STRAIGHT ARROW

Navigate the zigzags of life and let hope, reason and love be your only guides – Dean Koontz

Walk the straight and narrow path, through deep woods,

That creep down in crooked and jagged veins of earth.

Keep the faith. Happiness is but a few words away.

Persevere. Who knows how long it will stay?

Life is an arrow let fly from the cruel hands of fate.

It pours out, much as a river gushing down a mountain

In real life as in dark dreams, shed your wet chrysalis and fly.

Nothing, is ever as it seems. Depart the ground and kiss the sky.

The scattered, tortured thoughts of a forgotten man,

Hide timidly behind a thick cloud of endless words.

Not even he knows. Will days ever draw to a swift close,

In time or in tide for both his poetry and his prose?

I blinked once and sealed my fate when

I wrote this in place of poisoned heat, yet

I had to rid my heart of these intentions and

I pray for an end, but I do believe this is eternity.

FEARFUL SYMMETRY

Title Inspired by William Blake’s most excellent poem “The Tyger”.

 Note to self

When the night is dark and the moon won’t turn

 and your dreams are visited with nightmares,

don’t ever write down the first thing

that comes to your mind when you

wake up, or this might be the result.

Sunrise –

He is already awake, working.

The poor orphan village boy,

With no socks or shoes,

Slowly dying from a lack of food,

And a gap in his small heart

The size of a mother’s love.

Sunset –

She is still awake, working.

The little orphan street girl,

With high heeled shoes and a miniskirt,

Dying slowly from the agony and shame.

As she watches the cars pass by,

She searches for a father’s love

But we remain unmoved for –

The truth is far too bitter a pill.

Though we hear thunder and lightning

Full of sound and light and fury,

We remain unmoved. But, always remember,

A conscience is a terrible thing to waste

Sunset –

 He is always awake, working,

And he remains unbowed.

Though he has no socks or shoes or food,

He still has hope,

And the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

Sunrise –

She has never stopped working.

The streets are her office, and

The night flashes by as in a dream.

She will never know a father’s love,

But she has her pride and the hope

That tomorrow will be bright.

Yet still we remain unmoved.  But, never forget,

A conscience is a terrible thing to waste.

All The Beauty I See

World of Wonders
What does the tiny hummingbird feel as he flutters his wings?

If only his voice were louder, then maybe we could hear his song.

What do honeybees sense as they sip their sweet nectar?

Their exhilaration is a paradise we will never know.

Do the carpenter’s tools partake in his zeal?

Do the violinist’s strings feel her joy?

Does the painter’s canvas share her passion?

Does the writer’s pen experience his pain?

Does the beauty of a sunrise still take the breath away?

Is a sunset an end, or the promise of a new beginning?

Will the view from a mountain top ever lose its delicate charm?

Will a snowflake ever lose its intricate, magnificent allure?

Will a summer sky’s subtle variations of blue ever cease to amaze?

Will the rainbows after a storm ever cease to reassure?

Everywhere we look, we see scenes of the sublime.

Will the world ever lose its wonder?

Hidden in plain sight

Life Rollercoaster

Fly Away Home

I wish I could fly away, on this roller coaster

Through soaring heights, majestic ocean vistas

And past the dark tunnels that lie all around me

I’d survey all that I see, and feel the wind rush by

I’d gaze at the raindrops as they fall down

And look in awe upon the beautiful rainbows,

The delicate variations of white and blue on mountaintops

And lush green meadows beneath clear blue skies

Through it all, I’d never feel alone or out of place,

Because I feel reassured whenever I see your face

The dreary rain clouds have disappeared,

And now noting can bother me anymore,

I’d fly like Icarus through the clouds, towards the sun,

And kiss the ground wherever I land back down,

I’d walk through the art gallery of your life,

Hand in hand, and everything will be fine

I wish I could soar above these clouds,

I wish I could fly away, on this roller coaster,

I wish I could fly away, from Life’s roller coaster,

But will you fly along with me? I can’t do it alone.

Broken and askew, like everything that matters...

Desert Oasis

A lonely soul made his way through a desert

In search of paradise, and an escape from the hurt

It was a desert of his own making, but it was no less real

 And so he walked, all alone with the scars that only time could heal

Time-no longer his ally, stood still as he traversed the barren landscape

The undulating rhythms of the desert cast odd shapes,

But with a singular focus, he continued along his path

As the unrelenting sun bore upon him its wrath.

Still he pressed on toward his prize

His search had put scales in his eyes

He felt like the sole survivor of a bloody war,

Whose purpose had been lost in time, forevermore

He had trekked boldly across the troubled world of his mind

In search of adventure and more that he would never find

He had come this far, and would not falter

He was parched, and in search of water.

Then he saw it, shimmering in the bright light of the sun,

Like a priceless gem. He broke into a run

He couldn’t believe the truth of his eyes-It had to be a mirage

He blinked once, then twice, but still he saw her glorious visage

It had to be a godsend

His journey could finally end

It had only happened by grace

He stared in wonder at her beauteous face-

He had found his oasis in the desert