A proprietary hold on God,
religion does proclaim
Defining what we know inside
our souls will they reclaim
The Cross or Torah, Buddhist lore
each ritual decries
What can’t be owned or scripted pure
through centuries of lies
Divinity a birthright deigned
for those who search to find
What God embeds in every soul
—that structure can’t define
(The New Room: May, 2022)
Life Unbound
Waiting for life to come to me,
the clock ticked down to one
With barely but a second left,
my tendency to run
With nothing left but one last tick,
all motion seemed to stop
Perspective changed, then rearranged,
a lifetime on the spot
My eyes won’t blink, the fear too great,
of staying closed for good
As from a distant galaxy,
I finally understood
All life had boiled down to this,
eternity defined
When everything that ever was,
together crossed my mind
I left the past and future mired,
to breed and then deceive
And took this present life unbound
—unto my soul reprieved
(The New Room: May, 2022)
Home
At nineteen
I wanted to live in Colorado
Till that first weekend I spent
in Cheyenne
At twenty-five
I wanted to live in Montana
Leaving Yellowstone
as Glacier took my hand
At thirty
I wanted to live in Alaska
Within Denali
where the Kodiaks roam
But as the years have progressed
I discovered
All I ever wanted to be
—was home
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)