He stands a little straighter,
throws his shoulders back.
"My Country Tis of Thee"
his face no longer slack.

Wounded in his mind,
he was left upon the field.
He never came home at all,
and he will never yield.

He spends his days still fighting,
for his God and country.
His wife looks after him,
she prays, "Please come back to me."

There was a gnome
who had a home
deep within the earth
and once a year
he would appear
to spread a little mirth.
His body stout
without a doubt
you could say
that he was chubby,
but the jokes he told
robust and bold
would expand
your under bellies
and when this gnome
had finished
he'd jump back in the hole
to come around the next year
to tell another joke!

Romance
Seeking someone
Expressing emotion
Feeling excitement face to face
Intrigue

Tree Hugger...

When I awoke, I felt so bad,
I went to hug my favorite tree.
I thought about the fears I had,
No one would fear, but me.

"Too bad", I thought I heard it say
The bark, it scratched my face
I hugged it all the tighter
As my mind began to race

I'm losing it, I really am
"Too bad", I heard it say
Are my ears deceiving me?
Have I gone all the way?

I open the door
and the morning air arrives
causing me to inhale
as the sun clears the woods.

A few steps onto the deck
and squirrels start to bark at me
I shrug my shoulders and my neck
in the shadow of a tree.

Deer appears from somewhere
then stops and stares at me
then drops its head without a care.
then turns and walks almost carelessly.

a few doves rocket by
dodging limbs without effort
then disappear in the sky
the deer for some reason gives a snort.

Maternal grandfather of mine
long since passed among the living;
He left his Motherland
before onset of Holodomor,
a policy of the Soviet Union
aimed at the destruction
of the Ukrainian nation,
the 1932–1933 genocide in Ukraine.

The present doth bear witness
to repeated assaults upon
scapegoated innocent people.

Russian soldiers in general
and Vladimir Putin in particular
perpetuate outright injustice
against Ukrainian population.

i wish i had more hands
so that i could hold yours with two of mine
a third tangled in your soft curls,
rubbing the small of your back with another.

i wish i had more words
to describe the way you make me feel:
like a giddy little girl, blissfully unafraid,
singing along in the shower to a colbie caillat song.

i wish i had two sinks
so we could brush our teeth side by side
laugh at the foam around our mouths
and watch your shoulder brush against mine in the mirror.

Those three little words are stuck in the back of my throat.
I know it’s soon, but I feel it.
And I think you do too.
I feel dizzy, I feel sick.
I see visions of us riding off into the sunset
Like every cheesy romcom that I’ve made you watch.
I know I cannot say those three little words,
So instead I will hold you, kiss you, protect you.
I’ll tell you I am yours and you are mine
And it will be enough
Until I can say those three little words.

Fifteen years in Muller Town...

What day or night are you available?
You deserve me, I'm yours.

"Has anyone ever escaped?
These eternal chains, forged by weird-wired brains.
My emotions have been raped".

He can tell you, no matter what, he didn't do it,
Deny responsibility, never copping to a plea.
"You can't prove any of that shit".

Whatever you do, wherever I go,
You're always here, always around,
If I can't see you, my tears would fall down,
From my eyes like a river flows

Whatever you do, wherever you go,
With a look you make my heart glow,
I'm wondering how to make you know
I have a wish deep in my soul

You're an angel dancing with stars,
The only one who lights a heart,
With a look and a smile

My love for you can't be denied
Even though I tried to hide that
I would fall for a smile.