Memories Flee (+3)

Escaping into tomorrow,

while running from today

The wolf gives chase, my memories flee

—the past to howl and bay

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

The Claiming Race

Fame means part of you

Maybe all of you

Belongs to someone else

Someone vicarious in their intent

Insatiable given their adulation

Proprietary,

Eschewing personal risk or harm

Watching from the comfort

Of either praise or blame

They claim your soul like a

Racehorse

When you win their hearts

Leaving your memory abandoned

—when dissident odds prevail

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2015)

Rip Tide

I hitchhiked up to Limbo

to await that final toll

But lost my way when Siren’s called

which led me to the shoals

My thumb went back inside my palm,

their voices soft and low

No closer to those pearly gates

—this darkened undertow

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2018)

Musing For Emily

I understand the isolation

   what others call being alone

I understand the silent moments

   the inner freedom to roam

I understand the derision

   and the label of being called strange

With each new dawn I most understand

—the joy in not being the same

(Train To Center City Philadelphia: January, 2015)