Part Two

How you trickle silently, 
Thoughtless of the grains already 
Falling prey to gravity, 
Filling up her bottom half.

Early on the hourglass was 
So top-heavy, slow to empty, 
Moving with the speed of trees 
Left growing on the mountainside.

Then somewhere along the way 
Your flow increased eleven-fold, 
Smothering the future in an arid, 
Acrid storm of dust.

Memories belittle any distant dream 
Of wealth or fame, 
Settling instead for hope of 
Reinstated afterlife.

Let there be no sad regret. 
Let there be no sorrow. 
Part two isn’t over yet. 
I wait to meet tomorrow.

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Coming in Spring 2018, a new book of poetry, 101 Virtues.

Half Way To…

Stuck here in the middle of 
The muddle as we 
Huddle just to cuddle in the 
Puddle with the subtlety of fish.

Kiss the weary wanderers who 
Happen by to ponder their 
Decision, growing fonder of 
A never-ending wish.

Look back over yesterday, 
The freakish fracas of dismay, 
The trifle trophies on display up 
High upon a shelf.

Welcoming the changing tide. 
Climb aboard the golden ride to 
Sail tomorrow’s other side 
Without a thought for self.

Come to center. 
Brave the winter months 
That lie in certainty. 
Join the throng in blissful song. 
Take me where I want to be.

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Afraid of Nothing / Everything

The Nothing comes knocking on
My bedroom door, 
Leads me to worry, to wonder and fret. 
Will there be anything, 
Anyone standing behind that portal 
Of sad regret?

It swings open 
And light filters in and the Nothing is 
Suddenly opened to everything. 
My mind filters out what my 
Eyes would allow until 
There is no song left to sing.

Lord, give me strength, give me 
Wisdom to cope when 
The Nothing looms over my tortured soul. 
Teach me to look over 
Everything’s shoulder 
Where hope is the prize, 
The ultimate goal.

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Perfect Pitch

Outside corner, low, away, 
Paint the black. Strike three. 
Hometown crowd erupts with joy, 
Fanatics roar with glee.

Mezzo soprano sharpens. Ends 
Her aria with ease. 
Audience is mesmerized,
Mezzo soprano pleased.

Salesman standing, foot in door to 
Satisfy my itch, 
Amaze me with your talent for
Illusion, bait and switch.

Braced for failure, seeking out 
Perpetual perfection. 
Seldom finding sweet success 
Advancing my direction.

Goes to show, one never knows
The what, how, where or which, 
The subtle canvas that we paint 
In finding perfect pitch.

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On the Other Side

Magic misty gray horizon 
Shadowing the rising sun, 
Secreting the land of plenty 
Waiting on the other side.

Filling minds with wide conjecture, 
Mysteries in cloak and veil 
Seldom fail to mystify. 
Questions only, if you please.

Not a soul has ever bought a 
Round trip ticket to your shore with 
Beaches that go on forever, 
Never crowded, never full.

Never-ending holiday of 
Voices lifted high in praise,
Leaving joy and happiness the
Only order to fulfill.

Let my heart be fanciful. 
Let my mind be open to the 
Widest spectrum of belief 
Where grand imagination rules.

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Sold Into Bondage

Once with a dream sailing off into daybreak
Probed to excitement by bold wistfulness, 
Prodding the notion that nothing else mattered, 
Dancing on razor’s edge. No second guess.

No fear of falling. No vain malcontent. 
Challenging challengers. Beckoning more 
With youthful exuberance, sad inexperience 
Setting the stage for the heartbreak in store.

Out on the treadmill the dream becomes whitewashed, 
Stripped of its colors, robbed of its gold. 
Traded and peddled in markets of plenty.
Altered by robbers; finally sold.

Who are these heartless merchants of cunning 
Selling off souls for a guilder or less? 
Killing off dreams like assassins for hire. 
Bloodless desires that never confess.

Waiting for rescue will not lift these shackles. 
Cut off an arm if it helps to go free. 
Back to the marketplace, into the fray. 
Banner a dream for the whole world to see.

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The Private I

Come around some other time. 
There’s no joy to share this moment. 
Laughter just a distant mem’ry. 
Smiles lost to unseeing eyes.

