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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Father’s Goodbye

I am your father

I’ve always been here

You are my daughter

You are my son

 

I’ve never wavered

I’ve never questioned

You have been foremost

By far number one

 

But now I feel distant

Now I feel lonely

An inconvenience

Who no longer belongs

 

And soon I’ll be vacant

Gone to my maker

You both left to wonder

— the right and the wrong

 

(To Aging Parents Everywhere: April, 2026)

New Thunder

A troubadour wanders

through star laden space

Absorbing new light

from destiny’s face

 

The truest reflection

opaque at the heart

Intrepid attacking

repelling the dark

 

As hope and a memory

marry within

Strings of eternity

tune on the wind 

 

Where off in a storm cloud

the Jester forays

And wrapped in new thunder

— a violin plays

 

(To Scarlet: April, 2026)

Reason Kneels

Is it logic

Is it impulse

Is it neither

Or then both

 

Is it Descartes

Is it Hegel

Is it Kantian

In our hope

 

Will we whisper

Will we dictate

Will we prejudge

Most devout

 

Will we wonder

Will we question

Will we pander

Into doubt

 

In the morning

In the noontide

In the twilight

Of our youth

 

Reason saunters

Reason flounders

Reason kneels

— before the truth

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)

Stepping Stones

The devil

is a

dancer

In the

cabaret

of fire

 

His steps

are most

alluring

His eyes

beget

desire

 

He twirls

amongst

the partners

Disguised

but known

to all

 

And making

his

selection

A child

of Adam

— falls

 

**

 

Never let

reality

— obfuscate truth

 

Never let

the legend

— be tarnished by proof

 

Never let

the facts

— carry the day

 

Never let

the magic

— get reasoned away

 

**

 

 

Staying close

to the moment

the world made sense

 

In touch

with his feelings …

tomorrow’s paid rent

 

Alone

with his questions

the answers collide

 

Breaking through

the unconscious

— forever alive

 

**

 

You can never tell

unless you show it first

What the eyes will see

— the mind will free

 

**

 

Colors drip down

but never up

Gravity’s palette

— rainbows to touch

 

**

 

 

Looking for a

socket

to plug in tomorrow

 

Looking for a

conduit

to exit today

 

Looking in a

mirror

reflecting my future

 

Looking until

breathing

— each word that I say

 

**

Hidden

in caverns

the words

rising forth

 

Each droplet

a treasure

in ladles

to pour

 

Through whirlwinds

of drought
and twisters

ordained

 

The wellspring

indulgent

to fill

— and sustain

 

**

 

 

 

There are no

accidents

though some

would explain

 

Cause

or causation

each hair splitting

phrase

 

What is

and what isn’t

their images

born

 

Unconsciously

conscious

in matter

— and form

 

**

 

 

The art of looking

grows slowly …

Tall oaks in

the wind

 

The bison in

Winter …

His warmth

from within

 

The art of seeing

takes longer …

with each passing

glance

 

Reforming

the picture …

you once left

askant

 

**

 

In the distance

pirates chase

like devils

on the wind

 

Tonight’s horizon

morning brings

 what destiny

— portends

 

**

 

Metaphor

only thrives and grows

forever

on the vine

 

Simile

lies a

rotting fruit

— bereft among the rinds

 

**