She Leads the WayThe mother of the universe
Is a caramel colored sister
With skin as dark as midnight
And as golden as the morning sun
With olive hues painted with flecks
Of every color of your dreams
She inspires many with her beauty
While she enrages others with her strength

Some will argue that humanity
Did not rise from her fertile crescent
That everything we are could not begin
With the person they chose to demonize
Brutalize and isolate forcing her to work
While those who hate her rested and rode
To clean for those who should crawl before her
As she finishes last in a beauty pageant she won long ago

Like all good mothers she knows her child
And she loves us all despite our sins
She forgives those who choose to do wrong over right
While raising the offspring of those who raped her
Giving birth to planets and galaxies
Teaching us to sing and dance and follow our dreams
Healing her sons and daughters who will listen
She still leads the way

Never Again

Never again will I doubt myself
No longer will I let fear rule

Gone are the days I let someone else
Decide a fate for me that's cruel

The clouds in my mind are all lifted now
Gone is the fog in my eyes

I straighten my shoulders and refuse to bow
From under this mountain I rise

did i make it

read this
and ask
yourself

did i make it
or
is this
just a
clever
lie

an
illusion
of smoke
and
mirrors

disguised
as a
written
slight
of hand

or
better
yet

did
i just
learn
a valuable
lesson

that many
before
me
have long
understood

Piano Notes

all alone
I sit quietly
in a corner
your total captive
your complete slave

waiting for you
to strike me
beat me
hit me
torture me
hurt me

I only come alive
with your touch
when you
are gone
time stops

and I wait
and yearn
for you
to return

I give myself
willingly to some
to others
I refuse
to you
I submit

only you
can reach
that part of me
that goes
beyond what
others see

One Last Taste

sitting alone in a crowded room

trying to describe this feeling

my eyes hear a song

with no music

and my ears cry tears

no one can taste

if my heart walks away

will it remember

you

Drugstore blues

to be sick in bed
full of pain reliever

is it starve a cold
and feed a fever?

whatever the cure
this is my plight

to be sick in bed
and up all night

with coughing and sneezing
eyes itchy and runny

next comes the tea
with lemon and honey

first this pill then that pill
and tissues by the ton

then orange juice and cough syrup
this really is not fun

dizzy and light-headed
I stagger to the door

time to face the blizzard
back to the drugstore

You Decide

There are many things that go undone
Never count among them the morning sun

The sun brings with it the morning light
And reminds us all to do what is right

With a promise to make each day new
What gets done is up to you

Will you bring a better way
To the life of others every day

Or will you choose to wither and die
As you see life passing you by

The morning sun resides in you
As a reminder of the work to do

Make a difference and make a choice
To every day use your voice

Choose to fight and take a stand
And make this place a better land

On this your 21st birthday

today is
your day
and
we
celebrate
all that
is you

we honor
the joy
you
bring to
us all

from the start
you were
different
and completely
the same

the perfect
reflection
of
your mother
and me

with a light
that is
goodness and love
that flows
between
the universe
and you

my only fear
is one day
that light
will die

and we
would have
to suffer
a life
without you

but that fear
is for
another
day
because
today
is your
day

for
now
and
forever

Happy Birthday
my son

A Graduate Course in Fatherhood

My parents divorced when I was small
So I never knew my father at all
He visited last before I was a teen
But his regular presence was never seen

So I grew up and promised myself each day
I would never treat my children that way
And now that I have sons of my own
I cannot believe they are already grown

When they were small I tried to be
Something my father never was to me
The thing that matters most in the end
Is choosing to be father instead of friend

Fathers teach right from wrong
Friends just try to get along
Fathers have the strength to say
Do these things to be a man some day

For all the things I was never taught
And all the battles my sons and I fought
Despite the pain I have to say
I would not do it any other way

why I watch you

I watch you
because I have to

I am waiting
for a sign

I hope will
never come

I watch you
because one day

You will no longer
be able to do for yourself

You will not be able
to make choices

You have always
made with ease

You will fall
and not get up

I watch you
because

When I could not
get up

When I could not
make choices

When I could not
do for me

you did

Why God made California

obviously one day
God decided to either
punish us all
or have a good laugh
so God made California

a place where people go to dream
about being rich and famous
in a land part playground
part penitentiary filled with
answered prayers and plaintive wails

and as God sat back and laughed
granting favors to some
and frustrating the rest
our punishment is to
chase fantasy and fame

so this must be how
God shows he loves us
by letting us know
some will have every dream answered
and others will move to Montana

