The Lament of the Innocent

Bright eyes sing softly
A lullabye for my weary soul
Inexperienced wisdom that
Doesn't know enough to know a
Peace of mind buried beneath a
Piece of heart
To dream the impossible is
The madness of the optimist

Climb over the mountain
Arrive at the destination
Tet a Tet with tenacity
Vehemence, verve, vigor and valor
Alliterate the journey
To carve your way on paths already trodden
No matter who came before
No matter how long we stay

All that stands is now
All that falls is to come
The riddles of verses
Not yet written
Hold the meaning of
The life not yet lived
Today is to come
Through all the love of long ago

Death of innocents to
Provide the mettle
We've no time for regrets
Sorry won't bring daddy home
It's time to grow up
Sooner than anyone expected

The lament of the innocent is
The stuff that makes a man.

Once Upon a Time

You looked into the mirror of my soul
A reflection I no longer recognized
Once upon a time to
Happily ever after
Now your face that of a stranger
The deed is done
And you well know
No good deed goes unpunished
Time slips away into
Dreams that can't come true
Pennies dropped in a well
The potential wishes made
On the backs of prayers to Gods unnamed
I don't know you.
Maybe I never did
But, through prestidigitorial skill
The wool came down
Covering the eyes that no longer saw
Clearly the spell being woven
Take this
Take me
Take it all
It's all the same
Gifts of words and verse
The remainder of  the best
Offered from the blind
Until the sky splits open
With a roar of thunder to send you running
A cleansing rain, to
Wash it all away
I watch you gaze into a puddle
Imperfect, filled with mud and dirty
And I see your reflection
Clearly, for the first time
There you are!
Once upon a time
All that ever mattered
So sing the minstrels
Players only love you
When they're playing
An Analogy for a fool
And none exist more foolish than me
When looking into the mirror of my soul.

Writer's Block

The words play softly in front of my eyes.
Like the notes of a piano, low and melodic, yet percussive and insistent.
They weave their web in my brain until I'm wrapped in their seductive glow.
They keep me safe; they keep me warm.
My one true love, they dance with me in the shadows.
Moving gracefully, we dance this waltz breaking every barrier. 
They tease me as a coy lover.
I can see their letters, naked, laid out before me
But they refuse to show me their words
They tickle my consciousness, begging to be used.
I grab each one, only to feel it slip between my fingers
The ink dripping from my fingertips like so much blood.
The thrill is the chase and they have captured me to play this game
For the play is the thing, so says the Bard.
And if fools we mortals be
Then I am the most foolish and my words tell me so with exacting grace as only they can
absurd, asinine, brainless, crazy, daft, doltish, fatuous, half-baked, half-witted, imbecilic, imprudent, indiscreet, insane, irrational, lunatic, short-sighted, simple, stupid, unwise, witless

The words play softly in front of my eyes

Insistent in their need to be commanded. 

Desperate in their intent to command.

Their lesson is ongoing, never ending and it is this

Only with a pen mightier than the sword

Will the disease bleed away.

Only when the words are razor sharp in their wit

Will it cut to the quick and then bleed away

Only when lost in the moment 

Will the courage come, to cut the shit

And then bleed away.

Emotional Deja Vu

The waves crash over me
Like an emotional deja vu
The memories rise to the surface
Just to pull me under
Holding me down until I stop kicking

All I wanted out of life
Every failure
Every dream
Every triumph
Like a kick to my gut

While a new Empire rises
From the ashes that remain
After I burnt it all down
A God to none
And king to even fewer

The waters closing over my head
Like an emotional Deja Vu
I'm going under ...
The waves crashing over me
Beaten against the rocks

Open the Door

There's no wind left in my sails.
This reflection of a sad clown tells the same story
Over and over.
Perfect imperfection
I strive to be everything
Never acieving anything
Disfigured, deformed
I need so much
I give so much
Never enough to slake my thirst
What has gone before
Must pass away
Unlearn the learned
This denial of self must end
Give way; yield
To a spiritual awakening
the time has come
To walk alone
As the past floats away
A leaf on the wind
This is better?
This is enlightened?
Why do I feel broken?
So defective.
So isolated.

The Meaning of Life (NaPoWriMo #4)

It seems so simple
Putting one foot in front of the other
To move forward
The truth is far more complex
It is dangerous business
Going out one's front door
If you don't keep your feet
There's no telling where you might be swept off to.

Keep it simple then
Put one foot in front of the other
Move forward
To move is to grow
To grow is to live
Adventures abound
Beauty's bountiful
Lessons learned

Put one foot in front of the other
Move forward
Live

Darkness and pain
Fear and anguish
Suffering and regret
The seedy underbelly of the human psyche
Will draw you in and bat you around
Like the mouse to the proverbial cat
No one wants to be here
And those that are here never want to stay
Mired in negativity and
Enmeshed with insecurity
The bedfellows of doubt
Caught together in an orgy of reactionary emotion