Jezebel

There is danger in these eyes,
Tempting as their lure may be.
A darkness of deceitful lies
Casts shadows surreptitiously
To hide behind her supple limbs,
Kiss the sunset of her lips.
Taste the magical delight
Dancing from her fingertips.

There is little to forewarn as
She lies stealth in her disguise.
All her wiles come into play
Offering herself as prize.

Gleefully he takes the lure,
Sets the hook deep in his jaw.
Weakened by his carnal urge,
Lust becomes his fatal flaw.

Who would know you, Jezebel?
Who would heed your siren’s call?
Mind is strong but flesh is weak and
Eyes cannot foresee the fall. 

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Lament

His was a battle of untold proportions,
Unknown, unsung by anyone else.
Sharing the burden was never an option,
Squaring his shoulders so no one could tell.

Stoic and Spartan, this faceless emotion
Stored in a vault, never lending a key.
Asking no favor, giving no quarter,
No hint of pain by the slightest degree.

Now that it’s over, his journey complete,
A calm settles over his battle-scarred face
As if to remember a time before anguish
Became his obsession, quickened his pace.

We who remain will be charged to bear witness,
To ever be mindful his memory survives.
Tasteful retelling of his brave heart story,
Grateful reminder as he claims his prize.

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Follow

The heart feels. 
The mind ponders. 
The gut reacts. 
Follow your gut. 

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Gregarious

She glides on air, this flittering bird,
Mere inches above the flickering footlights
That sparkle and sway as she swishes about
In butterfly fashion, charming the crowd.

Stealth is her enemy, whispers unwanted.
Best to gain conquest of every ear.
Accent promoted by flirtatious gestures.
Senses of subtlety never allowed.

Friends who adore her cling to each word.
Strangers are friends who she just hasn’t met.
She is the magnet, the shining example
Too fit, too humble to ever be proud.

So, hum little hummingbird. Sing to the masses.
Kiss every petal that brightens the room.
There is no sentinel tracking your purpose,
No reason you shouldn’t shout out loud.

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Recitation

Speak the words in multi-tonal
Resonance so all can plainly
Hear each beat, each syllable
Passing over knowing lips.

We have heard a thousand times or more,
It makes no difference.
Every time is like the first,
Refreshing as the rains in Spring.

Tempted as we all might be to
Join the game in gleeful chant,
We don’t dare step on your stage.
Settling to mouth the words.

When it’s over everyone
Applauds your grand accomplishment.
Plaudits flow as freely as
The rush of mountain waterfalls.

You sit calmly and relaxed,
Almost embarrassed by the praise,
Thankful that you made it through.
Lesson learned.
Memory made.

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Neanderthal

Take your elbows off the table.
Pinky up when sipping tea.
Ladies first, so hold her door.
Magic words: thank you and please.

Must you be so primitive?
So crude? So reactionary?
Boldly flaunting every rule of

Etiquette to be contrary. 

Can you pass the social graces?
Fill your host with gleeful pride?
Or will your behavior send her
Looking for a place to hide?

Will you learn? Will you improve?
Leap into this century
So you may present yourself
In light of gentle company.

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Coincidence

The incidence of the coincidental 
is incredibly inessential. 

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Wildfires

The wind stirs up the heat,
Stokes the embers into flame,
And no one sees just where the fire starts.
You came in to save me
As I struggle to explain
These wildfires that rage around my heart.

We were wide-eyed strangers,
Two stars crossing in the sky.
We both came crashing down out of the blue.
I rushed to be by your side
Burning bridges on the way
And I ran through wildfires just to be with you.

Now we both know the danger
As the flames sky overhead,
That every step we take
Could be our last,
But we keep moving forward
Because we know up ahead
Our troubles will be faded in the past.

There’s no need to worry,
There’s no need for doubt.
We don’t need to heed the fireman’s cry.
There’s a bright tomorrow
And we don’t have to fear
These wildfires that flame across our sky

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Tightening the Screws

Game on
And the rules are soon forgotten.
I know
Two wrongs never make a right.
Flame on
When our two worlds burn together
And who knows where it all may end tonight.

I know
That we should have seen it coming.
Eyes wide
To anticipate the news.
We could have spent
All our energy to fix things,
Make it better
Tightening the screws.

But you never said a single word,
And I was such a fool
Never thinking about all that we could lose.
Could have made it all work better
If we’d only thought it through
And took some time tightening the screws.

