This isolation

This isolation,
once my sanctuary,
and my salvation,
steals my memory,
is now my damnation

12251212

Mystery Ending

Each day
begins filled with possibility
Each life too
How they end is the mystery

05421212

What we learn

Our journey requires
us to take steps...
Our destinations
not always a choice
What we learn
along the way
is all ours

05371212

Love is still the answer

There is no point in going on
to what?
But eventually, as the wounds heal
you resign yourself to what is
you deny what once was
and return to healing places
you once knew together
remembering only the good...
Eventually you get over it
each in their own way
and you hope to find something,
someone, to replace your loss
You find friends and loved ones
are still there
still caring...
and he or she becomes as a dream
and you feel safe within your shell
your run from attachments
thinking you have found freedom,
but there's no room for dedication,
nor kindness, if you forget
that Love is still the answer

00000000

Human Nature

Violence and fear,
year after year,
man's nature is clear

11411212

Time just dulls the pain

I think of this past summer
it was when time stopped for me
I don't get past this time
cannot accept it, or get used
to this change.  It is not
a normal sorrow.  I keep
thinking it need to have
happened, it's as though
all my bones are sticking out
and cannot be covered.
Time just dulls the pain,
but it's still there.

10061976

To my angels

Awaken us in truth,
and renew our faith,
each and every day

10361212

Time rolls ahead

All the pieces of a new year
spread about like a puzzle
waiting to come together

10301212

Nothing like the sea

I feel like a lover near the sea
it is all so beautiful...
to watch each swell rise
and crash and kiss the shore
It's an intimacy of feeling...
Nothing like the sea gives me this
feeling anymore... save the
weight in my heart of the bliss
I once shared with you...

02620000 - 10071976

Everything is better

The difference between your world
when in love... is everything is better.
It all seems the same from the outside,
but suddenly, everything's better.
The world seems brighter,
the sun shines on you more,
and the moon waxes silver shadows,
for no others... everything smells
sweeter, the flowers, all nature...
The fruit is much crisper to your
senses... you can be more generous
to those around you... everything
is just that much better... because
of love... so you know you're there.

02610000

Christmas Died

Christmas died with the economy
no more presents, no more tree
only my cats for company
Christmas died with my memory

07121212

My lover the sea

The sea is my lover
he opens his arms of wet warmth and foam
and beckons me to him
calling me home
to the billowing sound of the surf and tide
to the smell of the salt air
the call of the gulls overhead
and the sand where
it meets the water
exchanging its granules for seaweed and shells
and in the stillness of a fog
the eerie sound of the bells
tolling to the boats that go by
a warning cry from the sea
the protective arms of the sea lover
keeping us safe but free
engulfing the rocks
and making them barnacled and fed on slime
baked by salty water
and changed into brine
the sea so alive with creatures
and colored by nature's hand
never the same... always changing
we cannot understand
all the mysteries he stays
this wet sea wonderland
I'm cradled and rocked
released and set free
drawn to him endlessly
my lover... the sea.

02640000

Winter Has Come

Winter has arrived with its sense of chill in the air, clouds low hanging and filled with the promise of moisture and maybe snow upon the hills.  It is a brisk day for sure.

Time to break out the heavy socks and sweatshirts, for warm fires and hot soups.  It seems to have come suddenly, as if only last month it was summer still.

Winter is a good time for reading and thinking.  Inner thoughts seem to go with being indoors more.  Bundling up with a good book and soft music.  Hot chocolate and a cozy cat for company.

Some people seem to dread winter but I have always found it peaceful and renewing.  Long walks with warm coats and mittens, your breath steaming from the cold, your nose a little frost bitten while your spirit feels exhilarated and refreshed.

Its a time to collect pine cones and fresh branches to bring indoors.  To add the scent of fresh baked bread and cinnamon cookies.  Chestnuts and spiced cider.

Its a time to listen to choral music and to count your blessings.  For friendship, family gatherings, and rainfall.  For thoughts of family and memories.  To look through old photo albums and reminisce.  To put the bulbs away until next spring along with the inflatable pool, shorts, and tank tops.

I love to sit on on my patio still, especially when the rain is softly falling and the breeze gently blowing.  To feel a part of nature.  To watch the clouds gather and the sun set.

