Espresso steam tantalizes
the air drifting along
pothos vines and
untroubled folk in
comfy chairs.

White cups converse
on tidy shelves
above glassed-in
croissants, quaint sandwiches
and perfect red apples.

Rehearsed requests flow like
arias from customers' coveting lips
while waiting in line toting
iPhones, bookbags,
and trendy backpacks.

We are all warm and fuzzy inside,
homogenized with the earthy bean
that traces its prominent savor from Ethiopia.

With open displays of love and laughter,
and affection still in the fore,
a family friend admired how it all seemed
and felt so genuine, so at ease after all these years.

“This is how families should be.”, she observed.
But she couldn’t see the crimes and misdemeanors
of the past, and the forgiveness behind them.

Later, we cut the September celebration cake
and shared it with all who were present.
There, on our festive plates, it was obvious to all
the tenacity of love still had a place at our table.

Watch the sun reclining into its shelter,
How it folds, journeying for rest,
Watch the stars dwindling when it's dawn,
Lights burning out, fading into afterlife
Time tells our story, ends our reign
There's no rest on life's street, no home to play,
Forever ever, plus ca change
Bells on pause, waiting to jingle the signals
The road calls to end when home comes

Countdown to homelessness –
mars this earthlinked sole Harris - son
panhandler would would register
pyrrhic victory won.

10…9…8…3..2..1…
Found me linkedin at the end of my wits
mein kampf and hard times
playing on big screen at the Ritz
vamoose oft times motivations quits
for -- no money iz the pits
without any rich Uncle (Sam) in my orbitz
to ease worse case scenario than bing covered
head to toe with nits
if...offered residence among...
hive feel stung as beelzebub doth buzzfeed,

Nobody wants to hear you sing the blues,

but when you’re down and out

and feel you’ve nothing to lose.

It’s part of your nature to dip your foot in that pool.

You can’t go forward, and it won’t help to turn back.

Then lend me an ear and I’ll sing for you.

A melancholy tune that seems to distract

And though you suspect that it will all turn around.

From the choir in your head, only the blues resound!

The voices that plague your tormented mind!

Won’t let you rest on this hot August night.

We wake up each and every day
Seeking various games to play
What we really find
Are thoughts within our mind
Still seeking real games to play

How long until I am no longer lost in the middle of longing,

How long until I am no longer trapped by a sense of ill belonging,

How long until I receive the rewards that I am not entitled,

How long until my full potential becomes unbridled,

How long until success breathes down and makes the hair's stand on the back of my neck,

How long until I find the reason suffering is clinging onto my lifes deck,

How long until I find the one to love,

How long until I realize that some priorities are well above,

I'm lonely, Lord, this cruel spring day.
I've lost the will; I've lost the way.
And this ill wind that bends the trees
blows in my face a bitter breeze.

I'm empty as an arid cloud,
left lifeless in a corpse-clad shroud.
I've ceased to toil without a rest
to feather someone else's nest.

I've left the busy world of work.
Behind my window blinds I lurk,
to watch the race I’ve left behind.
I’m morbid, so by most, maligned.

I am the sun, I am the sky
The light that shines with wonderous eyes
I am the moon, I am the stars
The meteors that shower Mars
I am the earth, I am the roots
The trees that tower flowers bloomed
I am the rock, I am the stone
The minerals that hold below
I am the North, I am the South
That gives direction to each cloud
I am the wind, I am the breeze
The elements that flow with ease
I am the fire, I am the heat
Igniting dreams that spark each beat
I am the birth, I am the breath

When your back is against the wall
When you're surrounded on every side
When you're pinned in, no escape
Keep your eyes trained on that prize

When things get hard, grit your teeth
If you're tired, then keep up the fight
When the odds are stacked against you
When the world gets dark, be a light

If your enemy fights back, fight harder
Keep your eyes on the title you crave
It isn't about what others didn't do
It's all in the little efforts you gave