covered

1)

stumbling on myself
not meant to walk every square
soul in, feet without

2)

diving at all sounds
even when the wounds are deep
over underground

3)

i was once the one
who dared look at everything
now the dark is kind

the clown

there was a time
i sewed little things

and i made this
beautiful clown

but the pattern
said
"for decoration only"
because there was
this heavy board
on the inside
acting like the clown's
spine

so you could conceivably
use home decor
as a weapon
if you needed it

the serious
hardness
of the wood was hidden
by a dastardly smile

such as he is to me

one thoughtless word
and the air turns to death

no matter what preceded it

the tears of a clown
should be doubted
most times

because he started
the misery
himself

(sigh)

out of town

you always told me
"look up! look up!"

but the blues 
have brought me
down

what once was
sparkly-hope
and promise

is darkness,
shadow, and
frowns

my hair hides
the paleness
of my lips

my clothes hide
the emptiness
in my hips

my hat holds
the multitude
of my trips

in sand and smell
and ground

once more i
travel out of
town

but to what?

(bound)

doll thoughts

pet the head that knows
all that i can never see
maybe he will teach

or

unspoken gestures
calm the head of the madman
peace i'll never know

or

we were once the prized
now we hide in misfit shame
where is our rudolph?

the present

in the moments when
i hate myself

and i want to
infuriate the world
the same way it
infuriates me

i think of what
you got me

and smile

sometimes a present
wishes someone well

like a love letter
looking for an embrace
by a lonely reader

sometimes a present
gives a person notice

like an exercise bike
waiting for a chance
to slim you down

but sometimes
a present just wants
to live with you

to dangle from
your ear
like a sparkly whisper
from a lover

or to support you
as you're walking

protecting you from
the dangers
of an endless darkness

or to stick somewhere
always to be seen

reminding you of the
dear perfection of a man
that roamed the world
with a beautiful princess, a trolley,
and a tiger with a wristwatch

that always told
the exact time
to care....

(which is always)

sometimes the wealth
of warm love
arrives all at once

warming up
the unused crevices
of a half beaten heart

(start)

stripes (that's the fact, jack)

1

walk between the lines
look out for the space between
float among the clouds

2

as i regiment
i dwell in the heaven sent
flowers in cement

3

you gave me the tool
to forget all business times
dreaming on inside

she

she gets tired
of being pampered

protected

and proper

she longs to get
her dress dirty

shout loudly
like the boys

even though
she follows

peering across the shadows

she knows
she can't begin
to cross the lines

so clearly drawn
around her

in adamant
assertion against
crime

she'd rather do the time

(alone)

red

1
sometimes all we see
is the part that no one sees
floating in the clouds

2
she was once a red
caught in an unending tale
now she's endless blue

3
if i choose to step
into unforgiving shores
will i feel once more

blind

blind man's bluff
a childhood game
that's fallen
out of favour

you hide your eyes
and spin around
and around

until the earth
touches the sky
and the sea whirls about
in a whirlpool of haze
and confusion

then the voices around you
guide you through
the maze of life

to safety

was this a game
that prepared us
for adulthood?

using only the gps
for clues
we blindly stumble
through our fate
in the darkness

searching for ourselves
along the way

sometimes the dawn
becomes the day

(see)

your house?

it's hard to see
the place where
you live

and yet i often
livened inside the
cabin i think is yours

i hope to be in
your dwelling soon

if only to make
memories of your
halls

and a dreamland
out of your kitchen

and a forest of love
out of your
....foyer?

you understand
the chance i take

pining for a place
that may be
your neighbour's

so let me know
soon where you
actually live

and love

i won't never cause a stalking
situation

but i do hope you like
carols sung at your door

....written by slayer


(love)

doll talk

1)

fill my mind with talk
fill my eyes with what you see
fill my heart with hope

2)
one of us is known
as the one who can't be known
fear what he will tell


3)


if we look away
with the stare of empty eyes
then we won't see him

would you

i come to
impart

what's in my
heart

stop staring at
my soul

i'm out of
control

and you're there
just looking

and staring
and seeing
and reacting
and being

but not saying
a word

like a piece of
wood

strong but silent
through the ages

i wish you could read
the rest of my pages

OUT LOUD

before my book
is through

which may be
soon

(be)