Unaccustomed as I have become to 
Fits of melancholy, 
These are strange emotions swarming 
Over me like hungry flies.

Must need time to sort it all
In simple logical progression. 
Must find reason, must make 
Season follow season to conclusion.

Every cause must make effect.
Cannot let the sequence vary.
Cannot let deception carry off 
My thoughts with vague illusion.

Focus! 
Focus. Find the answer. 
Scout the glen from mountainside. 
Loose the falcon. Set him free. 
Revel his unfettered glide.

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Get a Grip

What is this fantasy I’m in? 
Could it be much more inane? 
To dicker here and dawdle there, 
To walk the boundaries of insane.

Must be in a sleepwalk state 
Mesmerized by candlelight 
Flickering. Bickering, 
Trying to decide what’s right.

Can’t be any tried and true 
Imaginings to lead the way. 
Left to falter, left to flounder, 
Left for yet another day.

Somewhere in this canyon deep
A river must flow out to sea.
Oh, to craft a simple raft to
Take me where I need to be.

Stripping out the colors until 
Flesh is bared in subtle tone. 
Reaching out to grab a limb…
Pulled into the safety zone.

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Big Fat Liar

Bogus lips who wave and waddle in
A wind of fabrication. 
Bastardized capitulation to the 
Terms of simple reason, 
Killing any last good hope that 
Principal might will and win.
Withering on sun-dried porches, 
Wallow in your dismal dregs.

When did it become such labor? 
Such a ruesome journey just to 
Find a fact and lay it out in
Rhythmic sweet simplicity.

When did stealth subversiveness 
Become the ruling master plan? 
Is it greed? Is it mead to 
Grace the face of conversation?

Am I ill to be pragmatic? 
Wanting fact in place of ilk.
Cast your fate with yellow dogs 
When truth subverts to holiday.

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Together for Never

We can’t seem to get together
In this helter-skelter mix.
Pathways never quite converge in 
Forest green or meadow bright. 
Often time it’s hill or mountain 
Blocking view, come between. 
Even when we find a tunnel 
Funneled miles without the light.

Seeking grand and righteous virtues 
You fly high above my brow, 
Teasing me to grab your wing, to 
Fly beside you on your quest.
But flying high above the crowd, 
Beyond the clouds, is not my cup. 
Grounded here on common soil,
I seek only happiness.

No doubt somewhere eons hence
Our kindred souls shall meet again. 
But for now we close our blissful eyes and
Dream what might have been.

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Heartbreaker

Hail to the heartbreaker, 
Standing tall. 
May you get all you consider your due. 
May the puppy you thrashed 
Bounce back biting you 
In the ass as you sit high on your wall 
Looking down, sad, smug smile on your face. 
Never imagining you’re the hard case. 
Never considering you’re a disgrace 
To your gender, 
Pumped as you are with such gall.

Truce and truth… 
Let the moment subside. 
Pry yourself from the crack 
Where you hide. 
Sample humility… swallow some pride… 
See what your stifled mem’ry recalls of 
A time you sat in opposing chairs, 
Totally baffled, unaware of 
The lead ball headed straight for your heart,
Leaving you desolate… 
         Lost… 
                 And small.

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Take My Hand

There’s a place where teardrops go 
To lose their memories, 
In a land where pain and sorrow can’t survive. 
Every heartache knows the way
To pray on bended knees 
Til the passion of forgiveness can arrive.

I have felt the winds of chance 
Flowing over us 
Taking all control of fate from our command. 
But I know it’s not too late 
If you believe in you and me.
We can make it if you’ll only take my hand.

There are words we can’t take back even 
If we wanted to. 
There are things that we have done 
We can’t undo. 
But a future without us is unacceptable. 
My life would have no meaning without you.

There’s a place where we can go 
To bring back happiness, 
Holding all the hope two people can demand. 
We can’t find our way alone. 
That’s impossible. 
We can make it if you’ll only take my hand.

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Breakdown

Smothering clouds hold the sunlight at bay while 
The raven’s scream cuts deep in my soul. 
Spirit sinks low in a bottomless pit of despair 
Where no one can find their feet.

