Bait and Switch

You drew me in, tempted and teased me

To think that our passion
Would be just one night.
I was impressed, as the evening grew longer.
You clung to virtue
As I held you tight.
Nothing, I thought would have given me pleasure
More than to be with you
Flesh unto skin.
But you had a different mission that evening,
Mountains of conquest,
Battles to win.
Men on the prowl are blinded by passion
Thinking the ladies will
Fall for their pitch.
But don't underestimate the wiles of a woman
In playing the old game of
Bait and switch.

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Crossing Continents

I'm coming home after so long away from you,

Back to your arms and the love they enfold.
So far away has my sojourning taken me,
Far beyond continents searching for gold.

God creates fools just as surely as geniuses,
Watches them dance as he pulls on the strings.
Then one day you wake to the sounds of reality,
Breaking with clarity as your heart grows wings.

It's not too late for our love to survive
Nourished in sunlight, bathed in its glow.
You are the wisdom for which I've been searching,
Much more than I ever needed to know.

Distance apart isn't distance away from you.
You're in my heart and you know that it's true.
Nothing on earth can keep me away.
I would cross continents to get back to you.

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Row 23, Window Seat

Five miles up, above the clouds,
The world has a different perspective as I
Swiftly ride on a cushion of balmy air
Over mountains and rivers, valleys and fields.

Rushing back to your waiting arms,
Your ruby lips, your honey hair,
My thoughts adrift roll the minutes to
Hours as countryside hurriedly passes below.

Someone engages polite conversation
Attempting to speed up the passage of time,
But I prove to be quite inept as a listener
Lost in a mindset of home and you.

Constantly seeking your face in the clouds,
Watching for shapes that remind me of you,
Placing my trust in a guardian angel to
Bring me back swiftly and safely home.

Fate is the keeper of many a secret
And trust is a champion who knows no defeat.
I travel safe on the wings of your love
In row twenty-three, window seat.

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Who Knew?

Who knew…
          That you would be the one,
          The only one to steal my heart away.
          Breaking every rule established
          By polite society.
It's true…
          That I was waiting for
          A miracle to come along
          And sweep me off my feet,
          To carry me to ecstasy.
Adieu…
          To old memories of
          What love was supposed to be.
          No clue is what I possess
          As you confess your soul.
All new…
          Are these feelings that you
          Stir in me with every breath.
          The sudden, certain knowledge that
          Your love is my true goal.
Who Knew?

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The Art of Dating

No one really knows the
Art of dating anymore.  It was
Lost sometime back in the 60's
Between doo-wop and the Rolling Stones.

The free-love movement desecrated
All regard for proper form,
Tearing down the barriers and
Clearing out restrictive zones.

Nowadays the dating game
Is played upon a different court.
Rules relaxed down to the point
Where no rules need apply.

Sleazy, darkened, noise-filled clubs
Replacing Mother's parlor.
Rooms where desperation dwells
And morals go to die.

Tricks devised to bed, not wed,
Are etched on bathroom walls,
As lurkers, losers, louts and creeps
Stalk freely through the halls.

And no one really knows the rules.
They're made up as they go along.
The art of dating gone for good,
A dirge it's dying song.

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Full Court Pressure

Brace yourself, for here it comes.

Time for a little one on one.
A crazy quilt of random pattern
Meant to fool, create diversion,

Quickly sneaking past defenses,
Testing all reflex reactions
Leaping high into the air to
Crash the nets and score the goal.

Persisting with tenacity,
Boldly questioning endurance,
Trying hard to wear your will
Down to a point where I can win

Your favor in the game of love.
You taunt and tease and fan the flame,
As I keep up the full court pressure
Hoping you will do the same.

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Sometimes a Good Thing

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out,
Always telling me about the simple,
Finer things in life that make it
Just a little more enjoyable,

A little less deplorable and
Self-fulfilling if my mind and
Hands are willing to find the
Slightest bit of creativity employable.

No more waiting in the wings
To be a players' understudy,
No more watching QVC to
Order someone else's craft,

I am out to make my own,
Claim my prize in a lover's game,
Striking out like Tom and Huck to
Float down stream on a hand-made raft.