I’ll beg
If it makes it all seem better.
I’ll plead;
Anything to get to you.
We’ll try
Hand in hand we’ll work together,
Spend a lifetime
Tightening the screws.

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A Weakness for You

I’ve always been
          The kind of person people can rely on,
Through thick and thin
          The one who would be strong.
Just like a rock
          Offering a hope to hold onto.
If I have a weakness,
          I have a weakness for you.

I was alone
          Didn’t think I needed anybody,
Just like an island
          In a sea of blue.
You came along
          Took my heart and melted it to water,
And I found my weakness.
          I have a weakness for you.

All I have to do is close my eyes to see
Every little thing you are.
Everything I’m hoping for and long to be
Is waiting for me there in your arms.

Don’t say a word,
          Words don’t matter when we are together.
We’ll dare the world,
          Darling, just we two.
I’ll face the fire
          Knowing you and I will be forever.
If I have a weakness
          I only have a weakness for you.

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Dancing in the Dark

Turn out the lights, dear,
Say goodnight and send the guests all home.
Now it’s just the two of us
Left to dance and spend the night alone.
Somewhere next to midnight
We snuggle close and let the music start.
It’s just you and me and we’re
Dancing in the dark.

Talk about forever…
Talk about the way it was back when…
Lighter than a feather
When the feeling comes around again.
We don’t need the sunlight.
We know when the arrow hits its mark.
We can spend the whole night long
Dancing in the dark.

If we have to wait,
We won’t hesitate,
We can find a quiet place to rest.
Let the world go by,
We won’t question why,
We won’t have a reason to confess.

Hearts are beating stronger
Waiting for the evening sun to set.
Grand anticipation,
Not a single notion of regret.
Walking hand in hand now,
Music playing softly from the park.
It’s just you and me
And we’re dancing in the dark.

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Hastily Waiting

I learned in the Army
How to hurry up and wait,
Learned never to volunteer,
And I found out about fate.
I learned how a chance can fall
Right out of the blue.
So here I stand hastily waiting for you.

You can’t imagine how hard it is to wait
For your life and your mind to change.
I rush to your doorstep whenever you call
No matter how awkward,
No matter how strange.

There was a time when
The world turned much slower,
But that changed the moment we met.
Now I’ll spend a lifetime
If that’s what it takes
Hastily waiting without regret.

Every moment I stand by your side
And revel in your company
Is worth all the waiting
Outside of your threshold
To know just how good life can be.

Maybe one day you’ll wake up
And somehow realize
How my heart has always been true. Til then
I’ll quickstep to see you
Whenever you call,
Hastily waiting,
Waiting for you.

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It Will Come to You

Never know when it will come
Or where it might appear, or
Exactly what to do when it arrives.
Only know the longing grows
To wash away all fears
As those feelings long-forgotten come alive.

And the world stops spinning 
Waiting for forever,
And the multitudes boil down to just you two.
There is nothing sweeter on this side of Heaven.
If you wait for it, it will come to you.

I was lost outside the crowd
When I first met you,
Sunk as deep as one can go and still survive.
Then your love lifted me up
Out of the quicksand,
And those long-neglected feelings were revived.

Now we stand before the world in testimony.
No more room for doubt
And no need to explain.
We’ve survived the storms
Growing strong together,
Walking hand in hand
Through all the joy and pain.

And the world stops spinning
Waiting for forever,
And the multitudes boil down to just you two.
There is nothing sweeter on this side of Heaven.
If you wait for it, it will come to you.

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Highways

We could go to Denver,
Maybe San Antoine,
Take a trip to Memphis,
Slide back to Bayonne,
Motor into Detroit,
Drive out to the coast,
Spend some time at Disney,
The place we love the most.

Love to see the canyon,
They say it’s awfully grand,
Take a stroll down Bourbon Street
Walking hand in hand.
We could breeze the Gulf coast,
New England in the fall,
Cruise the Shenandoah
Until we’ve seen it all.

Life is filled with highways
Made for you and me,
Running to forever
To where we want to be.
We can find the future,
We can make a friend
Traveling life’s highways
Until we reach the end.

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Swells of Silence

Remember the good times we used to know
Back when the world was our friend.
We were invincible, running through meadows,
Thinking that we’d never end.
Talking and laughing with two million people,
Dancing from twilight til dawn.
Now we are lost in these deep swells of silence
Wondering where our love has gone.

