Living in a rented room
my thoughts became my own
Living in a rented room
my borrowed soul was owned
Living in a rented room
the fog began to lift
Living in a rented room
my spirit set adrift
Living in a rented room
the moment now the thing
Living in a rented room
—to me, myself I bring
(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
Learning should be an open meadow
and not a cave to hide
When coupled with experience
its lessons to abide
No degree or title, money or fame
will direct you toward the light
Life’s one great lesson—living free
the academic’s plight
(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2018)
A window framed with memory
emits the brightest light
Its lock and hasp long since removed
a journeyman’s delight
Casting off the millstone
the rock of age has come
Where darkness hides beyond the sash
—inside a rising sun
(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2018)
If you never loved me,
would life be easier
would life be better
If you never loved me,
would you have emptiness
instead of joy and pain
If you never loved me,
would moments vanish
as wishes drag through the years
If you never loved me,
would your heart be orphaned
—by a choice never made
(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
Warrior Poet…
Son of the raging
Tiger
Provoked
By the scent
Of anticipation
Roaming
In the abyss
Of all excuse
Preying
On all wasted time
And wasted lies
Stalking
The foreign crevices
Of each denial
Devouring
In the end
—what you fear the most
(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
The window open
weathered and worn
My soul releases
—spirit reborn
(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
Filling my soul,
I spent the morning with Laura
Tearing down barriers
—within the magic of her words
(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
1972 ‘Nittany Mountain’ Ladies Choice
Dancing to the music
inside a mountain garage
—Laura became my partner
Lost within her melody
found within her words
—never to be alone again
(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2014)
On a battlefield lined
with the blood of dead letters
I slay the monsters of uncertainty
—and their legacy of fear
(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2013)
If I wanted to show you what I see
I’d be a painter
If I wanted to offer you salvation
I’d be a preacher
If I wanted to play to your fantasy
I’d be an actor
But I decided to give you more than that
—I’m a writer
(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2018)
Politicians…
Married
to the sound
of their own voice
Divorced
from those
who elected them to serve
Philanderers
of a
bigger truth
Infidels
in the end
—only to themselves
(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2013