one

they say
you should count
sheep

when you want
to fall asleep

the routine tone
counting in numbers
that go on and on

seem to subdue you
into a trance-like
state

one hopes 
sleep 
is at the gate

but i always picture
one hesitant lamb

leaning alone
with a crooked 
stand

trying hard to understand
the bravery it takes
to fly through the air

just like everyone else

i try to believe
in what you want me
to see

in your dreams 

but i can't let go
of the oddity

that's always me

(flee)

pondering paradise

as he put on
the gardenia
that she sent backstage

he saw me looking
at him strange

and he averted my eyes
in the glare of the
footlights

trying so hard
to shrug off
my gaze

"look i know what
your thinking"

he muttered in
his musical voice

"she's the devil
to you

but she's what's left
of heaven
to me"

he slung his guitar strap
across his shoulder

covered his heart

and walked
into the shadows
one last time

(john)

dark senyrus

1
all i have to give
is the end of all your lives
in return, you bow

2
if you ever thought
you would live eternally
you should think again

3
i hide what i love
wondering would you still like me
if you knew the truth

buds

you and i
partners in crime

out of the time
of gentlemen and ladies

you masked
half way
to oblivion

me wearing
the stripes
i inherited

time and again
though my travels

but not a victim
am i

not a convict
are you

we travel
side by side

riding fast in
the wind

apropros of nothing
we begin again

in fancy british
accents we sing

only the songs
that make us new

(true)

moon senryus

the moon leans on me

i push back with all i am

craving all its light

_____________________________

don't you ever wish

you could touch the moon like this

transitory bliss

______________________________

once the whole of me

was lighted by the dark of you

now i've lost my way

lesson

the rain came suddenly
from far away

hailing down on
new bridges built

from hope

it brought the wind
that swayed us back
and forth

weakening whatever
resolve we had

it's funny how
it all can turn grey

all at once

and no matter
what you say
and no matter
how you feel
and no matter how

you try to be

nothing keeps you
from the deluge
from above

fall down on me
cold fingers from high

teach me why you have to
hide the sun

i won't try to run
from your lessons
again

(rain)

muted

sometimes 
all it takes

is seeing 
the true colours 
of another

bleed across 
your floor

telling you 
no more 
needs to be said

(dread)

slanted

they say
half a life lived

is better than none

but the half of what
i have
to live

is run by what's
dead

inside of me

and my body goes

in spite of me

sideways across the way

there is no logic
to this day

(away)

futility

i gave you all

you didn't need

food and warmth

were at your disposal

you took from me

what i didn't have

making me regret

my heart's proposal

you left me blind

to what i was

reaching for freedom

beyond my obscurity

i tried to see

where i had been

but nothing was true

in all the futility

all the stupidity 

was mine to have

and yours to use

at your will

(still)

stumbling on

i used to hold you
by the hand

guide you up
the stairs

to my heart and
always

but you stumbled
along the way

misunderstandings
leading to
confusions

as you lagged behind

and now
while i can feel
the shadow of your love

reaching towards me
in the darkness

all i can feel
is the cold air
that surrounds me

the heart that pounds
in me

and the ground
that's ever-closer to
my soul

i'm too old
for this pretend

tend to me
no more

(go)

doubt

i looked at you
with the hairy
eyeball

way too many times

your love was filtered
with what you thought
was discretion

my heart was held back
with what you felt
was caution

our future was muddied
with doubt and
uncertainty

over and over again

i never knew
which way to look
at you

out of focus dreams
were all i had

in the darkness of
what was to come

nothing traveled
my way

until the road
was lost in the
fog

in the obscurity
of what was ours

and what could have been

(gone)

harvesting

orange is my world
death surrounds as the leaves fall
yell without a sound

or

used to be alive
produce ripens on the vine
dies in coat and tie

or

fall apart inside
harvest what's left of what i am
autumn of my life

gray days

sometimes
you can't pray
the horror away

no matter how hard 
you try

sometimes
you can't figure out
what people are on
about

even if it makes
you cry

sometimes
the glimmer in the eye
can change to
the glare of a stare

and there's nothing 
you can do about it

we can but try
the experts say

but what did they
know about real life,
anyway?