Your eyes would light up. Oh, how they’d sparkle
Whenever I entered the room.
I couldn’t wait for the sound of your laughter
To carry me over the moon.
Sweet conversation with no hesitation
Was always so easy back then.
Why can’t we get past these deep swells of silence
And get back to where we began?

It should be easy.
It should be simple
To bring us back into the light,
But all I keep hearing
Are deep swells of silence
Echoing into the night.

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Over and Over

Seems like we’re caught in a crossfire
That neither of us wants to end.
I keep confessing my love for you,
But you say we should just be friends.
I’ve walked through that portal a million times,
But you closed it just like before,
And I just keep falling in love
Over and over.

It’s not your fault.
You have to be who you are.
It’s all on me and my grand obsession.
Common sense can only take me so far.

Sometimes you can be such a temptress
And I can’t resist a reprise.
Your ways and your wiles drive me crazy
Until I melt into your eyes.
There’s nothing on this side of heaven or hell
To make my heart stop wanting you.
I just keep falling in love
Over and over.

Next time I’m hoping you’ll see it,
You’ll want to be more than friends,
Come to my arms for a lifetime
And we’ll cast our fates to the wind.
But if you can’t offer your true love
My heart resets where it begins,
And I’ll just keep falling in love
Over and over.

My heart keep falling in love
Over and over.

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Let It Go

He said, "We will last forever."
She said, "'Til death do we part."
He said, "You are my everything."
She said, "You have all my heart."
He bade, "What more can you give me?"
"I have no more", she replied.
He said, "This is not enough!"
She said nothing as she cried.
"I don't know what you want from me,"
She uttered through her bitter tears.
He mocked and scoffed, "I shouldn't have to
Tell you after all these years."
She clings with hope for some resolve;
Confused, bewildered by his take,
But both are silent, mute out of respect
Each for the other's sake.
But they both know that it's over,
Curtain's fallen on the show.
The end has come...
No curtain call...
It's time to let it go.

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A Fulfilled Life

Finding one’s passion and pursuing it 
is the first step toward a fulfilled life. 

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Putting Out Fires

Sometimes the flames crowd
The distant horizons as though
The sunset is scorching the Earth
With her dazzling brilliance
Consuming the hills and the forests
Surrounding in every direction.
Little to do, when the fires lose their mercy,
But stand back and watch
As they dance in the dark.
Hoping they stay at a tolerable distance
Lest we are caught in her horrible rage.
Ready to run as she grows ever closer,
Feeling the brush of her heat on my cheeks,
Praying the Heavens to open their bounty
And drown her passion with torrents of rain.
Standing and staring transfixed
On her beauty. Longing to know her
In intimate ways, yet fearing her fury
That grows ever stronger.
Torn by emotions... Lost in a daze,
A groundswell of longings that grows ever higher.
Do I become one with, or put out the fire.

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Stop! Thief!

I used to have a heart, a soul,
A spirit filled with promise that was
Blind to passion's overfill, the overkill
That cuts the vein and
Lays it open 'til the flow
Of heavy blood has paid the toll,
And the heart is starved of precious life
Drowning in a sea of pain.

I was happily naive,
Exuberantly overjoyed
Until you made your entrance like
An actor walking on a stage;
Pondering your audience,
Lines rehearsed, emotions packaged
Waiting for the moment to
Unleash your frightening fits of rage.

You came stalking with intent
Leaving my heart filled with grief,
And then you stole my innocence
As if you were a common thief.

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Standoff

Barricaded!!!
Trapped behind a wall so high
That I must struggle on my keep
Around the clock. Her fortress mocks me
As my eyes refuse to sleep.
Sailing off into the sunset
Is a haunting distant dream
That lingers near, never clearly
Focused as I plot and scheme
To free these bonds, escape this prison,
Throw my jailer to the ground
And run to freedom somewhere distant
Where the fruits of truth abound.

If I only had the strength to
Face the showdown up ahead;
Bold to face the consequences,
Fearing still the flags of red
I sit quiet in my armor
As the stalemate lingers still,
Testing every ounce of metal,
Every measure of my will.

So, the standoff must continue.
Neither side will acquiesce.
In the end, just who will win?
Who will come out second best?

