The weather today was lovely,
sunny and unseasonably warm.
I thought I'd roll the windows down
and take the car for a spin.

I was heading along the main road,
kids on bikes and joggers galore.
Had the music up, my cool shades on,
singing along with my happy tunes.

Until...

There above on a rooftop,
I saw the most horrible sight.
Smashed, flattened, and splattered
was something red and white and black.

As identical twins we were bound by the same blood
Always compared from the instant we were born
Those who passed by the newborn section began the comparison
We were viewed as the same yet as so very different

Everyone whispered behind our backs
Beginning with teachers as early as kindergarten
In first grade the battle really began
We were placed in different rooms

We drive past the place
where she first said I love you.
Perched on a cliff by the sea.

The location has been closed
for a few years now,
but not in my reflections.
As we drive by, I take her hand
while drifting back to that day.

She smiles at me just then,
as the waves break with commotion
on the shore, and joins me here
in a memory I’ve saved
for all our tomorrows.

My best friend gave me the truth, his age when I asked, thirty-two, in his dark brown leather jacket.
First and last time I ever asked that question, all dressed in white, sunny day of first communion.
Slight hesitation before he spilled the beans, knowing the truth couldn’t hurt, and didn’t.
Still have pictures from that day, a sunny day, back in the nineteen fifties, Saint Michaels Church.

May this suffering we endure be eased
May our desire for compassion be pleased

May our greed and excessive want be tamed
May none among us feel scorned or shamed

May we acknowledge the faults we bear
May we recognize those values we share

May our humility extend the olive branch and dove
May our hearts embrace our differences with love

May we learn to understand and to forgive
May this darkness we've succumbed to be short-lived

Dear heart, this is no easy road
We've set ourselves to take
The rocks are sharp, the falls are steep,
It's so easy to break
Over the stress, the hopes, the fears,
The dreams unrealized.
This road was easier to walk, dear heart,
When it was fantasized.

I remember the days
we’d stay on the phone all night

We’d fall asleep on the call,
just so we could wake up together the next day.

I used to think
“It can’t get better than this”

---

I lie here,
held in your arms
the safest place I could ever be

The colder the night
The closer you hold me

I think to myself:
It really can’t get better than this

---

9 months of waiting
We held our son for the first time

Really, It can’t get better than this…

---

Loving has always been second nature for me.
Even when I don’t want to,
When I know it will hurt me,
I love everyone around me with my entire heart,
Body,
And soul.

Some people have taken advantage of this.
They know they have my love to fall back on,
So they give their hearts away
To girls who are not me,
While crushing mine in their fist.

It’s not an easy task,
Being the one before The One,
But I don’t necessarily mind doing it.

Uncertain if my one man pep rally appeals to thee most amazing, daring, grueling... youngest aspirant to restore Earth in the balance predicated upon uncomfortable truth. The old geezer here would be over the moon if ye desired, and received majority votes to usher desperate legislation to mitigate dire planetary dilemma, thus whim what might seem far fetched brainstorm, could help aright (with leftist support) precariously perched world. Methinks ye would be dynamic force to implement apropos measures.

Vice President Elect Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - 2024

In life there are words and actions
That bind our hearts together
Among the many words and actions
There are those that shine the brightest
A gift from my friend, my wife.

She has given me more than gifts or presents
She provides the daily song that brings joy
The light when times are darkest
The joy when there is sadness

With her, I have found love
In her I have found strength
Her love is a gift beyond measure
A gift that fills our family with hope