Lost

in a simile

Chasing

a metaphor

Being

so close

Yet so far

— away

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

**

A seminary of devotion

ordains me with Grace

Spiritually enlightened

my soul is embraced

Its gift so much greater

than thoughts would belie

Cloistered within me

— anointed on high

(The First Book Of Prayers: March, 2026)

For you

to be right

must I always

 be wrong

Can’t our thoughts

live together

like the words

of a song

That plays and

surrounds us

without judgment

or blame

Relighting

the cosmos

with harmony’s

— flame

(Villanova University: March, 2026)

Forever To Hide

You’ll never escape

 a bad memory

when it’s buried deep inside

It’s hard to run away

from the ‘stalker’

in dark moments that reside

Within to keep you captive

your soul

indentured and restrained

Forever to hide

from what lives to prey

— on what you cannot change

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)

Though Tattered And Torn

Many salute

before the flag

some will turn their backs

Many will bleed

to keep it flying

some let it go slack

Many fight …

Old Glory tattered

some avoid the fray

Many will die

within its folds

some — their hearts betray

(Martha Browns Woods: March, 2026)

A Darkened Sprit

With Satan’s

vow

He damned

his soul

Denying

God

His fate

ran cold

Blessings

offered

Turned

away

A darkened

spirit

His will

— conveyed

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)

A garden gate unlocked but rusted shut

evokes what memory plays on stringless lyres

Between the furrowed hedgerows standing witness

there lives a fated wish of heart’s desire

Alone unvisited throughout the seasons

to weather scorching sun — inclement rain

The loneliness of what once was grows ere despondence

 waiting on an unkept promise made in vain

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)

Blues Poem #26

Everybody wants

to go to heaven

But nobody

wants to die

Everybody wants

the mojo queen

Who rides in

on the moonlight tide

Everybody wants

to go to heaven

But nobody

wants to die

Ain’t a woman been made

who won’t steal your soul

and keep you

— half alive

(Tribute To Albert King)

Blues Poem #27

An aging

harp player

trying to bend

the next reed

New breath

in the shadows

where servitude

bleeds

His hands

old and wrinkled

each note

a new plea

And out

of the darkness

his riff

— sets you free

(Tribute To Sonny Terry: March, 2026)

Your mind

won’t understand it

but your feelings will

In touch

with the magic

— forever instilled

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)

Falling back

into

the abyss

of myself

The depths

stay unmeasured

a bottomless

hell

Light

into darkness

sun

into rain

Spiritual

guidance

a dying

refrain

An echoing

canyon

where fate

goes to die

As demons

lie waiting

and destiny

— cries

(Dreamsleep: March, 2026)