How can I forget?
Forget the past
When the mirror reflects
It back to me.

It’s written on my face
With every trace and flint of grey
It’s rich like home and poor with suffering
It’s a homestead and a daily reminder

The jumble you see in front of you
Like twisted shore pines
Has been untied and acknowledged
Fully grasped and held Exalted
Full circle redeemed at said shore line

I hope you wonder
If I'm thinking of you
I'll bet you're thinking
I've got nothing to do

But boy, just hold on
I've got a newsflash
You're not in my head
I can't feel the backlash

I hope you're home alone
Thinking of the situation
But I'm not here to fight
Or start an altercation

And I ripped that picture
Tore it down the middle
I feel like Rome is burning
I'm Nero playing the fiddle

MEAN HALLOWEEN

It’s all just for Halloween they said
And pointed me to a changing room
I doubted that it was to be a contest
Yet no-one is listening to my protest
With all the lights off, it’s total gloom
Even though I’m made to look dead

I’m posing with several pumpkins now
And a mask with glowing lights for eyes
An old crushed top hat completes it all
All this nonsense at the very end of Fall
Answer the door and they get a surprise
I’ll get this off me, but don’t know how

The seagull, with his eerie cry,
hangs high up in the summer sky.
He questions not, nor reasons why
his life on Earth will one day die.
Brave bird of prey, he’s full of pride,
flows with wind, the waves, the tide.
When food or female he does seek,
in sing-song voice he starts to shriek.
He steals your lunch from off your lap;
a baguette or a bacon bap.
His noble nature knows no fear.
He scoffs at sinner, saint and seer.
Supreme, he soars above the sea:
The seagull, feisty, fierce and free.

Bliss

most of all, I miss our mingled laughter...

traveling the telephone lines,
banishing the many miles
the abyss of distance between us,
your heart and mine.

indelible memory;
your eyes the color of wood-smoke.
your envisioned smile
took me to an elevated state of bliss...

Have you heard the latest word,
Said the Moth to the Bird.
A term that shows their weakest link,
Shows their inability to think.

Why can these humans not live together?
Asked the Bird pecking at some heather.
Why do people always kill each other?
Aren’t they each an earthly brother?

And the Bird pondered at this word,
In the description he had heard.
Is it HATE by any chance?
Bird piped up with a knowing glance.

Standing alone as clouds draw near
Through the black and grey,
Lightening piercing sullen sky
Acid drops mix with burning tears

On my knees, face down in the gutter
Thunder rolling through my screams
The streets flooding with water
My voice now nearly a stutter

Passersby keep walking
Under a cloak of invisibility
Left to drown; inaudibly shaken
All the while they keep talking

There's a line to cross, questions holding the gateway,
Many tears of apology, flying through echoes of regrets
Why do dreams perish, fading into the bosom of the unknown??
Why do the blind wander when there's the beauty of the world to see??
Why do the lame struggle to walk when there are beautiful places to explore??
Why do fools live longer than the knowledge of men??
Why is there no hope for the ones who are hopeful?
The way of the world strikes in trickery, no one to trust, no grace for the race,

After extorting pound of flesh
lifetime humiliation drummed into captives
hammering indelible nightmare
no amount of therapy can expunge.

Lifetime trauma inflicted perpetrators wage
dead bodies littered makeshift triage
death and destruction
exhibit super fresh killing fields,
where sally forth set pathmark
to abominable gut wrenching
ghastly hollow hellscape.

“Dinner might be awkward
if we don't care for each other.
Maybe coffee would be better for this.”, she said
with tactical honesty over the phone.

“Let's do that.”, I offered.
“I'll suggest dinner afterwards.
If we both agree, it’ll be a good sign
things are going well.”

Over coffee, her eyes seemed to smile.
“You brought me chocolates!
How did you know about my addiction?”