Eternity’s Twin

As of late,

 I have developed a new best friend

 

It’s my younger self coming

 to visit my end

 

I look in his face,

 and I see a new truth

 

I look in his face,

 and I see more than youth

 

Now more like my father,

 I more like his son

 

The beginning he carries,

 from whose ending I run

 

He tells me he’s followed,

 but I never looked back

 

Always looking beyond,

 what my fear could attack

 

He approaches me close,

 but we’re never to touch

 

The distance between us,

 life’s meaning as such

 

For most of my days

 I planned dying alone

 

But now in his presence,

 every memory reshown

 

He points to my heart,

 as his eyes fly within

 

His vision, my vision

 —eternity’s twin

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I Baptize Thee…”

Am I so entitled,

 is it there in my name

 

Is the water redemptive,

 my salvation proclaimed

 

Does the Rock Of All Ages

 line my river with stone

 

Are the words mine by birthright,

 not borrowed or loaned

 

Is all time but a servant,

 flowing inward to send

 

A beginning eternal,

 whilst slaying the end

 

Is my legacy written

 in the current redeemed

 

As the present rechristens

 —my baptismal name freed

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2019)

New Love

Does the chemist succeed

  without blowing things up

 

Were you ever in need

  from a bout of bad luck

 

Does the tree need to shake

  for the apples to fall

 

Does your heart need to break

  —for new love to then call

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)

First Cut

Do you change the meaning

  in favor of form

 

Do you add a new comma

  because it’s the norm

 

Do you shorten the sentence

  because it’s advised

 

Do you scour the pages

  re-dotting your I’s

 

Do you read and reread

  again to address

 

What sure of at first

  and now want to correct

 

A wise man once said

  and it’s truer today

 

“The First Cut Is The Deepest”

   —leave your words as they lay

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)

The Choking Of Angels

Night erupts…

The maddening glow

Of a closing minute

Of a final hour

Shines pale

Against the frozen concrete

As the drumbeat starts

And the chanting starts

My last broken link

Forever lost

Forever lost

Salvation,

The calling card

Of a new

Abyss

My breath turning

Inward

Where the heat rises

And the voices expand

With the choking of Angels

And the plucking of wings

New grace into the fire

The blessing of those

Becoming

A curse to his rage

The fire of isolation

Burning sweet

Into my memory

Murderous thoughts

Killing innocent feelings

All orphaned intent

Lost in dark wandering

Time no longer master

Unto itself

  —as night erupts

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)

 

Rapture In Flight

I’m a two-winged poet

  not just single-wing

 

And would never clip one

  to fly into this wind

 

As one wing goes up

  the other comes down

 

Until both work together

  when flying most proud

 

A zero-sum landing

  with talons not right

 

Only shortens the glide path

  —and ruins the flight

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)

Words You Will Find

With the years not yet lived

  to determine what’s right

 

You fake it with documents

  that block out the light

 

With experience weak,

  and its lessons still thin

 

Your words only scold

  venting anger within

 

What you want is in sight

  though beyond your best reach

 

And the trophy you hunt

  lost in dreams where you weep

 

But your tears leave a trail

  and your anger a sign

 

For the truth to reach out

  —and whose words you will find

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2016)