My Shadow's Pace

I've thought
about you
quite
a lot

your face -
you trained it
to follow me
form place to place

it's your face

it's in my dreams
it's running through town
busting at the seems

it's your face
wants to be seen
if only
you
were mean
i'd run
I'd make a meme

but my shadow
it knows
follows your face
wherever it goes

it's behind you
as you walk
it reads your lips
when you talk

my shadow
your image
you're in my
face
i'm creeping
up
i'm catching
up

i'm winning
the race
keeping up
with
my shadow's pace

I'm popular

i'm popular
i help
i'm nice
i don't
complain
about the price

i don't complain

oh - you
know that's a lie

i'm popular
i'm on tv
everyone wants
to look at me

the new reality
show
let's all go

i'm a super-
star
watch me
drive my car

look at me!
I'm eating soup

I'm popular
I'm on reality TV
I don't complain

Look at me!

See me forever

see me
invisible

hear me
silent

touch me
cold

my taste and
smell are bland

hold me
hold my hand

warm me up
wreck the cold

listen to me
let's grow old

see me
next to you

see us

our food's delicious
our touch melts ice
our room smells like
lavender and love
we can see everything
clearly now

see us
see us together
on a porch swing
forever
talking
swinging

regular

i am regular
like coffee
with milk
and sugar

i am afraid
to speak


i drown
and swim
i want
to fit in
I'm regular

i can't talk
i am a conversation piece
with no soul
and nowhere
to go

does it matter no, yes
does what matter?
i don't know
that's the thing

i am regular
and that's
everything

Civil unrest

further, my descent
down in despair
no, not myself
oh, i'm good
for now
but wow

what to do
all this malpractice
and theatrics
calm myself down
with psychiatrics
but it's too late
to return
to my previous state
of no concern

oh, i did care
but didn't know
the bliss of ignorance
must go

to realize
is to despise
the machine
the man
the master plan

the major tests
civil unrest
obedience leads to
dissent
we're close
but haven't
gotten there yet

when it arrives
it all explodes
the brain,
the disease
the world's
unease

it's not me
we must please
but please
please
don't stop
and wait in ease

supermarket escape

standing waiting
head down, quickly skimming
magazine pages
pretending to read the ingredients
frantically searching for a hat

if you find yourself walking backwards
towards the end of the line
and sinking your feet firmly
wondering if they'll transport you
underground
altogether
disappearing

you may be hoping
to avoid the person
you just saw

thaw

brightly bringing
a blight to end
with magic,
a godsend

all of humanity
sets  a trend
it's cool to be human
carry love in
your locket
warm your hand
in your pocket

heart on your sleeve
coldness reprieve









it's time for the ice
to finally give way
the heart to heal
the madman's way



to lead us far
a beginning clear
with love in the air
and kisses near


wipe away the gray
smear your tear

a rising sunset
blooms here

A blip

it's what i'm feeling
this very day
this moment slips
quickly away
so i capture it
wrapped by
words that I've heard
word that i've learned
over the years
to take lightly

The Time Goes By

again the time goes
the mind knows
where it all starts
pieces and parts
of broken hearts
and sad eyes
the world's despise

and yet he tries
to realize
the time goes by
and by and by
and you can still
go and try
and you can still
question why

the time goes by

About to happen

that point
of black
and dripping tipping
toppling dark
down

under-
ground war
building bridges
impossible hills to climb
dripping tipping
toppling down

the spilling point
is where it's gone
it's gone wrong
for too long

the bridge is broke
the hill a hot mess

it looks worse
in a dress
dirty torn
we all mourn
this senseless journey
for eternity

wear it out
break it in
build it up
and stack the hill
and even then
we're in it still

