Head unbowed,

heart impaled

 

Memory old,

Celtic tales

 

Allegiance sworn,

 fealty burned

 

Voices call

—freedom churns

 

(Dreamsleep: February, 2020)

If only genius could be contagious,

like chicken pox or flu

 

If only brilliance could be transferred,

like a bank draft overdue

 

If only insight could be replayed,

like a Mozart symphony

 

Then epiphany’s light would shine on all

—in communal rhapsody

 

(Ashbridge Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

Nothing more defended

than the status quo

 

To protect and covet,

never let go

 

Attacked by outsiders,

heels to dig in

 

Rocking the boat

—water within

 

(Ashbridge Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

Dead to himself,

he stepped on the ice

 

Cracks beginning

to form

 

Transcendence rejected,

skating a path

 

In search of time

forlorn

 

Crossing each memory,

forgiveness in sight

 

Each step,

a weighted cost

 

Redemption melting,

 all hope in denial

 

Last chance

—to come across

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

Leading from today

into the past

 

Present state of mind

destroyed

 

The future an orphan,

waiting disowned

 

Hell’s pathway

—to the void

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

Counting spaces between the notes,

the music came alive

 

The melody deepened, the band on fire,

all bees had left the hive

 

Breathing in one fast refrain,

my lungs too full to stop

 

An Angel melts his pearl baton,

the Sirens blazing hot

 

New sounds created, harp destroyed,

the clouds all push apart

 

As heaven waits for one last riff

—to claim my beating heart

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

He who cries the loudest,

suffers the most guilt

 

The eyes of destiny staring back

 —the past with tears rebuilt

 

(Dreamsleep: February, 2020)

When I got to Heaven,

God was gone

 

His desk cleaned out,

the Angels pawned

 

Not one scant sign,

he was ever there

 

Eviction notice,

pinned to his chair

 

My ride had left,

my ticket torn

 

No place to stay,

my hopes forlorn

 

Looking down,

I saw the truth

 

The clouds were empty,

destitute

 

All tenets followed,

a promise made

 

Those things I dreamed of,

the church forbade

 

So here I stay,

imprisoned high

 

No pearly gates

—the oysters fried

 

(Rosemont College: February, 2020)

 

 

 

In the company of Poets,

I make my bed

 

In the company of Poets,

I rest my head

 

In the company of Poets,

my dreams congeal

 

In the company of Poets,

my heart revealed

 

In the company of Poets,

my thoughts are brave

 

In the company of Poets,

all time a slave

 

In the company of Poets,

my wishes fly

 

In the company of Poets,

my hopes ally

 

In the company of Poets,

the road is cleared

 

In the company of Poets,

my past endeared

 

In the company of Poets,

one wish sustains

 

In the company of Poets

—my words remain

 

(Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

 

 

 

Auditioning for life,

 a one-act play

 

Rehearsing my part,

to leave or to stay

 

The audience waiting,

the stage has been set

 

Opening night,

 my birth or my death

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2020)