Drifting in aimless, directionless haze.
Shifting position, adjusting my gaze. 
Lift me please from this impossible maze. 
Sifting out options, however discreet.

Where is my mindset?
Far gone my passion. 
Blasted to pieces – a million and one. 
Washed up on beaches as 
Fodder to seabirds, 
Or left undiscovered to shrink in the heat.

Tear-stained, 
Mind drained of any compassion, 
Weakened to sniffling, sniveling flesh. 
Yield to the travesty. 
Abandon logic. 
Embrace the comfort of utter defeat.

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History Speaks. Is Anybody Listening?

Echoes bounce back constantly, 
Reminders of transgressions, blind 
Oppression, sad impressions, 
Allegations of what might have been. 
Someone even wrote it down, 
Polished every detail, printed, 
Sold it retail, turned a profit 
Baked in mortal sin.

Prepubescent innocence is quell 
To feed on fervorance, 
And dies e’er it becomes intense 
Enough to feed the quakes. 
And we forget, or just don’t care 
To read the notes of yesteryear, 
And so are doomed beyond repair 
To make the same mistakes.

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It Gets Better

Rent is due, funds are scarce and 
The landlord is a putz. 
Johnny’s failing all his classes. 
Suzie is a klutz.

Momma says she needs new shoes. 
Dad needs a new shirt. 
Both bemoan the plight that comes with 
Being poor as dirt.

Grandma called. She thinks that Grandpa 
Should be in a home. 
Can’t remember diddly-squat, 
His mind has turned to foam.

Bubba fell out of the truck; 
Broke an arm and leg. 
Won’t be working for a while.
At least he saved the keg.

Aunt Fannie’s getting married
For the twenty-second time. 
A slight exaggeration…. But 
It should be a crime. 

Maybe I’ll sit down tonight and 
Write the Lord a letter, 
Offer up a midnight prayer and 
Hope that it gets better.

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Gamble Gambit

Anti up and deal the cards.
Face down. Face up. Call your game. 
Call my bluff. 
         Perhaps I’m lying. 
Shrink and fold 
         If you’re so lame 
You can’t endure the hot/cold sweats, 
Take a stand without regrets,
Lose the battle?
Lose the farm? 
Face the challenge? 
Place your bets.

You might be a first-move-maker 
If you have it in your gut to
Gnaw and gnash and bare your fangs, 
Claw and climb the rotting rut.

Taking chances. 
         Lashing out. 
                Slashing deep 
                        The unkind cut. 

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Too Damned Lazy

Left unfinished, 
         Left unstarted,  
                          Left for someone else to do. 
Right a wrong. 
        Write a letter. 
                Right wing. Left wing. Nothing new. 
Preaching, teaching, 
         Reaching forward. 
                 Backward, sideways. More delays.
Laboring 
         Procrastination,                 
                Bellicose to boast malaise. 
Don’t demure to 
         Sinful sloth, 
                 Sob and sigh for jobs undone. 
Do the deed to 
         Damn the doubters. 
                 Slam the slobs who shun the sun. 
Sit up. Get up 
         Off your ass. 
                 Although vision may be hazy. 
There’s no season, 
         There’s no reason left 
                 For being too damn lazy.

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Dark Tunnel

See the tiny pinprick light 
That in the distance glows, it 
Grows as I move closer through 
This dark and dreary hole.

I would cash in favors for 
A flashlight or a lantern. 
Man was never meant for the 
Existence of a mole.

I had both eyes open when I 
Waltzed into this wasteland, 
Welcoming the challenge of 
A bold spelunker’s quest.

But here the night is smothering, 
Leading me to ponder that 
When next I need a challenge 
I’ll just smash a hornet’s nest.

Find a rope to lead me 
Out of this dark tunnel maze,
Ease the claustrophobic grasp and
Put my soul at rest.

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To the Moon

Earthbound and shackled by
Constant confusion, daily profusion of 
Sanctified sacraments, 
Fretting the gamut of secular musings, 
Seeking a meaningful, practical pose. 
Wherefore and what for, 
Therefore and much more. 
Searching and lurching, 
Gasping for air, 
Grasping a dare to break free
Of the confines
Defy all the gravity holding me here. 
What then to do?
Where then to go? 
Do I find Valhalla or Brigadoon? 
So many places to fly in the heavens. 
   Venus…
         Mars…
             Or just to the moon.