The Promise

you expect
me to
honor
a promise

to do
the right
thing
and remember

words said
when drinking
and
other things

had control
of my
mind
and heart

not to
mention the
rest
of me

Economic Outlook

the local job fair
had 30 jobs

3,000 people
showed up

a tapestry
of humans

woven together
for a moment

a blend of confidence
and desparation

the smell of success
was smothered

by the stench
of hopelessness

someone will get hired
almost all will not

everyone hoping
the person to their left

and their right
goes home unhappy

The Old Man

the bent old man
once
stood upright
and
straight

now he sways
just like
a blade of grass
blowing
in the breeze

what once
was
as solid as
oak

is now
nothing
more than
a
willow

fragile
and
brittle
he does not snap

you would
think
the strain
of the years

would break him
yet
he still
grows
not up
like a tree

but in stature
maturity
and wisdom

never
forget a tree
is more
than
what you see

The Good with the Bad

People will tell you no
When they know the answer is yes
Realize their limits will
Become yours if you allow

We are equal parts good and bad
Capable of right and wrong
Using smiles and frowns as weapons
The same way we use words and deeds

Kind words from a stranger
Beat the thoughtless words of people
Who think they know who you really are
When they do not even know themselves

Learning who you are is good
Knowing who you are is better
Remember good and bad, right and wrong
Exist because we let it

Questions in memory of a dream

Who is responsible for what comes after a dream?
And
What will you do to make sure things change?
And
When do memories take on a life of their own?
And
Where are the results of your belief in the dream?
And
Why do something once a year you should do every day?
And
How do you change those who choose hate over love?

The real mystery of time

The real mystery of time
Is not too much or too little

If you waste it
Or spend it wisely

The real mystery of time
Is we choose to observe it

Sixty seconds or seven days
Twenty four hours or several years

Have no real meaning
If you ignore them

Try it and see

The real mystery of time
Is time only exists because we allow it

Yet still we punish ourselves
Over that which is ours

Life based on something imaginary
Is real to those who believe

Time to laugh and love is not measured
Yet we limit time for work and play

Maybe the real mystery of time
Is us

Or maybe just me

Winter comes to the prairie

Snow gently falls leaving few spots bare
As Winter takes full control
Fields once thriving now in need of repair
So many stories untold

Now is the time so desolate and bleak
With no thought to things produced
This season will make everyone weak
Winter the enemy of youth

Saying goodbye to a friend

As time goes by

More and more friends die

Seems they pass each day

But what can we say

The memories will stay

Though the friends went away

Some times were great

But the friends could not wait

How could we know

It was their time to go

Every now and then

We must say goodbye to a friend

Princesses and Princes


All little girls have dreams
To be a princess one day
While little boys it seems
Only want to go play

For girls it is pink
And things that are frilly
While boys like to think
Things frilly are silly

For girls it is lace
With pony and carriage
For boys it is snakes
And football, not marriage

Boys chase after bugs
While girls take ballet
And boys run from hugs
While thinking it is play

Girls have their tea parties
With Daddy and dolly
While boys play like pirates
With a Roger so jolly

Then soon comes the day
For the boy so it seems
That his time spent at play
Is now spent on her dreams

The boy now a prince
The girl in full flower
So long ago since
She learned of her power

And the magic of things
All satin and frilly
That boys will be kings
But first must be silly

14 again

Funny how certain things
Make you 14 again

A song triggers a thought
A photo brings back a dream

Takes you to a time
When you could do anything

Having a crush on a girl
You never had a shot at

The sounds of Steely Dan
Creeping up from the basement

Battling with the sounds
Of The Jackson 5 falling from upstairs

And me, as always
Caught in the middle

Somewhere between
Carole King and the 5th Dimension

I was 14
And I could do anything

Searching for you

Despite our best efforts
All attempts to find you failed

Your trail grew cold within minutes
Teams gathered and searched everywhere

Abandoned buildings, lakes and fields
All refused to yield any signs of you

Days became weeks, weeks became months
Then came the realization

You may never be found
As you stood there and watched us all

Miss Educated?

