
Now it’s the sad times
The bad times
The what do I do now times?
The starting anew times
The why me times?
On sunny days when the wind did blow
We’d drink wine and make plans
Taking it slow
Today the wind chills
Causing shivers in the drizzle
I walk alone
Full of sadness
The cliffs are desolate
So am I

Let me give you an update
I’m over her
No need to think about her
I’m awfully sure
For our past is over and done
Tomorrow’s another day
Right Scarlet?
We’re moving on

I don’t write her name anymore
No yellow pads where I stay
I’m a cosmopolitan man about town
Who used to know this one fine lady

But I am over her
Sad to say, I never had a chance
OK sometimes I think about her
But that doesn’t mean romance

I’m in the kingdom of broken hearts
It’s no place you want to be
If you’re worried about being lonely
Please come and visit me

I'm so happy to see you but I always leave sad
For I know I will miss you
Me, your former lad, now just your friend
I still love you now
Just as I did then
That's the way it is
I'm Mr. Now and Then

Ah, those nights of passion
We went soul to soul
Inseparable we were
A love that made us whole
We were each other's best friend
You still bring out the best in me
So says Mr. Now and Then

     I'm a lover without borders
     A lion with no pride
     You wouldn't know it to look at me
     But deep down inside
     I know I really blew it
     That there is nothing I can do
     I can look but cannot touch
     The incomparable you

I know you know I love you
You said you still love me back
But you're with him and so secure
He'll never get the sack
I can wait and wait
Like Robin Hood in the glen
I know I'll never steal your heart
But I will still try every now and then

I know we will never be what we were again
Still I still love to see you every now and then

Let me tell you something about double agents
It’s not what you think
Oh, they look good at the beginning
Some of the information is quite valuable, even excellent
But what you don’t know is that they are false double agents
I’m talking many of them, maybe even most of them
So it is with deep skepticism and bitter experience
We look at them with a jewelers eye
But we’re wrong way too many times
It’s the Russians, the Chinese, hell anybody who has an intelligence service and isn’t part of NATO
So we trying to trap them and then we prosecute them
Or send them back
More often they take off on their own
But what can you expect in this ***** business?
It’s hide and seek for real

It’s emotion, my business
I sing songs
Mostly about love
My job is to move the audience
To smiles or a tear
Make people snuggle up
Hold hands, disappear
Into a state of kindness and grace
I try to bring joy to each happy face

What about me?
Well, I’m just like you
I’m a fan of many
Those who croon
Who give life meaning
Who nurture the soul
When I need to dig deep
It’s where I go

So when I hear a special song
I smile and sigh, and find in my eyes
Condensation, a misty memory
That takes me back and aback
At the feeling that comes over me
When music entertains the heart
And yet again, emotion conquers me

One night and then a week
That’s all it was
One night, the night they met
What a night it was
Wondrous, enticing
Juan fell fast and hard
There followed letters
For this incipient love
Then came a week, that week
That week of love
The time spent together
Still resonates today
For everything they did
Was perfect in all ways
Young lovers for each other
The same values they had
The future was almost theirs
It’s so sad
For reasons I need not go into
They were kept apart
Each now nurses a very broken heart
But at least they had that week
It lives on today
In their hearts and their memories
The week, that week
They will never replay

She
Keeps me warm
Away from harm
The measure of my life
She is what I need
She believes we will be all right
She is the heart of my soul
Who controls our destiny
She is the best
She is the best for me

As day turns into night
When the sun says good night to the moon
We just melt together
One long and lovely swoon
The sunset is all ours
Let us enjoy
Would you like a glass of Chablis, my dear?
Come and kiss your boy

She never wavers, is solid as can be
I believe in her, she believes in me
It magical and mystical, we’re on a golden path
Always wondrous and wonderful
Unless I give her too much sass

So here’s to her
She’s the one
The one and only she
We share a love
We share a life
It’s down to she and me

There's a sale on me
First time on the block
You can have me forever
If that is what you want

All you have to do is love me
As I will do for you
You can be my one and only
Exclusivity assured

I've been down and lonely
I had one who went away
This broken heart is on the mend
Hence there is this sale

But you must treat me gently
As we frolic in the sun
Make it last forever
Be my only one

I was 22, she was 20
They were glory days
The time when we were one
I get misty thinking of her
Her kindness and the sass
The many merry times
Her famous laugh
The softness in her touch
Even the bad times were pretty good
When she said I’m mad at you Mister
Believe me I understood
What we had was golden, irreplaceable
It’s why I sing about her
She’ll always be my girl

Here’s to her in the yesteryear
And for what is left today
The very best of memories
Why I’ll always say
I still love her
Yes, I always will
It’s why I sing about her
She’ll always be my girl

So when I get misty
It’s not by choice
But because that often happens
When I recall her voice