Be mine

if you find yourself
lost in your mind
lost in the gap between
space in time
dangling by thread
close to dead

you'll find me near
with cool gear
to rescue your body,
soul, and mind
wrap you in blankets
of cuddle and kind

dance with you
love you
be with you
stay with you
talk to you
till it's all fine

talk to you
make you mine

stay with you
love you
talk to you more

take you to places
new to explore

your thread will
turn to golden rope
your broken mind
will fill with hope

be with you
love you
till it's all fine
be with you
be with you
be mine

Inspire

inspiration
is morning sun
settling on skin

the brightest
green of grassy
lawns

the sandwich
waiting in your sack

a brand new
book


fresh sheets

you

Bad news

any way you say it
it's lead in the sea
sinking and clanking
dying to breathe
weighed down
till the end
without curve
or bend
holding down
a message
to send

any way you say it
it's stuck
to the mind
impaling all thoughts
one at a time
draining, draining
wasting my mind
any way you say it
it isn't kind

a better way
can't you find?

any way you say it
it's just as bad
bad news....
well, it's all sad

Everyone Knows

when the moon
is close to up
and my time
is almost down
the clock
has been ticking
and i'm close
to a frown

i hear the click
the old sound
the remote
the control
the time
to sit
it's a blip
i take a sip

my eyes close
eveyryone knows
how fast the day goes
forget your troubles,
forget your woes
keep your head up
stretch your toes
smile, cheer, from
the stadium rows

let your highs
beat you lows

everyone knows
how fast the day goes

Some of the things I said today

no monkeys
in the macaroni
no giraffe
in the macaroni
no,
that's not food
are you a goat?

(tickles, laughter)


you can do this

try again
use your words
it's okay

just use
your words

please

no, not upstairs
it's bedtime
no, it's too late

okay
i love you
sweet dreams

(kisses, hugs)

My way

don't mess with me
I just woke up

don't talk to me
till you make
coffee

leave me alone
don't hand me the phone

my eyes are half shut
my mind asleep

turn the music down
i'm a creep

give me an hour
and i'll invoke
the power

of the sun
and the sky
and the
question why

i'll allow
life to enter
my day

i'll be more
pleasant
if we just do this
my way

Dance Party

take your time

don't look back

find your place
find a knack

get around
on our feet

take the time
to greet

the people
you meet

get around
in your car
but don't go
too far

before you
stop
jump, and hop

take a lot
of time
to have a dance
party

not much
will make your day
more alive

than to jump, jam,
jig, and jive

be alive
dance party

Go Quickly

Go quickly
tread lightly
till you are there
do everything
even though
it's not fair

it's life
it will take you
where you need
to be

the sunrise
will show you
want you need
to see

Go quickly
go quickly

find joy
find light

Go quickly
go quickly

but stop once
in a while

listen to the
people
who tell you so

the world
will teach you
what you need
to know

go quickly
tread lightly
even if you're
unsure

what happens
will show you
what you need
to do

Do something
not nothing
go quickly
tread lightly
go quickly
but stop
to see what
you've done

An Apocalyptic Valentine

If the world were to end
tonight
i'd be too tired
to put up a fight

i'd let myself drift
into your arms
away and away
until the next day

that doesn't arrive
we don't survive
no,
no one's alive

no turning back
to see what was done
all of it, all of it
gone gone gone

what to do
what to think
nowhere to turn
set your mind
to churn, churn, churn

think like that butter
and make it better
because all of it, all of it
gone gone gone

so not today
that's what you say
"so what" I say
and you say "hey"

no pressure
no pressure
but the end is real
so stand up tall
let yourself feel
be the soul
on fire
be the man
in need
be the one
with grit
the one to
succeed

so when the day comes
and it's gone, gone gone
your name will be
written up on heaven's wall
the man, the man,
that did it all

A Valentine's Day Dinner

vicious valentine's vampires
are eating hearts tonight
for supper

a festive meal
of love drained away
by the soul's blood

reincarnated
a new life begins
with each delicious
dinner devoured

hearts are soured
and minds torn apart
so much more
than a broken heart

Today's Death is Tomorrow's Present

underneath a trivial tenet
lies tenacity and the drive
to diverge
denouncing the death
of the daft through
demonstrated consequences
as deep and dark
as the well's end

there, we'll end up
drinking lifewater
staving off the deep
freeze of death
awaiting

the death
the dire time-
that after
awakens us into
the present's life

don't get sucked
and usurped into
the sadness of
the future's death
drink your lifewater
from the well of health
save death
for every tomorrow
and keep today together

