To Defy (+5)

Beyond comparison,

they rise when we fall

 

Uniquely divergent,

to impale and enthrall

 

No reference or genre,

descriptions confound

 

 Bowie and Jagger

—alone in the crowd

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)

 

 

Sleep Well

 

At the far end of the casket,

his girlfriend hugged his wife

 

And told her she was sorry,

that she had tried to steal her life

 

Their tears then ran in unison,

for a man who loved them both

 

The years they shared now testament,

to a choice he left unspoke

 

They never met before this day,

and would never meet again

 

But each knew well the other,

and they almost felt like friends

 

The mistress left, the children wept,

and the grandchildren played outside

 

As his wife looked down, saying: “Your hell has passed,

sleep well my love—goodbye”

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2016)

 

 

 

Torches Rage

 

The past is but a distant flame,

with reasons there disowned

 

Where fire burns in effigy,

to singe that falsely known

 

The ages but a candle dim,

its wick burned to the quick

 

As torches rage from deep within

—all time a kindling stick

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)

 

 

Thine Own

 

My reward not determined

by anyone else

 

Thorns as

roses named

 

Words carry inward

on breath I define

 

Acceptance

—self ordained

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)

 

 

 

Literary Hourglass

 

There’s just a set number

of poems to write

 

And writing the last,

I’m done

 

To die but alone,

with my words as the pall

 

Breathless verses

—left unsung

 

(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)

 

 

Fated Current

 

Are you the latest one I’ve left alone,

heart Shanghaied—no goodbye

 

Are you wondering why as questions loom,

the answers high and dry

 

Were you sure you’d be the only one,

to wade misfortune’s tide

 

As that fated current pulled me back

—to drift again untied

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2020)