Journey

Can you tell me if it's Sunday night
And can you tell me if it's Eleven or Two
You see I went out when the sun was bright
And I'm not sure what's what or who's who

See the dog in the bathroom caused an awful mess
With the bucket tied 'round his back
I tried to gather up my shoes and my dress
But the dog just went on the attack

So I'm not sure where I'm going
And I'm not certain what I've seen
What seems impossible, seems to be what's been
What makes sense, doesn't seem to be fitting in

I don't know how I got here
And I'm not sure how I'm gonna leave
Maybe that dog has his own pet to peeve
And maybe we'll go together just to begin to believe

There's a man who's waiting for his girl to call
He's laying out his lemons and his limes
The phone would ring and his head would fall
His broken heart a drive by crime

A woman owns a run-down trailer park
She drives smiling, as the people wave and pray
She Say's "she's the mayor of this broken town,
And always wears pink to brighten their day"

And maybe I'm crazy for thinking
All these thoughts all these days
Like if I run fast enough on train tracks
It will make me Superman someday

And maybe I'm lost for believing
That there's magic in these ways
That broken is just a way of fixing
And I'll be Wonder Woman someday

So I'm not sure where I'm going
And I'm not certain what I've seen
What seems impossible, seems to be what's been
What makes sense, doesn't seem to be fitting in

I don't know how I got here
And I'm not sure how I'm gonna leave
Maybe that dog has his own pet to peeve
And maybe we'll go together just to begin to believe

Open Eyes

It's amazing what the night will say
When you stop
And listen
With open eyes

Silly Lady

Silly lady.
By your own hand
You blinded yourself.
Fingers locked tightly across 
Starry eyes.

Refraction

I am a refraction of light
Broken and bent
Bending or kneeling
Slow or intent
Picasso eyes and mouths
Brows or scowls
I am fractured
In light
A displaced shoulder
A broken straw
An unreachable seashell
So out of reach they shall
Never
Find
Me

Dora Maar au Chat Picasso 1941

Words

Words can weave
A wicked song
Wrapped in roses
And hiding the thorns

Lying fast
Slowing the truth
Grinning sideways
And playing the fool

Infatuation

These eyes have seen my eyes
That others' eyes have called sublime
Those eyes don't mean your eyes
Are any less divine than mine

And my eyes seeing your eyes
That others eyes have laid eyes on
That others eyes have cried upon
Suits my eyes to see your eyes just fine

Eyes Wide Shut

Go ahead
And sing to me
Your sweetest tune
Of ecstasy
Your painful hush
Of agony
Your broken stab
At chivalry

I will listen
With shuttered eyes
Believe your tune
Embrace your lies
Mirror your hush
And alibis
Ignore the stab
Of blood stained tries

Our empty chests
Still heave from wounds
Our darkened eyes
Project our doom

Yet I give to you
My soul to take
It's yours to love
Or yours to break

Spiral

Try as I might

I am stuck

Between

Darkness and night

I am caught

Between

Somber and gloom

Spiraling

Between

Death and the womb

Gretchen

Margaret.

Give not your self.

Cloven feet

Tramp about.

Love 

Does not devour

The heart

It releases the soul.

Puppeteer

I can’t think of a word

That would bring people near

Can’t think of a line

That would make it all clear

For I am the puppet

Plus I hold the strings

Tell both the joke

And dance toward the wings

Make sure the smile

Stays planted in place

Bring both the timber

And lipstick, in case

Be sure to bring twine

And a candlestick too

For I can’t be broken

I must be seen by you

I smile my smile

Laugh all of my words

Can’t think of a time

That I was last heard

For I am a puppet

A disjointed thing

Unable to hide

My tears and my strings

Make sure the smile

Stays planted in place

Bring both the timber

And lipstick, in case

Be sure to bring twine

And a candlestick to me

For since I am broken

It’s time you all see

Holding

Holding on to what might have been

Is like holding on to a cloud

It was beautiful at one time

Yet left without a sound

I cannot reconcile my head

With the heart that I still own

I'm stuttered and disrupted

A broken unset bone

Crying about what was lost

Is like wishing for a wave

A masterpiece that once occurred

A wonder that can't be saved

I beg for you, sweet memory

Please grant me a reprieve

Let me go on with life

For I can no longer grieve

Fly By Night

You can dive with the 
Fishes
The Dragonflies

You can swim with the 
Mermaids
The Fireflies

You can dip with the 
Wings
Of the Butterflies

You can swoon with the 
Moon
The Alibis

Your days have left me 
Alone
But not Scared

Alone
With the darkness
But Prepared

Your love is not something
That needs to be

I loved you 
With a longing
Unfortunately

You can dive with the 
Fishes
The Dragonflies

You can swim with the 
Mermaids
The Fireflies

You can dip with the 
Wings
Of the Butterflies

You can swoon with the 
Moon
The Alibis

Searching

Is there a word

A truth

A thought once whispered

That can help define me

Will I always be that soul

Searching for my body

Is there a place

A moment

A paragraph written

That can help define my call

Will I always be that body

Searching for my soul

Stitched

My heart is stitched upon my sleeve
The thread is growing bare
It doesn't even match my coat
It's frayed beyond repair

Some are born with an armored sleeve
Immune to wear and tear
Others are born to pick your strings
Clipping you without care

Some are born with a plastic sleeve
Looking true but not quite real
They pull you in and steal your breath
Consuming you as a meal

My heart is stitched upon my sleeve
With a needle made of steel
Its colors bleeding, its unsewn parts
Weaving deeply for me to feel

