Escapade

Here I sit biding time
Waiting for the world to start
Revolving, solving every woe,
Spinning as it did before.

Are you here?
Are you real?
Must I steal a memory
From darkened corners, dusty rooms
Caged and sealed behind locked doors.

Shall we share abandon in
Our reckless new adventure,
Or is it just a mindless prank
Of my imagination?

Tell me that your world is true
And I’ll pick up the gauntlet,
Walk beside you every step,
No thought or hesitation.

Standing on the threshold as
You contemplate the dare,
Leap into your escapade,
I will join you there.

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Mustang

Wild and free.
Wild and free.
Storm the open range
As hooves of thunder
Flee reality.
Chase a fleeting wind that
Only you can see
Through canyons
Where no other
Dares to tread.

Untamed eyes
Detect the lies
That seek your capture,
Brandishing a lasso as
They seek their prize.
Tinged with disappointment
When they realize
The futile chase on
Which they have been led.

No one can control you
When the day is done.
Wild and free your destiny.
Run, mustang. Run.

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Wisp

Hardly noticing at first
From the corner of my eye,
Soft flame lightly flickering,
Dancing on a candlewick.
And you are in the afterglow,
Or are you just a whisper?
A wistful wisp of saffron
Gently coloring my world.

Fortunate indeed to have
The pleasure of your favor
If only for the briefest instant
In this restless life.
Yielding to the certainty that
Nothing is forever,
Clinging to the moment to
Create a memory.

Crease the vein of fond remembrance,
Foster every treasure,
Cherish every fleeting glance
As though it were the last.
Let there be a thousand nights
Of grateful meditation
When the winsome wisp of you
Causes me to smile.

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Sacrifice

There are tributes to be paid
For every passage in our journey.
Every footfall on the pathway
Lands on someone’s territory.

Willingly we yield to barter,
Giving this to garner that,
Coveting the grander treasure,
Reaching for the greater glory.

Mostly it is just a game,
A simple reuse of give and take.
Fire a shot into the air
To see who scrambles and who stays.

But when price becomes too dear
Challenges are brought to bear.
Sacrifices must be made
To exit from the jumbled maze.

You must ask yourself the questions
When the seller sets his price.
Are you ready?
Are you willing?
Will you make the sacrifice?

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Revelation

Behold what deep dark secrets
May reveal bold truth when finally
The veil is lifted from sad eyes
And windows open to the soul.

Pray for guidance as you enter
Realms of possibility.
Some will find the diamond treasure,
Others fail to meet the toll.

All who seek are apt to learn
The wondrous feeling that abides
In finding true direction,
Repositioning their flight.

All is golden in this sanctum
Where epiphany resides
Waiting to astound the masters
With it’s sudden blinding light.

Find the path to revelation,

Gently bend to turn the stone.
Others wait to hear your answer.
You need never be alone.

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Dream Weaver

Sneaks into your docile head as it
Snugly hugs the eiderdown,
Subtle yet persistent
Tapping gently on your sleepy eyes.

Speaking first in monotones
So low you hardly hear her voice,
Building to an aria of
Soulful sweet melodic tones.

Echoing your darkest secrets
Off the wall of deep desire,
Chambers filled with priceless treasure
Finally within your grasp.

Constant motion fills the darkness.
Heroes rise and villains fall
And you are left to raise the trophy
In the throes of victory.

Gentle weaver linger long
Fulfilling every fantasy.
All too soon the dawn will break
To whisk your winsome world away.

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Islander

It’s lonesome sometimes,
     Left out here so far from all the
Hurley burley screaming, scheming,
     Loathsome flotsam
Prevalent among the masses.

Lonesome and yet peaceful
     Never being touched by
Greasy, grimy gruesome fingers
     Pointing, probing, always begging,
Wanting more.

Peaceful in this paradise
     Where sunset follows sunrise follows
Sunset on the ocean rise.
Worries vanish to horizons
Never to be seen again.

Paradise, a fantasy,
     Living, breathing make-believe,
Settled on this island shore
     To give me hope, to inspire,
Help me make it through the day,
Attack the tiger where he sleeps.

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Bonanza

Where is the prize that the fables devise?
Does it live at the end of the rainbow?
Unveil the lies of the subtle disguise
Til the truth is abundantly clear.

