Sleepless Nights

Conscience is an evil bastard
Waiving an unwieldy wand.
An echoing cacophony of kettle drums
Inside the head.
 
Should have, could have, would have
Done things differently if grace were kind,
If peace of mind were paramount,
And thoughts not fraught with desperate dread.
 
All of those “if onlys” and
Obligatory “wonder whys”
Enclosed in air quotes,
Accent marks accentuate a thousand lies.
 
Far too late to take things back,
To find a kinder, gentler thread.
Left to toss these sleepless nights while
Monsters lurk beneath my bed.
 
Answers fail
          And questions mount as
Night dissolves to blackest coal.
Only truth can raise the torch
To light the way,
To save my soul.
 
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The Clown

Janie was very amused by the clown.

His antics erased every trace of a frown,

But everyone knows that

When you tweak his nose

It causes his pants to fall down.

 

 

Like Rain on a Tin Roof

It seems like a lifetime of memories ago
          (Or was it just yesterday?)
Climbing the hayloft of Aunt Minnie’s barn,
          Thoughtlessly frittering summer away.
 
Cousins can make the most wonderful playmates,
No expectations,
          No rules to obey,
Nothing to bridle our imagination we’re off
Slaying dragons in lands far away.
 
Balancing carelessly,
          Swinging from rafters
High above canyons and mountains of hay.
Bland disregard for the foul unmucked stables.
Nothing and no one to shatter our day.
 
Caught in a summer storm
          Play turns to silence as
Raindrops drum tunes in our hushed cabaret.
From gentle tap tapping
          To kettle drum riots
The old tin roof hammers its brash timpani.
 
Never more frightened.
          Never more safe.
Cozy and tight in our bright hideaway.
Constant and steady
          Like rain on a tin roof,
Content with tomorrow.
          Alive in today.

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