Our mistakes are paid
in generations of denial
Old footsteps defaulting,
new judgments on file
The future in debt
to invoices past
tomorrow debentured
—arrears mounting fast
(Dreamsleep: April, 2022)
GOODBYE
I said no to the man
and made my own bed
I cut my own trail
with eyes straight ahead
In debt to myself
but thankful to all
My words freely spoken,
their verdict my call
I beat my own rhythm
on multiple drums
I structured the lyrics
to sing and to hum
The nighttime began
what the morning forgave
A living refusal,
my back to the grave
The years have renewed,
all memories collide
The young and the old,
the truth and the lies
A comet yet burning,
new verse in the sky
One word still an orphan,
and homeless
—GOODBYE
(Villanova Pennsylvania: May, 2017)