Filled To Overflowing

People always talk about

A cup half full

A cup half empty

 I’m too busy dealing with

A cup that’s filled to overflowing.

Hefty measures

Great and small

That weigh into the overall

Decisions to be battered round,

Which direction to be going.

Tossed into the everyday,

The mix and mesh is simple play

And I can deal and get away

Without the devil even knowing.

Too content with happiness,

So intent, a simple guest,

Always looking for the best

My soul just keeps on growing.

 

New Beginnings

Fortune rises from the depths where

Darkness once caressed my soul,

Lifted out from marbled crypt to

Fly on wings of feathered light

With hope rekindled,

Faith renewed

I seek horizons in the distance.

Forests fall as roads unfold to

Wind their way in new directions.

 

No longer shall the demons haunt

Nor slackers taunt to block my view.

Blessed to know the up-ahead

Holds no resemblance to the past.

Striding bold into the sunset

Where tomorrow is today.

Every day a new beginning

Offered on a silver tray.

 

Are You Happy?

Do you wake up every morning

Looking forward to the day?

Are you happy?

Does the smell of coffee brewing

Put a faint and hopeful grin upon your face?

Are the dreams that you dreamed yesterday

Still living in your heart

Like a sweet desire that cannot be replaced?

 

There are questions to be answered

And tasks to be completed in the offing.

Priorities to order

And people to be greeted on the way.

But this grownup world you’re living in

Shouldn’t kill the child who dwells within your body,

And you owe it to yourself to always

Set aside some time to simply play.

 

So I ask again, quite honestly.

It’s a simple question,

Really…

Are you happy?

 

Oxygen

Can’t see it,

But I know when it’s there,

Know when it’s being denied to my lungs.

Can’t taste it,

Though some may insist that they

Know it exists at the tip of their tongue.

Can’t feel it

Except for the breeze as it

Brushes my cheek with a warmth or a chill.

Can’t keep it.

Must give it back once its sustenance ends

And its mission fulfills.

 

Blessed giver…

     Warden of life…

          Imperceptible stream.

Though I’ve never seen you,

     I know you are there

          Upholding my dream.

 

Positives

Mama always taught me that

There’s good in everyone,

That I should seek the positive

And overlook the rest.

 

Must admit, sometimes you have to

Look real deep to find it.

Some people give the microscope

A grueling, daunting test.

 

But if you seek, and seek you must,

And dwell on positives,

You just might find that

Life’s more kind

As you ponder your quest.

 

Is it worth the effort

To seek people at their best?

I believe that it’s the key

To life’s true happiness.

 

Sometimes Wonder

Sometimes wonder

     As I wander aimlessly

          From think to thought,

Picking pieces

     Of the puzzle

          Looking for the perfect fit.

Does it matter

     If the meter runs completely

          Down to naught?

Consequences

     Consequently run the

          Entire alphabet.

Tiresome to be contemplating,

     Worried what

          The world might see.

Wholesome to be

     Born in wisdom,

          Knowing what will be will be.

 

Fantasy / Ecstasy

Feathery fingers gently touching

Soft on alabaster skin,

Titillating tender ripples

Up and down a supple spine.

 

Sweet caress along each breast,

Lightly touching,

Moving on

Fill your sensuous universe,

Quench the thirst of your desire.

 

Passion building… ever building

Til you reach your pleasure peak,

Raise you to the summit of

Euphoria and back again.

 

Only then I think of self,

Only give til you are sated

Knowing you will grant ten-fold

When I become recipient.

 

New Day

A new day

     New time

          New era dawning,

New plans and challenges

     Seem to abound.

 

Old friends estrange

     As priorities change

While lives rearrange and

     New friendships are found.

 

New blazed directions

     Discover affections

          So many selections

To batter about.

 

And I in my wisdom

     Will brave criticism

To choose from among them

          And count them all down.

 

Forward projecting,

     Backward protecting,

          Ever correcting to

               Sight and to sound.

 

Laughing and weeping,

     Time crawling or creeping,

          Constantly keeping

               My feet on the ground.

 

Silly Giggles

Nostalgic for the good old days

Of life’s simplistic interludes,

When dreams were fresh as lavender

As sunlight burns the morning dew.

 

Silly giggles way back then

Were all the sport we ever sought,

No responsibilities could

Trump the task of levity.

 

And weren’t we happy with our lot?

Time and trial our last concerns.

Foresight was for other fools

To dole and dither fitfully.

 

Sad to lose the youthful verve

That spawned so many memories, but

Time can be a spiteful mistress

If allowed to have her way.

 

Now in twilight do I find

The subtle nuance of her gift.

The looking back rekindles joy that

Silly giggles gave us then.

 

Princess Bride

Sleepy nation wakes the dawning,

Spies the bunting on each ledge,

Something special stirs the scent of

Incense wafting in the breeze.

 

Quick to dress in finery

To suit such glorious occasion,

Chins held high and chests puffed full

In maximum anticipation.

 

Four white horses lead the carriage

Fully draped in ceremony

As the trumpets sound the herald

Echoing glad tidings all.

 

Out she steps to breathless watchers,

Daintily her footfall glides,

Steadfastly her regal father

Leads his angel down the aisle.

 

Now she stands before the altar,

Nations watching, filled with pride,

And her young prince stands beside her

Proud to wed his princess bride.

 

Heartshine

Mindful embraces form

Elegant sources

Gently caressing the

Lace-covered edges of memory 

Harboring every emotion,

As I feel your Heartshine

Soft on my face.