Winter seems almost magical.  To build a fire after you've been tramping in the snow and to huddle around it to gather warmth and to bring out the thermos to warm you inside out.

Winter is the time of holidays, of thanksgiving, of sharing, of singing and caroling.  Of Christmas lights and new year's cheer.  Children on Santa's knee, and Silent Night and Ave Maria.  Of promises to be good and a list of toys in childhood.  It always fills me with delight.  Each brisk day, or winter night.  Filling me with gratitude for all God's wonder that He bestows upon us.

11201999

The years ahead

The years ahead,
fewer than those behind,
each day counting more
than ever before...

11171212

If I had a window

I imagine I had a window,
and dream about what my view would be,
blue skies, clouds and trees,
that's what I'd surely see,
if I had a window....

111212

Friends are God's gift

Some meetings are part of our destiny, while others are like ships passing in the night.  More than 30 years ago while attending adult school, myself and 2 others formed a friendship.  One was destined to be my sister of choice and the other drifted away in a short time.

One of my best friends I have never met.  Almost 40 years ago I answered a request for a pen pal in a magazine.  We still write, still share our deepest thoughts, we have been close in geography a few times but fate has kept us from a face to face encounter.  And yet, it has not dimmed our friendship.

God has brought me in touch with those on a spiritual journey parallel to mine.  We listen to and encourage each other, recommend books or programs, pray together, and for many others.  Some I have known for years and yet we were never close.  Not even friends but more acquaintances, until God brought us together.

I know that all who are in my life are meant to be in my life.  Some just to flutter through and others to bond.  Each has something to teach me, or a message that will make a difference.  I try to be open to listen now, that I may better hear.  To truly be aware, that I may better see.  And to be filled with gratitude for all those who not only cross my path but those who come into my life, they are gifts from God.

When we reach out, we also teach.  When we take time to truly share our inner thoughts, our feelings, our beliefs and our soul. we connect.  It is important to remember we are examples of what we learned and what we choose to practice.  We can be a shining light of hope, of love, of faith, of giving, we must be conscious of our actions, of what we say or leave unsaid.

To open our hearts and embrace others, to be in the spirit and give generously in love is to truly be a friend.  We must always remember to acknowledge and repay the kindness we receive and always be grateful.

12211999

Not a penny

When we arrived in New York Ctiy
it was snowing, hard, cold
not a penny in our pockets
We needed shelter, not pity...

13141212

Once is enough

If Mae didn't get it right this time,
she surely didn't want to do it again,
she cursed her son's silly notions of reincarnation...

12581212

A long walk in the wild

I am a child
as I once was before
in awe and wonderment
that age has restored
to ashes I soon return
and so soon ends my journey
a long walk in the wild

10101212

Love is the meaning

Love is the gift that gives meaning to life.

02001212

When the dead speak

Gertrude insisted that she'd just gotten off the phone with her mother,
what could Herald do but acquiesce, perhaps the dead do speak...

12421212

Cold urn of ashes

She held the cold urn of ashes,
all that remained of her mother,
Susan wondered if she should cry...

12301212

Beds of money

Eleanor's dead body was removed quickly,
and new sheets were thrown on the bed...
all made ready quickly, for the next fading body,
beds were money at the senior facility...

12221212

Ghosts on the line

Conversations across time
ghosts on the line
as surely grapes on the vine

02001212

No more reminders

To Susan her mother had become a card for her birthday,
and another for Christmas along with obligatory phone call.

If she didn't have to send a monthly check to the senior facility,
Susan's mother didn't really exist any longer.

Susan waited for these little things to stop.  No more reminders,
no more things to do.

10581212

Keep on the path

We must not lose sight of our dreams or stray too far from the path we are destined to be on, lest we not accomplish what we are here to do.

We can get sidetracked with things of unimportance an postpone what we know we should be doing and at times receive reminders, especially in our dreams, not to waste time on that which is of no value.

To get back on track, take heed as the angels are speaking to your unconscious.  You have something to do that will make a difference even if you cannot see its significance at the time.  God knows and wants you to succeed.

Each day is important in the evolution of your growth.  Live it consciously.  Give time to God, time to gratitude and time to forward your path through divine guidance.  Ask God what you can accomplish this day before beginning.  He will lead you in the right direction step by step along the path, bringing to your attention whatever is necessary to succeed.  That may take the form of a course to take, books to read, a lecture to attend, or any other knowledge you will need to attain.

