Imagine a scene
Done up right
In wide screen
Some desolate place
Doesn't matter the kind
Just know
That it is desolate
And you
You are trapped there
Alone
No one to rescue you
No help is coming
In fact
The only thing
Headed your way
Are the predators
You can hear them
As they approach
You've got 15 seconds
That's all the time you have
Well now
What do you do?

I live on the edge of town
In a shanty I designed
I live along a well travelled road
With a dog named Time
I won't go into town
No matter how I'm persuaded
At least not willingly
Or of my own volition
Time wants to drag me there
Roadside thugs do too
But I stay
Just on the edge of town
In a shanty I designed
I see many people
Headed to town
Never do they return
I would try to warn them
If I wasn't struck mute
I would try to direct them
If my hands were not tied

last call
was all he said
as he shuffled on down
the empty walk
please just one more
she said in return
he shook his head
and drank the last
not enough for both of us
so woman you gotta go...

let me catch you
if you fall
her last words
before the crash
she was waiting and ready
but not prepared
for how fast he fell...

it's ok baby
they always come back
drying her daughter's eyes
but underneath
when her daughter wasn't listening
she muttered to herself
he better not
or I'll kill him
but she smiled outside
gave comfort
and dried the tears...

just a few more
random scenes
from the lives I see
as a spectre
a watcher
I float among them
never quite sure
how to help

It's here again
that old feeling
of wanting to disappear
to be unmade
nevermade
to be a bit of
Divine Amnesia,
if you will,
for what God
doesn't remember
can never have existed.
What's the lesson here
that I'm failing to learn?
That I have no faith?
That I'm lazy?
Co-dependant?
Out of touch?
Useless?
Perversely Narcissistic?
Self centered?
I know all that already,
so what am I missing?
What do I do;
where do I turn?
Yeah,
you could give me
the best advise
but I'd never use it,
never do.
Perhaps I just enjoy
being this way?

If I could
Just borrow His scalpel
I'd start at the top
And work my way down
Cutting away all that you see
Try to reveal
What's really in me
But in the end
Do I really know
What that means
I know the ideal
But is it really there
Or would I just find
Even more despair

Why should I care
What you have to say
Weren't you the one
Who promised to stay
Didn't you pledge your love
Never to go astray

You gave me empty words
I'm sure you believed
You made plans for us
Not meaning to deceive
Or did you do it all
For what you could receive

Call me crackhead
Call me addict
Call me what you like
The sweats
The aching
The melancholy
Overwhelm me
When I can't get my fix
I cannot move
For days on end
The world is coming
To an end
A week goes by
And the worst begins to fade
But I'm still craving
Lookin for my fix
Ain't got no dealer
Ain't nothin I can arrange
Ain't no good, til I get my drug
If it weren't so random
I could cope
I'd do my steps
And be alright
But my fix
It comes out of the blue
Just when
I think I'm ok
It hits me from nowhere
And I go insane
Gotta have more
Gotta have it now
Gotta do what I can
Before its gone
Cycle repeats
Until I crash
Tell me, girl, what can I do
I just can't get
Enough of you...

I've been sitting here
For three hours
The hands of my watch
Haven't moved
Batteries must've died
Figures
That's just the way things work
Or don't work, I guess
Strange the noises you hear
At 3am
The hidden, secret life
Of the night
But that's not really why I'm here
Is it?
I've been sitting here
For three hours
Staring at this gun
And wondering
What should it be used for?
When I sat down
The answer seemed so clear
But now
I'm not quite so sure
I came all this way
Walked miles into the park
To this secluded spot
Because I thought
I knew what I wanted
But now?
Something is holding me back
Another three hours
And its the same
I've no more tears
No more hope, really
But I still don't know
What I want
Scratch that
I do know what I want
I just don't know
If I'm man enough
To go after it
To do what I think
I should
First morning light
And I have to leave
Can't have a Ranger find me
Now can I?
But still
The dilemma
The problem
Remains
I guess tonight
Wasn't my night
Or maybe it was
I just don't know anymore
And I'm tired of asking
Now for the long drive home
Time enough
To put the mask
Back on
And pretend
Everything is ok
No one will notice
Will they?

One touch
And you were gone
A brief sunlit day
Another hummingbird
Takes flight
And me with it
A kiss is a kiss
Except from you
One flash of moonlight
Looks down
On the dawning day
I saw the smile
In your eyes
Reflected from your heart
Was it meant for me
I will never know
And like
The first ray of sunshine
After a storm
Perhaps that's
For the best
One brief moment
With you
Stops a hummingbird's wings
And freezes
The question,
Left unanswered,
In the air

That's right
You won
Wasn't a contest
Beat them all
In a race for one
You stepped out
Stepped up
Answered the call
And you were the only one
To reach the end
And you were the only one
To run the race
There was no other choice
It had to be you
Look down through your life
And you will see
Everything
Yes, everything
Led to this place
This race
This time
With a kiss you set off
And with a kiss
You finished
The race of your life
And it was you
That won

