The psychic tattoo
of paternity
darker than
fate’s blackest ink
The guilted knife
of maternity
cutting you
near to the brink
A prodigy alone
in the shadows
offspring of
scorn and disdain
Begging for love
and acceptance
from parents
— called heartache and pain
(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
I said
what I had
to say
And did
what I had
to do
While asking
no one
to care
And seeking
nothing
from you
I went
where I had
to go
And saw
what I had
to see
To get
where I had
to get
And be
what I had
— to be
(Bryn Mawr College: June, 2025)
A Hall of Mirrors
ill conceived
With dark reflections
to deceive
From front or back
and side to side
Each look impounds
what time proscribes
Were you looking in
or looking out
When Alice voiced
her final shout
A dozen clonings
a thousand views
The glass your jailer
— in silver hues
(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
Expressions
of spirit
the music
plays on
Beyond any
verbiage
or words
come and gone
At high
elevations
each note
takes you up
To reach
into heaven
where feelings
conduct
As harp
strumming Angels
with harmony
strong
Play chords
of acceptance
to guide
— you along
(1st Book Of Prayers: June, 2025)
Joy
cannot last
Few moments
contain
The unbridled
feeling
Euphoria
claims
Joy
but a transient
It comes
and it goes
Resetting
our wishes
To bask
— in its glow
(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
Do you write
pretty words
with a message
unchanged
Does intent
leave you vacant
the darkness
sustained
Do you ponder
and flirt
in a language
affair
Do you kiss
and then tell
without promise
or care
Do you vow
to do better
with love
on reprieve
Does your heart
leave you jilted
next breath
— to deceive
(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
I made it to
the edge of thought
with consciousness
ablaze
I escaped the fire
but not the heat
all memory
a haze
I just got out
when fate attacked
from inside
burns the past
To leave me orphaned
without a home
my legacy
— in ash
(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
Poets
who cry
Jesters
goodbye
Alone
in the dark
Old heartaches
to mark
Time
closing in
Memories
thin
Whispers
and tears
Finality
— near
(Villanova University: June, 2025)
I’d gladly take
one verse
ill written
Than a tome
explicit
with words
unfelt
I’d gladly take
one moon
still distant
Than a sunrise
hidden
by rain
that pelts
I’d gladly take
one real
good tiding
Than a score
of praises
that slap
my back
I’d gladly take
one heart
on fire
Than a million
minds
no souls
— attached
(Villanova University: June, 2025)
The beginning
of the end
The end
of the beginning
To look
and not see
A desperate
path
To start
what can’t finish
Destroying
tomorrow
When eyes
remain closed
The future
— uncast
(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)
An Anthology Of Perception 