Colors overtake me one by one,
as they fuse within my mind
To paint their ancient messages,
prismatic and sublime
The past is but enigma,
tomorrow still a dream
This moment’s image all that lasts
—in constancy redeemed
(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2019)
Time Unfolds
In my heart I knew little of
the world and all its parts
As I drifted idle and wandered blind,
through constant fits and starts
My mind reached out beyond its grasp,
with the questions close behind
As time unfolded upon itself
—each moment to define
(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2019)
First Cut
Knowing,
not repeating
The weakness
of all refrain
A first cut,
true and deepest
Once healed
—its scar remains
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
File Or Burn
Seeing better from a distance,
than you ever could up close
The memories play like children,
in voices that you spoke
The truth is where you find it,
every season, every turn
Where space becomes entitled
—your soul to file or to burn
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
False Reflection
Stop trying to be a poet,
and say what you feel
Kill off the dilettante,
both hands on the wheel
In front of the mirror,
we all wear a crown
Will your verses be written
—by a sage or a clown
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Nature In Play
The Russians have taught me
that nothing has changed
Instead of Nazis and Fascists,
we have terrorists to blame
Whether Turgenev or Chekhov,
Tolstoy or Marx
When our nature’s in play
—much of life remains dark
(Wayne Pa.-Minella’s Diner: June, 2016)
Fallen Blooms
Children,
conceived in perfection
Are born
to disappoint
As reality
delivers
Hopes and wishes
—disjoint
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
The Devil\'s Chalice
My cup runneth over,
your chalice half full
The emptiness suspect,
both murky and dull
It shines on the outside,
jewels christened with fire
But to drink from that potion
—forever a liar
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
A Vow To Myself
I asked for your blessing,
instead you explained
What I should be paying
to garner acclaim
You told me if only
I’d do it this way
My words could have meaning
and influence—sway
But power and fortune
are not what I sought
If influence only
gets brokered and bought
So the blessing passed over,
no bribery done
A last vow to myself
—from you I must run
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Magnificent Silence
Not to argue about Poetry
or justify Prose
Not to discuss their many virtues
or interpretive flows
I choose to remain quiet,
and let the words carry on
Where in magnificent silence
—they turn into song
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Its Reckoning Comes
Is God to interpret,
and religion the why
Is forever too heavy
to pledge bye and bye
Does the Devil provide balance
to a concept in stone
Is he laughing inside us,
mocking all that we know
Is the Lord left to children
and those purest of heart
Is all truth chained to symbols,
has its lock come apart
Are the years there to change us,
is each day meant to count
Are the scriptures worth hearing,
if belief has to shout
To those fanatics among us,
yes, you know who you are
A power looms distant,
beyond testament’s scar
Its claim staked by no one,
its icon’s unseen
And its reckoning comes
—when you wake from this dream
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Remembered In Time
Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
the journey became clear
—destination in mind
Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
my words tunneled inward
—their meaning sublime
Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
free of the ramble
—heartbeat aligned
Writing in meter, ending in rhyme,
the feeling immortal
—remembered in time
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Unbaptized Words
Certificate unsigned,
pen firmly in hand
The bliss not for barter,
its insight free-stands
Faith and acceptance
may go where they please
To my grave and beyond,
the verse teaches and frees
No savior I ask for,
forgiveness I shun
Redemption for others,
new ink on the run
Till one day uncovered,
hidden deep on the shelf
A message unchristened,
buried dark and unfelt
Where the voice I was gifted,
and the music I heard
In themselves live forever
—free unbaptized words
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)
Casting Shame
By darkness I trolled
in my oft-shedding skin
Hidden alleys I roamed
for new victims at whim
But at last I must face
the deception I’ve wrought
And repay every memory
that festers and rots
As my twisted rebellion
turns its anger within
No forgive or forgetting
or my blaming the gin
In the few moments left
as I slither and weave
Still bearing false witness
against those I’ve deceived
My venom gets swallowed
death final and small
With the light I once blocked
—casting shame on it all
(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)