But A Memory

To Spark Interest

More than the

competence

And more than

the form

More than

verbosity

And more than

its charms

More than

acceptance

And more than

the fame

Hoping

to spark interest

Nothing more

— will I claim

********

Surrounding His Heart

In a manner

peculiar

to himself

love was in vain

The standard

that other’s

depended upon

his never to feign

The love of a maiden

the love of a lass

lay broken

to bits

Impaled by the armor

surrounding

his heart

ungiven — remiss

********

But A Memory

Opening

Pandora’s Box

that regret

is never to close

A.I. now preying

unchecked

our heads to

our toes

Pandering

to laziness

its gadgets

misleadingly toil

We missing

its real purpose

to enslave

and forever embroil

A little bit

pregnant

the feckless

with bombast proclaim

With its baby

a monster

our freedom

forever to claim

And when it

takes over

its presence to

never depart

Our pasts

but a memory

condemned to a future

— that’s dark

********

Alone & Silent

The water

rushing over the falls

belies its force

A trickle

1000 miles North

contains its source

A poem that’s written

then published

and rewrapped in fame

Hides what moments alone

and silence

— forever sustain

********

A Last Final Act

Using Logic to

explain Divinity …

a futile endeavor

Love the gift

that keeps on giving

through hate and ill weather

Through spirit alone

we return to the source

of our making

Repledging our souls

in a last final act

— of becoming

(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)

Comes The Reckoning

The devil

not leaving …

still in my employ

Our contract

most simple …

once signed to destroy

He offers

me riches

beyond every dream

And smiles

the smile

his depravity screams

Contented

to wait

as time has no measure

Within his dark

fortune

damnation a treasure

But once

out of wishes

the reckoning comes

To bathe

in the mire

— of eternity’s scum

*********

Red Coats & Tempests

If history

interred

in the shallowest

grave

Freedom

reborn

in a desperate

age

Throughout conflict

and eras

they march

hand in hand

History

for certain

but freedom

must stand

The attacks

on its drafters

and champions

combined

To carry

e’er forward

and forever

remind

That values

held precious

and tenets

held true

With blood

and with treasure

be defended

anew

Until

decades and

centuries

have given it form

And through

red coats

and tempests

— to weather the storm

********

Let Freedom Ring

The decent opinion

of humanity

is the lever

that changes the world

The defense of that

opinion has bound us

into a country

that history will herald

The tenets and phrases

defining

what the patriot

and free man requires

Contained in our

most sacred scripture

by Jefferson

— and others inspired

**********

Death Before Dishonor

Crushing the hardest stone

besting the vilest foe

Raising the highest flag

sinking the deepest hoe

Living one for the other

in unity we stand

Death before dishonor

— upon this sacred land

********

Safe Passage

Your words

are most attractive

They sit

above your form

To tell of deep

encounters

Inside

where truth is born

They float most free

above you

A literary

crown

To guarantee

safe passage

And speak the truth

— profound

(The New Room: June, 2026)

Wallflowers

The Cool Kids table

positioned in front

Where Rolex and Prada

like hounds on the hunt

They pander and coddle

each other with flair

Ignoring all others

outside of their lair

The Cool Kids engender

self-titles and brand

As brain dead and hollow

they spew on demand

But Mommy and Daddy

won’t suckle prolonged

And sooner or later

they’ll cease to belong

The Cool Kids outdated

when faced with the truth

They only exist

when they’re part of ‘The Group’

Their 2oth reunion

will come in a flash

Where that table in front

— has been pushed to the back

(To The Wallflowers: June, 2026)

Awaiting A Savior

Fate Conjoined

A vine can grow

on any tree

Be it strong or weak

of root

To climb until

the trunk is starved

ascending

foot by foot

Caring not a whit

the tree imperiled

it wraps its way

around

To kill the thing

its fate conjoins

and die

— ripped from the ground

*********

To Ian

A light goes out

just South of Calgary

His voice recaptured

in the wind

What’s been said

by saddle bred

As memory sings

— a cowboy hymn

*********

Borders In Place

Giving form

to illusion

the image

contours

Its mask when

pulled tightly

obstructs

and obscures

Dimension

is tactile

with borders

in place

Where false

it is proven

deception

— refaced

************

Our Pathway

Freedom begins

with decision

Choice catalytic

when firm

Our pathway once cleared

by cognition

The fire

— of liberty burns

********

The Words Secure

Neither

the rapier

of sarcasm

Nor

the bludgeon

of invective

Can injure

my letters

— or damage my pen

**********

The Illusion Stopped

Time doesn’t run

— it only deceives

********

Awaiting A Savior

Why should I labor

trapped in these mines

Breathing this death

perdition refined

Why should I trust

that this is the way

Darkness before me

each step on the quay

Though I keep picking

through darkest of rock

The future escapes me

its door remains locked

Awaiting a savior

I struggle each day

Alone in this suffering

— my faith to betray

(The New Room: June, 2026)

Falling In Line

Having a purpose

you don’t need a friend

Being impassioned

the beginning can’t end

Having a vision

the world falls in line

Being self-chosen

— all moments to rhyme

(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)

From You

Rather than write

to an academic standard

I prefer sharing language with you

Rather than dance

the dilettante’s tango

I learn more slow waltzing anew

Rather than say

what my life means in reference

intrinsically one voice is heard

Rather than live

for a stranger’s acceptance

from you — just three little words

(Poems Of Love: June, 2026)