Trust in the synchronicity through which you receive it.  Trust in the still small voice that speaks to you and in your dreams that increase your awareness.  Listen for the messages that are sent to you and any signs you may encounter along the way.

God has a plan for you, trust in him and all will be revealed.in time.  We cannot see what is at the end of the path but God can.  We cannot see what is just around the bend but God knows.  What he asks of us is to follow where he has led us and to have faith.  In the meantime he will provide the abundance that is necessary to accomplish what we've be sent here for.

Faith gives us all the strength we need to encourage us along the way.  Each one of us are important to God.  We are his children and He, like all parents, wants the very best for us.  Put your faith and trust in Him and all will be well.

12141999

Paralysis

To you I gave
what youth I had
left it behind
a lover's gift
you gave me guilt
remorse
and hurt
eyes mirrored of pain
throbbing in my head
you opened and closed
so many doors
women come and go
through them
an escalator ride
through your life
stopping only briefly
a pause...
then on their way
you take from them
what you need
climbing atop
the nebulous of them
to inject anesthesia
shot through your turgid organ
leaving them aged
and torn...
always in need
to feed more
legs open and close
your dance of love
the paramour of lust
drinking youth
through sexual exercise
like a parasite feeding
on its host....
pawns in your grasp
fed on hummingbird tongues
and the eyes of yaks....
one by one
you use them up
with the stamina of a bull
hunger filling your loins
with endless nights
of feeding
my palingenesis
prince of pain

03291977

Over the cliff

Politicians call it a gift,
as they push us over the cliff

05031212

Live today in gratitude

The holiday seasons are times for remembering others, past times, precious memories.  They are a time for giving and receiving in the spirit of love, not in overindulgence.

It is a time to get together with those you care about and a time to express what is in your heart.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we didn't wait for holidays to be in contact more often.  To let those we profess to care about know how we feel.  To help the needy more often.  To be open hearted, to be part of a true community.  To share.  To celebrate the life we have been given.

Gratitude teaches us to be more aware of our blessings, instead of dwelling on our hardships.  It opens the door to receive and leads to greater abundance.  In the state of gratitude nothing is taken for granted, each small blessing is noted. Even those that do not appear to be blessings at the time.

We wait to see what they may reveal to us in time.  My life now consists of events, that in fear, I thought were disasters, but in reality led me to a new direction, a stronger spirit, a vitality and peace I did not previously possess.

Now I know to release my rigid expectations to to be open to the blessings that will arrive in time and on time.  God loves to give and when we are open to receive we find that he blesses us with abundance. 

He reveals to us a path of joy and new learning.  To greater experiences and a discovery of hidden talents or those we have been afraid to nurture because we thought there was security in the job and rut we were in.

The only security is in faith.  In allowing God to lead us to our higher purpose, and in living life in a state of gratitude and awareness.  Then each day can be a season of giving, of loving, of commitment, of counting our blessings, of remembering to stop and smell the roses, and keeping in contact with others, of taking time, remembering what's important, and feeling grateful.

12061999

We're never alone

Life is precious, a gift of joy.  It is not something we must struggle through each day, but embrace fully.  We have a choice in how to experience our life but often times we neglect to recognize that.

We feel locked into jobs, relationships, a way of life that are often painful to us.  We can begin to change that by changing the way we perceive things.

When we realize we can always choose differently, we cease to feel so imprisoned.  We think that our job cannot function with us.  When truly that is not "our job".  It is not the purpose we were sent here for.

Maybe the fact that we are so unhappy in our present situation is a sign to us that we no longer belong in that place, at this time.

When we are on the path where we belong, it is not necessarily easier, but we have a sense of fulfillment, of truth in our life.  A sense of right, purpose in what we are doing.  We think we can't do otherwise, but we can.

How do we know whether we should let go?  Ask God!  He's waiting, he will answer, and he will provide all that you need to succeed.

What we experience when we feel we cannot go forward, make a change, choose again, is fear.  False evidence assumed or appearing real.  Look again!  Let your inner voice, which is the Holy Spirit, be your guide.  Learn to quite your mind so that you may hear more clearly.