 

Brighter than sunlight,

Fresher than springtime,

Warmer than summer

I bask in your glow.

Supple as willow trees

Free-flowing branches

Dancing with breezes,

I hold your embrace.

 

Welcome sweet Heartshine,

Come stay a while.

Linger til long shadows

Fade into night.

Joy is your reverie,

Truth your companion,

Beckoning all

To join in your chase.

Shifting Sands of Time

Time has a habit of slipping away

As she constantly moves in a finite direction,

No stepping back,

No childhood do-overs,

Only now and tomorrow,

Only here and hereafter.

 

But that doesn’t cede that

The past holds no meaning,

Or should be diminished in memory’s vault.

Her treasures are deep

And her lessons are many.

Her halls and her chambers

Lined with love, dreams and laughter.

 

And though the sands may shift underfoot

As the tides roll out,

As the tides roll in,

We stand at her shore

And search her horizon,

Amazed at the bounty she holds deep within.

 

Memory

I’ve been stuffing my cranium

Seven decades plus with

The knowledge and wisdom

Of memory’s keep.

So often my mind wants

To burst at the seams,

Yet always finds room

For the new and unique.

 

Dreams of my youth

May have vanished in vapors

Or merely transitioned

To fit circumstance,

As whispers of time

Cried out new direction

And chance took my hand

And bade me to dance.

 

Whatever the course, I pray

Let it continue to

Grow and spread light

So that others might see.

And when Fate finally calls

I’ll leave something behind,

If only a wrinkle

In their memory.

 

A Child’s Folly

Tuck me in and say goodnight,

Now the day, at last, is done.

A gentle kiss upon my cheek

Says everything will be alright,

Helps me sleep straight through the night,

Keeps the monsters from my closet

Once you’ve turned off all the lights.

 

Gentle dreams are sure to follow

In a new world far away

Where daffodils play on the hill

With Mother Goose, Jack and Jill,

And all the king’s horses find their gait

As they primp and prance about at will.

 

And I have thoughts of being big,

I do what I see grownups do.

In ever-so simplistic ways

I banter through their hectic day

To recreate the fantasy

Til morning’s light comes into play.

 

Marvelous Angels

A quick kiss goodnight

Then off to Dreamland,

Punching my ticket to sweet solitude,

Lolling and resting in quiet seclusion,

Cares become vaporous vanishing ghosts.

 

Far from the mad-hatter quicksand reality,

Safe from the fires that raged at my feet.

Seeking the freedom the spirit requires while

Sowing the seeds of replenishing fruit.

 

Flashes come quickly and stay but an instant,

Not long enough to scar memory’s core,

But something remains

As I know upon waking that

Burdens are lifted to start the new day.

Where do they come from?

Marvelous angels

Born of a whisper

Lighter than air.

Resting with miracles

Waiting and ready

Til slumber awakens and calls them to play.

 

The Cost

Good morning, my good and trusted friend;

So lovely, as always, to visit again.

Can’t seem to remember how long it has been
Since the last time our two paths have crossed.

Was it late September

          As seasons were changing?
Time loses meaning
          With lives rearranging,
And memory fails in the process of aging
And old friendships fade until lost.

But we are forever, and never forget.
We’ll last past the sunset,
          No fear of regret.
A boy and his dream ever present, as yet
Unfulfilled, still weighing the cost.

 

I Dreamed an Angel

Some believe,

          Some deny,

                    Some have reservations

Having never touched or even seen

And wouldn’t even recognize

The flow,

          The glow,

The haunting brilliance

Dancing in her eyes.

But I believe,

          Can conceive

                    The sweet soft features in her face

As she appears,

          Consoles my fears

                    And disappears without a trace.

 

Sleep Without Dreams

Keeping up appearance,

Dancing the dance of the socialite,

Hanging on shallow words

Meant to impress,

Breathing the corporate mantra,

Hmmm… ya ya hmmm… ya ya hmmm.

Day in

Day out,

Days flow by unyielding.

Not my own…

Someone else’s vision,

Someone else’s profit.

Someday soon I’ll spread my wings,

Plot my course,

Find my way.

This nine to five existence

Is like sleep without dreams;

Restores the body

But does nothing for the soul.

But I want to dream…

I have a dream,

And someday soon…

Someday…

Soon.

Waking Up

I know I had a dream last night,

But can’t remember it at all.

No details. Not a single one.

Just a happy glow that left me warm.

 

Spectrums filled with glowing light.

Images both grand and small.

A first class flight into the sun

With hands that keep me safe from harm.

 

Something in it feels so right

Answering the siren’s call.

A million treasures to be won.

No resistance to her charm.

 

Landing safely from my flight,

Eyes wide open, standing tall.

Sweet dream lady, come and gone,

Leaving me to sense her charm.

          

Escape

Tortured by the husking fruitless

Daily crush of energy marauders

Vexing, ever vexing and

Flexing brawny sinuous flesh,

Flaunting faux powers in feckless faces.

Pity the fools.

 

I close my eyes,

Lower my expectations and

Wait for sweet dreams

To invade my property.

Oft times comes easy,

Approaching angelic.

The bully backs down

Looking elsewhere for folly.

Prison bars soften and the gates open wide

As velveteen breezes offer their wings

Leaving me free to escape to Nirvana

Where honey flows free

And roses e’er bloom,

And thoughts are but whispers

Born on the wind.

 

I will linger here a while to

Follow the dream,

Seize the ring.

No misgivings for time well spent.