Ever since I can remember,
My dad was a hero to me.
Hard working for his family to provide,
But a gentle man as well.
Never a harsh word,
Did I hear from him.
We did not always see eye to eye,
At times he was the object of my disdain.
But when I came back home,
From the Navy you see,
Something had happened,
Between him and me.
No longer just a father was he,
But a companion and a friend.
Most of his life,
Health issues would be his plague.
Lupus, that insidious disease,

"Look beyond what you see."
~ Rafiki, The Lion King

The cat sits by
the screen door

drawn to the music
warbling from the trees -

her eyes move from
one song to another

searching for the
invisible fascination,

knowing that somewhere
inside the sheltering leaves

a hidden curiosity awaits.

Unlocking the souls beauty through psychedelic dreams,
I discover the inner radiance of my hearts true love,
In the morphic synthesis of concepts and meanings,
I quest through spiritual visions to dimensions above.

The profoundest awe in contemplation and mystic wonder,
As the boundaries between our thoughts mix and emerge,
Shamanic drumming now becoming a stampeding thunder,
The essence and energy of our consciousness converge.

Went to Woodstock baby
hot summer nights out there
It rained and we made mud-pies
[we got muddy everywhere]

Fast cars and faster women
coming down the pike
I had a few of both
and a Honda motorbike

On hot summer nights I partied
some I went too far
I passed out a lot beneath
velvet skies all shot with stars

The sweet smell of Maryjane
floated on the air
Her scent intoxicating
took away your cares

They say your eyes tell a story
About the things that we say and do,
And when you look at your image
You would know in your heart if these things are true.
Some of us see lies reflected,
Some of us know it's all fake,
But what if i get rejected?
Some go along just for this sake.
I see it now in the mirror of this society
This truth of which i have just spoke,
With pride in their eyes, and belief in their lies,
Some of them embrace this joke.

Que

She always says "I love you Button."
I sometimes say "You’re like the end of a good day."

She often smiles when I say this and asks,
“Which parts though? I like to know,
so I can be sure of what I did right."

And I can't stop telling her about all of them.

Today marks fourth anniversary of tragic deaths
an aching breaking heart – mine
remembers four extinguished breaths.

(dashed – not while riding off
in a white horse open sleigh,
but upon learning untimely demise
regarding prosperous family, whose small
plane crashed August 8, 2019.

They lived ~ three doors down from us
farther than one can toss a Buffalo nickelback.)

I can feel the change
Subtle at first, but omnipresent
The summer has grown long
And the heat has turned dry
Everything lush and green
Begins to wear aspirations of gold
Once proud leaves
Seem anxious on their limbs
Fair winds carrying letters
Written to unknown readers
From the canopy of young August
Find me with waiting eyes
Listening ears
And an open heart

Hot night
Fueled by her love
Hugging throughout the hour
Deepening my feelings for her
Midnight

Branches and leaves above ensure
We are in both sunshine and shade
At a temperature
Some describe as hot
Yet others still call warm
We now walk along
Wagga's levee bank
Our foreheads smeared with clay
By a man who shares my first name.

Remember our children
who died by their own hands
Remembering our children
who died in despair.