The angels too will answer.  Call on them for their support.  There are even angels who specialize, tasked to guide.  Seek them out.  We do not need to struggle alone, and the truth is we never are alone.

We only feel that way when we do not recognize, seek, or listen to the spiritual guidance available to us.  Seek and you'll find.  Knock and the door will be opened to you.  And who is it that answers our call but God himself in his divine love.

09271999

Her final comfort

Eleanor passed away
alone in bed
a morphine drip
her final comfort

12191212

Unconditional

What is love about?  Is it a necessity we think we need to fulfill us or an acceptance of our own being?  How can we learn to love others unconditionally until we learn to love ourselves that way?  First we must learn to acknowledge that we were created only in love because it is the Divine that gave us life and purpose and the divinity is pure, unconditional in love.

This love is unfathomable, endless, without boundaries or restrictions for who we are, without modifications.  Why do we have such difficulty accepting that?  How we accept the ability to be loved unconditionally affects the relationships we develop in life.

Ours have become a world of always judging ourselves and others as worthy or unworthy, scorecards in our hands.

God's love just is.  It just exists without the necessity of our needing to earn it,pay for it, accomplish something worthy of it.  Like God, it just is, always was, and aways will be.

Learning about love is part of life, of our existence, our purpose in being here, of your spiritual growth, our self examination.  We need to learn to give love without attachments as well as accept it that way.

We need to take time to just be, to quiet our minds so that we may hear, feel, and become the love that exists within us.  It breathes along with us.  We exhale it in giving, and inhale it in receiving.  It is part of all that is.

In spirit, the angels speak it to us and embrace us in the love divinely sent.  All things from God are for our highest good.  God wants only the best for us, and yet we entangle ourselves through judgment believing we are not worthy.

And thus we leave this abundance of love on the table, unable to accept it for what it is, unconditional.

09261999

A love once true

Deep in the woods,
where the ice glows blue,
a mighty pine once stood,
fallen now, like a love once true

11231212

Love is a weed

You never really believed in me
in what I was
or how I felt deep down
I wounded you somehow
like a thorn in the side
now I sing the song
you never sang for me
of birds wings and butterflies
and freedom to love
but you have to try
life without love is a monotone
of events and days
overlapping each other
I am the weed in your garden
they are harder sometimes
than the flowers
carefully planted there
and tended lovingly
and keep coming back
however much
you cast them off

03271977

Winter is here

Cold and gray
Winter is here
Praise this day

05461212

Love is not discreet

Love is not discreet
it is as a latchless door
blowing in the wind
I remember well that trip
it started out so beautifully
and before the pain
of your going
there was something else
the awful feeling
of being ground and crushed
until only pulp
was all that was left
of body, heart and soul

10111977

Make Meaning

Make meaning not with words,
but with many deeds,
just as flight distinguishes birds,
from fields of weeds...

05521212

Circles of love

Circles of love
bread to the wind
light from above
the day begins

05441212

Naked Love

Far better to be humiliated
exposing love to its nakedness
to the very elements we fear
than to walk away
there's no triumph
in losing love

02590001

The gift of love

Boxes of diamonds and gold,
are no repleacement for love,
joy a gift not bought and sold,
something the world needs more of...

05521212

Soul Survival

I have lived too much
...this past year.
Loved too deeply...
Endured more sorrow
It's as though all things
...were intensified.
Like a giant neon light
...glowing overhead
My heart can't live
it hasn't such endurance...
for the soul of me to survive.

10061976

Impending Disaster

The fabric of society
is thin and threadbare...
This is the recepie
of impending disaster..

05461212

The Parting

I remember when we parted
me with my tears,
more than broken-hearted
I'd loved you for years.
It's been quite a while
since I've tasted your kiss
or watched your eyes smile
and basked in their bliss.

I had known it was ending
from so many a small sign
but it had just been beginning
your love and mine.
My life is now shattered
but my love doesn't die
so what has it mattered
that your love was a lie?

Your face comes before me
and your voice to my ear
brings back visions I still see
of memories so dear.
Others seemed to know
of us much too well
I think it is so
you just had to tell.

We furtively met
when all quit our leave
how easily you forget
and cause me to greave.
If in the future I should meet you
after some years
should I pretend I never knew,
you, the cause of my tears?

