The birthmark of Satan

a spherical star

Old curse in the distance

new devils at war 

 

His prophecy stolen

the markings of Cain

Madonna the virgin

rebirth unattained

 

Melody of darkness

blasphemies hymn

The garden left burning

original sin

 

Tomorrow in mourning

this moment on fire

The lamb off the altar

—redemption expired

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

Yesterday’s future

tomorrow today

subsuming transcendence

in all that we say

 

Perpetually present

the time to recall

all life in this moment

whose instant befalls

 

Begin a new ending

to whirl in the wind

the clock a reminder

its hour hand spins

 

Memory’s treasure

the fuel to inspire

each log a new effigy

—raised from the fire

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

Standing on the edge of forever

walking the tightest rope

Looking down into tomorrow’s abyss

devoid of any hope

 

The bottom rushing toward me

if one mistake is made

A footpath to a broken dream

too numb to be afraid

 

My past missteps surround me

daring me to jump

Reminding of what I can’t forget

this roiling morbid funk

 

But one last chance is taken

as I step outside myself

Shedding the fate of snake eyes past

—new cards the present dealt

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

Visiting like an old friend

the song returned

Carrying memories

of time sojourned

Freeing the past

with lyrics sublime

Embracing the future

in melodies of rhyme

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

Ever the temptress

whose motion deceives

There’s only one cure

for desires strip tease

 

She points and she lingers

distance her charm

Night her undressing

the smoke to disarm

 

She dares you to touch

while pulling away

Stripping emotion

your longing at bay

 

Till finally turning

the stage lights have dimmed

Anticipation

—killing within

 

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

The physics of poetry

—creation of the self  

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

 

Is your ear corrupted

by what you see

Are the sounds distorted

in blind relief

Do the voices sleep

in images gone

Does a nightmare deafen

—tomorrow’s song

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2023)

Carving nature at the joints

the scalpel glistens clean

Motion severed night from day

all stillness duly preened

 

Slicing creation half by half

its essence caught between

Feasting on marrow dripping free

—trapped inside a dream

 

(Saint David’s Pennsylvania: May, 2023)

Memories are expensive

spent on looking back

Unpaid moments lost in time

debts for what we lack

Overdue nostalgia

debiting supreme

Clouded statements left unrhymed

—mortgaging our dreams

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)

We said goodbye

the night we met

fate our child

to bear

 

Star crossed love

in orphaned time

 betrothed stillborn

—affair

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2023)