I write every verse
as if it were song
And sing every word
as the quatrains take form
Each line joins a chorus
to praise or to scorn
And read but just once
— to forever belong
(The New Room: April, 2026)
They Pander
Lost
are the many
who get rich
being famous
Chartered jets
and gold
their claim
Reality
scripted
to entice
what we loathe
Bimbo’s
in sequins
of fame
Limos
await
what the desperate
espouse
Eye shadow
caked
to the nines
As flexers and posers hide in plain sight
Enamored with mirrors false praise to delight
And like the Kardashians who prey on the night
They pander — to what we despise
(The New Room: April, 2026)
Lingering Thoughts
Lingering Thoughts
The greatest oasis …
Walden Pond of the mind
Where lives unencumbered
the best we will find
Nothing so remote
as those lingering thoughts
That live in the wilderness
— of memory uncaught
**
Copper Wire
Trying to break our connection …
connects us the more
And brings into focus
what’s shared but unsure
The closest we come
to ever fading away
Is when we stop trying
— to live every day
**
The Tub Indisposed
The dirty laundry of America
hangs on the line
Unclean in its fester
and soiled defines …
A washing awaits
whose tub indisposed
And leaking excuses
the stains — ill exposed
**
Clearing The Way
Practicing nothing
Thoreau comes to mind
Instilling the hours
with gold never mined
What rushes upon me
once clearing the way
Denied to most others
— who labor unstayed
**
From The Canyon
Entertaining an echo …
a welcoming voice
That comes from the canyon
where depth is a choice
A house guest inherent
who lingers and stays
Remarking my journey
— with each passing day
**
Unsullied Shores
Gauguin among poets
the jungle reclaims
Remote in his anger
the wilderness flames
A beauty transcendent
on unsullied shores
His words to live native
— and wild du jour
**
Crossing Over
Time familiar
while reason lasts
That final moment
before breaking away
Into the ether
of light’s tomorrow
Once crossing over
— my soul relayed
**
Each Tick A Warning
Time’s weapon is age …
the years to sharpen
The days into hours
then minutes defrayed
The minutes to seconds
each tick a new warning
The seconds to moments
— where time will betray
**
Yesterday’s Droppings
Incendiary forces
rekindle your memory
Sparking each impulse
lighting the fuse
To burn through the fodder
of yesterday’s droppings
Turned into ashes
— freeing the Muse
**
Giving Life
“Words matter …”
sayeth Thoreau
Giving life
to the speaker
And hearer
— anew
**
A Robin’s Song
It sounds so right
it almost feels wrong
The days rebirthed
and captured in song
No tears of sadness
unspoken joy
A robin singing
— my soul its toy
**
Fully Committed
Jumping into the pit
to fight the snake
Fully committed
to live or to die
Leaving the comfort
of safety’s restriction
Grabbing its tail
— my fear to defy
(Dreamsleep: April, 2026)
Sound Bites 4-8-2026
The Dark Side
Freedom
is damned
by its own
proclamation
Where choices
once good
turn away
from the truth
Freedom
of speech
not just for
the righteous
Self-serving
subversion
alive
— to pursue
**
Fading To Black
Time
weaves loss
into the dormant
mind
Caught in
abeyance
vacuum
— entwined
(Dreamsleep: April, 2026)
**
To Set Free
Once they are read
words become language
Language becomes freedom
— enlightenment fed
**
Lost In Reference
All the time
I spent remiss
Comparing
the comparisons
All the time
I spent vacant
Lost
— to myself
**
New Arrivals
Unphased
and rephrased
old words become new
Repurposed
with feeling
as Sages review
Intrepid
endemic
the passion preserved
For those
new arrivals
— who search underserved
**
Ellis Island
Its hope
is unfettered
beyond tyranny
or fear
The gateway
to freedom
its port
— to endear
**
Wasted Breath
“This Has To Stop”
is never enough
the words are
empty still
“This Has To Stop”
a wasted breath
of status quo
— distilled
**
To The Political Elites
I don’t buy
what you’re selling
I won’t sing
in your choir
I can’t kneel
at your altar
I serve truth
— not a liar
**
Steps Determine
Right foot inside
the circle
left foot out
Left foot inside
the circle
right foot out
Inside
outside
steps determine
Acceptance
rejection
— inside out
**
Surviving The Forest
Grow wild
according to thy nature
And slay the waiting demon
of fates revenge
To worship
at the highest altar
Above alpine meadows
— where the heart befriends
**
Sands Of Time
The hourglass
empties
Each day
valued more
To savor
and treasure
This moment
— endures
(Dreamsleep: April, 2026)
Sacred Moment
All wanton memory
starved in blight
The present
my repast
What’s gone is gone
regret a martyr
This moment sacred
— to feast at last
(Dreamsleep: April, 2026)
Love Train
