Silver lining happiness

though there

not often seen

In many shades of inference

ignoring red

and green

Slight handed and implicit

though felt

still out of view

Beneath the veil resplendent

and known …

to only you

 

(Haverford College: September, 2023)

The older the day
the sweeter the memory

The sweeter the memory
new reasons to find

New reasons to find
tomorrow unmentioned

Tomorrow unmentioned
—the present Divine

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2018)

I’m on my fourth lifeline

how about you

The first three pre-owned

the current one new

This one seems fleeting

which gives me concern

My freezer is empty

no steaks left to burn

The first one was blissful

the second had pain

The third one reflective

but this fourth one again….

I try to hold on

and describe it at will

Exceeding my grasp

it alludes me and still…

I wouldn’t go back

to either one, two, or three

The things I see now

ripened fruit on my tree

If this is the end

and the lights start to dim

I’ll sing the words strongly

Madonna’s last hymn…

“More thankful than troubled

more joyous than sad

“More today than tomorrow

—the past in the past”

 

(The First Book Of Prayers: February, 2018)

Trying to write a lyric

my words reduce to verse

The euphony escaping me

adrift as I converse

 

Though joy is sorely tempered

these letters soldier on

In hope of just one melody

—in hope of just one song

 

(Bryn Mawr College: September, 2023)

I think like a Buddhist

but pray like a nun

 

I see like the mountain

but reach like the sun

 

I stand like Gibraltar

but rage like the sea

 

And love like a child

—reborn unto Thee

 

(First Book Of Prayers: May, 2017)

Laura returned in a dream tonight

to remind me of who I was

Leading me toward a waxing moon

she sang of hope and love

Pulling me close she kissed my lips

as her breath refilled my soul

Giving me back unto myself

—with a joy that time had stole

 

( To My Muse — Laura Nyro: September, 2023)

Academicians …

masticating and

 grinding their ‘truth’

Spewing out

what they would have us swallow

in gagging choking egotism

Regurgitating it back

in the toxic chunder

of a narcissistic reality

Papering the walls

of modern thought

with the bibs of their retching

As they hide within

their ivory towers

—festering in mass

 

(St. David’s Pennsylvania: September, 2023)

Take it …

but don’t take it lightly

Step up …

but don’t miss a step

Reach out …

both hands clasped together

Arrive …

without having left

 

(Dreamsleep: September, 2023)

You might not like it

you may not agree

But religion’s the problem

the real enemy

A blind ideology

that kills to maintain

A false image of God

to blaspheme and profane

The Koran—the Crusades

the excuses—the lies

Fanatical visions

the death they imply

The future will judge

what the present impales

The shame and the heartbreak

humanity failed

As ill-fated dogma

kills the innocent child

The real God enrages

his judgment on file

So spew out your maxims

and dig in your heels

As millions will die

for what you think you feel

The universe watches

eternity waits

For this plague to be over

—this damned human race

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)

The farther I get from religion

the closer I get to God

Clouds blown free—new imagery

a seed in Heaven’s pod

 

The farther I get from the papal bull

the closer His voice I hear

Grace so blessed—divine GPS

directions loud and clear

 

(Dundale: September, 2023)