A river of
redemption
waiting beyond
These shallows
of torment
and rocks devil spawned
With rapids
approaching
white water ahead
Their nature
and prophecy
fueling the dread
As speed
is increasing
its roar on the rise
The falls
of the Jordan
— to live or to die
(Snake River ‘Lunch Counter:’ September, 2020)
Short
is most sweet
when the sugar
is pure
Its message
like honey
when added
to lure
The Mime
as your server
with candy
implied
Truth
in the tasting
its richness
— to hide
(Dreamsleep: September, 2025)
Wheelchairs
and walkers
in God’s
waiting room
Praying
abeyant
the end
coming soon
Front to
the back
they line
in the queue
Telling their
stories
from memory’s
askew
They wait
and they wonder
who’s next
to go
As all through
the lounge
great grandkids
in tow
New moments
like hen’s teeth
each minute
a year
As walkers
and wheelchairs
rust out
— in the tears
(Dunwoody Retirement Home: September, 2025)
Reimagine the future
honor the past
Live in the moment
first ever last
Change the perspective
fences destroyed
Polar invectives
cursed to employ
The baby and bathwater
image du jour
Becoming the instant
your lens is secured
Honor the future
reimagine the past
Live beyond either
— your essence recast
(Dreamsleep: September, 2025)
Nothing
more precious
than freedom
Nothing
sings louder
than praise
Nothing
more honored
than courage
Nothing
burns hotter
than rage
Nothing
escaping
the moment
Nothing
becomes
what it’s not
Nothing
can be
uncreated
Nothing
released
— till it’s caught
(Dreamsleep: September, 2025)
Crossing the addictions
of body and soul
Delirium tremens
is taking its toll
Like Nitro and Glycerin
waiting to strike
Their coupling disastrous
all day into night
My spirit when willing
the flesh all too weak
Those few days I’m able
my willpower bleak
The detox not working
no cure comes my way
All food tastes like poison
these shakes here to stay
A bomb ticks within me
its fuse ever burns
Tomorrow a concept
long stolen unlearned
With nerve endings fraught
and my body destroyed
These nightmare’s the worst
— when in daylight deployed
(Radnor Pennsylvania: September, 2025)
“Put the team first …
and the ball seems to find you”
(Torry Holt: September, 2025)
Do you become
famished
before you get
hungry
Do you become
smitten
when being
alone
Do you become
distant
once over
the target
Do you become
vagrant
though always
at home
Do you become
younger
with wrinkles
upon you
Do you become
foreign
while taking
the pledge
Do you become
angry
and lost
in your garden
Do you become
tempted
when nearing
— the edge
(Dreamsleep: September, 2025)
It only takes one
as words rise together
It only takes one
new phrases release
It only takes one
to carve out a memory
It only takes one
— your words in relief
(Dreamsleep: September, 2025)
A flame
the greatest threat
to the twilight
of being
One candle
in the darkness
rebirthing
— the night
(Dreamsleep: September, 2025)
An Anthology Of Perception 