Aretha, Marvin
and Smokey form
the Rushmore Mount
of soul
James Brown
the elder statesman
Etta James
her voice of gold
Prince and
Jimmy Ruffin
there standing in
the wings
Curtis Mayfield
‘It’s All Right’
The Windy City
brings
Al Green
is for the ladies
with fantasy
in song
Glady’s Knight
the smoothest silk
with Ben E. King
along
Levi Stubbs
and Martha Reeves
still warming up
out back
As Stevie Wonder
and Michael J
keep soul’s love train
— on track
(Memory Of The O’Jays At The Uptown Theater: April, 1971)
Writing A Poem …
Silence is your canvas
Imagery your musing
Language is your mistress
— but passion your master
(To Jimmy Page: April, 2026)
Quips 4-6-2026
An Ec Dote
All carbs on the table
hunger in the bank
More or less disabled
— nothing in the tank
**
To Simmer Or Boil
Poetry important
prose lesser so
Each word a keystone
to hold or let go
Nothing redundant
no fill in the stew
The meaning dependent
— on stirrings anew
**
Access Denied
Deaf to that ear
Blind to that eye
Numb to that touch
— senses denied
**
Morning Prayer
Conviction relighting
tomorrow’s lost candle …
Through darkness and doubt
— indecision in flames
**
‘A View From The Bridge’
Lyrical playwright
tragedy staged
Actor’s harmonic
— script to betray
**
Uncomfortable Truth
I’m not
divorced …
I’m just not married
— anymore
**
Piercing The Veil
Hearing it
clearly
Hearing it
plain
Goodbye
is what’s spoken
For all
— you can’t say
**
Crossing Over
Being different
to be different
creates more of the same
True genius
crossing over
redefining the game
When the road
takes a fork
most commonfolk choose
With the Sage
going straight
— indecision removed
**
Ergo Sum
Embracing
what’s presented
You become
— what you know
**
Fluid Contention
Whisky’s
for drinking
Water’s
— for fighting over
**
Reverso
So often …
the dumber you act
— the smarter you think you are
**
To Forgive
You can’t rebuild
a friendship
by ignoring
what’s destroyed
You can’t forgive
injustice
with spite and hate
— deployed
**
Mea Culpability
You don’t have to
agree with me
But you’re responsible
— for your words
**
New Clothes For The Emperor
Sounding smart
over being smart
Dilettante’s pander
— with truth on parade
**
Rising Above
Consensus
on the chopping block
Contention
in the throes
King Solomon
denuding both
Dogmatic
— he bestows
(Dreamsleep: April, 2026)
Amongst The Ruins
Shadows befalling
a dark afternoon
And veiling destruction
the end coming soon
A boy and his dog
in the rubble at play
The body’s — toy soldiers
in silence they lay
Then one plane approaches
flying lower than most
Its bomb bay doors open
its payload to roast
A target that’s cross-haired
with ordnance bound
As a boy and dog play
— where death will impound
(To All Children Of War: April, 2026)
Sound Bites 4-4-2026
Dark Raven
In the beginning
there was hope …
there was hope
in the beginning
Soaring like an eagle shepherding the doves
Then man became
a king …
became a king
in his portending
Soaring like a falcon preying on the doves
Until pride became
his lord …
became his lord
in the undoing
Falling into darkness from salvation high above
In his self-inflicted
fate …
inflicted fate
his reign was ending
Falling a dark raven through the light of Heaven’s love
**
Finding Your Base
First
Last
And always
— pick your arena
**
Lost In The Throes
To me
it’s about imagery
damn the torpedoes …
damn the line structure
poems or prose
To me
it’s the metaphor
damning the simile …
damning the grammar
— lost in the throes
**
Manus Ad Manus
The hand that opens widest
— rocks the cradle
**
Boomerang
Debating yourself
a losers folly
Debating yourself
— new spit in the wind
**
My Honor
You might be
my ally
But you’re not
on my side
A formal
arrangement
An unmarried
bride
You say
you are loyal
In liege
to the same
But when push
comes to shove
My honor
— you’ll claim
**
Right Always Right
Can anything get done
without being autocratic
Can anything happen
when subject to vote
Did Our Lord become savior
by being democratic
Right always right
— never crossing the moat
**
Playing The Odds
Dotting the I’s
all Hell freezes over
Crossing the T’s
tomorrow is gone
Hedging your bets
the wolf edges closer
Playing the odds
— the right and the wrong
**
By Its Grace
I always said
I’d know
when it was time
for my last poem
And choosing
perfect rhyme
I would leave
forever knowing
The world
a better place
a warm embrace
with letters showing
That time
has set me free
and by its grace
— my aura glowing
**
Heads In The Sand
Our country has become
a nation of cowards
Valuing safety
over what’s right
Festering blindly
foes are emboldened
Our heads in the sand
— embracing the night
An Anthology Of Perception 