You want their
affection
but your words
to disdain
I voted for you
thrice
and would do so
again
But the many
unsold
who vote
with their heart
Abandon you now
as your
ego
cavorts
Assuming
your schtick
is attractive
to all
You strut like
the ‘Emperor’
and naked
befall
Overlooking
the obvious
what the simplest
man knows
To be liked
is a mandate
and lost
— in your show
(Sunday Morning New Shows: February, 2026)
The Artist
who scares you
the one you should
mime
And step
in his shoes
to see
what you’ll find
The Artist
who threatens
your soul’s
status quo
The one to
embrace
as you try
— to ‘pass go’
(The New Room: January, 2026) O/L 2-1-2026
When The Dust Settles
To be remembered
— period end
(The New Room: January, 2026) O/L 2-1-2026
First Things First
Keep your words close
— but your feelings closer
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
From Afar …
Absence severs
as well as death
With haunted longing
— and deep regret
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Beyond Sound
A canon fire’s
a man is deafened
Trapped in memory
— the music plays
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Until Light
Everywhere
there’s shadows
the trick
is to outrun them
They’re sure to place
their dark embrace
till light receives
— its summons
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Cowboy Up
Atop the bull
eight-seconds loom
The crowd and lights
go silent
The chute is opened
his eyes enraged
all life
— within this moment
(PBR Finals: Las Vegas: October, 2025)
The Sweetest Light
Make no contract
with time
It heeds
no ethic
Born in chains
to die
its shackled lock
defies
The truth alone
wears well
when stating its
dependence
Life looking
poorest
when it teases from
the richest state
The blamer finds
the greatest fault
with paradise
approaching
Life near the bone
the sweetest light
that hides
— within the dark
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
The Reset
To learn
is not to know
To listen
not to hear
To look
is not to see
To touch
is not to feel
To wish
is not to hope
To hunger
not to yearn
To speak
is not to say
To like
— is not to love
(The First Book Of Prayers: January, 2026)
My Legacy
The child
of my
captivity
The heir
to my
dissent
A legacy
of stone
and bars
That will’s
my life’s
— portent
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
One Day Soon
Each day without
disaster
a blessing on
the shelf
The fated winds
now still and calm
with gentle breezes
felt
But one day soon
it reckons
to prey upon
your soul
As fortune turns
against the tide
to tally
— nature’s toll
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
The Glory
The shadow of truth
is vast
The glimmer of hope
sublime
The future of life
is death
The glory of fate
— divine
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Intention makes
the student
Reflection makes
the master
Their difference in
the question
A lifetime takes
— to answer
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Determine who
the crime will profit
and you will find
your man
Fortune baits
perdition’s wolf
with larceny
in hand
Behind this world’s
ill-gotten gains
and lurking
deep within
There hides the culprit
long surmised
who wears the mark
— of sin
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Take the blue pill
and set your watch
Tell her it’s coming
libido recaught
(but)
Where is the magic
the moment belied
The thrill of the chase
— and hearing her sigh
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Escape
for those in bondage
A vise
to break the chains
Its promise
burns the master
Whose riff
to light the flames
To dance
the steps of freedom
And leave
indentured rage
To heal
those lost and wanton
The Blues
— on center stage
(Kingston Mines Chicago: January, 2026)
Blues Poem # 21
I climbed in bed
to wait for death
the past
a fleeting memory
I pled the case
in my defense
whose verdict
found me guilty
My sentence cast
without appeal
a victim of
my trials
Alone to die
in hope belied
my condemnation
— final
(The New Room: January, 2026)
You can live
ad infinitum
until you die
but once
The end of all
beginning
a finality
that trumps
You can live
free of its power
but not beyond
its grip
The underside
of sentience
in shadows
— looming thick
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Oh, to look like him
Oh, to sail like him
Oh, to write like him
Oh, to fish like him
Oh, to paint like him
Oh, to sculpt like him
Oh, to act like him
— Oh, to be like him
(My Boyhood Hero: From the Greatest TV Show Ever – ‘Adventure’s In Paradise’ 1959 – 1962)
https://adventuresinparadisetv.com/vanityfair.html
Adam Troy
He chartered the Tiki
straight into my dreams
And captained my sleep
on far away seas
His heart never waivered
his nose in the wind
To young boys who loved him
— a hero and friend
(Gardner McKay As Adam Troy)
Adventures In Paradise 1959 – 1962
An Anthology Of Perception 