The word I was looking for

turning underwater pages
dripping, heavy words
that sink when I grasp,
slipping further away
as the years steal small
parts of the dictionary
slowly, until it takes
forever to find one page

and the urban dictionary
is all the rage

and the words there
are stolen, degraded
changed
maybe
deranged

or maybe i'm
the only one
whose pained
by words
unexplained

it's the youth whose
in charge
but our language is
at large

and here I am
on a barge
looking down
at a word I found

That's the word
I was looking for

the gift of snow

No i did not get you
a present
i wanted to make
a Valentine's pudding
but the milk
and the eggs
and the bread 
were all gone

and now
all i've got left
is to sing you a song
but I wouldn't do that
it'd just be wrong

you see I can't sing
but I'd give anything
to see your smile,
hang for awhile

what we need -
the two of us
is a snow sledding
party bus

we can tan
while we chill
and laugh
down the hill

oh the sleighing bus
now that's for us

With reality

waiting for nothing

building a life
with no limits

dreaming up
dreams and
setting them free

by building

reality is the
spark that magic requires
no waiting for me
thinking up desires

my mind will not do

what my body won’t

so as other people

picture

i will paint

and others are stuck

thinking

i’m ready,

mind spinning and

building and painting,

and sparking the

magic

building a dream

that doesn't wait

the light

the light
of art
the will
of words
the joy
of music

a muse
in spring

the artist's
light fills
the empty page-
the barren soul-
the drained heart-

the artist's light
won't let you
fall apart

Determined Discovery

Swimming with a raft
so close

and still I swim
till my arms ache
and even the water
is tired

laps and laps
beyond the edge
of the earth
to the end
where it stops

at the place
they say you can
fall off

you know,
the flat part

but there's no falling
cause gravity's got my back
and so does Galileo

Candy Hearts

those chalky hearts
keep conversing
spreading rumors,
asking for stuff

who asked them?
who would trust talking candy
that only appears once a year?

i can live with the minty quiet of
peppermint bark and
the microwave explosion of
marshmallow peeps,
but candy hearts
give me the creeps

Small Talk

i'll take the snow
over the hurricane

i'd rather talk
about the weather
than my real day

see, it's so much easier
that way

there's no attachment
just cold detachment
a trivial talk
to dally and dilly
pass the time

the ever so speedy
passing of time
how fast it goes

and all I've done today
is talk about the weather

what it's not

Love is not
Valentine's dinner
or a carriage ride,
it's not something
you advertise
or something you hide.

it's found in a song
it's found everywhere

it's not a gold ring
or fancy clothes
it's not chocolates
or a single rose

Love is
in your kiss
a thing
you can't miss

if it's real
there's nothing to buy

no need to question
what or why

What to get me for Valentine's Day

I'd like a song
wrapped with a bow

or a dancing bear
hula hooping in snow

a balloon ride
up in the sky

overlooking rainbows
and towers
and heroes
with powers

a tour that lasts
for hours and hours
right through the clouds
and the warmth
of sunbeams

staring down
at magical streams
of mystical blues
and surreal greens

a simple note
really will do

as long as i
still have you

Your sweater

Love is
a borrowed sweater,

oversized, soft,
worn through
in a way
that wraps the
warmth
willfully in,
waiting to
stop the cold
from reaching
your heart.

Small Wonder

Snuggle close
and hold my hand

see upstairs
as a faraway land

find joy
in all places

make many
silly faces

one more time
ask for more

outside please
to the door

what lies beyond
a puddle or pond

fulfill your wishes
with a wand

imagine the room
with its own moon

whatever you dream
you'll be there soon

What you're looking for

when you find the thing
you're looking for
it's often outside
your front door

it was always there
at the stoop
you just weren't
in the loop

much too busy
going to and fro
to be the one
that's in the know

when you find the one
you're looking for
you're not searching
anymore

if you keep
searching
not sure for what
don't know who

you're not alone
the lost race
grows
like
Pinocchio's nose

lost in a cloud
immersed in the net
looking, looking
haven't found it yet

Uggg

Head spinning
in every direction
like an evil ninja
riding a pinwheel
straight down
into the depths
of a fire
fueled by
massive
irrelevance
apathy
ignorance
assumptions

The big question

i don't know how to put this
it's not so easy to explain
this thought that is always
running straight into my brain

you might think this too
or think i'm insane
why is it that we're here
on this great terrain?

