Last Chance

 

In between the shadows

of forgotten yesterdays

Light’s glimmer calling out to me

on bended knee I pray

 

— Two angels appear before me —

their arms are open wide

A glimpse of all eternity

— alive within their eyes —

 

Last chance to heed the Caller

last memory to ordain

Last chance to heed the Caller

— my destiny proclaimed

 

***

 

Your Servant

 

If I was granted one star

from the heavens

To illumine the very blackest

of days

 

In debt to the universe

but free of the dark

A servant I’d kneel

—  celestial to pray

 

***

 

Lettered In Sound

 

Creating new music

inside of each word

Harmonic inscription

— to read and be heard

 

***

 

What Imagery Proffers

 

The deception of reality

lost in plain sight

What the eye often swears to

a mirage will requite

 

Sentience teases

with each sound and each smell

What imagery proffers

— and vision compels

 

(The New Room: May, 2026)

 

 

 

When I clean out the corners

and smooth off the edges

All muses desert me

— the magic is gone

 

***

 

The Rapids

 

Adrift

in the words

Lost

to your smile

Caught

in the rapids

Love’s

— turbulent child

 

(The New Room: May, 2026)

 

 

Crossing The Line

 

Time

is a circle

Unbroken

ordained

 

Inside

or out

Your destiny

— claimed

 

***

 

When The Music’s Over

 

Faithful

to his demons

Jim walked the Rues

 

Paris

alluring

deception its truth

 

Consumed

by a fantasy

where darkness can hide

 

Alone

in the travesty

the drugs — and the lies

 

***

 

One Chance

 

Time waits

for no one

holding their breath

 

Hearts beat

in sequence

numbered till death

 

One chance

is given

no seconds or thirds

 

Fate

the addiction

— shaken not stirred

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2026)

 

 

The End

 

Death

steals all perspective

no looking forward

or looking back

 

Finality

zero — sum — zero

relativity

lost in its tracks

 

***

 

One Final Question

 

Bending the circle

inward

Pushing dimension

out

 

Finding true value

where logic defies

One final question

— all answers in doubt

 

***

 

The Wages Of Sin

 

When the forest is gone

and you’re sitting dethroned

Where the trees and the animals

once freely roamed

 

Tomorrow comes crashing

through yesterday’s gate

The present transporting

— the guilt and the hate

 

***

 

Sentenced Unnamed

 

Alone with old thoughts

my past on the run

And cornered distraught

with fate zero-sum

 

Secluded sequestered

and sentenced unnamed

The court jester’s chattel

— a minstrel of shame

 

***

 

Bartering Fame

 

Renting the future

in debt to last year

Tomorrow defaulting

unpaid in arrears

 

Pawning each memory

bartering fame

Trading lost moments

— for wishes reclaimed

 

***

 

Set Free

 

Speaking

without words

Painting

without rings

Walking

without steps

Flying

without wings

 

Beathing

without air

Feeling

without touch

Hearing

without sound

Knowing

— without such

 

***

 

The Fire Of Change

 

A path between

conflicting worlds

He walked a road

of hope

The product of a

captive raid

Quanah sought

to cope

 

His spirit caught

between the folds

In buckskin born

of lace

To dance around

the fire of change

Blue eyes

— and painted face

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interstate Packing & Rendering Co.

Mark is dead

he died in a

highspeed

head-on

CRASH

driving a piece

of high-powered

GM

tin

And when

they separated

flesh & blood

from metal & crud

there was nothing

left

of him

***

Two Olives

When I am left alone to ponder

to dream & waft

& my muse to wander

I can come up

with such rational reasons

& excuses for me

being

here

but rush me

with idle & mindless

cocktail chatter

& I might agree

quite pragmatically

that it was a careless error

on the part of a passionate Creator,

so why discuss the matter?

***

Selective Sacrifice

Sorry son

You’ve got to go

Times have changed

Didn’t you know

The beast is hungry

And he must be fed

And boys like you

Must spill the red

It’s your price to pay

To live in this land

Nothing personal, you understand

Here’s your papers, sign them all

You must respond

When Detroit calls

Take up the flag

Take up the gun

Sandstones waiting if you run

I’m sorry son

But you’ve got to go

Times have changed

Didn’t you know?

E.J. Hudak ca. 1969

Calling Your Name

 

Chasing the distance

making love to a memory

Living in the space

between heartache

— and dreams

 

**

 

The Devil’s Alleyway

 

I follow the river

whenever she calls

And answer mountain winds

that blow in the fall

I cross mighty deserts

through cactus and thorns

To brave city streets

— bereft and forlorn

 

**

 

Choice Undetermined

 

Life is about freedom

freedom is about options

Spread out before you

like lines on a map

 

Choice undetermined

awaiting direction

Venturing forward

— wandering back

 

**

 

The Present Surpasses

 

Never embrace

what history rejects

March to the clarion

as virtue begets

 

The present surpasses

what the devil demands

When free will bespoken

— the moment commands

 

(The New Room: May, 2026)