I said no to the man

and made my own bed

 

I cut my own trail

with eyes straight ahead

 

In debt to myself

but thankful to all

 

My words freely spoken,

their verdict my call

 

I beat my own rhythm

on multiple drums

 

I structured the lyrics

to sing and to hum

 

The nighttime began

what the morning forgave

 

A living refusal,

my back to the grave

 

The years have renewed,

all memories collide

 

The young and the old,

the truth and the lies

 

A comet yet burning,

new verse in the sky

 

One word still an orphan,

and homeless

—GOODBYE

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)

Our mistakes are paid

in generations of denial

Old footsteps defaulting,

new judgments on file

 

The future in debt

to invoices past

tomorrow debentured

—arrears mounting fast

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2022)

No one lived more inside the moment,

No one left others more bent to his will,

No one remembered more for the things that he said,

No one more misunderstood while being so loved

—than Muhammad Ali

 

(Louisville Kentucky: July, 2020)

The greater the love

—the shorter the trip

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2022)

 

While writing verse from now till then,

its toll I humbly paid

 

Across a bridge where time had stopped

—the truth to pass each way

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)

The sun went down alone tonight,

 clouds abandoned

horizon dark

 

The moon in twilight hesitation,

 distance empty

redemption stark

 

The sun went down and disappeared,

 light a memory

 warmth to chill

 

A trail of comets turning back,

 morning cancelled

—future killed

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2022)

 

Passing each other

on the cusp of goodbye

A prayer of forgiveness,

a desperate last sigh

 

Feeling the emptiness,

hearts gone to stone

Lost in the memory

—of love we had known

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2022)

Wisdom is of greater weight

than valor, pride, or name

It harbors in my deepest thoughts

to rule my souls’ domain

 

 Choices made my kingdom saved

though others yet to see

My heart and mind ensconced as one

—the future mine to free

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2022)

 

Life on the fringes

ignoring your pain

 words were my fortress

again and again

 

Riding the fence line

fixing the wire

judgment expelling

intruders and liars

 

Distance and loneliness

harken and call

wisdom and certainty

fate to recall

 

One final time

to emerge from my cave

bandage your heartache

—myself I then save

 

(The New Room: April, 2022)

A bottle of you was not enough,

I needed the whole case

With every drop and fragrance let,

uncorking my embrace

 

To deeply breathe your sweet perfume

and drown in nectars dew

I try to sip but lose myself

—inside your vineyard true

 

(Rosemont Pennsylvania: April, 2022)