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Let Me Out of Here

When did these four walls materialize? 

Could I have been so hard asleep 
I did not notice the carpenter’s hammer 
Banging and framing? Closing me in.

No door, no window, no staircase to climb. 
Nary a toehold to boost to the top 
So I might peek the other side to 
Spy my accuser, determine my sins.

Trapped in a prison, not knowing why or 
When or if I’ll deserve a reprieve. 
Silently praying, petitioning Heaven to 
Send down an angel to rescue my soul.

Wond’ring if anyone knows where I am, 
Cares that I’m gone and alone in my shame 
As darkness descends and I cry in anguish, 
Plead for deliverance from the cold.

Lost and alone. 
Bursting with fear. 
Will someone please 
Let me out of here?

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Basic Evil 101

Born of serpents to the darkness. 
Raised in shadows, out of sight. 
Stalking stealthily the night
To prey on poor unfortunates. 

Creeping out from under rock just 
Far enough to test the air. 
Lashing out at those who dare to 
Cross your wayward slitherings.

Don your pretty plastic mask 
To hide the fire that otherwise 
Comes flashing forth from flaming eyes of 
Grand deception, burning lies.

Pity those who cannot see 
The heinous horror in your hate, who 
Shake in fear when it’s too late
To simply turn and run away.

Vigilance its own reward 
To spurn the serpent in his lair, 
Lock the door and keep him where 
His poison will not kill.

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Bad News

There's never a convenient time
For bad news to arrive.
And when it comes our utmost thought
Is merely to survive.

Emotions rage. A hundred waves
Of ocean drown all feeling.
Depression, fear, dejection
Washing over; senses reeling.

Who is this who brings the news?
Who's the scapegoat to accuse?
A messenger come straight from hell.
No one handles bad news well

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Suspicion

Hovering just out of reach, 
Sightless shroud of malcontent 
Waiting, lingering on the fringe 
Trying to look innocent.

Hoping to create some doubt, 
To find a crease into the mind, 
To wither any self-assurance,
Rip it, strip it from the vine.

Such a beast, jealous mistress, 
Such a greedy, seedy slut. 
Bastard of the first degree 
Plunging daggers in the gut.

Mixing potions with your poisons 
Stealthily distributing 
In lethal dose to unsuspecting hunted prey. 
You close your ring.

Silent gestures still the night, 
Fill each chamber with despair. 
Nations tremble, 
Kingdoms fall, 
As suspicion fills the air.

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I Fear…

It’s not snakes or hour-glass spiders, 
Angry dogs with snarling fangs, 
No, not reckless breakneck speed 
Or deadly drops from desperate heights.

Not the threat of godless cons who 
Battle brave behind a gun 
Conscience bare of any shred of 
Civilized humanity.

Not wind or water, hail or blizzard, 
Nor any form of nature’s force, 
Though nature is a frightening bitch 
To be respected, if not feared.

Not the sound of cannon fire 
That rings a distant knell of death, or 
Storming troops in battered streets 
Killing anything that moves. 

Rising up in silence on a morning 
Fresh with golden sun, 
The thing that I fear most of all:
Waking without you.

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Lonesome Pinewood Theatre

How did you grow to be so high?
Taller than any building I knew
In my youth. Your limbs a cloud
Far above my head. Your carpets the 
Soft down of my favorite pillow.
You have grown older and wiser
Than any human I know or have known
In my short term on Earth.
And you will be here long after 
I’ve gone, putting on shows
For all who enter your chapel.
Your lush needles fold around me
Holding my heart as a wood nymph
Tickles my feet and the robin
Delights my ear with gleeful song.
The show begins as a cloudless sky
Refuses to penetrate your sacred shrine.
And I am left with an endless treasure,
One that I’ll own til all passes away.

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Xanadu

I do not know you, Xanadu, 
With all your secret mysteries, 
Your sultry siren softly singing, 
Strumming on her dulcimer.

Steeped in all your grandeur, were you 
Meant to be for fools like me? 
Standing at your intersect, 
No direction, no desire.  

