Run away from the what,

let the how lead the way

Keep the questions before you

and the answers at bay

Deem your motion perpetual

with all stops left behind

As those presents unwrapped

open up in your mind

May the wind rise to greet you

and your sun never set

On those places now virgin

and a lover unmet

May the wisdom of sages

be your rallying cry

As you course through the ages

—forever wondering why

(Train-New Haven: March, 2015)

You no longer need any help from me,

your path is free and clear

The mantle handed off, baton passed,

my position in the rear

You don’t really need to ask my advice,

but I’m thrilled each time you do

You’ve gone far beyond the trail I marked,

to me—nothing left to prove

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

Returning to what was,

the past became death

All time in the coffin,

—eternity at rest

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

Those living in Harlem

want to live in Midtown

The people in Midtown

the Upper West Side

The Upper West Side on

the Long Island Shore

The Long Island Shore

in Aspen or Vail

Aspen or Vail

to the beaches in Cannes

The bathers in Cannes

to the Champs Elysees

People always search for where

life can begin

A place that remains distant

and far out of reach

Any excuse to look outward

and not in themselves

Their souls left in turmoil

—their hearts not at rest

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

Can a phrase rule
over a paragraph

Can the right word
stand alone

Can a thought be held
within one breath

Can the truth in short
be known

Can you single out
the future

Can you paraphrase
the past

Can you connect a feeling
to just one thought

Can you make this moment
last

Can you keep the magic
and release the trick

Can Apollo set you
free

Can you say it while
defying time

Can you voice your soul’s
release

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2016)

I captain the words to suit my mood

to curse or then to pray

And document those things I feel

to others then to say

I choose each verb and noun with care

and place them side by side

Reminding all of what we share

those knots we must untie

I move the future to the past

the present to the front

As what most lingers, then to last

the handle to the pump

Juxtaposing based on need

the lines as rivers go

Where currents cast my dreams adrift

—and wishes overflow

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

Standing on the wrong side of the platform

waiting for the train

Remembering the mistakes I made

but not the reasons why

Listening for the truth beyond the excuse

feeling what my thoughts would never allow

I boarded in the dark….

Ticketed, to a new and unplanned destination

—fated, to a distant terminal unknown

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

The music stepped aside,

as the words cut in to dance

Painting the floor red

in lettered steps of eternity

To a song now consonant

in verses of celebration

Thoughts and feelings remarry

—in patterns of remembrance

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

Does trying to disprove

What I believe

Make you feel better about what

You don’t….

Is it your insecurity

Crying out

That maybe I feel something

You won’t….

Is it the depth of my rebuttal

That bothers you so

Leaving you both lonely

And alone….

Like a branch that’s now broken

Swinging high in the tree

One strong gust

—and your fated to go

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

I happen to be cast a

different way

Molten like igneous

stone

I live on the boundary

where others won’t play

At the edge of the scary

unknown

The chess board on fire,

as the Russian sage smiles

With the questions the same

only more

All answers now servant,

as I step off the ledge

The fall better this time

—than before

(Grantham New Hampshire: March, 2015)