The Food Court

Daddy

where is America

the ten-year-old asked

My teacher says

it’s in Washington

on a paper behind glass

My coach says

it’s on Sundays

when the Green Bay Packers play

My friend’s uncle says

Indianapolis

during the last week of May

Grandpa says

it’s July 4^th

at the Veteran’s Parade

My bus driver says

it’s the Unions

and the working man’s wage

But where is it Dad

they all say

different things

Where can I see

America

in one place — as one thing

Grab your coat

Bobby

and let’s take a ride

And to a

large mall

they both ventured inside

Are you

hungry my boy

the father said to his son

You’ve got

choices galore

and can pick from each one

And as they

sat down

the father said from his chair

Look around you

my son

— this is America squared

(King Of Prussia Mall: June, 2026)

The Devil’s Edge

Guarding

our bitters

Each wrong

we have suffered

Enshrined

in our memory

Alive

in our souls

Forgiveness

a myth

The weak

will hold onto

Revenge

all the sweeter

Served hot

— and not cold

(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)

Like Masks

Forget

being clever

abandon

the word

Being cute

more offensive

its pander

absurd

They serve

as a mask

that we cower

behind

To proffer

deception

we harbor

— inside

(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)

Sound Bites: (6-23-2026)

Window Dressers

Running

different

than reigning

Politicians

shortly

find

Chasing the vote

versus

crossing the moat

Very few

able

— fewer to thrive

**********

Narrative Rewarded

Like weight training

for an athlete

poetry makes you strong

Each word a rep

till failure

to bring your lines along

A verses strength

increases

when flexed the story bold

With narrative

enrichened

— the poetry like gold

************

Venture Forth

My treasure hidden

beyond the waves

the horizon

beckons on

Through pounding surf

and giant seas

a voice

is calling strong

I set my sail

the closest reach

with tiller

in both hands

On faith alone

round jagged reefs

I trust

in who I am

Through longish days

and longer nights

my course

uncharted stays

The mainsail up

the jib reset

one albatross

relays

That fortune comes

but once in life

to those who hear

its call

And venture forth

through unknown winds

into

— the raging squall

***********

Spiritual Chrysalis

Losing oneself

to find oneself

Emptiness cowers

— catharsis begins

********

Devil At The Gate

Loyal

when it suits you

Faithful

when it’s safe

Committed

to the mirrored self

Devil

at the gate

Back turned

to the prophet

Fealty

starts to burn

Treason

left on high display

Shame

— at every turn

********

Poet & Prophet

Today

is all that matters

Memory

your biggest foe

Mining the pathway

to future promise

Excuse and weakness

grow

Time an illusion

a crutch for the weak

To hobble and stumble

in constant retreat

This moment recurring

endemic when willed

the poet and prophet

— forever instilled

*********

Never To Return

If the past is empty inside you

— the future will be lost

*********

Resistance Ignored

The world

quickly bored

at the recital

of misfortune

And most

willingly avoids

the sight

of distress

The path

of resistance

ignored

at its peril

All character

only tempered

when put

— to the test

(The New Room: June, 2026)

No Limits On The Freedom Of Expression

Current academic thought is like an alphabet where certain letters are being attacked and removed. You can’t have freedom of expression by censoring letters and voices you don’t like or agree with. Every time it’s been tried, it ultimately fails. Freedom of expression is what has made America great and stands as a threat to totalitarian societies like Russia, China, and Iran. A minus sign always takes you backward where a plus sign expands. The answers lie in an ever-expanding mixture of ideas and beliefs living together for their mutual benefit where new words are created by more letters — not less.

As children develop language skills and learn to read, their minds expand and the world opens up around them —and more importantly, inside them. Language becomes the great liberator that rescues children from the darkness of ignorance and obscurity, and when freely allowed to develop and expand, it creates free-thinking adults that become literate, prescient, moral, and wise. It can’t happen any other way.

These lessons are everywhere in nature. When water is free-flowing and unobstructed, it is at its cleanest and most beneficial state. When blocked up and constrained, it becomes stagnant, polluted, and undrinkable. Festered with alkali, it can bring on sickness and death. When trees and flowers are openly exposed to the wonder of the sky and the sun’s rays, they grow tall and expand. Deprive them of that and they will slowly wither and die. Both fish and mammals grow bigger when raised in open spaces that allow them to roam naturally and reach their full potential.

For our children to grow and expand into happy and productive people, we can’t let anyone, or anything, take away or limit their means of free expression.

(The New Room: June, 2026)

In Solace

I live in an aura

of prolonged isolation

On the edge of the city

my hermitage thrives

Alone with my thoughts

the world but an orphan

In solace indentured

— I serve and I thrive

(The New Room: June, 2026)

When Least Expected

Out of left field

or deep in the night

The words come unbidden

as welcome delights

Not knowing the minute

or hour they’re born

They enter my consciousness

raw unadorned

When trying to call them

they often ignore

My summons and pleadings

that knock on their door

But when least expected

their gift a surprise

The breath I’ve been missing

— that keeps me alive

(The New Room: June, 2026)

To Dream

Teach them

to wonder

And teach them

to search

Teach them

to love

As you teach them

— to dream

(The New Room: June, 2026)

Never Let Time

Never let fear

determine

your future

Never let distance

turn you

away

Never let critics

dissuade

or discourage

Never let time

with its limits

— betray

(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)