Who will taste your pleasures now that 
You have turned to icy stone? 
Must they strap on spikes of steel 
To trek the tundra you endure?

And what of oceans, dark and deep 
Beneath your frozen forestry? 
Do your creatures lurk in stealth 
To bite the hand where once they fed?

Time and trial and so unkind the 
Pictures left to memory. 
I do not know you, Xanadu. 
Perhaps I never will.

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Pursuit

Must be at least a thousand beats per minute now
Thump-thumping pumping radically 
As though it might explode.

Endorphins flying high on the adrenaline 
Reaching out emphatically 
To take the overload.

Elongated light curves out ahead of me 
Bending back so I can see 
Pursuers closing fast.

Reaching out with claws to slash and tear my flesh,
Teeth to gnash and grind my bones 
To powdery repast.

Shifting all my power into overdrive,
Find the means to stay alive,
Keep the bloody beast at bay.

No bold rescuer, no cavalry 
Swooping in as savior. It’s only me 
Desperate to get away.

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Options

Life is just a set of options;
Decisions to be made.
Pathways always branch in at least
Two distinctive ways.
Taking one, we leave the others
Quite unknown where they could lead.
Options beckon, pleading, urgent,
Pressing us to pay them heed.
No one promised it was easy.
No one said, "You’ll know the way."
We can only look and learn
And choose new options every day.

It’s a Pleasure

We meet… 
And it’s a pleasure 
From a handshake to a hug, 
From an eye-induced embarkment
To a ladened bon voyage.

In a smile-embraced encounter
A melody in tune, 
Some soon to be nostalgia in 
A memory collage.

Defeat is not a measure 
To consider in our world. 
It’s a place reserved for others 
Who’ve forgotten how to win.

As we stand at the finish line 
And savor victory, 
We look toward another contest 
And remember where we’ve been.

And when the day is over 
And the music fades away, 
When angels call to glory
And our story starts anew,

I’ll write you one more love song 
As the light begins to dim 
To tell you one last time 
It was a pleasure loving you.

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Rising Star

Had time not been cruel 

I’d hitch my rig to your rising star 
As you follow your dream. 
How high you might soar 
In the milky blue skyway 
To taste the adrenaline 
Of each starlight beam.

This is your time to 
Brighten the heavens, 
To dance among millions and 
Try to outshine 
Every shimmering sun 
Spreading light to her planets 
While sipping the nectar 
Of sparkling wine.

Nothing can tether 
Your high-flying spirit. 
Grace is your partner 
In this silent run. 
I’ll stand in your shadow, 
Bask in your glory. 
My time has passed. 
Yours has only begun.

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Leave It Alone

There are times when a well-spoken word 
Can bring peace to a troubled world, 
But lately the words between us 
Only get in the way. 
The more that we talk, the more we sound bitter 
Til the words finally cut to the bone. 
I believe that it might have been better 
To just leave it alone.

The world will keep turning, and 
Hearts will keep yearning 
In whispers that speak soft and low. 
But your words undo me, 
The anger cuts through me, 
And I simply can’t let it go.

A handful of laughter can’t hide 
All the heartache we hold inside. 
There’s just not much left to say 
When the feeling is gone. 
If we can’t learn trust in each other 
There’s no need to talk at all. 
We might as well talk to ourselves 
And just leave it alone.

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A Song for You

Maybe Elton John could have 
Done a better job, 
Or John Denver in his subtle and bemused 
Befuddled way. 
They knew the nuance needed, 
All the buttons to be pushed 
To make all the ladies tingle
As they gently swoon and sway. 
But 
        
This song’s for you. 
No one else can steal the show, 
And I know it’s true 
That our love can only grow. 
Right from the start 
It’s as if I always knew 
That my heart will always sing 
A song for you.

True love is forever 
Or at least that’s what they say. 
When you find that special someone to adore. 
You find it growing stronger 
Every minute, every day, 
Strolling hand in hand 
Through every open door. 
And 
        

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Freedom

Freedom speaks to all that listen,
All who are willing to pay its price.
To those half-hearted, half in tune,
It sells it by the slice.