(gray)

yeehaw

and as
she clapped
in time with the
music

she felt him 
clap with her

his shadow
falling
across her face

the smell of
unfiltered camels
in the air

she heard
him whisper

"now that's good country!"

and it was

hank and
newer generations
combined

her daddy
not far behind

(yeehaw)

skull talk

in natural things
i find thoughts of what once was
and what i could be

or

roaming through the earth
then things stopped suddenly
the wind rushes by

or

i conquer what i kill
before it can conquer me
life's eternal war

ability (downtown word-sketch)

disabled man
walking with
his feet

pointed in two
directions

in a dance
of a walk
that's a mixture
of stumbing

and dancing

lancing against
the wind
cutting through
the confusion

leaning his
way on home

(go)

curiosity

it was my own
curiosity
that sealed my fate

it was my own
stupidity
that lead me here

and even though
she's senseless
and even though
it's against the law

i know
it's not all
her fault

it was me

i caused this
flaming
destiny

(goodbye)

i get prompts from a poet's group.... this one was just a picture, but the grimm's tale behind it is ...interesting: https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm043.html (frau trude)

abandoned

the piano
in the corner

plays no more

the stairs
in the foyer

lead to nowhere

the windows
in the study

let in a familiar 
light

but there's not one
in sight

to see

what the house
has become

without you and me

(done)

treed

you said hug a tree
but you didn't say let go
now i'm stuck to bark

or

i am in tune with
all of nature around me
but i cannot sing

or

forest touches me
i touch back with all i am
learning as i live

hands across the water

everyone needs

a hand to 

hold onto

but not in the 

bathtub

calgon take me away.....

but to where?

mr bubbles always

did look ominous

trapped on his

pink cardboard

box

smiling his

empty smile

coaxing you

to use his contents

liberally

with no thought 

of expense

or peril

what's beyond

the terror

of the bubbles?

come clean

and tell me

now

(how?)

wall

it's funny how
the wall falls
between us

over little things

things that i
let through before

things that shouldn't
matter anymore

cracks in the brick
when there's no one
to blame

play the game
one more time
and see

how high
the sun has to be

to climb over
the wall

(eclipse)

mirage

sometimes
the things we see
in the far ahead
is blurry

sometimes
what we need
to see
and hope to hear
isn't clear

in all the madness

sometimes
what we think is
a rainbow
is nothing but
a cluster of
machinery

mowing us down

only to allow us
to get up
again

hopefully stronger
hopefully wiser

hopefully
more careful
of the mirrors
around us

until we meet again,
mirage

(be)

doll dreams

underneath the dirt
is a friend who you could love
if you just give in

or

did she have to leave?
did the light have to follow?
did my world just die?

or

her eyes have seen all
from first kiss to lasting hug
now just endless dark

escalator

she liked
the dead malls

the empty aisles
and shadowy stores
beckoned her to look

and look again

but the escalator
with its terrible whining
grinding sounds

would warn her of
imminent danger

and the perpetual
movement of stairs
were too slippery to stand on

and always seemed to go
way too fast

as if catapulting you
towards the chik fil a
above

where the Lord's chicken
was always available

except on sundays
when the mall
was extra dead

and the sound of
beatles muzak in
your ears

was only there to hide
the beating of your heart

and the desperate
wheezing of the
escalator

(ware)

moon's lament

i once basked in
the light
of your life

your rays touched me
in all the right places

but by and by
you disappeared

and left me in
the darkness
again

i know you'll
come back
and face me
once more

as steady as steady
can be

but the endless ebony
plays tricks with
my memory

and the space
that i float in
is cold and
half-hearted

not far from
how i started
without you

climb the
endless blue
and see me again

(soon)

uncovered

escape from the doom
try not to fall on the ground
hope's within your reach

or

there was a short time
that i thought i could fly high
gravity said no

or

i once had a life
found the sun a faithful friend
now it all just burns

shadows

whatever the turmoil
outside
it never measures with the horror
inside

when you cross the street
down empty roads
you never know
what's behind the door

you can never see
what the shadows bring
you can never hear
what screams can sing

you just assume
that everything's normal

like you

you never can tell
what's behind the blue

(who?)