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Bustin' My Chops

Why should I be bustin' my chops?
Sweating for somebody else's crops
Where payment is grossly under-fair,
Where dignity reaches the edge and drops
Like a hammer crashing a pane of glass
In a World obsessed by position and class.

A struggle as old as primordial man
Where strength and aggression are played hand in hand
And survival had only two classes, it's said;
Divided between the quick and the dead.

But these days it's money that seems to divide
Where the classes are structured, how we decide
Who has worth, what has meaning, who gets the bone
With the meat neatly picked; who ends up alone.
Worshiping God on an altar of green
As immortal worth becomes ever so lean.

But truth is not fleeting.
Please, make yourself clear.
Our struggles are not always as they appear.
The classes are self-made and self-imposed,
And nothing the freehearted ever need fear.

For happiness crosses all boundaries and classes.
Contentment survives and thrives with the masses.

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Thinking Small

The tiniest creatures
Will often times cause the
Most irritation for Humankind.
The pesky barrage of the
Infinitesimal pest is a test
Of the tolerant mind.
Consider the flea, the louse
Or the tick,
Diminutive blood-sucking vermin
Who kick and claw
Until they get into your skin,
Inviting legions of their kith and kin
To come along for the bountiful feast,
And drink the blood of the giant beast.
But the most destructive cannot be seen
With the naked eye, no matter how keen.
They breed and grow without procreation
'Til their legions are the size of a nation,
And their needful ways are cause for alarm
As we shrink from their coming
And quake from their harm.
Microscopic beast of evil,
Hidden armies you employ.
Singular is your agenda;
Humankind would you destroy.

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Ready to Take on Life

Give me your best shot!
Take me on up to your highest level,
Then give me a push.
I've been waiting, watching and learning
For four or more decades
To take on the rush.
The elders all say that I'm just a kid,
Still ill-prepared in the ways of the World,
But I disagree, and if you ask me
I'll tell you it's time that
My flag was unfurled.
Just step aside and lend me some measure,
Pass the baton,
Rap the drum,
Play the fife.
This is my turn
And I run with a vengeance
Forward and ready
To take on life.

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Silence

Silence speaks volumes 
to those who take the time to listen. 

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Training Wheels

I must have been no more than six or seven
When I learned to ride using training wheels on
A little blue bike that I rode much too fast
And wound up destroying before it wrecked me.

I learned to balance in very short order;
Learned to fly without leaving the ground;
Learned the spirit of kinetic motion that
Stirred my soul and set it free.

A few trips over the handle bars,
A few dips into the puddles of Spring,
A few slips and slides in the graveled driveway
Resulting in torn pant leg and skinned up knee.

Lessons are easy when young and resilient,
And balance is learned at the drop of a hat,
And vision is clear for the future is now
And our day is filled with simplicity.

Pity we can't use training wheels
In learning to scale our emotional lives
Where balance is often a fleeting companion
Blinded by sunlight, unable to see.

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Messenger of Pain

No one likes to bear the burden,
But someone has to spread the news
That comes with cat-like urgency
Destroying midnight's restful peace.

There is no way to be prepared,
To be the calm recipient
When hearts are ripped and shredded
By this cold and mindless beast
Who stalks the night in Terror's cloak,
Seeking victims unaware,
And plunges them into a well
Of desolation and despair.

Waking with a sudden chill,
Bolting upright from your sleep
Filled with frightful premonition
Of a burden buried deep
Inside your heart. Your mind is racing
Through a windswept hurricane.
It is you, and no one else,
Must be this messenger of pain.

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Patience

Patience is power that cannot 
be abused or overused. 

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Framed

I was minding my own business;
Wasn't bothering a soul, or
So I thought.
Obviously, I was wrong
As someone else's bold agenda
Crossed my path at intersections
I was unaware existed until now,
This very moment as
Your finger points my way.

Innocence is fleeting when
An alibi is needed
And friendship carries little weight
For guilty parties panicking
To take the fall and pay the wages
For their action, unprepared,
Helpless in their weakness,
Spineless, cold and scared.

So now you point in my direction
As you seek to transfer blame,
Looking for a sacrificial lamb,
A patsy you can frame.

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A Baser Emotion

With honor ignobled
And courage defamed,
With decency comatose
Fleeing the fray,
We kindle the spark of
A baser emotion
With unlighted candles
Leading the way.

