There’s a voice that hides
with message plain
“IT STILL IS NOT ENOUGH”
No matter how the
phrases turn
“THEY LACK THE FINER STUFF”
It sits in judgment
undeterred
to flame and scold unbound
To speak when I’m
inopportune
—and turn me inside out
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Twas deep within my golden years
when youth came rushing back
Tired of being left behind
seducing what I lack
Clocks run down as midnight harkens
options running thin
Amorous feelings lost to time
whose walls are closing in
But then an archer from the past
tightens up my bow
One arrow left to fire off…
that girl I used to know
It flies directed from my hand
t’ward one I left so young
To strike a memory buried deep
—of first love woe begun
(Saint David’s Pennsylvania: June, 2022)
Indelible the writing…
each theme enslaves the words
The weight placed squarely on their backs
to bear the message heard
The meaning what’s important
four ruling two plus two
Verbs forgotten, nouns erased
—their insight still imbued
(Villanova University: June, 2022)
Unlike the first Revolution…
this time we have to take America
back from within
Like drug and alcohol addiction
we need detox
and rehabilitation
The traitors and despoilers left
to wither and die
Too many have sacrificed
for the freedoms we take for granted
to abdicate our responsibility
to the lunatic fringe
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2022)
The end of all is vanity,
damnation so accused
The mirror speaking falsely
—of promise purple hued
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
‘Keeper Of The Kingdom,’
entrusted with the key
Words unlocking blocks of time,
setting moments free
Caretaker thus chosen,
fate to walk the fields
Watching insights stalk and grow
—destiny to yield
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Waking every day
finding part of me behind
The loom threadbare and empty
no yarn there left to find
Coming apart in pieces
stitches lose their hem
Expectations falling fast
inching toward the end
Daylight into darkness
bespoken twill in threads
Voices used to mend and fit
silenced, like the dead
Sleeping with the remnants
dreams of memories lost
Desperations patchwork quilt
—blanketing the cost
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Gone like September
from the wind
Gone like the Robin
from its wing
Gone like a child
from its laughter
Gone like the memory
of Spring
Gone like the Priest
behind his vestments
Gone like the hours
from the day
Gone like the waves
atop the ocean
Gone like the months
that lead to May
Gone are the reasons
from excuses
Gone are the moments
trapped in time
Gone is today
from tomorrow
Gone is the magic
left behind
Gone are the memories
from recollection
Gone the beginnings
from the ends
Gone every joy
from every sorrow
Gone what you broke
—but couldn’t bend
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
The narrow hall of mourning
pathway to my grief
Darkened by each memory lost
—there in stark relief
(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)
She is gone…
swiftly, silently,
like the fading light
Settling into
my memory
like a thousand yesterdays
Taking what I
would never give,
leaving only heartache
Crossing love’s
forbidden line
—never to return
(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)
An Anthology Of Perception 