What bold adventure, this journey called love,
To fly up to Heaven on gossamer wings.
Martha, my dear, you can't build love by hand,
But sometimes it truly is a good thing.

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Giving Thanks

Going through our daily tasks
That sometimes seem routine,
It's easy to forget what brought us here.
Guiding forces, ever present,
Sources seldom seen,
Leading us along throughout the year.

Only fitting we should
Set aside a special day
To give thanks for all our bounty,
To reflect and pray.

Life is such a special gift;
A miracle it seems.
Reaching far beyond the heavens
From where starlight beams.

Tiny blessings fill our lives
With joy in every way.
To be thankful is a mantle
To be worn each day.

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A Constant Vigil

Always watching, standing guard
Against the common criminal
Whose goal it is to pilfer hearts
And use them for a time,
Then run away with disillusioned
Disappointment when they find
Your true love lingers for another
As you fall victim to their crime.
Looking out beyond the gates
With eyes alert and jaw set tight,
I stay my keep and search horizons
From my station high above
Making every effort in
The maelstrom of living
To keep a constant vigil
From the watchtower of love.

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Where Earth Ends and Heaven Begins

We met on a Saturday,
A chilled November evening
When the heat inside was
Magnified by bodies jumping,

Dancing to the rhythm from
A jukebox playing in the corner of the hall,
Lively jaunting melodies
Kept filling up the air.

You were sad when first we met,
Looking for a shoulder you could
Lean upon, needing someone
To restore your faith in love.

I was wide-eyed, filled with
Expectation, just a bumpkin
From the country with an
Empty open heart to fill.

We had just one dance that night;
Threw all caution to the winds.
I held you in forever…
Where earth ends and Heaven begins.

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Forever

How long does forever last?
I know what I believe is true.
It started on the day we met,
The day I started loving you.
It lingers in the evening breeze,
Reflected in your smiling face,
Like the interlocking pattern
Woven into finest lace.
It casts an evening shadow
But the darkness never falls.
It waits a final passage
But the reaper never calls.
Forever…you and I together
Till poems forget to rhyme.
Forever lies within your eyes.
It is no measurement of time.

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Chambers in the Heart

We are probing, you and I
In an unfamiliar land
Where wishes tumble to the ground
As listless falling autumn leaves,
Where hope runs highest early on
And expectation generates
A spectrum of emotions
That a thriving foolish heart believes

We are children playing hard
To understand a grownup game,
Hidden in a land so strange,
Too often seeming worlds apart.
Seeking wisdom with comparison,
Hoping love will find our waiting
Empty cornucopia
To fill our chambers in the heart.

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Just Once…

Just once…
          If I could see your face again
          Feel your warm embrace and then
          Never let you go I know,
          It could be like it was when      
         You held me in your loving heart,
         Vowed that we would never part
         As we pledged our love to grow,
         But I wasn't very smart.
Just once…
          You were true as true could be
          Saved your love for only me.
          I went sowing one last seed
          While you were waiting patiently.
          How could I have been so cruel?
          Set to break a lover's rule
          With a hurtful wicked deed.
          Now I feel like such a fool
          I never meant to make you cry,
          Can't present an alibi
          Can we give it one more try?
Just once…

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Bliss

Bliss,
This.
You,
Me.
We
Be
Heart
Free
To agree
Or disagree to
A degree on
All we see.
Lovingly
Tenderly
Knowingly
You hold the key.
Thankfully on
Bended knee,
I share with you,
You give to me
This
Bliss.

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Promises Made/Promises Kept

We stood before the altar and
Made promises to one another,
Vowed our love would always be,
A pledge made before everyone.
You and me forever in an
Ever-changing mixed-up world,
Looking forward to the future,
Looking back on how we've grown.
Reveling in times of plenty
When our voices laughed out loud,
Comforting each other,
Sharing shoulders as we sadly wept.
Healing one another with
A comfort only lovers share
Making good on promises we made
With promises we've kept.

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Heart Song

Lifting my eyes to you,
Knowing your heart is true,
Finding a world so new
There in your heart.
See how the time has shown
How much our love has grown.
You'll never be alone.
We'll never be apart.

