Everywhere I look I see vanity
No matter how much I want to avoid it
I turn on my screen & it's staring at me
Every scroll is another one, head full of air with perfect skin. I don't fit in.

Man builds his palaces and fortresses of stone
to last him a thousand years
while clouds drift by that last not long,
as brief as the drop of one tear.

The clouds’ only constant is their change
as they curl into filigrane wisps,
or flocks of white sheep on a blue range,
or black towers wreathed by blitz.

But one day these monuments will topple and fall,
leaving behind only a trace
for future archaeologists who’ll struggle to recall
whatever had been in this place.

The clouds, meanwhile, disperse and reform
in the wandering winds that cover this earth
to tower up high in each new storm
as they constantly repeat rebirth.

Vanity lights.
Production sets.
Heat on high.
Dim lit.
Fame is all in your head.

Truffles in the air.
Wine stained carpets.
Knife over the bed.
Lipstick bruises.
The low numbers aren't fair.

A throbbing migraine or two.
Smoke envelopes the halls.
Hushhh, play another lullaby.
Of course not all dreams come true.
There'll always be a new one, more than you.

I met a friend along the way
who's company I did not expect
when foes become rare
and friends became scarcer
honesty became a privilege
and love came as a prize won by vanity
I wandered amongst the wasteland of society
trying to find shelter in the rain of apathy
As I counted the withered blades of grass
I neglected the tree that had grown
the friend I hadn't listened to
that I had written off as they did me
was the shade of my own true heart.

Observer to which I promise
Promise to you appreciation
Sweeten me with voice
Voice thoughts so admirable
Though I am unwavered
A buoy still with the tides
I wish to one day value this
Vanity, if you will
As much as I value complexities
Morality and coping
Intelligence and capacity
And when you, observer
Promise me appreciation
I will let comments so sweet
Ruffle my tides of mind

Third Scam
A Top 5 publisher offered the writer a deal
He felt like he was cloud walking
Just for a few minutes till he found it
The part that said the writer had to pay
For his book to be published
This broke his set in stone rule
NEVER PAY TO BE PUBLISHED
Not in a competition or publisher
He asked his top level pro contacts
They advised what he felt in his gut
This is a well dressed up scam!
The third he’d been sent
He would get a real book deal
It took skill and hard work
That’s what made luck

Heaven help us
Still to fore, the whole
In a dismayed cause, thus
A chastity has made, a world its dole?

Light in the meadow
Where smiles are long enough to care
Such a small favor to ask, a vice be a rainbow
When a favor is for the same as salt, are we married?

Light in the shadows
Sense in a serious hand, has the tomorrow
To wait in simple glares and stymied knows
The wishes of another drop of rain to borrow

Light in the way
To find the such, a realizing friend
With the common for proof, the tows of may
Adding their stoic reply to an age old question...

Can a whole day, dream longer than another, loved?
Before you answer, is a caring we, the timid also
Measure upon pleasance, the truth has garnered us
The platitude of each, in the name of what was, though...

Anarchy at the cost of gifts and their expression
Implied ****, to wish we weren't so very vain
Kindness of a legend, to secure a role with where this is leading
And the success of a stand for one night, of worth's rain

Hill's to call home, and an availing wind to come, hungry?
A liberty in renown, that has a song on its mind, heaven?
Space for a little more silence, than a chance with all, demanding?
Sharing a thought for only more, is like a half-eaten pride, given?

Judgment of a God given sate
Under the feet of liberty, is a wager of brass and steel, colloquial
Merit in a simple eye to look and see our fate
Ready as we ever are, the drama of sincerity has seen it, a promise to marry little soul's...