Stalking the obvious, sleuthing the sleuth
In a frenzied and fanciful quest.
Shedding the truth of an innocent youth
Brings a lesson too heavy to bear.

If there is gold in her treasures untold
Then the wait will be worth all the pain.
Barter is cold for the soul bought and sold,
So be careful the mantle you wear.

Bonanza is real. It’s a feeling you steal,
Euphoria beyond all measures.
Broker your deal as you plaintively kneel
At the feet of the keeper of treasures.

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Tributaries

Starts with a trickle,
Barely perceptible,
Inkling, tinkling,
Constant in yield,
Draining its’ juices
To waiting receptacle,
Hugging the earth
With her warm liquid arms.

Moving with gravity
Layer to layer,
Languishing long enough
To feed her soul.
Forever lover,
Always a player.
Lonely meanderings
Through field and farm.

Seeking her sisters,
Longing to join them.
Building a family
Across the soil.
Looking to join the
Grand ocean of longing,
Grateful reward for
Her labor and toil

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Shivaree

Gather round now friends and kin,
A celebration is at hand.
Bang the cymbals, tap the tins,
Lasting long past setting sun.

Starting on a lifelong journey,
Set a mark to state your case.
There’s no resting for the weary
In this helter-skelter pace.

Kiss your partner. Kiss again.
Fill your glasses to the top.
Turn your faces to the wind,
Forever after has begun.

Still outside the noise continues.
There will be no sleep tonight.
Only visionary vistas,
Dreams of heaven wrapped in lace.

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Compunction

Couldn’t help it.
Had to have it.
Wouldn’t think to give it back.
Only felt a slight regret.
Hardly overcome with guilt.

It was there for anyone
To come and fill its melting pot
Then scurry off with their reward
Before the door was firmly shut.

It was you who was afraid
To break the rules that you had set,
Take a chance that someone else
Could read the patchwork of your quilt.

I was firmly on your side,
Ready to defy the hoards,
To overcome the obstacles,
Heal each little nick and cut.

Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be.
Suppose we both are better served.
Time will count our history to
Give us both what we deserve.

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Sashay

I could quote Carly Simon
From her song on vanity,
Visioning her subject as he
Strolls into a crowded room.

Or picture Dolly Levi
At the posh Harmonia Gardens
As she artfully descends the stairs
And grown men stop to stare and swoon.

Picture in your mind as
Travolta struts on Saturday.
All the ladies salivate
Just wishing he would look their way.

I had thought I’d seen it all
When Tyra hit the runway stage,
Made the perfect sashay statement.
Surely there was no mistake.

Then I see you tilt your hip,
Toss your hair, wink an eye,
Take a step into the room to
Leave all others in your wake.

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Proclivity

“If you’re so inclined”, he uttered,
“You’ll find happiness on the edge.”
Though living on the darker side
Presents more problems than it solves.

Tried to answer, only stuttered,
Felt the leverage of the wedge.
Turned civility aside to
See what alternates evolved.

Winced a little, then I shuddered.
Should I step out on the ledge?
Put aside all guilt and pride?
Throw my life to angry wolves?

Should my mind be blank or cluttered?
I’ve a tendency to hedge.
This proclivity inside me
Does not have a strong resolve.

Lead instead into the light.
I will make the right decision,
Battle through the fiery fight,
View the world with perfect vision.

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Emancipation

So, you think that you want to be free of me,
Believe that you’ve finally found the key,
Started to view things with clarity.
Well, that may all be very true.

I had been thinking along the same line,
Wond’ring about you and me for some time,
Thinking how everything used to be fine
Until somebody changed.
Was it you?

I didn’t think there was ever a doubt
What this relationship was all about.
When we began we were both so devout,
Committed to making it work.

You could have told me when things went awry.
I had no reason for questioning why.
We just sat back and let time go by.
No wonder I feel like a jerk.

You want your freedom?
Take it and run.
No one is stopping you.
Face it, you’ve won.

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Ensconced

I’m not going anywhere.
This is much too comfortable
Sitting here like limp spaghetti
Waiting for the day to end.
A day from hell that took so long
Trying to unfold itself,
Now that it has trickled down
I’ve no desire to start again.

