Wandering alone
atop Mount Nittany
his claws long retracted
his teeth filed down
The last of his breed
once reigning so proudly
his lair far distant
no food to be found
Strange noises he hears
far off to the West
in the canyon of beavers
a struggle beset
He knows that this Winter
most likely his last
the future reclaiming
—a glorious past
(Lemont Pennsylvania: November, 2023)
Old
not outdated
germ
still in the wheat
Not as fast
as I was
Faster
than I will
ever be
Mind
over matter
horse
pulling the cart
Intention
still deadly
Blade
forever
sharp
(Dreamsleep: November, 2023)
The envelope
unopened
addressed
to himself
Inside
unspoken
old hopes
and dreams
Lost
and rerouted
the stamp was
foreign
Its port of entry
still
—unforeseen
(Dreamsleep: November, 2024)
Their footsteps returned
as a shroud fell around me
Hiding me from the heels
of their jackened boots
Direction was lost
escape but a memory
Shouting their curses
re-echoing the past
(Shadows Of Anne Frank: November, 2023)
The gray areas of conscience
those depths of confusion
That’s where we find ourselves
—that’s where we thrive
(Dreamsleep: November, 2023)
Reality’s made
of what
it is
Not what
it might
have been
The apple
landing
on my head
Bespeaks
of now
not then
All abstract
nature
Plato drawn
To live
behind
the mask
What’s real
in substance
real in form
No future
and
—no past
(Strafford Pennsylvania: November, 2023)
Dancing through
the mine field
deftness parlayed
Destruction incumbent
the future
in play
Each step risks a lifetime
if right
turns to wrong
Tomorrow uncertain
when short
—calls for long
(Dreamsleep: November, 2023)
Armed with the same knowledge
we’re still not conjoined
Intention the difference
no flip of the coin
Our substance a mirror
but essences framed
by choices defining
—the praise or the blame
(The New Room: November, 2023)
My heart and mind have thought and felt together
with soul and spirit intertwined as one
And shaken from this sleep of dying embers
the words regifted wrapped in morning sun
Days both long and short have etched their meaning
onto the pages time does not subscribe
Each rise and fall the tide of love remaining
as seasons change—when fire and ice collide
(Dreamsleep: November, 2023)
How much profit
have you made
on your greed
The bursar
of hell
wants to know
How has your
avarice
lived unrestrained
A glutton
those starving
in tow
How many times
have you dealt
from the bottom
Betting
the players
were blind
Sleeving that ace
that sends
you to hell
In debt
to the devil
—consigned
(Villanova University: November, 2023)
An Anthology Of Perception 