Philosphers will argue
religous people too
i'm not here to fight
about what is right

a higher power is involved
of this i'm almost sure
and when my time is near
i hope i'm in the door

and if it is so
and that will be it
through heaven's gate
is my exit

where did it start?
who made God?

Thought Tower

Welcome
into my mind
where you
might be
afraid of
what you find

or you might
find
you are just
like me

nothing scary

our bonds
set us free

The End

Am I to think the world so daft
as not to notice itself?

its pressing doom, death, corruption
are we awaiting destruction?

if armageddon is so near
why is that I mostly fear
speaking my mind
about issues dear?

dear to me,
my integrity,
my heart-

dear to the things
that set me apart.

my will to survive,
take care of my own-
silences my song

i know it's wrong
to keep it inside,
it will never stop
if we all hide

and so I go on
and on and on,
my family first
the world last

a silent rebellion
explodes in my mind
i do what i can
by being kind

tied to a system
forced to be blind

A day at the beach

she sits in silence with sadness
seeped deeply into a dark corner of her eyes-
lingering from long ago
peeking out like a lurking shadow
barely noticeable but ever-present

a stain that sticks
toiling to stay despite
numerous washes

cleansed once more
she stands with a soul-saving screech
until all of the creatures have gone

she sits in silence in a swimsuit
feet seeped deeply into the sand
lingering in her toes
peeking out
still are her woes

weakened now
by sun

the stain faded,
worn through

she traces the light
with her pinky toe

Forming words

sometimes sitting
around sticking
inside your mouth's roof
like peanut butter
captain crunch

thick, pasty words
glued there

in your mind's corner

a second ago
you knew it

now you
have yourself
a word mystery

what was I going to say?

savoring snow

              open mouth
       out with the tongue
             let the flake
               dissolve

                magical
                  water
                    rain
                    kid
                    me
                     I
                    am
                    big
                   mind
                  already
               wonderous

                seeps in
           brrr, the arctic taste
               frozen falling
                  delicious
                    snack

30 days

21 a habit

2 a couple

3 a few

30 days
what to do?

30 minutes
something new

I shall write

30 minutes
each night
for 30 days
of wordly might

more than a couple
past a habit

If the paper tears
I'll stab it

If the pen runs
i'll grab it

If the words slip
I'll blab it

I am a book

To teach
is to learn
constantly
about oneself,
and the world
and others

through learning
one grasps
concepts-
evaluates ideas

by explaining,
one becomes
the big idea

painting it
on a poster

telling it three,
four, five
different ways

becoming
the knowledge

Suddenly,
I've turned my pages
I am a book

My index
is set and ever-changing
my content
and delivery
apt to switch
at a second's notice

My binding, worn
but not tired

my pages thin
from the hands
that turn

my life
full

I am a book

Alive

When
will we get there?

When
will I know?

Are we
there yet?

Is it
over?

On my
way somewhere-

forward drive

stay alive

thrive

destination
is your enemy

arrive

Alone in a Window

I've left you alone
day after day,
parched,
longing for air
trapped beneath
my window
stretching to
peek out,
praying for
a quick breath-
a single drop
of fresh air,
moisture
something,
anything

hang on

my dear friend-
my mom,
or husband,
perhaps my son-
one day
will reach out
and befriend you.

your life
may go on
oh, green
and lifeless
fern

hang on

they said
you were hardy

hang on

My best work - (the prequel)

My best work

is hidden underneath

a hill of papers, clothes, chores, toys

in between answering questions

and giving advice,

My best work

is yet to be seen-

is yet to be found

within the depths 

of a living cavern

composed by

a chorus,

created by

man

created by 

me

eventually