The world sneezed,
the demon danced
—the music stopped in time
The world coughed,
the demon choked
—millions now entwined
The world hid,
the demon searched
—new victims running low
The world rose,
the demon dead
—nowhere left to go
(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)
Rat-a-tat, Rat-a tat-tat,
the mice crawl through the walls
You hear them best when lights are low,
the cat still yet to call
Rat-a-tat, Rat-a-tat-tat,
straight up and overhead
The world they know—the world you know,
conjoined but never bred
Rat-a-tat, Rat-a-tat-tat,
your solitude a ruse
What lies inside beyond plain sight
—a kinship to bemuse
(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2020)
Refusing to ever
say hello
The coward says
—goodbye
(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)
Putting up the white flag,
laying down my gun
Turning my back on fantasy,
projects left undone
Unlike other enemies,
she’s neither front nor back
But lives where only she can go,
where color turns to black
Her voice becomes a mimic,
ventriloquist of my soul
As words come uninvited,
their letters rhyming whole
Resistance now is futile,
my nights pass sleep deprived
Mercy vacant, her voice my own
—all victory denied
(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2020)
Ovarian, Breast, Pancreatic, or Lung…
there’s a look that is shared the same
And staring straight into the eyes of time,
all promises gone and reclaimed
Each moment borrowed and leased from your fear,
the walls crashing one by one
Tonight no longer a sleep guaranteed
—under blankets of doubt unsung
(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)
Is someone profiting on your wishes and dreams,
renaming your parade
Like a thief in the night they steal every wish,
their own life at best a charade
Is someone else cashing the check you just wrote,
to pay for their larcenous schemes
Has your good name been kidnapped, indentured, enslaved
—as you curdle in search of the cream
(Rosemont College Pennsylvania: March, 2020)
Weaver of dreams,
caretaker of the word
Orator of the heart
—steward of love
(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)