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Thankful

Can’t be wrong to offer up 
A simple prayer of hopeful thanks 
To God or Grace or Mother Earth 
To anyone who has an ear.

Just to say a humble word, 
To utter in subservience, 
To know that there is something 
In a somewhere out there far beyond

Makes me somehow something more, 
Lends a purpose, holds a key 
To open up the darkened door,
To shine a light on mystery.

Logic serves its own desire and 
Reason drives us to disdain 
While pundits offer soapbox theory 
In an effort to explain.

Believers need no explanation
As faith becomes a seventh sense 
Thankful for a guiding light,
Serene to know the difference.

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Sleeping In the Clouds

Cool up here… 
Cool enough to ask for an extra blanket, 
But I won’t ask. 
Don’t want to bother those 
Already settled, 
Already sleeping.

Far too excited 
Too restless to sleep up here in the clouds 
Where angels tread. 
Waiting, hoping that one will float by, 
One… or a multitude 
Heralding gospel, 
Rescuing downtrodden, 
Offering comfort in times of need,

Whispering softly into my ear
Until at last 
Blissful sleep finds my pillow
And I am transported 
To a throne on high.

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I Believe in Miracles

I believe in every heart 
There lives an inner dream 
Walking hand in hand with hope 
Waiting for the day 
When just a touch, a fleeting glance 
Can sometimes lead us on 
To a land where miracles 
Are common so they say. 
I believe in miracles. 
I see one every day. 
When I look into your eyes 
I know that it must be true. 
Never stop and never doubt 
That Heaven looked my way. 
I believe in miracles. 
I believe in you.

You were only passing through, 
Could have walked on by. 
Never gave a second thought 
To this poor fool’s company. 
But Heaven must have intervened 
When that sunbeam caught your eye, 
And beckoned you to follow through 
And led you here to me. 
I believe in miracles. 
I see one every day. 
When I look into your eyes 
I know that it must be true. 
Never stop and never doubt 
That Heaven looked my way. 
I believe in miracles. 
I believe in you.

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An Angel Cried

An angel cried this morning 
As another soul was lost, 
But not from lack of trying… 
It just wasn’t meant to be.

The entire choir chimes with 
Multitudinous dismay at 
The prospect of her prospect 
Drudged in mournful harmony.

Oh, if only she would listen,
If only she could heed, 
If faith would yield perception 
In her muddled little world.

In quiet desperation 
As the angel band pleads softly 
She stumbles to the precipice
And never hears a word.

A victim of indifference, 
A case of stubborn pride, 
Her fate an ageless story 
As another angel cried.

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Beware of Angels

When I met you we couldn’t have been happier. 
We had everything lovers can desire. 
There was never a doubt in my mind 
Our story was forever. 
I called you my angel straight from paradise 
With a voice singing sweetly like a choir, 
And a promise you’d always be true 
And you would leave me never.
But
Beware of angels
        Making promises that they can’t keep
Beware of angels 
        Breaking hearts and leaving scars so deep
Beware of angels. 
        Leaves you weeping through the lonely night.
Beware of angels.
No one can say what makes love fade away, 
No body even wants to know. 
But even an angel can change 
And not know the reason why. 
But the touch of your fingers, 
The tear in your eye, 
Saying, “Darling, it’s time for me to go”, 
And my heart stops beating as I realize 
This is goodbye. 
So
Beware of angels
         Making promises that they can’t keep
Beware of angels 
         Breaking hearts and leaving scars so deep
Beware of angels. 
        Leaves you weeping through the lonely night.
Beware of angels.

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Old Stoneface

Trying to glimpse at a hint of reflection 
From smoky gray eyes is impossible. 
Like playing poker with Old Stoneface 
When the stakes on the table are do or die.

No reason why you should hide in your mask, 
Sweating the task of incumbent relief, 
Mystical thief of presumed confidence, 
You bait me, and I take your delicate hook.

Your crown of bamboozlement tilts to the right, 
And I am left sporting the court jester’s hat. 
No surprise that when the cards are revealed 
My fate is sealed and the rent money’s lost.

Such is the cost of a gambler’s trade, 
Hope dashed to pieces more often than not. 
Lessons forgotten or never quite learned, 
Betrayed by a face made of stone.

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