Counting spaces between the notes,

the music came alive

 

The melody deepened, the band on fire,

all bees had left the hive

 

Breathing in one fast refrain,

my lungs too full to stop

 

An Angel melts his pearl baton,

the Sirens blazing hot

 

New sounds created, harp destroyed,

the clouds all push apart

 

As heaven waits for one last riff

—to claim my beating heart

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

He who cries the loudest,

suffers the most guilt

 

The eyes of destiny staring back

 —the past with tears rebuilt

 

(Dreamsleep: February, 2020)

When I got to Heaven,

God was gone

 

His desk cleaned out,

the Angels pawned

 

Not one scant sign,

he was ever there

 

Eviction notice,

pinned to his chair

 

My ride had left,

my ticket torn

 

No place to stay,

my hopes forlorn

 

Looking down,

I saw the truth

 

The clouds were empty,

destitute

 

All tenets followed,

a promise made

 

Those things I dreamed of,

the church forbade

 

So here I stay,

imprisoned high

 

No pearly gates

—the oysters fried

 

(Rosemont College: February, 2020)

 

 

 

In the company of Poets,

I make my bed

 

In the company of Poets,

I rest my head

 

In the company of Poets,

my dreams congeal

 

In the company of Poets,

my heart revealed

 

In the company of Poets,

my thoughts are brave

 

In the company of Poets,

all time a slave

 

In the company of Poets,

my wishes fly

 

In the company of Poets,

my hopes ally

 

In the company of Poets,

the road is cleared

 

In the company of Poets,

my past endeared

 

In the company of Poets,

one wish sustains

 

In the company of Poets

—my words remain

 

(Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

 

 

 

Auditioning for life,

 a one-act play

 

Rehearsing my part,

to leave or to stay

 

The audience waiting,

the stage has been set

 

Opening night,

 my birth or my death

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

I’m young enough

and old enough

 

And smart enough

and dumb enough

 

And rich enough

and poor enough

 

To laugh enough

and cry enough

 

But fast enough

and slow enough

 

To guess enough

and know enough

 

To take enough

and give enough

 

To think enough

—and feel enough

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

 

 

Can you trust

if not equal

 

Can you hate

if not shown

 

Can you love

without taking

 

Can you have

—but not own

 

(Ardmore Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

Have I lived long enough,

have I said what I came to say

 

Is my spirit now to rest,

has the toll-way back been paid

 

Have I lived long enough,

being willful, righting wrongs

 

A last heartache twice forgiven

—one more smile before I’m gone

 

(St. David’s Pennsylvania: February, 2020)

How quiet are the closing moments

of Winter

 

Its final lingering shadow

passing over your regret

 

Days lengthen into night,

returning Blackbirds a good tiding

 

What ended in shades of red and brown

—beginning once again

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

Bad prose masquerading as poetry,

darkness posing as light

 

Words stacked on top of words uttered in vain

—narcissists delight

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2020)