“You may be declared the winner, Papa

—but you never beat the game”

 

(Grandson: Glastonbury Connecticut: November, 2021)

 

In the beginning God cried…

He cried for His fallen Angel

and He cried for His Son

His tears forming the great rivers and oceans

His sighs the vast deserts

His pain the tall mountains

His light from the darkness

His love the first garden upon which we sinned

—in the beginning God cried

 

(Ronald McDonald House: December, 2021)

Fashioned in enameled vacancy,

the gentry’s veil was pierced

 

Exposed unclean, all vices seen,

through fury sharp and fierce

 

The folly of their blasphemy,

whose cover all but blown

 

With blood to flow from ramparts high

—once driven from the throne

 

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

 

Waiting for the music,

naked and alone

the words become orphans,

unsung and unknown

 

The letters in limbo,

each phrase nether blown

with melody absent

—the magic disowned

 

(Rosemont College: December, 2021)

What stirs within the buried heart,

what lies beneath the whim

 

What Seraphim have yet to pray,

 what sinners yet to sin

 

What hides within those thoughts that stray,

what leaf remains unturned

 

What stirs within the buried heart,

what voice unclaimed—unheard

 

 

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

‘Tribute To Thomas Wolfe’

 

The riches of anonymity,

the poverty of fame

 

All treasure in what freedom brings

—myself unknown to claim

 

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

‘Tribute To J.D. Salinger

 

Why do you need a ladder

when you’re holding the sun,

the light deep within you

—transcendence begun

 

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

 

Often, the worst punishment

you can suffer

—is not getting caught

 

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

Most miserable

when she’s happy

 

Most shameful

when she’s proud

 

Most prescient

when unconscious

 

Most distant

 in a crowd

 

Most forthright

when not speaking

 

Most giving

when denied

 

Most secret

when she’s telling all

 

Most dead

—but still alive

 

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

The script of experience,

endorsing our wills

banking our choices,

paying our bills

 

Crediting our memory

for what lies ahead

debentures of faith

the black and the red

 

A ledger retallied,

both columns in sync

the plus and the minus,

indelible ink

 

Its summary left open,

all errors erased

with loans to push forward

—new funding in place

 

(Rosemont College: December, 2021)