Pick Up the Pieces
Topic: Pick Up the Pieces
Pick up the pieces still
after four years, of my life
and his. The economy
mimics my sorrow
with gas price fluctuation
akin to the apex of my
irrationality.

The war is not part
of the world I am living.
That September affected
us all; the war, only a subset.
The perpetrators still
haunt my endless days
and ruffle my intolerable nights.

I can?t see my normal
returning to my existence.
Half of me died that day;
the other suffers miserably.
I go on the best I can
and hope to see you again.

Ugly Truths and Pretty Lies
Topic: Ugly Truths Pretty Lies
Ugly truths and pretty lies
slice through the rule
that was once golden.
Freedom does come
at a cost too pricey
for the average man.

What once was held sacred
is now blemished and black.
Honesty and integrity
have been usurped
with treachery and debauchery.

The bride no longer wears white;
she is raped repeatedly
of her individuality. She
drapes herself in a shroud
of red?the blood she sheds
on the road to perdition.

Spring Fever
Topic: Spring Fever
Light and frivolous
moods suffuse
the air with a rainbow
of colors. Winter
has melted away.

Buds spring up
and blossom overnight.
No matter how careful
we watch, we miss
the miracle of rebirth.

Sound of Insomnia
Topic: Sound of Insomnia
Listen to the myriad sounds
of the emptiness of the night.
Great drums of marching bands
beat time to the darkness.
Each tick, tick, tick of the clock
urge inaction beneath the pillows.
There?s no escape from the deafening
noise of insomnia.

Reciprocity
Topic: Reciprocity
Reciprocity?
It?s only fair, of course.
Isn?t that a give-and-take,
no-grain-of-salt
non-relationship?

Life is often unfair
and totally unaware
or it feels that way.

Things are never
what they seem.
It?s expected of you
but not for you.

Use and abuse
lead to a sense
of inadequacy
and self-doubt.

Uneven exchanges
cause mild resentment
in the mutual admiration
and pat-on-the-back society.

On the Road
Topic: On the Road
Anticipation and reluctance,
genuine opposites, fight for the summit--
something new versus status quo.
Accomplish everything attempted
and try it all. Success smells sweeter
than succulent strawberries in summer.

Forgive only that which is not tested
to the best of our abilities.
Knowledge rounds the square
and sets perpetual motion
to the stillness of ennui.

Wade not when you can dive,
want not when you can have.
Take it, taste it, and use it
to your advantage.

Contentment serves only the dreamless.
Strive for utopia and sculpt your place within.
Reluctance shall lose to enthusiasm-
gather greatness in victorious reflection.

Watercolor Words
Topic: Watercolor Words
Watercolor words
cascade through my brain and paint
a beautiful you.

Poetry Dies
Topic: Poetry Dies
As poetry dies
the world is stark, dark.
Make my words just disappear;
I flounder for expression.
Capture the inkwell
before a sea spills.

Who He Was
Topic: Who He Was
He was the debonair sailor
you met that summer eons ago
when you visited Aunt Rhoda
near Boston harbor.

He was on his last leave
before a two-year
tour of duty overseas.

The three days you spent together
were idyllic. Everything
and everyone duly faded
into the background.

You had a very difficult time
when he had to leave, but
you promised to write, so did he.
He would come home to you.

You moved; he got reassigned.
The mail was delayed. You lost touch
with each other and never found
him again. But you never forgot.

Neither did he.

In Memory of the Future (revised)
Topic: In Memory
I remember my solitude
as it will be five years forward.
Much like an isolated rabbit
ever watchful for his next predator,
I wait for you.

Ten years ahead, I?ve developed
a nervous tic in my neck
from constantly looking back.
My eyes are blurred and shadowed
with the impossibility of age.

Fifteen years in my future,
I surrender to my destiny
and forgive my hesitancy
in living my life each day.
I fear you?ve already left
even before you arrive.

After twenty years, it barely matters
since my thoughts migrate
regularly without season.
I watch the calendar and wonder
which day will be my last,
but I finally understand

you will be there then.