How does it build in
Contemptible measure
To seek out the center
And lend it to change?
Where does it find the
Inferior being
And tempt it awaken,
To rise and derange
All the commonplace senses
To indecency?
Setting the Devil
Inside of us free.

Fighting a war of
Perpetual motion,
Seeking to rise above
Baser emotion.

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Every...

Every day is precious.
Every moment special. 
Every breath a lifetime.

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Threadbare Stripped

There you walk in all your glory;
Pride divested, plucked and bared,
Every shred of decency has
Been removed and stashed away.

No resolve and acquiescence,
No reserve humility
To rise above the lustful greed
That drives your mind to seize the day.

Think back to a simpler time,
To lessons learned at mother's knee,
To times when hearts were open
To the cries of all humanity.

Somewhere there along the journey,
As the seasons made their change,
The soil around your labored roots
Was hardened and your soul estranged
From threads of commonality.
Spirits cry to be set free
But get no answer - no reply
Escapes your lips in vain decree.

The world was yours to reign supreme,
But you came laden, unequipped,
And you have left your Earthly treasure
Desolate and threadbare stripped.

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Maximum Effort

Do you try?
Do you really try?
Or do you simply give lip service?
Just enough to paddle by;
Far too little to succeed.

Dig down deep into your soul
And remember who you're asking.
Lying to yourself won't help to
Realize your fondest dreams.

What is it you want from life?
Have you really asked yourself
What goals you're waiting to achieve?
What tangled web you long to weave?

Which direction?
What's the plan, the angle
To manipulate?
Who must yield and who must perish?
Who must be left in your wake?

Someone wins and someone loses,
And the loser's soon forgotten
Buried in the aftermath
Or left to burn; tied to your stake.

You must choose; must really choose
Which direction you will take.

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Sour Grapes

Savoring her sweetness,
The very nectar taken from her vine,
Can make me giddy with delight
As I sip tasty droplets of her wine.
Never wanting to take more
Than she may yield up willfully
Lest her taste be bitter from
The sin of immaturity.
Waiting oh, so patiently for
Sunlight's rain to fill her heart
With sweet seductive fullness
That her shapes and colorings impart.
Longing for her gentle touch
Upon my shoulder, on my nape,
Instilling wide emotions that
My flustered heart cannot escape.
But she has chosen someone else
And I'm alone at close of day.
So, I console myself that she
Was likely sour anyway.

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Pursuit of Happiness

It's not so elusive; not so hard to find;
It's all around every day
There for the taking...
A well never emptied. No matter how much
Is drawn from its reservoir
There's always more.
It rains from the sky...
Rides on the wind.
Its comfort is like the
Embrace of a friend.
A tickle, a tingle,
A twinkling eye,
Smiles on the faces of passers-by.
And though the World may be humbled and hard,
Days may be long and travail deep and dense,
The Happiness waits with the patience of Saints
At the end of the journey to help us make sense
Of a life that is otherwise
Filled with remorse...
It's in the pursuit
That we find our true course.

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Sorrows

Sorrows come to all. 
Embrace the memories, 
hold them in your heart
… and move on. 

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Nasty Boys

Men are pigs!  Face it.  It's true.
Nasty little boys whose minds never grew
Past their genital area, never matured
To emotional freedom, always subdued
By an ego inflated with masculine pride
As to fashion itself to be cocky and rude.
Picking to pieces the fairer sex.
So unaware of the harmful effects,
So uncaring, so inconsiderate,
Like a child growing older illiterate,
Stumbling in darkness, direction askew,
Seeking to remedy his solitude.
Never aware of his needy condition,
Sowing his oats with no need to be coy,
Finding too late that his cup is half-empty.
It's time for you to grow up,
Nasty boy.

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Lies In Your Eyes

There are secrets that we keep
Beneath the surface dark and deep,
Cloaked in shadows creeping
Through a labyrinth of hidden sins.
Breaking all the rules of custom,
Shaking the forbidden tree
To savor the fruits not meant to taste,
To see the sights not meant to see.

... And you have come to tell me
That your faithfulness is still in tact;
That you wade in fidelity; that
I should see your heart is true;
That I must keep you in my trust
And that you lust for no one else;
That history should be my guide
And blind faith keep me close to you.

... But no matter how you struggle to
Manipulate and vocalize,
There's no way you can deny
The lies that I find in your eyes.

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