EMOTIONAL INVENTORY

Poems never written,
songs never sung.
Sometimes things that

never happened
still need to
be undone.

A VALENTINE PRAYER

For want of a Valentine
     grew a desire to hold.

For want of a Valentine
     stories were often told.

For want of a Valentine
     my soul was carelessly sold.

For want of a Valentine
     my beating heart grew cold.

A SHOW OF SOULS

Never making, only sharing.
Souls in tune experiencing
common sensations from

a distance, rarely touching
but always feeling. Love
of language making

unbreakable bonds. Eternal
commitment to internal
attachment.

NOTEWORTHY

Standing close to the edge of suicide,
Hidden from view the turmoil deep inside.

Doing everything right but all is going wrong.
Screaming loud though no one hears my song.

Feelings, emotions to express,
fears to confess.

Writing allows me to examine
The hunger caused by famine.

SOCIAL GLAUCOMA

Often can't see
where we've been
cause where
we're at

Forget our
wants and
needs once
we've sat.

Life looks
very different
when we begin to
change hats.

FLAX POND PROJECT

FLAX POND PROJECT

TRUTH BE TOLD

Logic suffers when love

is involved, passions

cannot be bound

with chains of reason.

Truths come wearing

the garments of the

false.  Facts of identification

suffer the distortion

of convenient perception,

making reality temporary,

a victim of agreement

based on deception.

GRADUATION

Changing locations to inspire

renovation to a manufactured

situation can only lead to

The necessary realization

Of the need for justification

For the alterations in the

modification of destinations.

Transportation for the transition

empowered by desperation,

worried about the ramifications

for the eventual and inevitable

preparation of maturation.

EXAMINING THE UNEXAMINED

Placing problems on a page

for all to see, puts them

into perspective. Their placement

allows for magnification

of inspection of my

introspection. Examination

by rotation of the situation

permits the possibilities

of unforeseen answers

to available alternatives.

Isolation of ideas can

turn tragedy into opportunity.

BIDING TIME

Tears sometimes fall from

dry eyes shielded by

masks of the unacceptable

Decorated by reality.

Sadness hidden by illusions

of temporary reality.

Happiness may be a mirage

of supposed recovery,

Only to be discovered

in time, waiting for

rehabilitation of the present.

Always, waiting.

A CHILD IS BORN

Growing up means growing

away, not apart but

into yourself. A flower

begins to take on

distinct individual beauty

when it begins to blossom.

Individuality is a separation

of one’s identity displayed

for all to appreciate, cherish

and worship. Separation is

a part of coming together,

The circle completed.

MY SWAN SONG

What do swans see

that has escaped me

times three?

For life they do mate.

never their partners to hate.

Toward love they sail straight.

Chances they do not take,

their love they do not fake.

Mistakes the do not make.

Hopefully now is my turn,

true love to discern,

lessons I have to learn.

A NEEDLE’S EYE

Tempered by poverty, my

perceptions distorted by

the filters provided by

experience.

Not subjected to the collection

of possessions, I am

Released from the

never-ending competition for

validation of the material

which results in imprisonment

of the soul, prohibiting

evolution of the moment.

STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT

Absent from the spotlight

because of reflections

resulting from distortions

of personal perceptions.

 A victim of acceptance

at the expense of reality.

Not prepared to risk popularity

in the name of responsibility.

Avoidance provides a temporary

escape from accountability

to oneself for oneself

It’s ShowTime somewhere.

GROWING PAINS

Taking center stage for

all eyes to see Unsure

that what you see

is what others see.

Lacking in yourself

what others think

they see in you.

Looking all grown

is not the same

as being all grown.

Wishful thinking

is a matter of perspective.

RECALLING FONDLY

Missing you hurts

more when you’re

not sure how much

you are missed.

Being close just

amplifies the pain.

Absence is not the

same as gone when

the memory remains.

Pictures in my mind

will stay forever

in my aching heart.

 PRICE TO PAY

Following orders is

the price you must pay

for the purchase of

another’s self-dignity.

Failures in recollection

result in manipulations

of reality to achieve

satisfaction.        

HOLDING COURT

Plastic grocery bags

serve as briefcases containing

vital documents necessary

for maintaining his sanity.

Senior coffees and crossword puzzles

serve both as clutter and decoration.

Pearls of wisdom are adorned

as jewelry of his generation.

Holding court and seeking

Validation for a life well lived

And proof of an importance

Of a substantial existence,

pointing out the passing girls,

once beautiful when

he was young.