Perhaps a bit of mindless drivel.
Television, there’s the trick.
Or I could just drift into doze mode
Trying to read Harry Potter,
Sip a touch of pinot noir
To smooth the edges, soothe the soul.
I just refuse to add another
Single burden to my blotter.

You may think me selfish,
Even lazy to react this way.
Do not care.
Will not give in.
I am settled for the day.

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Harbinger

Let the bells ring loud, ring clear
Heralding the crimson news.
Headlines speak in bold reviews
Announcing your arrival.

Flower petals pave the way,
Their luscious fragrance to allay
The subtle fears that fill your ears
And threaten your survival.

Be it known throughout the land
That tolerance has met its match,
Opened doors, removed the latch
That held it fast so long.

Free the light so it may shine
In places it has never been,
Set it free to sing again
And right unending wrongs.

You are just the harbinger
Searching, seeking out the truth;
All the lost imaginings
Forgotten in your youth.

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Nexus

In our quest for common ground
Differences are often found
Too much to bear or overcome
Til all negotiation fails.

Like Montague to Capulet
The nexus was sweet Juliet,
Or at least she should have been
If better winds had filled her sails.

All can end so tragically
When clans or nations disagree.
Words and actions fail to grasp
The gist of commonality.

Warped opinion often lies,
Views the world with blinded eyes,
Leading lemmings to the edge
Where hope and reason all but dies.

It is you and you alone
Must solve this bitter mystery.
See the nexus. Find the link
Connecting destiny.

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Serendipity

My good fortune
Finding you.
Sweet-souled serendipity
Smiling softly in your eyes with
Soothing sounds of sultry sighs.

Singing such seductive songs
Of milk and honey
Come what may.
Getting lost along the way
We stumble to our precious prize.

Seeking someday,
Stopping by to
Savor every saucy spice.
Happy growing old together.
Content in knowing
All is right.

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Superfluous

Let’s stop all this drivel,
It’s just kibble for the addle-brained.
Try to simplify the mix
Without the tricks that drone and drain.

Finding words
Far less absurd
That will not curdle on the tongue.
Gently croon
A simple tune
That lingers after being sung.

Choosing words and actions
Built on traction,
Never slip or slide.
Keeping sails trimmed lively
Til arriving
On the other side.

Hack the excess, cut the blubber
Right down to the bone.
State the facts with certainty,
Leave the rest alone.

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Uncouth

No sooner had his footfall played
Upon the threshold of the room
The truth smacked of the obvious,
This common soul did not belong.

I might have felt remorse about
His awkward and ungainly tone,
But feelings were all swept away
When first words formed upon his tongue.

Ravings of uncultured thought from
Such a boorish little mind.
Spewing crude and clumsy voice to  
Fill the room with fetid air.

Turn away and find a corner,
Hope that soon he’ll go away.
Growing small out on a ledge
Trapped in just my underwear.

Wilting from embarrassment.
Denying any blame.
Don’t know who invited him.
Don’t know why I came.

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Phantasmagoria

Magic lanterns in a dream
Bending, blending, changing shapes
And sizes til they run together
Feather-lite and then to naught.

Bits and pieces, this and that,
Can’t remember all the story,
Scattered treasures buried deep
Beneath the sands of afterthought.

Rapidly the scenes are changing,
Grand illusions on display.
Heavily they layer one on one
Forever asking more.

Was it real or just imagined?
Will it ever come again?
Fearless flight of fantasy
Mesmerizing every pore.

Sleepless phantom of the night
Keeping dreams alive,
Dancing freely through my mind
That hope may long survive.

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Nefarious

Feel the caustic wickedness
That sallies forth from fiery eyes.
Cage the beast before it flies
To dust the souls of piety.

Demons breathing firebrand
Nefarious in their delight
To capture unsuspecting minds
And bend them into shapes of fear.

Plotting as the village sleeps,
Plodding through the endless night
To land on open windowsills,
Set to pounce before the dawn.

Preying on the innocents
Who fail to recognize their fate,
Who sadly fain to raise their shields,
Never reach to draw their swords.