You always thought you

Were smarter than who

Everyone you knew

All hated you too

You never did learn

So you could never earn

What you thought you were due

Still without a clue

Now I can see

How happy and free

My life can be

All this is true

And all without you

Wild

Caged or free

Untamed or mild

Your restrictions on me

Only make me wild


Stalking prey

Or quiet repose

Now that I'm wild

Anything goes


I rip out your throat

Gouge out your eye

Laugh at your blood

And watch you die


Hide if you can

But this much remains

This monster of a man

Is just what you made

Lemonade

Your wonders are many
tart and yet sweet
cool to the touch and the tongue

Yet hot or cold
In pitchers or glass
You thrill the old and the young

Each day that you greet me
Cooling my heart and my head
I wonder can you possibly do more

From first magic sip
As you chill in my grip
And I delight as you perfectly pour

So simple to make
Lemons, sugar, water, ice
And perfect your flavors combine

As your flavor explodes
And all pressure erodes
I thank God that you are mine

Gifts from a psychic

Place into my palm the silver
Were the words from the mysterious stranger
Slightly my body did shiver
But no time felt any danger

Olive was her skin and midnight her hair
She made me eager to hear more
Not faint of heart or easy to scare
She knew what my visit was for

And yes to her the gift I did give
With the coin of silver and gold
She knew I could no longer live
With this weight so heavy and cold

Now to me give your hand the sultry psychic did say
As my heart beat quick from her touch
I knew she had so much to say
That would finally rid me this crutch

You do not wish to live a long time
Came slithering off her tongue
The look on my face defied reason or rhyme
As it did since I was young

The line that is your life will not let you leave
She said as each word stabbed more and more
She said the pain is not yours that your grieve
As my fears fell straight to the floor

Love is the lesson that you must learn
Before you are allowed to move on
What you must feel is something you earn
Before this pain can be gone

This is hard for you because not yours is this time
She purred as she squeezed my hand
You must learn to let this fall from your mind
This time is not yours young man

The body is yours, but the soul from another
And her touch began to grow cold
This lesson to learn belongs to some other
A soul that will not grow old

This soul was not ready and too soon taken away
Her eyes now turned white as snow
It refuses to learn new lessons each day
And you must pay what it owes

The pain was too great when the soul ripped away
And stubborn a soul it still is
Thankful should you be here on this day
To ease the soul that is his

Cold to the touch, eyes white as snow
I tried to pull away but she would not let me go
He has made your heart cold and unable to grow
Were her words that did ring and echo

Lock these words deep in your heart
Said she with a deep sigh
Do not fear or live deep in the dark
It is not your time to die

Write and wrong

Whenever you have to write a wrong

Take care with all you do

Some things will not follow along

Leaving all fingers pointing at you


Wrong things seldom turn out right

Despite efforts from all who care

Write things to fix the plight

And challenge the wrong if you dare


The strength is in what you write

And in your defense stand tall

Justice is seldom won in a night

When you write the wrong for all

Our time

Measure our time together in moments not minutes

In memories we shared and not those we could have

In brief glances and child-like innocence

In double-dog dares and high school dances

In feelings that are forever and a love that lasts a lifetime

Never use minutes, hours or days because those all will end

But our moments together will last forever

Questions and answers

One thought
Two riddles
Three puzzles
Four questions
Five answers

Six reasons
Seven trials
Eight changes
Nine wonders
Ten solutions

The day you went away

As you walked away I stood in silence

More statue than man, with words never said carved in our stone hearts

What I wanted to say and what you needed to hear

Remained an unspoken admission that a lifetime shared is never enough

Every glance, hug and tear fade more each day

And each time I reach

Each time I reach for you

Each time I hope to see you

I see more of myself

I see the hard heart carved in stone that fills your eyes

And kills your smile

Now I know why you have to say goodbye

As you walked away and I stood in silence

The End of the Beginning

As the race to the finish line fades
The realization that running
Only gets you further from your goal rises

As the light that was the day slows
And crawls across your soul
Running still will not get you there ever

Over before it started
Ended before it began
You line up to run because