08241976

The gift of memories

You can't put a ribbon on a memory,
they're something you make with love and care,
and the best presents you can give, happily...

12441212

A Solitary Christmas

A single string of lights
on an old plastic tree
blink through the night
reminders of what used to be

05421212

Moments, so few

This agony has been going on
for so long now..
When am I going to stop
loving him?... How
can I ever be the happy
person I once was?
He left me drowning in my
own pool of love... Does
he ever think of me... Do
I come into his mind?
Do his thoughts during
the day.... find
their way back to me and
all we had been?
And if his thoughts so trail
this way... does he think of when
we can be together again?
A time for us two...
to love and be loved... our
moments have been so few...

00000000

Media Cancer

The news media
nothing but a cancer
upon society it feeds
stories of horror and anger
our dying soul thus bleeds

09231212

Conficts of life

We struggle in ranks,
trying to get our voices heard,
while our vices prevail...
such are the conflicts of life

18591212

Building Better Tomorrows

We see your lips move,
but your words have no meaning...
hollow, going where the wind blows
You offer no comfort,
shallow and self-serving
ignoring our suffering...
We're just votes to you,
a means to power...
Be gone, we've work to do
building better tomorrows...

17501212

The Shadows of Sinfulness

All the pieces for a new world
lay scattered about, a jumbled mess
trying to find order, we must be bold
and move out of the shadows of sinfulness

17321212

Burdens of grief

Take comfort in the tears of others,
and know they truly care...
these burdens of grief, anguished mothers
your tragedy we all share...

17041212

The future unblemished

Children live
in realms of infinity,
they are the answers,
the future unblemished

16541212

At one

In prayer,
I'm at one,
with all that is...

16501212

Oh mountain high

Oh mountain high and proud
how could they treat you so
building houses in your crevices
destroying beauty as they go
they don't appreciate your majesty
somehow people will never know
enough to enjoy just what is there
the gifts God did bestow...

05301977

Sacrificial Offerings

Trees make sacrificial offerings,
leaves to autumn winds,
in preparation of winter...

19361212

An approaching winter

Purified by the falling snow,
and the silence of the night...
The mircle of an approaching winter...

19311212

Budget Talks

False smiles and snake eyes,
once more a nation held hostage,
to grandstanding and lies...

05411212

Stupefied

We both fought each other
neither would yield
never reaching
an impasse
but we were stupefied
with pleasure... together
fragile with hope
it was a hell of a price to pay
but we venerated
each other...
Can you ever
completely forget
an experience like ours?

10071977

It's not you

It's not you, it's me,
can't you see?
You and I can no longer be...

07091212

A day to write

Snow fell through the night,
blanketing the mountain in white,
a good reason to stay in and write.

05511212

One more anomaly

I have no bearing
I have no name
one more anomaly
not the same
unnumbered among
the crowd of many
unnoticed... left alone
to walk my life
no love... no union
I can call my own
the ache in my groin
unquenchable in desire
for him who left me
long ago... buried in the mire
unravel... my ends
the price has been paid
in pain and anguish
you'll find them frayed...
I'm still licking my wounds
unhealed, betrayed
alone, vanquished
love lost to time
with fading mind
I sit and wish
I'd been different
but alas
I was just an anomaly....

07071977

Unconditional Commitment

Ted thought about rock climbing, but it would take a leap of faith to give it a try....  Beer and football were so much more meaningful.  Everything else was absurd.

12431212

Magnificent is love

Limitless,
formless,
timeless,
magnificent is love...

05471212

Soullessness

Until death takes me...
I live with the lie someone said
that time will heal my wounds
knowing some sores grow and spread
widening chasms of hurt....
Insomnia is my nightly companion
and tranquilizers my daily crutch
and loneliness an emptiness
to fill the void of my soullessness

10071977

Waves

Waves bring me comfort,
watching them roll to shore...
Nature my solace and support,
my soul is nourished and restored...

12451212

New meaning

Ted was certain life would take on a new meaning after he ate something... He'd missed breakfast.

