What is this one life really worth,
the price of many sins
What is that one last question asked
—if never to forgive
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
What is this one life really worth,
the price of many sins
What is that one last question asked
—if never to forgive
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
By facing death,
we embrace life more
We see the limits,
each minute core
Seen as a friend,
all life betroths
Each moment treasured,
our loved ones close
And when we face
that final day
A voice more gentle,
bids us sway
Into the dark,
one candle burns
Death’s welcome light
—for our return
(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2019)
To my Grandchildren, those great and beyond,
whom I will never meet
Know that I love you and have seen you in the eyes of your parents,
when they were very small
I’ve heard your voices in the trees, when the wind blows softly,
calling my name as I walk
I’ve seen your arms reaching out to me in my dreams,
as you cry “Papa” and then drift away
Your spirit is mine, as my spirit is yours; and no lifetime
can keep us apart
I watch over you now and will watch over you then,
whenever the need is great
I’m that voice you hear when you think no one else listens,
and no one else understands
And the heart that feels what you will feel
—when no one else seems to care
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
Are you a Poet or tactician,
or “A Rose By Any Other Name…”
Are your words stained with patina,
some would scrub and some would blame
Is your Kingly verse too rough for some,
finding safety in their books
Is your verse uncut with edges sharp
—all Princes in their rooks
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
Is death the price of truth…
“The light shining brightest
that shines at the end”
Is death the price of truth…
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
The voice of a Poet,
the breath of a Child
The curse of the Devil
—forever beguiled
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
I imagined myself rich,
I saw myself poor
From the suite to the stable,
my soul cried for more
The sweeter the temptation,
the more dour the gain
A kingdom for a poem
—my treasure renamed
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)
The tragedy of us
is that we couldn’t overcome
ourselves
To become who
we were meant to be
—sharing the greatest gift of all
(Dreamsleep: July, 2019)
The reality of who we were
destroyed what we were
—as the thresher kills the rose
(Dreamsleep: July, 2019)
That’s the way life is…
greatness wrapped in a tattered box,
lined with regret
compliments laced with a negative refrain,
hiding the truth
Fear and delight masquerading as one,
chanting behind the mask
—that’s the way life is
(Dreamsleep: July, 2019)