The passions
that divided us
when we were young
Bring us back
together
when old
The bias
the malice
the pain and the hurt
The years
in their wisdom
remold
What once
seemed important
and drove us apart
Transformed
like a westerly
wind
To finish
our days
attached at the hip
Umbilically
joined
— from within
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
A man
is not what
he wants to be
but what he has to be
A dream
no longer
the dreamers
leaving our sleep undreamed
A vow
no longer
a promise
when fidelity has died
And trust
no longer
sacred
— when intent becomes a lie
__________
The Past
I lost you to love
you left me for dead
Before moving on
and leaving our bed
That dream that we shared
no longer alive
The present imperfect
— the past but a lie
________
The Baby’s Bathwater
The worst form
of delusion
is self-delusion
The worst form
of denial
denying what’s felt
The worst form
of deception
is self-deception
The worst form
of rejection
— rejecting the self
________
Shoo
Those who can …
do
Those who can’t …
mime
Go paint your face
for one who cares
As blissfully
— I rhyme
________
Doomed To Repeat
Crying about
the effects of war
will never stop
or prevent them
Evil inside
the human mind
violence births
its fatal intention
The best laid plans
a pathway to hell
devoid of
any action
Asleep at the switch
its gene still in place
to surface again
— in greed’s superfaction
________
Endure
Disagree
without being
disagreeable
Resist
without burning
it down
Commit
without being
a fanatic
Endure
without wearing
— a frown
(The New Room: July, 2026)
Our Best Intent
Crucibles
of power
Melting
right from wrong
Cathedrals
of our best intent
Benediction’s
— song
********
Unto The Word
Testify
when all else fails
Testify
stay on the rails
Testify
from deep desire
Testify
your heart on fire
Testify
when hope seems gone
Testify
your voice belongs
Testify
the children wait
Testify
the moment late
Testify
the verse resounds
Testify
the pledge profound
Testify
temptation burns
Testify
on what you’ve learned
Testify
unto the Word
Testify
— His blessing heard
********
Exposed
If you’re a
cult figure
take off
your mask
Let the crowd
see you
the hard
and the fast
There
lies transcendence
only there
will they see
The truth
you’ve been hiding
exposed
— and set free
********
Lack Of Delivery
You say
the right things
Never doing
what’s right
Your words
and your actions
Divorced
woebegone
Intention
an orphan
If born
out of wedlock
The lack
of delivery
when stillborn
— is gone
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Plus Or Minus
Is it a strength
or a weakness
not to know
when it’s over
Is it positive
or negative
the result
— zero sum
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Divinity’s Harvest
The mills of God
grind slowly
The grist of
— Heaven’s delight
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Springing Forth
Leaving the last
of our verses unfinished
With lines unwritten
for others to plead
A poem of hope
springs forth from the shadows
Where statements are doubted
— and wonder believed
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Waiting For The Wind
Sails
unhoisted
Folded
they wait
For wind
to unfurl them
As horizons
— conflate
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Rushing Past
Placing
a period on time
And a stop sign
on creation
We dally in place
— spitting into the wind
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
New Voices
Itinerant
air
Sacred in its
wandering
Searching for
new voices
Divorced
— from the wind
(Mariahan Memories: July, 2026)
Why & Where
We are here
who knows why
And we go
— who knows whither
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Albert told me …
“Everybody wants to go to Heaven
but nobody wants to die”
Stevie confessed …
“I made my living at white juke joints
but had my fun outside”
Kris reminded me …
“That freedom’s just another word
for nothing left to lose”
Ray repeating over and over …
“Georgia, Georgia, the whole day
through”
Eric sang about Layla …
“She’s got me on
my knees”
And Jimi said what Bobby wrote …
“Along the watchtower
can’t get no relief”
Janis screamed …
“There’s a ball & chain that holds me
to my man”
But Dylan said it best himself …
“Don’t criticize what
you can’t understand”
The devil a master
at quoting scripture
suited to his purpose
Words conscripted most Divine
to dance
around his fire
Forked tongue in hand
he reprimands
with passages inflamed
To burn the lives
and damn the souls
— of those his farce conspires
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Raging tornadoes
coursing the land
They enter our psyches
low pressure at hand
To flatten our tinder
and rip out its studs
Our entry and exit
left deep in the mud
They hail from the flatlands
of thoughts we disperse
And leave in a cyclone
of verses they curse
Attempting to stop them
we close our eyes tight
But ears bid them access
— to welcome their blight
(The New Room: July, 2026)
In the stillness of night
hides abeyance …
Our souls no longer trapped
in the prison of their form
Where the moon sets us free
to escape from ourselves
And wander in its glow
along the beach until dawn
But like the hermit crab
recalled to its dungeon
We crawl back with the suns
mourning knell
To return to those cages
awaiting
Disappearing inside of
— our shells
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Are you the
one answer
that others
can’t question
Are you the
one constant
that others
will blame
Are you the
one voice
that others
can’t muffle
Are you the
one source
that others
— can’t change
(The New Room: July, 2026)
Living
a dream …
Reality
orphaned
Time in a
capsule
Sealed away
from our view
Embracing
the crowd
Shunning
the critic
Poseurs
retreating
To hide in
the queue
Moving
each soul
To joy
or to terror
Art
holding sway
Over darkness
and light
Onward
we move
Immune
to convention
And cresting
the hill
Our spirits
— take flight
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
An Anthology Of Perception 