05521212

The day begins

My spirit is enriched by the beauty of the landscape. I never tire of the glorious mountains, the endless trees, the wildlife, God’s daily gifts and blessings. I do not wish to rush the seasons by wishing for spring when winter is upon us but to savor the gifts of today, each day. Each is unique in its own glorious presence. There are no repetitions but new joys to behold. Each day is a fresh canvas waiting to be painted with what we are open to experience. We can choose how to see it, what colors and mediums to use; just as we choose our own outlook on life despite the hardships we may endure.

00000000

Storehouse of Moments

Does he know
I still remember him
so vividly
I sleepwalk
through life
my mind a storehouse
of moments
caught in time
leaping into reality
of unexpected
periods....
his touch was the only thing
that ever
shut the world out
for me...
I think he know
this intensity
of feeling
scared me
yet racing ahead
without blinders
I searched the depths
of him
finding only
an empty well...

07071977

Take nothing for granted

Henry never appreciated Edna,
always taking her for granted,
until that fateful day....
there He was begging her to call 911,
pleading with her, while lying on the floor...
Henry promised to make it all up to her,
Edna turned and walked out the door...

12531212

Fields of gold

It was a sight to behold,
elves crossing fields of gold...

12321212

Holes in the past

This road I'm on bothers me,
sudden lapses of memory,
holes in the past a mystery...

12131212

Hope isn't waiting

The road we're on, failure
hope isn't waiting there...

05421212

A canvas of words

A canvas of words
painted by brushes
of imagination
an endless world
of possibilties

05361212

Prince of Pan

The paramour of lust
drinking youth
through sexual exercise
like a parasite feeding
on its host
pawns in your grasp
fed on hummingbird tongues
and the eyes of yaks
one by one
you use them up
with the stamina of a bull
hunger filling you loins
with endless nights
of feeding
my palingenesis
prince of pan

10071977

God's Tears

Have you ever thought about the rain,
just what it could be.
Is it only the moisture in the air,
or it it God's tears for you and me.

When we have hurt God by sin,
by the human things we do.
I like to think the rain that cleans
are God's tears for you and me.

He is hurt by the wrong we do
and because he loves us so much
it causes his tears to fall to earth
and gives us a little of himself to touch.

Only He could create the rain
to wash the ground and fill the sea...
and because he loves his children so much,
the rain is God's tears for you and me.

00000000

ghosts whisper in the breeze

In the mountain of superstition,
fear takes the shape of trees...
while the slowly sun sets,
and ghosts whisper in the breeze

12511212

Waking Liberty

The sculptor
molds visions
as the heavens thunder
freed with precision
liberty wakes from slumber

12451212

On wings of truth

On wings of truth,
you take celestial flight,
protectors since youth,
An Angel's salvation our right...

12311212

Angels guide me

Remembering I'm not alone,
even in darkness Angels guide me,
and in the end take me home....

12161212

Messengers of the divine

Ghosts walking by,
these spirits of the dead,
they're waiting
for messengers of the divine...
Oh come yea Angels,
take them home...

12121212

Garden of dreams

When Edna learned to let go,
she became a rose in bloom...
Watching her garden of dreams grow...

11571212

We still have the scars

We were married,
but never close...
Suffering from wounds
that we couldn't share...
Raw and exposed,
we fell apart, in anger...
Decades of never mending,
we still have the scars...

01011996

Our Heavy Burden

Milton spelled it out,
Paradise had been lost,
of that there's no doubt,
our heavy burden the cost....

11351212

Earth Bound

We chased after truth
like it was our purpose...
thinking it would bring order
and put the heavens in harmony...
but like angels with no wings
we were earth bound in misery...

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This could be ours

The earth
opens up
a universe
of sights to all
if we would but
open our eyes
to see
The wind to cool
moving, touching
better than
any air conditioner
it gives us
a feeling of freedom
The animals
know
instinctively
of life
we must learn
They have
agility
strength
and beauty...
Like the grace
of birds
all this
could be ours...

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When wells run dry

I went to the well to quench my thirst,
to my surprise, the well was dry,
parting my parched lips to curse,
and looking up, rain clouds filled sky...

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Careening off track

Work isn't just about money,
but we've forgotten that...
Once a land of milk and honey,
now careening off track...

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Speak in truth

Don't be judgmental.  We don't know the truth about how someone else really feels.  They may be expressing anger whey they are really in a state of fear.

They may be struggling for iindependence and feel that your love is smothering them.  Again it may be a desire for freedom and fear of the unknown.

