Mightier than the Sword
An arm's length from the shore
yet miles out to sea
As gentle as a shipwreck
could ever hope to be
My halo of detritus
is of the sweetest kind
and somewhere out of reach
the heart for which I've pined
I thought that they were shared
so feelings went unspoken
no promises were made
and therefore none were broken
And yet I feel the heartache
of intentions now withdrawn
I saw it in your eyes
before her wine was gone
The honor of your friendship
will far outpace my pride
but grant me one more moment
before I step aside
I wish you luck and joy
the warmth of love requited
And may she prize the man
in whom I have delighted
Here I am, First Runner-Up
a too-familiar ending
as you begin your loving
and I begin my mending
I'll sail my vessel onward
much richer than before
surrendered hopes still drifting
toward the ocean's floor
Moonlit Walk
14.Dec.02
The kindest words reverberate
the harshest fade away
Moonlit memories feel so soft
but hide from light of day
I found a brittle autumn leaf
a slice of life gone by
Yet in its veins a sweetness flowed
that passing time can't dry
A constellation's gentle touch
finessing our perceptions
Moonlight paints our silvered dreams
and polished recollections
December evening softly hums
a private melody
with lyrics lost, the song becomes
as warm as it can be
To walk in peace and innocence
a long-abandoned trail
The tranquil soul finds more to love
through time's forgiving veil
Sleeping Dog Lies
27.Feb.03
Winter nights of indigo
revisit thoughts from long ago
content to let that sleeping dog lie
but blue eyes and a mischievous grin
still penetrate the life I’m in
when thinking of those summer days gone by
Re-reading words you sent my way
I taste the things I didn’t say
knowing it could never come to be
The world’s unfolding as it should
that distant place where we once stood
is one best cherished as a memory
What we have now is better yet
our paths unchanged, commitments met
The risk is hardly ever what it seems
half asleep and half awake
We thank the chance we didn’t take
for now we have that sleeping dog’s sweet dreams
Champions and Silhouettes
2.Dec.01
No one knows who'll take the prize
or which dead ends wear Fate's disguise
the road we walk is rough and long
and littered with good things gone wrong
The seasons change, we win then lose
we find the joy then feel the bruise
And all will share the soft regrets
of champions and silhouettes
I see now that I just can't shine
quite bright enough to make you mine
and chastised by your legacy
the winding road has beckoned me
to take the hits, roll with the blows
'cause sometimes that's just how it goes
But we all share the karmic debts
of champions and silhouettes
The souls that can't be pigeonholed
the maverick hearts outside the fold
produce the sweetest harmony
because of their mixed company
I trust my voice and live my song
and someday when he comes along
we'll sing the most sublime duets
of champions and silhouettes
untitled
21.Sep.01
anticipate the tale untold
and watch our evening's path unfold
Perhaps this time our bond will grow
and you'll see what I think I know
Potential born each time we meet
has never seen its course complete
Each time I hope today's the day
and then must watch you slip away
Inertia strengthens by the hour
my secret premise loses power
I search your face for clues so slight
as hope fades with the evening light
At last I will surrender when
you turn and walk away again
Our chances vanish out that door
and darkness swallows you once more
but unfilled promise doesn't die
and someday I might catch your eye
Such a tortured beast I've wrought
Platonic veil on deeper thought
And haunted by my cowardice
I wait in near paralysis
but swirling thoughts return to you,
my fingers crossed that fate comes through.
Java in the Attic
05.Sep.97
A deck of cards, the java's hot
I've got a lonely heart.
It's strange how I can feel you near
when we're so far apart
Despite the ache that's in my chest
I know I'll be alright
but time moves very slowly now-
I'm missing you tonight.
I see my hand is full of hearts
but one is clearly missing
the one that warms the gentle lips
I wish I could be kissing
The bluesman seems to sing for me
he strums his old guitar
Wrapped up in our memories
I wonder where you are
Jim Morrison is on the wall
I sip latte on ice
He knows the pain of distances
but offers no advice
The tables gather empty mugs
as people disappear
The evening ages into night
I wish that you were here.
The coffeehouse's doors swing shut
and I begin to write
To let you know I'm missing you
I'm missing you tonight.
The Bittersweet Burden
A black tie celebration
in a distant sphere
Your champaigne world surrounds you there
and night surrounds me here
The separate lives we're leading
keep us far apart
The meaning that I give your words
keeps you in my heart
Though distance lends itself
to idle speculation
The frailty of sweet conjectures
pleads for isolation
I may never know
if you mean the things I hear
This state of limbo suits me fine
the simple truth I fear
I'll never be the brightest
star in all your skies
Or know my touch is what ignites
the fire in your eyes
But in my unimportance
I also am protected
I'll never let you down by being
less than you expected
I know I'd be the one
trying to recover
contentment in the role of friend
after that of lover
Rather than returning
to less than consequential
I'll live beneath the bittersweet
burden of potential.
