Black or White

a common soul

Beneath the surface

of hate resold

Uncolored ground

that buries deep

A shared endowment

— to haunt our sleep

Trying

to retrieve

the things

you threw off

the boat

before they

sink

and with them

my legacy

They drift

in the

saturation

of what never

should have

been said

and never

should have

been thought

I

fall into

the dark

water

where our

past

spawns in anger

treading

in desperation

Hoping

for a

last reprieve

still floating

on the

surface

of what

never really was

— and never will be again

(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)

Buying my

anonymity

each day

 is costing more

The mortgage

on new moments

signed in blood

 their payment sure

In plain sight

hides my essence

for as long

as I can pay

In debted

bliss

my soul is pledged

— to go from day to day

(The New Room: August, 2026)

You’ll never cross

the maelstrom

if your courage

has been stripped

Or trip the light

fantastic

when you’re crippled

at the hip

You can’t escape

the jungle

when the path

leads further in

Or greet the

new horizon

in a darkness

— mired in sin

(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)

Finding

your place

More important

than fame

To merge

with forever

Past transiency’s

stain

To letter

eternal

Beyond critic

and praise

To join

with the voices

In heaven’s

— refrain

Without

the heat 

there is

no light

Amidst

the dark

it hides

in spite

As every

dawn

brings hope

or pain

Its double

edge

in stark

refrain

Unto

each life

some rain

must fall

To wash

the stain

of freedom’s

— pall

(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)

Hell

is wherever

you happen to be

when it keeps you from what you love

Hell

is what you never say

in fear of being

censored by the club

Hell

is where

tomorrow hides

today stripped cold and bare

Hell

is where

your feelings die

— when there’s no one left to care

(The New Room: August, 2026)

Sometimes …

you have to get old

to be young

Sometimes …

you have to step back

to then run

Sometimes …

intention is more

than it seems

Sometimes …

what’s real only comes

— in a dream

(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)

Back when sex was dirty

and the water was clean

Two plus two equaled four

and things were what they seemed

Back when men were men

and women would swoon

Each day a new promise

— fulfilled at high noon

(The New Room: August, 2026)

You have my

vote

But not my

mindset

Where once

engaged

I’ve moved

along

No longer

hooked

On every

soundbite

Big picture

focus

The right

— from wrong

(Dreamsleep: August, 2026)