Change can be frightening, and certain periods of or life are filled with uncertainty and confusion.  We think we know what we want but are not sure of the hows or the ability to attain it.  So we stay in the safe harbor and express our resentment for it.

Life is choice and facing our fears and overcoming them one step at a time.  We generally strike out at those we love most because we feel a sense of safety in that love to express ourselves.

Unfortunately when we are not in truth we cause pain instead of understanding.  Instead of saying this is what I'm feeling we criticize inappropriately.

Our anger creates more anger and the truth gets lost in the exhibition of emotionalism.  Then, instead of a cooling off period we pick at the scabs of our emotional wounds to justify our pain.

We refuse to let a healing take place and wonder what went wrong and why we are alone.  We keep it alive until a chasm is created that is almost impossible to cross.

Love is precious, and should be, unconditionally.  That does not mean we should accept abuse, only that we release the person in the most loving way possible and allow the lines of communication to remain open if we want to continue a relationship, in some form, with the other person.

We don't need to express what we are feeling in anger, only in truth.  We don't not need to take responsibility for anothers choices and we need to release those we love in order that they may move on in their path, and we in ours.  And if those paths merge into one, so much the better.

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Struggles and Strains

It was the economy the drove a wedge between us,
we did the rest, succumbing to our struggles and strains...

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Drifting Down

Let me return
to a period in my life
when the whole world
revolved around love,
happiness to be with one
I cared so deeply for
even before the involvement
we laughed as two children
delighted at our discovery
one brief moment
a skyrocket
blossoming in the darkness
into silver wings
drifting down
and down...
down to now.

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Right in front of me

It strikes me from time to time
that love truly is blind
and it's so hard to see
what's right in front of me

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Lands of myth

What good are dreams,
if there's no one so share them with...
Illusions bursting at the seams,
crumbling roads in lands of myth...

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Our Differences

We couldn't mend our fences,
or rebuild burnt bridges,
too great were our differences...

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Arms to hold me

The prospect of freedom
meant so much less
than arms to hold me

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The Secret Wells

I must travel the ends of my life
to see what else it holds
more joy, grief, pain, experience
as it slowly develops and unfolds
I must walk the precipice
trying to find the secret wells of me
the depths of which I have not traveled
for then I shall be free

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Things once had names

The small things
once had names
some evoked feelings
all forgotten, it's plain...

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Float with the wind

Dreams are like feathers,
that float with the wind,
they come and go,
no beginning or end...

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Battle with grace

Judy combed her hair with pride,
before putting it on and going outside,
the cancer wasn't going to make her hide,
she'd fight her battle with grace, her tears had dried...

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Echoes of failure

Echoes of failure
now fills the news...
deals made in smokey chambers,
corruption hiding from view...

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Final Resting Place

The urn Edna put back on the coffee table reminded her that Henry had always promised her a place with a fireplace.  Another thing that never came to be.  Who knew that his final resting place would be a landfill courtesy of a vacuum cleaner.

Edna said a quick prayer, she'd seen the last of Henry today.

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Climbing Despair

I've climbed despair to you....
it might have been an easy trip,
to me
it was almost
unconquerable
but I did it....

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That brown box of magic

That brown box of magic,
a gift from my aunt to me...
and so I now sit nostalgic,
sorting through memories,
captured youthful antics,
ever thankful for photography...

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An endless blight

We used to look forward,
the future seemed so bright,
like the blooms of an orchard...
Now tomorrow is filled with fright,
dreams broken and fractured,
the road ahead an endless blight...

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Humanity the same

The world never changes,
new faces, new names...
war and hatred still rages,
passing years, humanity the same...

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The Change We Need

The change we need,
we make ourselves,
it comes from within...

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Floating

Floating,
like the breeze,
no worries,
no cares,
if only for a day

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You vanished

You vanished as we spoke,
words from another place...
your mind clouded with smoke,
a lost look on your face...

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Fire Dances

If we knew what to do,
we wouldn't search for answers,
fire dances and voodoo,
and still we live in fear....

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They could not stay

Until death destroys me
I will walk this floor
never wanting, never needing
anyone... anymore...
Alone I walk to where I go
my friends of yesterday
gone to other times and places
they found they could not stay

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Birthday Wishes

It was so nice to hear
from all my kids today
their voices filled with cheer
wishing me happy birthday
now I know when it is this year...

