Sometimes trying hard to win,
it’s more important not to lose
Semantics jumbled, meanings gray,
the angle of your view
The victor truant, a rose a rose,
when called by something else
The winner left still undeclared
—the loser on the shelf
(Wendy On Ozark: May, 2022)
Roses bleed
their petals bare
Thorns gone missing
pickings rare
Crimson anguish
garden sown
Season desperate
roots bemoan
Roses bleed
their fragrance spoiled
Lovers search
as stems recoil
Cold breaths gather
northern winds
Seeds of hope
—to plant again
(Radnor Pennsylvania: May, 2022)
Seduced
by what I hadn’t done
Engaged
to what I’d never wed
Married
with vows I wouldn’t take
Divorced
from what I couldn’t leave
(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)
Democracy
and true freedom
—it’s a dirty business
(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)
Behind the mask,
only truth gets told
Its covering sacred
—eyes behold
(Kabuki Theater: April, 1973)
Rebel’s highway,
toll free line
Drifting median,
ill defined
Sirens distant,
flashing lights
Mocking laughter
—death’s delight
(Memories Of September 30th, 1955)
Born to the same words as you,
the feelings were my own
Language shared, intention spared,
a vision fully grown
Our words converse, beyond my verse,
your prose unto my rhyme
To search that darkest hidden place,
each footstep out of time
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2017)
Twilight beckons
a wavering moon
Chasing the sunset
from darkening skies
Clouded reminder
renewal has come
Birthing new shadows
in fresh summer rain
(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)
The present is in your future,
the present in your past
The present a sacred mystery,
its moment to unmask
The present is in your memory,
the present in your dreams
The present neither begins nor ends
—eternity set free
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2017)
Dipping his toe
in the river’s denial,
uncertain of its depth
Floating his memories
on ripples of fate,
his deepest secrets kept
Refusing to sink
excuses cut free,
his reasons left to buoy
Erasing his doubts
the island ahead
—all sharks turned into Koi
(Dreamsleep: May, 2022)
An Anthology Of Perception 