Trappings (+5)

It’s not what you put on

 but what you take off

Each trapping a hangman

 —and choking its cost

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

In The End

Life…

 forever promising more

Death

  —its own reward

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Hope Turns

I’m most tired of wishing

  —when hope turns to pain

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Mine To Keep

Do I reach for understanding,

  or is knowing quite enough

Or deem then that important

  if the difference smooth or rough

Do I understand a mountain

  or the bear that lives within

Or just know that it belongs there

  and the mystery that it brings

Do I understand the ocean

  or the waves that break so high

Or just hear its thunder crashing

  and not need to wonder why

Do I understand what time is

  its symbols—what they mean

Or understand a life laid down

  in battles unforeseen

Do I understand a memory

  or just smile when’er it calls

Or understand tomorrow

  when today my life befalls

Do I understand the anger

  or just control it when it barks

Or understand the danger

  sometimes lurking in the dark

Do I understand the words I write

  when I’m shaken from my sleep

Or understand the excuses loaned

   —all reasons mine to keep

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2016)

Truth Revealed

Thought is meant to provide escape

 from what causes it to be

The soul released in contradiction

 its spirit running free

All questions posed and answers sought

 now kindling burned to ash

The dialectic self destroyed

 —with truth revealed at last

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)

Dereliction

Deserting your own judgment

 —the highest form of treason

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2019)