For the first time in a long time, the world is calm

Yes, the waves are cold and scrutinizing and imperceptibly fast

But we can taste the mist,

The four of us

The coastline stretches on for miles

I take pictures of all of you, because I don’t know how else to love you

Two of us, wise beyond our years

Two of us, young and free

I stood in the saltwater waiting for you here

It was too cold to swim and I laughed when one of you forgot your shirt and wandering eyes followed you in confusion when it started to rain

We got wet anyways

Stripped down to my underwear in forty degree weather

Soaked jeans and sandpaper flip flops and

we’re all just children masquerading the grown—

listening to Jimi Hendrix on the ride home and talking about the election

The fog’s coming up on the edges of the world

But that’s okay, because, just for a moment, we’ll be here

who loved me with every fiber

wishing I took more photos curled on the sofa laughing at comedies

or glances on date nights bowling remember I had cotton candy on my hand a sneaky stare your eyes held a different hunger 

I looked for proof in a frame of those eyes that promised the moon and mars. 

dissolving memories those eyes are gone replaced with ice they look at me only with disgust

I hate myself again

not just forgetting those eyes of love but also the past version of myself who believed in forever for us

 my heart learning something new 

the feeling of breaking

the illusions

of us

If time was like the music which springs from our soul...

then we would be symphonies of life instead of just fools getting old.

For life is more then only beautiful, it's a song we call our own.

If life was just another dream we saw only at night

Then how would we to see the beauty of first light?

For life is more than just a dream to surrender

When ends the night..,

And time is the music that plays into our soul.

If tears marks the place between yesterday and today

Then music is the hope that keeps us from going astray,

The realization that with every new dawn

Comes the promise of a new day.

If time was the magic of lifetimes beginnings and endings..,

Of the lovers' gentle touch and friendships that never end...

Then tomorrow and yesterday become illusions of the mind...

And the magic becomes the music of the soul.

If love was the heartbeat of the all of one's soul...

Then the nights are never cold

Our dreams will dare to sustain us.

Then our life times are never so hard

As we learn we are never really alone.

If the music of life was a song that we could all hear

Would you add to it's music with the words

That come from the depths of your soul,

Words only your heart ever knows?

The music of life, the beauty behind your smile,

The fire burning behind your eyes, the heart beat of your soul...

Share the music, let it go, let it flow..,

For when you do the whole world is yours to hold.

Paid in Full

June 23, 2024

She set the date

She bought the gown

She booked the church

She designed the invitations

She created the Facebook page for the event

She registered at a variety of stores and websites

She reserved the plane tickets and hotel in Maui

She paid the caterer and staff

She made sure to tip the minister in advance

Everyone and everything is bought and paid for

Just one person missing

i thought that we would never speak again

but i am the stanza on your tombstone

the stanza with purple must of a teenage jacaranda

muddy coats on pulse paramount

we will never kiss again this i know

but you have immortalised yourself beyond

any day i may have not lived

Energy

Waking up and feeling your presence.

Dear God, I'm grateful for your presents.

Whether thorns or flowers, I'll accept with gratitude,

will land in your arms after slipping from high altitude.

Bowing, surrendering everything to you.

All is part of your plan, you've thought it through.

Don't believe in luck but you I believe in,

have all the powers, you can end, you can begin.

We are here to live a life you think we deserve,

you not only see my actions but unsaid words you hear.

Max closed the door and began walking. The street was abuzz with pedestrians and traffic. But it made no impression on him. He was consumed with inner demons. Every thought stung like sleet in winter's icy wind. He never put his whole heart into anything. Never finished anything. Projects left hanging. Relationships abandoned. Ideas never pursued. This time was different. This time he'd finish the story. Upon reaching the corner of Fifth and Orleans, Max paused and looked left. When the first semi-truck came barreling toward the intersection, he jumped in front of it. Max was killed in an eyeblink.

Whence this much change

shoots out

the slots,

I'm lucky

lucky...

too lucky!

so I thought

to count the cents

chips, and quarter pasts,

the tinted glass

downed

I pull my shades

and all these

winnings

shimmer...

Wurlitzer voices

like tantalizing snacks

and I can feel

the metal creeping up

a realization gravitational

that grounds the lot

...to cut and run

or face the music

and play it,

one more time

2024 JUN 23

I may be waiting for grass to grow.

I may be waiting for ice to thaw

And snow to melt.

I may be counting the icicles as they fall from the frozen cliffside,

Praying for spring to dawn upon this barren earth

So that seeds may take root in the hills

And flowers may bloom once again.

And as I wait for the grass to grow,

I may wonder how to make the frost less biting

Or the ice less sharp.

I may wonder if the wind will keep on stinging

Or if I may find solace in a fire pit

Until the sun melts the ice away

And spring reemerges from beneath the frost.

And although I have no wood,

And there is nothing but ice and snow on the horizon,

Every day, darkness devours the sky,

And every day, the sun breaks through to touch the earth's soil.

Every year, the deserts grow dry,

And every year, the rain comes to quench its thirst.

And although the cold of winter may have turned my memory brittle,

I still remember the hummingbird's shining colors

And the lilac's sweet scent;

I still remember the mourning dove's tender call

And the morning's radiant glow;

And I must believe

That as constant as the ticking of the clock

And as surely as the dusk turns to dawn,

The sun will wake the frozen earth

And life will blossom once more.

And so long as there is still the faintest light in the night sky,

I will march on

Until I am there to see it.