My life a poem, forego the count,

that comes in threes and fours

 

The space between to catch new breath,

that time may now allure

 

These moments gifted more than once,

constant in their prayer

 

Whose vow will cast the river wide

—new words to baptize there

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)

I didn’t know it at the time,

but my misspent youth was planned

 

The training ground for what I’d write,

then hard to understand

 

The many schools, the teachers chides,

expulsions my reward

 

Postgraduate work for future truth,

all voices untoward

 

The risks were high, survival mined,

Shangi-La, a vagrant’s room

 

My pen disclaimed, all actions shamed,

flat broke one afternoon

 

From the diner’s window I heard the song

that turned my life around

 

As Gregg Allman sang ‘Melissa,’

my true destiny was found

 

And today I harbor no regrets,

there’s no one left to blame

 

As I write the words for me hard one

—my sinful past reclaimed

 

(Strafford Pennsylvania: July, 2019)

‘Thank You, Gregg—I Miss You’

Like wine uncorked to breathe the air,

my heart and mind become

 

The richness of this life I’ve lived,

all fortune on the run

 

Not looking back, but looking in,

the key to feelings past

 

Where hides a treasure, memory locked

—its legacy recast

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)

The pen and the keyboard…

their white flag of truce

 

Now tattered and burning,

new words on the loose

 

The ink stains once mighty,

a cursor now reigns

 

As deep into cyberspace

—the future proclaims

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)

To pierce today’s attention span,

fewer words are best

 

A point honed sharp for one deep thrust

—one is all you’ll get

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)

Is there disappointment in arrival…

anticipation the crown jewel

 

Are the accolades left hollow,

uncertainty what’s new

 

Is acceptance yours or theirs to own,

all badges keyed to lock

 

Does your soul ignite once past the flame

—your words no longer hot

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)

What know ye of the truth,

that final window left to close

 

Who calls thee to its breast,

a suckled vision

—heaven shown

 

(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)