I've got the best
Of all worlds
I've got you
I've got me
I can love freely
Cause I don't subscribe
To The Philosophy of Zero Sum
Love just isn't
Something that gets used up
You either keep it alive
And it grows
Or you kill it
Choice is always yours
I'm not talking infidelity
Or selfishness
Because those too kill love
No, true love grows
And there is always room
For just a little more

You were right
When you said
That I didn't matter
Quite that much
Who am I to think
That you would be
Thinking of me
What foolishness says
That I would be missed
What a haughty heart
That assumes it is needed
So I thank you
My dear
For setting me straight
And correcting my path
Can I be happier now
That I know the truth
Can I finally find peace
With my own
Inconsequentiality
Thanks to you
I now have that chance
That opportunity to be
Nothing more than I ought
Nothing more
Than what was meant
For me.

Talk to me
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
Tell me
Everything
I and
I won't do a thing
I won't stop
Your tomorrows
I won't stop
Your dreams
Your tears
Your sorrows
Or your wayward plans
Just speak
And I will listen
What happens next
Is up to you

Went out tonight
Just to think about things
Brought my notebook
Just in case
Sittin alone at the park
Watching the clouds
And thinkin about you
And the rain is coming down
Washing away
The stress of my day
It's easier to cry
In the rain
But its useless
To write
Poems to you
The rain washes the words
Off the page
The thunder cracks
And its time to go
Home again
Safe and dry
Yesterday's forgotten
Washed away
And I'm ready to start
A brand new day
(With or without her)

It's always darkest
Before the dawn
Unless dawn never comes
Then
It's just dark
Wandering lost
In the perpetual dark
Of the Arctic Circle of love
And its always night
There are rare times
When a far off sun
Can be glimpsed
On the horizon
But no matter
How fast I run
Toward the dawn
The light always fades
And the sun sets again

Sing, sparrow, sing
Open the doors for spring
So I can learn to love again
Dance little one, dance
Make room on the floor
So I can learn to move again
Wipe away your tears my dear
Wipe away your sorrow
Sing and dance with me
Like there's no tomorrow.

If you live in a house of mirrors
As I do, my son
You really must take care
What stones you throw
For the very things you see
That upset you so,
These things are but reflections
Of the faces we don't like to see
Our inner selves
So carefully hidden
Show up in the eyes
Of the innocents we see
And angry at ourselves
We cast stones at the innocent
But this only serves,
If we look closely enough,
To shatter the illusion
That we're looking at anything
Other than ourselves
So do be careful
Of the stones you throw
Look past the illusion
And your anger
Like the reflection
Will quickly fade.

I only experience you
In the abstract, my dear
An idea, whose time
Has not yet arrive
The ghost of a future perfect
I let you haunt my every day
Rattling the chains of contentment
You bring a banshees tears
To tomorrow's past
And oh, how I want to possess you
To touch and enfold you
But the present
Cannot touch the places
That tomorrow occupies
So my timid touch
Passes through you
Without any notice
I sleep alone and whisper
Gefillednys

She walked out of the sea
Grey skin, dark eyes
Long black hair
Nimble and bare
Her body did the speaking
As she approached
Commanding silence
From all around
I watched with an unhealthy mix
Of desire, despair, fear and hope
I wanted her nowhere near me
I wanted to possess her
Mysterious and grim
Beautiful and deadly
She stopped inches from me
And spoke with a voice
Like seaweed at high tide
Quiet, delicate, but insisting
Her message was
As grey as her skin
Her intent as black as her eyes
She told me of my fate
Of hidden treasures
And lost souls
Warning me away
And begging me to join her
Deep fathomless secrets
She revealed that day
And when she was done
She kissed me
A soul rending brush of the lips
She turned and walked
Back to the sea
I was left trembling
With desire
With dread
With barely contained lust
And a deep hopelessness

I have a fresh idea
But its almost not worth
The mention
A suggestion really
And singular at that
But you my friend
May think me insane
Were I to whisper it aloud
So
Let's play a little game of guesses
And see what comes about
Bigger than a bread box
But fits inside the smallest places
It can stop a thundering wave
Or crumble with a glance
It is highly prized
And cheapened daily
It is exceedingly rare
But every child is born with it
And now
Your guess is as good as mine
Because, you see
My fresh idea
It's older than sin
But its an idea
We should never regret.

