The signpost a warning
a resting black swan
Its flight to perdition
last call from beyond
With roses ungifted,
their thorns bury deep
Last moon a reminder
a reckoning steep
The doctor’s watch broken
your time shorter still
His prognosis a token
beyond suture or pill
He asks if you’re ready,
you say that you’re not
You ask if it matters…
the main lesson untaught
And into the night
you try once again
To find deeper meaning
to reach beyond blame
But those last final minutes
only serve to remind
What the jaded and hoping
—are never to find
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2014)
Searching In Vain
Carrying your heart
Inside my pocket
I traveled the world
Searching for love
When fate was unkind
You never complained
As I forgot to thank you
—time after time
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2014)
End To End
That first book
That last book
That next book
That other book
Beginning and ending in the middle
—they all turn out the same
The first book
The last book
The middle book
The forgotten book
Memory plagues that already said
—only to be said again
The first book
The last book
The borrowed book
The successful book
Images recreated
—as words jump page to page
The first book
The last book
The closing book
The memory book
An orchestra calls a final waltz
—its conductor off the stage
The promised book
The distant book
The transforming book
The forever book
Sameness trapped a clone of time
—as difference strikes again
That finished book
That published book
That famous book
That holy book
All critics choking in the dark
—light burning end to end
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2014)