The Bird and the Wolf

There used to be a bird that loved me
Always dropping food on the ground
She loved to see me pick it up
Just so I could hang around

There used to be a wolf that spied me
Always inching in from afar
I would sink my hands through his coarse mane
Forgetting just who we are

I realized one day
That the bird didn't love me
Nor did the wolf, as he spied

The food that was dropped
Was merely a ploy
To make sure the wolf would stop by

I questioned the bird about it
Asking why did this need to be so
She answered plainly and to the point
Don't take offense, that's how things go

I questioned the wolf about it
Asking why did this need to be so
He turned on his tail and looked at his paws
Answering plainly, who knows how these things go

Tuesday

I am melted ice cream

Floating with

A sticky spoon 

You are ice cold lemonade

Vivaldi's "Summer"

An enchanting moon

I am only Tuesday
And you are the Fourth of July

I am grasping for the ring
Eyes closed
Reaching tight
You are sailing on the sea
Gershwin's "Summertime"
In diamonds of light

I am caught in the riptide
Struggling
To find air
You are dancing on the sand
Ravel's "Boat on the Ocean"
Laughing and unaware

For I am only Tuesday
And you are the Fourth of July

Night

Devils leaning on windowpanes

Just eyes

And teeth

And tails

Fangs and scratches

Death and dread

Deepest fears unveiled

Crouching tigers, hidden dragons

Behind rocks

And roots

Of coils

Paws and fire

Strength and myth

Neither faith or hope is loyal

Circles spiral before your eyes

Nine levels

Of hell

And fear

Screams and grasping

Hands and nails

You guide will not appear

Shadows dancing in the dark

They wait

They whisper

They hide

Gray and darkness

Cold and chill

Their clutches deep inside

 

Strings

I built the strings

That allowed me to

Twiddle my fingers

With a questioning pose

I studied the strings

Crossed my knees justly

Pointing my eyes

To all these and those

A man who had strings

Came up beside me

Turning his head

With that jittery tic

He pulled his arm up

And wrapped it around

Smiling with eyes

Rolling marbles that click

His strings mimed voices

And carried a smile

Like a silent picture that moves

All stuccoed heart and fair

He jawed out his promises

Of love and of truth

Like no scissor no knife

Would cut his strings bare

His strings weren’t made of

Truth and trust

Weren’t comprised of

Fearlessness and care

He was a man who used

His strings as a trap

Not a beautiful orchestra

But a jolting snare

That Ship Has Sailed

My Oh My

How that ship has sailed

Left on the bank

Waving to those who prevailed

How on earth

Did it get so late

(Sealing my fate)

Did it get so dark

(Never making my mark)

Did it get so cold

(Growing so old)

With nothing but a mirror

Showing me the way

Depicting my history

(In my lines, my decay)

My Oh My

How that ship has sailed

Left on the bank

Waving to those who prevailed

How did it happen

No children on knees

                (a giggle and squeeze)

No soft whispered nothings

                (that mean so many somethings)

No white shuttered house

                (2.5 kids and a spouse)

With nothing but a past

Showing roads less taken

Depicting my days

                (A meaningless display)

               

My Oh My

How that ship has sailed

Left on the bank

Waving to those who prevailed

Unwelcome

Notes from a Queen to a King...

There is ice in my veins

When I think of you

No warmth remains

When your name is uttered

You’ve slaughtered the hand

That once fed you

You have desecrated the land

That we both were built on

What a gift it would be

To have never met you

What a tranquil sea

I would set sail on

You committed the sin

When lies took you over

You did anything to win

But you’ve lost in the long run

Be off with you

With your arrogance and presumption

Join the fray

Full of righteousness and dysfunction

Hold your head high

Among the weary drones of consumption

Elect yourself Monarch

Full of pretentiousness and corruption

Neon Girls

Crescent moons
Stuck on velvet nights
Matching the marks
Of noble zebras
And neon girls

with nods to Miss Fiona Apple

Duality

The silent house

Confined within its walls

Collides with the madness

Seeping from my brain

Last

The first breath you take

Is the beginning of the last

The silent clock keeps counting

Neither slow nor fast

A final time you see a face

The sweet kiss you receive

Did you realize it was over

Or was it too hard to believe?

The days tick toward  tomorrow

The outcome remains unknown

There is no absolute to offer

Not always reaping what you have sown

The memory of a favorite song

With a lover or a friend

Did it cross your mind to think

That this might be the end?

The finale of a moment

The curtain slowly drawn

With you remaining on a stage

Neither the player nor the pawn

A bow toward the audience

A smile in the looking glass

Did you finally understand it

That every day begins your last?

Perhaps

The ink has run dry

In the poet’s pen

Perhaps there’s no words

Perhaps there never has been

The feeble scratches

Making its mark

Perhaps there’s no purpose

Perhaps they’re empty and stark

The creased edges

Etched in the eyes

Perhaps there’s no need

Perhaps they’re meaningless tries

The twisted phrases

Transcribed with tears

Perhaps there’s no point

Perhaps they’re just wasted year

Sssh.

I'm with people
Yet
I work alone
And
I talk to people
Still
I speak alone
Hush
I smile at strangers
But
I walk alone
Sshh I am alone
Be silent
I am alone

Thinking Of

I'm thinking of all the times
You didn't see me
All of the times
I sat alone

I'm thinking of the days
That seemed so empty
Lost and forgetten
All of the days
I cried alone

I'm thinking of all the tries
I wasted on you
Looking blindly right into a stare
Staring so open right into a blind eye
All of the tries
I tried alone

What does it matter
Why should I care
About the days
The days that didn't matter
Even back then
The days that shouldn't matter
Even today