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This bitter cup

Those words uttered by you
...your goodbyes
have placed me somewhere
...afar off in time
Alone with my love
...who to give it to?
This wonderful sharing
that started so joyfully
has ended in sorrow...
How to mend a broken love?
I have been from the heights
of ecstasy...now to the
depths of despair
My soul is on fire...
This bitter cup, that is my
life, no more, no more,
...no more

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A long long way

I've come a long long way this year
shut many a door
traveled a lifetime on paper
I never had before
I thought I wouldn't survive these days
and here they've come and gone
I've unravelled all the dreams I had
and don't know if I've lost or won...

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Things come and go

I never want to fall in love again
or expose the need of me
for anyone to recognize
the joy in love is so brief
and the pain continues
on and on
out of balance
out of tune
like me
a guitar with its strings missing
there are only the memories now
to sort through
and put away
shut my eyes
and stuff then in an old shoebox
and tie it tightly with twine
pretend love never came and went
who really cares
that I have loved
it's just another
yesterday's dream...

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Emotional Inflation

I feel hurt...
and sometimes want to strike out
and tired...
perpetually tired
and I don't gave a damn about
the things I used to
I'm tired of all the worst coming true
about you...
and about so many other things too
It's like living in a nightmare land
such little things...
grown into monstrous dreams... out of hand
and nothing is right...
in my whole world anymore
My insecurities
are in the open... and I don't care
I'm much too tired...
and hurt...and used...and lost
and all things...
are much too dear... in the price they cost
so I bleed out
a crimson loss of days
and reminders of you
as I slowly fade away

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A simple code

I solved a simple code,
in counting the days of my life,
these numbers are the sum
of all my tears and joy...

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Balance your life

Life needs to be balanced and sometimes we forget that.  Take time to sow so that you can reap.  Take time to relax that your body may rest and not be caught up in constant work and chores.

Laughter is a necessity in life that we do not take it too seriously.  We get so busy filling our hours with labor that we live on fast food and quick snacks, forgetting the enjoyment of a well prepared meal and breaking bread together.

Life should not be lived in the last lane, and hurried through, but savored consciously.  If work is a necessity, so are quiet times, peace, play and just plain fun.

Time in nature, whether walking the beach or among the trees and flowers is a tonic to the spirit and it rejuvenates us.  Schedule these times as seriously as your work, these are times to nourish the soul.  Too often we say we are too tired and wonder why we feel emotionally drained, neglecting our spirit is the reason.

Set aside time to meditate and pray, or just to sit quiet within, enjoying the beauty of the sky, the soft caress of a breeze, the kiss of a raindrop and the sounds of nature.

This is your life, a gift given to you not just to work, but to embrace, learn from, to spiritually grow and to honor the self that you were created to be.

Life is a process of wonder, not a highway of things we have to do.  Pamper yourself when you feel the need.  Relax in a warm scented bath of bubbles, or play music to transport your spirit.

Retreat from time to time, surrounding yourself with beauty of nature, and just breath.  Leave your cares at home and clear your mind. We think it isn't possible, but it is.

Too often we neglect to put ourselves on a priority list in our own lives.  What purpose is our life if not about our own personal growth?  Feed the spirit first and you'll find a more living you to share with others.

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An endgame of power

An endgame of power,
this bait and switch,
pushing us over an economic cliff....

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The powder keg of war

Tensions mounting
everywhere you look
the powder keg of war
just waiting for a match

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Bad Promise

The state promised security,
in exchange we gave our freedom,
now we have neither....

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Landing on the moon

Ted was sitting in a bar when we landed on the moon,
it was on that day he decided to do something with his life....

He's still trying to figure out what that is...

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Absurdism

Beer,
pretzels,
and a winning team...
of course life has meaning, Ted thought

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My Silver and Gold

My silver and gold
are memories I hold
fading as I grow old

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Mortality cast aside

Truth will rise to the surface,
and open our eyes...
our mortality cast aside...

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To give and to get

To give and to get,
motive and appreciation,
are key, to all things

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How Empty

He was a sexual
and passionate man
who spoke into my void
echoes resounding...
until he entered here
I hadn't realized
how empty I was....

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