There’s a hole in my heart

where dreams used to be

A pain that’s indwelling

all joy there bereaved

 

The emptiness deepens

 with each rocket that falls

One voice in the millions

—to answer the call

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)

Death …

when there’s no longer

something to believe in

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)

Faith …

the capacity

to believe

 

Belief …

the odyssey

of proof

 

Proof …

the embodiment

of reason

 

Reason …

the arbiter

of truth

 

(Beaupre: October, 2023)

 

Married  

to our differences

with hate

to document …

What long implied

today arrived

the last nail

—in the fence

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)

Were you invited

to the party

Do you paint

 or write or sing

Have the voices

come to visit

Did new feelings

lodge within

Were you courted

by seduction

Has your soul

become entranced

As you sit alone

and wonder

Will this be

—the final dance

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)

Cultures dissected …

structured refusal

Cloistered eruptions

dearth to accept

  

Rising triumphant

 they steal from each other

 Defining their existence

—by what they reject

 

 

(Septa R5: September, 2023)

A broken wing

in death’s chicane

Where pigeons fall

unending pain

 

A blinded flock

to circle down

As fangs await

both wolves and hounds

 

While far above

a falcon stalks

Vision prescient

it never balks

 

A broken wing

once clipped in fear

the raptors chase

—with canids near

 

(The New Room: October, 2023)

It’s never about

—what it’s really about

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)

Etta was predicting

Stormy Weather

As Ray freed his

Seven Spanish Angels

Roy asked are you still

Running Scared

But Ella was smiling and

Watching Over Me

Peggy gave me that look asking

Is That All There Is

But Kris stepped in to

Help Me Make It Through The Night

Willy reminding us all

How Time Slips Away

As Hank made his entrance

That Lonesome Whistle Blowing

Bobby was still bleeding from

Mack The Knife

As Frank flew in on

A Summer Wind

Aretha was breaking

That Chain Of Fools

While BB cried out 

The Thrill Is Gone

Smoky was drowning in

The Tears Of A Clown

And Sam kept promising

A Change Is Gonna Come

As the Fat Man looked down

from Blueberry Hill

Elvis chased the

Hound Dog out the back door

But Brenda had our

Emotions running high

When Satchmo assured us  

—It’s A Wonderful World

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)

The lies are uncountable

with only one truth

tomorrow and yesterday

masks to confuse

 

Behind bars of enchantment

our fantasy hides

programming our psyches

rewriting each lie

 

To hide from the moment

its present refused

whose message eternal

intention abused

 

The mirror a prison

all windows set free

eternally instant

—when choosing to be

 

(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)