They don’t kill politicians anymore
though some might say they should
Those vermin breeding malcontents
all worms in rotten wood
To feast on dreams of hope and change
and sell what pain has bought
They rape our souls in daylight scorned
—no punishment when caught
(The New Room: July, 2022)
Orphaned by the distant wind
as darkness bathes the dawn
My wings have flown beyond my sight
to catch the cygnet swan
A brother to the foreign soil
lost father to the man
Hearing wisps of memories past
old promises remand
Alone upon a falling sea
in depths my heart bemoans
The water cold inside my veins
fresh images I’m shown…
To raise my spirit from its sleep
and chase the light above
The night relinquishes its grip
and frees the mourning dove
Returning messages of hope
to course before the sun
That shines upon my reclaimed self
—my flight at last begun
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Twelve men in the beginning
reporting unto God
Ten Commandments to proclaim…
devotional synod
Sacred by their nature born
each man immortal bound
Divinity in every word
salvations thorny crown
Choices come and choices go
judgment waits beyond
The weight incumbent, buried deep
embedded in a psalm
Nine will cloister, locked in place
the future theirs to choose
Decisions based on marble text
—Noah’s Ark in view
(Villanova University: June, 2022)
Till life retires me I won’t retire
all cries to uncles stalled
And won’t slow down or buy the farm
till Abraham has called
My will as though a five-year-olds
wild and dancing free
Those trees of life I’ve yet to climb
still calling out to me
The view much clearer though ladder worn
from high atop myself
With passions free and burning hot
each thought more deeply felt
Somewhere a bugle waits for me
an Angel standing by
To blow my name when time abates
—upon whose wings I’ll fly
(Beaupre: June, 2022)
The Ocean has no conscience,
no judgment, joy, or hate
She dances with you to her beat
in stirring waves of fate
With reverence you may enter
all blessings on the day
But just one slip and she reminds
what ancient mariners say…
“Red sky at morning, sailors warning
red sky at night, sailors delight”
Her message best taken when early to bed
life in the balance, her power to dread
(Rosemont Pennsylvania: June, 2022)
You’ll never be sure
until you might die
Power imploding
—rebirthed in goodbye
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Released from
the inferno
Tongue of Satan
to betray
Saving words
from his fury
Muting the serpent
—today
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
Left or right
the noise drones on
Distractions prized,
the message gone
What’s right is right
unless it’s left
The truth beguiled
—our soul’s bereft
(Dreamsleep: June, 2022)
A giant of a man
to whom history bows
As schoolboy’s sing
his legend proud
Our rivers symbols
where freedom flows
Through nighttime crossings
in driving snow
That freezing winter
at Valley Forge
The enemy slept
our hope restored
Embracing conflict
in search of peace
As patriots bled
our bonds released
A giant of a man
to whom history bows
In debt we live
our souls endowed
The first to lead us
the first to pray
The last to leave us
‘Tis Well’ this day
(Valley Forge Memorial Chapel: June, 2022)
Laboring in obscurity
my dog forgets my name
The hours pass, the moments fade
with every day the same
My faith a light that dwindles
belief the final straw
In darkness splayed, my hope betrays
—no luck beyond the draw
(The New Room: June, 2022)