The heavens above declared
Their desire for you.
Blinding your eyes
So you couldn't see.
But fate took your hand
And gave you a shining star
To carry you safe
And bring you to me.
You've kindled my desires
Setting a world of fires.
You're all my heart requires
Right from the start.
Say that you want me too,
And that your love is true.
Home holds a place for you
Here in my heart.

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Walk With Me

Walk with me as all the trials
Of this weathered world beat down
Upon our naked supple flesh to test
The strength of our resolve.

Help me see the light as we
Stroll hand in hand along the sandy
Beaches watching sunrise/sunset,
Silent as the world revolves.

Stay with me.  Be my passion.
Be my heaven here on earth.
Sharing joy as well as sorrow
Just the way love's meant to be.
Cherishing our time together,
Locking treasures in our hearts,
From forever 'til forever
Take my hand and walk with me.

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Tearing Down the Wall

I spent a lifetime building up a wall,
Reinforcing, so afraid to fall into
The endless chasm filled with life's temptations,
Then you thrilled me with anticipation
And the walls came down.
The walls came down.

All the hurt I felt before this moment
All the pain, the anguish and the torment
Disappeared the minute that I met you
Now I know I never will regret
That the walls came down.
The walls came down.
  
You must believe that I'm
Ready to answer your call
You've never needed a hammer
To break down this wall. 

Cheek to cheek we're dancing in the clearing.
I can't believe all the music that we're hearing.
All the stones are lying at our feet now
Passion's senses turning up the heat
Since the walls came down.
The walls came down.

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Nothing Ever Dies

The taking always the painful part,
The tugging and tearing pulls at the heart
Like a large bull elephant straining at chains
'Til he gains his freedom from torture and pain.

But 'Packy' has secrets unable to share,
He runs straight away without e'er looking back.
For as surely as one door closes in time,
Another one opens ahead and on track.

As the train races forward with uncanny ease,
Watchful and hopeful and eager to please,
The wind sweeping oceans of air beneath wings
'Til the uplifting current tickles and teases

The lifeblood to stir in another dimension.
Craving the fresh fettle of a new start.
Boundless emotions, too many to mention,
Falling like autumn leaves, filling the heart.

Waking in Neverland, fresh as the daisies
Free from the yolk of unburdensome lies.
New to a world and awake with unknowing,
Safe and assured
Nothing ever dies.

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Weep for Love

Have you the strength to admit that it's over?
Have you the fortitude to say goodbye
When the day is done with no battles won?
Raking your sleeve across tearful eyes,
Cursing the devil who brought you to here
And made you the fool with that silly chapeau,
Stood you before God and everyone else,
Showing the world just how little you know.

Everyone is made the fool one time or another,
It's the rule, or maybe merely happenstance,
The clearly crazy consequence for those who
Listen to the muse as they dash onto
The floor to dance.

Brave souls eager for the chance to gain the prize
Of happiness, not too proud to second guess,
Far too quick to issue tests as
Choices slip from bad to worse and
Settling becomes the quest.
True love is a gift of fate which
Fits the hand like a silken glove.
Once discovered and secured
One need never weep for love.

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As Long as You're Alright

I'll be fine.  It makes no matter
The pinpricks a suffering heart may conceal.
Going down slowly, first once, then
Twice, but never thrice as the waters congeal
To hold up this form, though the spirit may wan
Like a lingering sunset o'er ocean's expanse.
There are not villains in this final episode,
Simply the irony of circumstance.

We held such hope in our humble beginning,
Seemed that forever was so far away.
But who could have known, who would have guessed
That forever would be little more than a day.

We were both victims of folly's desire
Holding our candles aloft in the night.
And I shall be counted among the survivors
As long as I know that you are all right.

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Taking on the Beast

It crawls through the night of the great
Forest floor hiding its colors
So none can reveal,
Blending its shade in the
Evergreen folds 'til the shadows
Conceal every cavernous crease.
Veiled as it is in its labyrinth
Secrecy, void of all consciousness
Eager to steal
Every fiber of decency left to
The mortal soul, filling its fable,
Becoming the beast.