Praying for a silver knight to
Cleanse the stale and fetid air,
To quell the dread iniquity
And save the maiden fair.

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Eclectic

Mix and match in hopeless hodgepodge,
Sight and source as yet unknown.
Blended bites, so eclectic,
Puzzle pieces don’t connect.

Must use high imagination
Linking up the scattered dots
To form a shape so unfamiliar
No one feels the full effect.

Riding winds of wanderlust to
Wild exotic wonderlands,
Seek the secrets of the ages
Though they may not match your dreams.

Widely scattered, wildly different,
Children of diversity.
Nothing matches,
Nothing matters,
Nothing is quite as it seems. 

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Donnybrook

Where were you when the fight broke out?
Under a table?
Out on the edge?
I was flat-footed, smack dab in the middle,
Caught in the melee,
Stuck on a ledge.

Tried to play peacemaker. Nobody listened.
Tried to back out but
The exit was blocked.
Vainly attempted to punch my way clear.
Only succeeded in
Getting cold-cocked.

I don’t remember just how it all ended
Since I was unconscious,
Senses askew.
No one would even say how it all started.
I was blind-sided.
Were you?

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Collage

Picture, if you dare, every
Memory you had today,
Capsulate the fragments into
Micro-mini retrospect.
Paste the pieces in a jumble
Overlapping, intersecting,
Introspecting to a point of peace
Reflecting yesterday.

Is it odd?
This sanctuary no one else can understand.
Only you can tell its glory,
Only you can touch its flesh.
Flashcards of imagination
Reach across an empty room
To hand you salty memories
Never to be swept away.

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Gloaming

Standing watch… No fear,
No trepidation for the passing years.
Could not stop them anyway,
Would not even if I could.

Weary and yet satisfied,
Sliding into destinies to
Meet the gloaming eye to eye,
Riding high on memories.

Seems like only yesterday when
Nimble youth was much engaged.
How delightful are the smiles
That greet me as I reminisce.

Happy to have come this far,
Hopeful to go farther still.
Helpful the experience
Accumulated on the way.

Now that twilight dips its head
To touch the tops of tireless trees
I lift up a silent prayer,
Thankful for the gifts received.

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Heretic

Do you believe in anything?
Does anything believe in you?
Does conscience march on heavy hooves
Storming through your restless nights.

Looking for the mood to swing
From amber bright to shades of blue.
Wait in dread the pack of wolves
Who rage to slaughter helpless sheep.

Can you face your audience,
Bow expecting loud applause?
Is your ego so intense
It flies alone without a cause?

A simple member of the cast,
Lines learned early in your youth.
Good and evil intersect
Leaving just a single thread.

Heed the echoes from the past.
Search your soul to know the truth.
You won’t have to hesitate or
Live your life in mournful dread.

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Malarkey

Starts with just a single statement,
Point of fact,
Simple truth.
Magnified a thousand fold,
Growing feet,
Begins to stroll.

Stretched to realms of disbelief,
Drawing back,
Moving on.
Beating brows adnauseam til
Backs are turned,
Heels are shown.

Knowing that the truth is lost.
Treasure the
Epiphany.
Moving out and moving on,
Better done and
Better off.

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Mayhap

It may happen
         Somewhere far into the future.
         Who can know?
         Who can see what miracle of happenstance
         Might cause two paths to intersect?
         Not you…
                       And certainly not me.

It may happen.
         Lives can crumble in the jumble
         Ending up so tragically.
         Basic instinct of survival
         Kicking into overdrive will
         Still the pain…
                 Compensate to some degree.

What may happen?
         No one knows.
         Mysteries of life and living
         Vex our days, haunt the night.
         Keeping caution as our guide
         Makes us vigilant and wary
         Of the dangers.
         Keeps us reaching for the light.

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Prelude

Trying hard to work up nerve,
Wake up feelings dormant for
So long that they are near forgotten
In this mad chaotic rush.

Tempt me with your sultry smile.
Beckon with a wink and nod,
A sly come-hither interlude
That speaks in volumes understood.

Coming just before the touch;
The first of many, hopefully.
Prelude to a memory,
Memento for ten thousand nights.

Save this moment. Hold it close.
Press the rose inside your book of
Heather-scented memories
To keep forever and a day.

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