choices

cloudy skies
bring
a comfort rain

i don't complain

cloudless skies
bring
a starry sky

from way up high

each bring trouble
to
the critical eye

i don't ask why

i hope for sun
but splash in
the rain

each are the same
in my eye

(try)

surprise

giggles from the mask
planning for the sneak attack
warmth comes from within

or

did you realize
it was me behind this hell?
oh well, carry on

or

now i realize
the mask outside never fit
with the girl inside

why

tap it down
don't let it breathe

let it be over
roll down your sleeves

sit in the darkness
let the tears dry

don't even whisper
just sit and sigh

and wonder why
it matters

(why)

like you

i like you before
i like you after

i like you during

i like you for
no reason
i like you in
all seasons

i like you in between

i like you when
you're dark
i like you when
it's light

i like when we're alike

and different

i like to be the likable one
to you

and even if
the days go through
and i never see
the better part of you

i'll still like you

really like you

(true)

lost powers

there was a time
when i was wise

my thoughts could rule
the world

there was a time
when all inside

would make the flags
unfurl

i honed my skills
in secret places

along the raging
river

i kept my craft
within my laces

away from all the shivers

i never was as
powerful

as the princess i was

i often stayed so
doubtful

even during the applause

if only i could travel
back

to the assuring waters

then the world could
attack

but i would never falter

no more dead
outside the slaughter

(be)

just one day

at the ending
of the day

when all
the colours
came out to play

she jumped
and gave
her soul away

just for 
the giving

her spirit traveled
across the land

for all
the people
to understand

why she
decided
to give it away

to give
up living

for just one day

but no one could 

(gone)

release

you let me go
to set me
free

as if being alone
was the best
for me

you refuse
to believe
that i'm tortured
inside

you scoff
when i say
there's nowhere to
hide

so i broke loose
and set them
free

as if letting go
was easy for
me

maybe my heart
will soar better
in flight

maybe the spirits
will fall faster
at night

maybe you'll
begin to understand
my fright

but i doubt it

(go)

caged

his spirit took wing
when he let the captive go
floating towards freedom


or

what's within my grasp
cages more than what i see
my heart holds me back


or


she gave me the key
then flew free from what i was
leaving me empty

tear

sometimes i feel like
the dead in me
has got to go

the "you can't do it
you shouldn't try it
you don't know it

you never were
good enough
anyway"

but if i separated
from the naysayer
within me

would i be conceited
would i know no bounds
would i forget others

would i shine in the sun
until i was burned
to a crisp?

to shed from
the bad
is to hurt
all the good
that conquers the darkness

no matter what the pain

(insane)

combing the night

i'm combing the night
in search of you

a hand to hold
when i feel blue

a feeling of walking
into the stars

the night was ours
for awhile

the galaxies swirl
through the paths
of memory

shining their stars
in the blanks of
inequity

leading the way
to the past
in my heart

where did it start
to go wrong
with us?

can i bring you
back to me?

maybe
with a wave of
my hand

(understand)

out of step

i never think
i'm in step with you

i'm always
lagging behind
(to let you lead)

or barreling ahead
(to find my footing)

never side by side
never eye to eye

always piece by piece
never the whole
thing

in shadow or
blaring sunshine
i'll be

can you find me
in your heart?

(no)

floating (haiku study)

floating in the waves
dulls the sound of my own breath
'til there's nothing more

or

i once believed life
was the drum of his heartbeat
now i drown to it

or

petals move aside
waves push back at loneliness
vision fades away

doubt

this time 

i hope

the dreams will be future

instead of

the times

when life is so futile

i hope

i won't dream 

of sammy davis, jr again

i beg

not to see

the violent zebra rain

one time

i looked up

"why do i dream of falling fingernails?"

it told me 

it was time

to take the weapons away

maybe i'm safe

again

but that's just a dream

(doubt)

recrystallized

i waited all night
for your
beck and call

and i know you
waited
just as long
just to call

but this box
called life
isn't going to open
that far

and this thing
called heart
can't love from
afar

and this beast
called soul
won't live very
long

not long enough
for the vapors
of what i was

to be recrystallized 
at whim

what's the point
of now and then

when there's blanks
that surround
what begins

(end)