Kissing couples
Holding hands
A dozen gifts
All in red
And here I stand
With one black rose
To celebrate
Black Tuesday
Diamonds, pearls
Candies and bouquets
Thousand whispers
Of undying love
And here I stand
Empty handed
Celebrating Black Tuesday
Cherubs
Cupid
And the lot
Dance and play
Guilded in red and gold
Their story is over sold
Too many couples
And too many well wishes
I turn to go
To celebrate
My own Black Tuesday

I shop
In a second hand store
For my
Second hand life
Nowhere to turn
Nowhere to go
Used up
And recycled
I got four score years
And nuthin to show
I got a mountain
Of empty promises
And no more home
I got love lost
Hope dust
A return to sender
And a future
On a discount
Everything must go
Fire sale
Goin outta business
Last chance rack
And I got
That pretty little lady
Strollin down the street
Doin some window shoppin
Discount store hoppin
I'm hopin she'll drop in
And spread some
That love around
Cuz she'll find
What she needs
Hidden in the back
Just waitin
On that discount rack

She called me by mistake
An unintended redial
I heard her having sex
It doesn't matter though
Cause I left her long ago
Little bits of serendipity
Intrude upon our lives
It's the little bits of random
That make life change
Saw her a few days later
Rosy glow and all
She didn't know why I smiled
The truth didn't show

Out to lunch I said
But she didn't hear
I think she was too busy
With the flowers in her hair
I said I think I love you
But she wasn't looking
I think she was preoccupied
With the passing of a smile
Try to catch me now
Was all that I had left
But she left me laughing here
With one more goofy joke
I tried so hard to be serious
But she just didn't care
She was too full of life
To be less than infectious
I want to hold your hand I thought
And this time she heard
You can for just a little while
Was all I had to hear

Prescind

What u do
What u do to me
What u did
What u did to me
I saw what u did
When u did what u did to me
Saw what u do
When u do what u do to me
Gotta watch out
Gotta be careful
Don't wanna miss a thing
Don't wanna b left out
So, girl
Whatcha gonna do
Whatcha gonna do to me
Who u gonna b
Who u gonna b with me
Cuz I know what I want
When I want u to b with me
I said
I know what u want
When u wanna b with me

Too late for you
Is it too late for me?

Surrendered the deck
To a lunatic duck
A foul fowl
With homicidal intent
Showered in feathers
Wrapped in that tape
I hoped to survive
The next few days
A swamp chicken
With a serious tick
Took his turn in the wheelhouse
And knocked us off course
Driven mad by the calls
Of his cousin the loon
He spit out a rhyme
And glared in my eye
Off with his bufflehead
The Scoter proclaimed
My last I almost breathed
Only to be saved
By a wild eyed elder
Keep whistling past the grave
He whispered as I left
And pay no heed
To that fool and his ways
Just don't tell
And don't call the scaup
Fly free now
My bipedal friend
And with that I turned
Left and never pondered again

Ships run aground
Have no concern
For the depth of the sea
Nobody participates
When no one agrees
I've left little clues
That nobody sees
So fetch me my stick
While I gambol and play
I have a suspicion
You won't know how
Because its clear to me
That you cannot see
The beauty and depth
That floods our senses
Perhaps...
It's you
That's run aground

Envelope crush
A wicked smile
She knew what I was up to
But she stayed just the same
Gotta give him credit
For tryin like a fool
But the title weren't in the offing
And she walked out alone
Someday came and went
Just like her passions
But he paid no nevermind
And wound up the king
Thems the lessons
That got learned
School's not for Buncombe
So's you might well pay
Flyin in the face of reality
Come against the stones
She's just one catch away
From the inside of home

Collector
Collector of souls
The lost, wayward and empty
The nice guys
The hopeless
And love lost
You collect us
Bring us to you
Like pointless moths
To a flame that heals
Your the collector
Of fragile glass hearts
Keeping us safe
In your menagerie

Split by the gulf of consternation
What I want is forever separated
From what I can have
Always sailing between the two
But never quite reaching shore
I am nobody's somebody
Adrift in the In-Between

Closer to Home

I hear you crying
My lovely windswept Angel
I see the sorrow That surrounds you now
I know the pain That he's putting you through

I wish you could fall in Love
I wish I could be the man You were looking for
I wish I could be the man That filled your every need
I wish you could fall in Love with me

It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be this way
There's so much more to you Than what other's say
You've so much more love to give
Than what he can see

I wish you could fall in Love
I wish I could be the man You were looking for
I wish I could be the man That filled your every need
I wish you could fall in Love with me

It breaks my heart to see
Your heart broken repeatedly
I want to dry those tears
I want to set you free
Bring back that smile of yours
And hear your heart sing wildly

I wish you could fall in Love
I wish I could be the man You were looking for
I wish I could be the man That filled your every need
I wish you could fall in Love with me

If I had my way
I'd make it all disappear
Just you and me
But that's never gonna be
That's not what's in store

I wish you could fall in Love
I wish I could be the man You were looking for
I wish I could be the man That filled your every need
I wish you could fall in Love with me

But that's never gonna be
That's not what life has in store

I wish you could fall in Love
I wish I could be the man You were looking for
I wish I could be the man That filled your every need
I wish you could fall in Love with me

Spent the night last night
With you my friend
My constant companion
My ever present demon
You whispered bitter truths
Throughout the night
And I
I repeated, faithfully
Everything you said
You've been with me so long
How can I not but believe
All the evil you whisper
And twist into my soul
I awoke this morning
Full of your words
Brimming over with spite
For none but myself
And I will continue
To repeat your mantra
Re-enforcing what I believe
About you, me, and tomorrow.