Dancing on the fringes
waltzing through the fire
Tango once the step of choice
driven by desire
Life a dark flamenco
words to not intrude
Motion trumping conscious thought
—foxtrot interlude
(Dreamsleep: August, 2022)
Dancing on the fringes
waltzing through the fire
Tango once the step of choice
driven by desire
Life a dark flamenco
words to not intrude
Motion trumping conscious thought
—foxtrot interlude
(Dreamsleep: August, 2022)
In the sandbox of my memory
reasons come and go
Castles worn in corners scorned
left without a moat
Granulated laughter
idle unreleased
Waiting for a last return
covered over deep
The jungle gym sits dormant
a mass of rusted links
One ring missing ladder gone
the rope swing short and kinked
The teeter totter frozen
its pivot rusted tight
The sliding board a one-way trip
fading into night
The sandbox of my memory
where feelings go to die
My childhood friends whose echo’s rend
timeless bye and bye
Still one last voice is buried
deep within the grains
The one I shunted until now
—calling out my name
(The New Room: August, 2022)
“The price of excellence
eternal vigilance”
A sheep dog watches
—the wolves at bay
(Dreamsleep: August, 2022)
At war for the truth
words imprison the mind
The will as a beacon
—its light undefined
(Dreamdsleep: August, 2022)
Some of us were meant to age
of those I am not one
To grace a rocker on the porch
death by zero-sum
When youth is gone my will retreats
the candle at its wick
As dreams abate, the moment late
—flowers all but picked
(Dreamsleep August, 2022)
Blood upon the keyboards
harmonicas in flight
Chasing notes across the score
horns that greet the night
Eighty eight’s to hemorrhage
reeds that bend and break
Music dying then reborn
—trumpeting our fate
(Dreamsleep: August, 2022)
You first forgive
to then forget
Judgment lost
in past regret
To change the mantra
soul’s unfilled
And cage the snake
—from now until
(Freemont Street Las Vegas: July, 2022)
Have I finally truly said it all
running out of words
Thoughts and feelings too remote
my pen a blunted sword
The doors revolve and seasons change
as Winter calls my name
Whose grammar laced with period ends
and fingers stricken lame
A final time my eyes shut tight
to fall into a dream
Just one more word—new phrase to grace
reaching for the cream
(Villanova University: July, 2022)
Adopting the world
for what it is
The illusion orphaned
—death to begin
(Las Vegas: July, 2022)
Ye cursed with too much knowledge,
all fate’s within your grasp
The destiny of all beguiled
entrenched behind your mask
To Thee of grace outstanding,
the rose and bud the same
Beginnings end as endings start
assumptions die unclaimed
Oh Ye who brave the mountain,
its winds blow far and chill
Each footstep placed a sin erased
the moment frozen still
And Ye who share the journey,
all mockingbird’s deboned
Your wisdom marks a trail unseen
—for others to atone
(Las Vegas Airport: July, 2022)