I follow down to the pitch
Of its battlefield, eager to
Conquer your favor to win.
Knowing that victory helps to
Secure a seat at your table,
A taste of your feast.
The battle unending is worth
All its suffering knowing
The bounty which waits at its pause,
And I struggle freely with
You as my treasure. Gladly lamenting
To take on the beast.

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The Face of a Child

Heartstrings grow longer,
Emotions run stronger,
Passing along every Saturday smile.
Feeding the hunger,
Singing a song or a
Nursery rhyme pulled from a forgotten file.
Gender's no matter,
Nor thinner, nor fatter,
The clatter and chattering need not make sense.
The needed response in the
Wide-eyes of wonder contain
All the joy of required recompense.
The innocence born to
The nature of humans,
The sweet gentle creed
Of the meek and the mild,
The awe and the wonder
Of worlds undiscovered,
Uniquely in place
In the face of a child.

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The Blessed

If they who have suffered are truly blessed,

Then mine is lifetime beyond all reproach.
The circus calliope mocks its refrain
Attempting in vain to cover the hoax born in
Happier times before you went away,
Before all the skies became brooding and gray,
Before life became such a trivial wisp
Of smoke knowing nothing of night and day.

Yes, it's true my lament has a sadness avoid
Of all gladness the sane world holds dearly in store.
But hope is my neighbor, my roommate, companion
And guide who searches behind every door.
And though I am skeptical, slow to
Accept my litmus example put to the test,
I can't play the martyr or run the risk
Of missing the chance to be truly blessed.

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Early One Morning

Early one morning,
Awake before dawning,
I rise with a knowing
Of missing you.
Broken, downhearted,
Meager reflection of me
Since we parted
And started anew.

You are my universe,
Not just the center,
But every galaxy
Spinning in space
From corner to corner
With lines infinitum
Unable to capture
The joy in your face.

I have no choice.
My motive is driven.
The imminent fate
Of my faithful return
Is written in stone
On the mountains of time,
Wiser and older,
And eager to learn.

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The Big Thrill

I recall that special feeling

Of recoiled anticipation,
Sitting poised and ready
High atop the snow-capped hill.
The rush of spilled adrenaline,
The gush of gusting wind which
Hurried past as I went flying
To the bottom.  What a thrill
It gave a young and foolish heart
To know a danger quickly born
Of pure delight, turned by flight to
Pure uncensored ecstasy.
Knowing at that moment that
No matter what the future held,
Nothing could be better.  It's as
Good as life was meant to be.

Oh!  The joy of being wrong.  For
Of all the memories I recall,
To know the sweetness of your touch
Is the greatest thrill of all.

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My Lady

Gracing my days with a light
That shines brighter than
All of the stars in the Heavens above.
Wearing my heart on her delicate
Fingertips, soft with the feel
Of a white satin glove.
Bearing my soul to the world
All around.  Meekly confessing
As though it were sin.
Then loudly professing an unbounded
Passion, blatantly crying the
State I am in.
You are the passion.
You are the reason.
You bring me joy on the wings of a dove.
You fill each day and
Comfort my nights with
Your bountiful favor.
My lady…..my love.

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Blazing Heart

There is a spark which
Dwells deep inside of us all,
Silently biding its time
Waiting for kindling to flash into flame,
Starting a blaze, which never will die.
I felt the spark the moment
Our eyes first encountered each other,
Risking a glance, a chance
Which taken and given its measure
Can never be hidden inside of a lie.
Yours was a treasure more
Precious than silver or gold
And I rushed to capture a part.
Now nothing can stem the tide
Of emotion, the sea of devotion
From this blazing heart.

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I Saw the Whole Thing

Witnessed!  Yes, I witnessed it all.
Saw a man fall so hard that
Bones were in danger of shattering
Into dust whence they came.
You were to blame with your
Beckoning wiles, your
Flashing of smiles, a
Wink and a start, the
Smell of your hair, your
Voice softly tugging the
Strings of his heart.
He never stood a chance from the start.
You cast a spell with
Your feminine charms
Reaching your arms out enfolding your prey,
Stretching the night to
The shining of day,
Reeling the line 'til your net was below.
No way to escape.  Nowhere to go.
No desire to be set free.
I am so happy your capture was me.

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