Enough
I've kicked the covers off the bed
the clock says 3:02
I'm sick of being kept awake
by restless thoughts of you
The wound stopped bleeding long ago
and now it's just a scar
I grab a flannel and my clogs
and trudge out to my car
Why wasn't I enough for you?
What more could I have done?
And how am I supposed to trust
the next to be The One?
A storm had blown through hours ago
the sky was torn with wrath
but now the rain is warm and soft
a muted aftermath
The still and silent downtown streets
are shrouded by the night
I sit beneath the 4th Street bridge
and hasten dawn's first light
Why wasn't I enough for you?
What more could I have done?
Why did your 'someday' promises
get broken one by one?
Your fire once burned bright but now
it's just an ember's glow
Perhaps one day when you've been burned
you'll see what you let go.
The city slips from slumber's hold
and rubs its bleary eyes
My thoughts of you, like night time stars
will yield to bluer skies
The morning sunshine brings a smile
and sparkles in the dew
And now I know that I've just spent
my final night with you.
Wolves
The blackest tide
that swells inside
and drowns the sweetest kiss
Hide the tear
and learn to fear
the velvet cobra's hiss
The spirit's drought
will bring about
the mental desolation
A refugee
in misery
and self-taught isolation
The wolves are coming home
The coldest rain
the oldest pain
the ever-present sadness
This hollow shell's
a polished hell
with subtle hints of madness
Why must I need?
Why must I bleed?
Who holds the glinting blade
that finds my skin
and soon begins
to quietly invade?
The wolves are coming home
My waning hope
like flaming rope
grows weaker while I burn
And peace can haunt;
it's cruelest taunt:
a smile's swift sojourn
I see my fate
I sit and wait
The wolves are drawing near
I feel the breath
that reeks of death
I think the wolves are here.
Seasons
summer
My branches stretch and leaves uncurl
The woman thrives and sheds the girl
I'm drunk on sunlight from above
and nourished by your words of love
I offer you these dreams of mine
and feel our spirits intertwine
My voice exults and I grow strong
The wind swoops down and lifts my song
fall
My gown of green has turned to flame
the leaves blush red as though in shame
and murmurs of their dark portent
precede the Autumn's soft lament
One by one, the leaves I weep
descend into their brittle sleep
In fear I watch them veil the ground
and you are nowhere to be found
winter
Barren branches slice the sky
robbed even of the will to cry
silence slows the sullen breeze
and coaxes thinning memories
to swell again and make me bleed
reminding me I've not been freed
Surely Death must soon encroach
I'm tortured by his slow approach
spring
Languishing in blunted pain
something somewhere still sustains
It forces me to face the light
and overcome the listless night
In suffering and love I've grown
now I must do it on my own
My roots run deep, they'll make me strong
and then the wind will lift my song.
| Prayer for a Nomad May the desert stars watch over and protect their child as he walks the earth, leaving the shimmer of love and peace in his wake. May the sun shine kindly on his head as he slips beyond the horizon of our sight and is reborn into another pocket of time in a land far away. May the compass of his curiosity be ever true as he searches for the many small truths that make this world so huge, and by learning them as his own, makes it a little smaller. May the feet that carry him away from us also ensure his safe return to the people that will be missing him. May the tranquility and timelessness of the natural expanses etch their universal wisdom onto our Wanderer and perpetuate his light. And if the night should find him lonely, or his head bowed beneath the weight of walking on new sands, speaking in foreign tongues, and bathing in unfamiliar rains, may the soft light of a familiar moon remind him that the miles between us are as transient and fleeting as the glow of fireflies on a summer evening. |
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When your mind is |
Ode to Forwards
Did anyone ever tell you
just how dumb these are?
These stupid little emails
forwarded way too far?
Did anyone ever tell you
it makes us want to cuss
when we find our inbox brimming
with the junk you just sent us?
We know you mean no harm
you think it makes us happy
but it's kind of irritating
and the poetry is crappy.
The sentiments are trite
the grammar is piss-poor
a fourth-grade class could write
a rhyme that I'd like more.
You didn't get the hint
when I never sent these back
I guess I have the judgement
that you so sorely lack
And so, electronic friend,
to show how much I e-care,
I'll never send you e-crap
'cause it's really just not e-fair
To close the ring of friendship
and make our bond complete
next time, don't click "Forward"
instead just click "Delete"
YOU MUST SEND THIS TO 621 PEOPLE WITHIN SEVEN SECONDS OR YOU ARE DOOMED TO ETERNAL LONLINESS, POVERTY AND UNHAPPINESS AND NONE OF YOUR WISHES WILL EVER COME TRUE.
UNLESS YOUR WISH WAS TO BE A NICE PERSON DOING HIS OR HER PART TO CUT DOWN ON BAD POETRY FLOATING AROUND CYBERSPACE. THEN IT WILL COME TRUE. AT LEAST FOR NOW.