The curse of the writer

woo’s angels and devils

Chasing the daylight

 far into the night

 

Each phrasing an omen

of hope or foreboding

With lines that entangle

— in lost delight

 

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)

There’s a lingering shadow

that follows us all

Counting each breath

each step till we fall

 

Its pall ever darkens

while just out of reach

Its voice heard to whisper

through mountain and beach

 

It sees every moment

both joyous and sad

Recording our journey

the good and the bad

 

And then on that day

when our fate meets the end

Its arms wrap around us

— our very last friend

 

(The New Room: June, 2025)

Through struggle

one can justify life

Losing the battle

enhances the view

Blood on the rails

all markings assured

Death as the prize

— recurring anew

 

(The New Room: June, 2025)

Writer’s write

Speaker’s speak 

(and never)

— the twain shall meet

 

(Ketchum Idaho: August, 1983)

Too much

of too much

— is never enough

 

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)

Lighting Tomorrow

 

Memory’s

lantern

near empty

unfilled

 

Each night

in the darkness

to flicker

until

 

Your eye

without warning

a flash

unexplained

 

Forever

relighting

and fanning

— the flame

 

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)

 

 

Shamal Winds

 

Lost

in the deepest

recesses of myself

And happier

than I have

any right to be

The hidden

regions

my newfound oasis

A Bedouin

convert

— home among the sands

 

(The New Room: June, 2025)

 

Infestation

 

The American Dream

becoming

a nightmare …

Conscripted

by strangers

new thieves in the night

Usurping

our freedoms

embedded among us

Invested in nothing

but

— what they can steal

 

(University Of Pennsylvania: June, 2025)

 

 

Leaving The Noise

 

He came into

silence

like fish

take to water

 

The only thing

constant

his being

alone

 

To wander

the alleys

of quiet

reception

 

The noise

and confusion

for others

— to drone

 

(The New Room: June, 2025)

 

 

Looking back

speed is warped

looking forward

it slows

Each memory

a racehorse

that goes

and it goes

 

Intuition

the truant

in what it

will bring

When time

is reversed

and the Jester

— is King

 

(The New Room: June, 2025)

 

In flowering

wishes

a feeling

unfolds

 

A vase

sits awaiting

its love

to arrive

 

Each petal

of hope

in a blossom

untold

 

Till picked

from the valley

of passion

— alive

 

(Dreamsleep: June, 2025)

Walking South

on the beach

in front of Doral

I heard a woman sing …

“If you put the man

back in romance

I’ll put the lay

back in lady”

Catching up to her

I asked

where she first

heard the song

She said: “It’s mine

do you like it?

It still

needs more work

I was hoping

this walk

would enchant

or inspire”

At the Fontainebleau

I said: “I do very much

Let me help you write

 the second verse”

 

(Miami Beach: 1982)

 

 

 

Dreams Of ‘Papa’

 

Burning fat

off your soul

with each word

that he wrote

 

Every vision

a banquet

to swallow

or choke

 

In the ring

or arena

with blood

boiling high

 

A man greets

the dragon

with hello

— or goodbye

 

(Dreams Of Papa: May, 2025)

 

 

Sins Of Omission

 

Intending

to deceive

with words

unsaid

In your

silence

truth denied

 

What’s stays

on mute

voiced in

your head

Its  

intention

— vilified    

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2025)

 

 

Smyllum Park

 

The great

deceivers

hope and affection

Leave you

a foundling

an orphan of joy

As twins

they’re conscripted

in fields of abandon

Where life takes

no solace

and heartache

— deploys

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2025)

 

 

Into The Breach

 

Every war

is different

Every war’s

the same

Bullets fly

and soldiers die

With valor

— to rename

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2025)

 

 

 

Crossing Over

 

A whispered dare

a final vow

the Rubicon behind

 

New Light ahead

through smoke and blood

the final victim — time

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2025)