Doubt

What is doubt but indecision?

Take a thought, make an incision.

Grind out the matter of what it's about.

Shed some light on the darkness of doubt.

 

Every thought has an alternate plan...

No matter how great... No matter how small.

So, indecisiveness plagues at each hand

And hangs over thought like a great iron claw.

 

But indecision is a weakness I fear

For the good may pass by and leave emptiness here

In my life

While I stand

With my heart

In my hand.

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At the Store

Wrap it up. I'll take it.

It need not be so fancy.

Put it in a paper bag,

But please don't make a fuss.

It makes me nervous when you wait

And hold it from me as you do.

It's only truth I ask of you.

I've paid for it with trust.

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Let Me Know the Truth

Let me know the truth.

It's all I ask from you.

It doesn't take much I should think

To tell a tale that's true.

Why hide behind a phony grin.

I only want to be your friend.

I'll stand behind you 'til the end

If you let me know the truth.

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The Good Samaritan

If you encounter a stranger

Wandering through your life,

Not knowing where he is going,

And not remembering where he has been,

Don't turn him away

Without first giving him some direction.

That stranger may be you.

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Time

Time is a wandering sailor

Forever roaming across the sea.

Ever seeking the new, the unknown,

The untraveled. To be a part of that sea.

Knowing no past. Seeking no end.

Longing to know the answers of life.

Never caring what made it begin

To wander in space. It seeks out no friend.

Unforgiving; moving...moving.

Running away with life and breath.

Yet giving us just enough of itself

To realize the meaning of life and death.

To pass to posterity knowledge of mind,

And pass ourselves to the annals of time.

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Happy

I’ve been a lot of things

In my life, and there’ve been lots of places

I’ve wanted to see.

Don’t mean to sound maudlin with

Vague rumination

Or overwrought sentimentality,

But as I’ve grown older, and

Hopefully wiser,

My mindset has changed by degree.

Of all the things I could do

With my life

There’s just one thing I want to be:

Happy.

Can’t think about all the things

That might have been

As Autumn leaves fall from my tree.

The past is behind, The future unknown.

Right now is the moment that

Sets my mind free.

And though the world taunts,

And teases and tempts

To seek out a new pedigree,

The answer remains in

A playful refrain.

There’s just one thing I want to be:

Happy.

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Until It All Goes Away

Youth can be fickle to fritter away

All that infinite energy

Wasted on play.

Trashed and tired at the end of the day

To sleep without worries or cares.

Pity that time comes to shatter fond dreams,

To realize life’s

Not at all as it seems,

Filled with toil, stress and struggles

To disconnect schemes with

Recurrence that hardly seems fair.

Now, as I grow older, I seldom regret

All the blather and bother,

The fuss and the fret that

Once gave me to fury

When viewed as a threat and

Suffered this fool at his play.

I breathe a deep sigh,

Meet the foe eye to eye,

Find the calm and compassion that’s

Always nearby.

Let the madness dissolve

To a crystalline sky.

Mulling softly

Til it all goes away.

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We Are Not Blood, But…

We are not blood

But we are still family

As surely as whimsy

Breathes life to our story.

We dare not deny or decry

Our connection,

Or hasten the pace

Of our grand allegory.

Brothers and sisters

To misses and misters

Through battles and blisters

Our shoulders have merged.

And though we may prattle

And even do battle,

Our swords never rattle

Save in common surge.

We search not for dragons

And dream not of peril.

We seek none of vengeance,

For it is not ours.

We live for the moment

Alive in each other

And in our alliance

We find our true powers.

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Crossing Over

No one can really know

What’s on the other side,

Only that there must be someplace

Where the spirit can abide.

Far beyond this earthly plane is

A wonderous world we cannot see,

But know without disquiet,

Exists in perfect harmony.

The frets and fears of this life are

Not allowed to enter there.

There’ll be no pain or sorrow,

No heavy burden to bear.

Leaving at the dawn of Spring

As silent harps around you play,

I could not measure your last breath as, 

In peace, you softly slipped away.

Your gentle voice, a memory now,

Your loving touch I’ll feel no more.

But solace comes with knowing that

I’ll see you on the other shore.

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Be Nice

We’ve all heard the old expression,

“If you can’t say something nice,

Then you shouldn’t say

A single thing at all.”

I have a small confession

When I hear this sage advice,

That I sometimes have a tendency

To stumble, slip and fall.

I try. I do. I really try

To keep my tongue in check,

Even when I’d like to

Wring somebody’s scrawny neck.

I try my best to hold it in

And not speak out in fury.

I tell myself I have no right

To act as judge and jury.

Stepping back and breathing deep,

I measure my reaction.

Is confrontation necessary?

Does my case have traction?

Anger is a fiery cake

Delivered by the slice.

Best to let the fire subside

To embers.

Just be nice.

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The Hugger

Oh, here she comes again.

Again.

With arms outstretched like a

Mother hen.

Every greeting she begins

With a robust hug of

A long-lost friend.

May have just seen you yesterday, but

Gonna hug you anyway.

Like hungry bears besiege their prey

Defying you to break away.

She swoops and smothers as she clings,

And you pray she’ll unclench her wings,

But marvel at the joy she brings

And how the air around her sings.

As light as bubbles in the air

Her happiness spreads everywhere.

She’ll give your heart

The fondest tug

Swaddled in a joyous hug.

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Oh, That’s Funny

Isn’t it odd? The things that were

Once viewed peculiar

Are now accepted as normal.

Once solemn and prim

Like the words of a hymn

Spoken now as obtuse and informal.

What was in is now out,

What was then is no more,

Every whimsey and trend

Quickly kicked out the door

When a new frill or angle

Is dangled on string.

And every new-fangled contraption is king 

Til the gloss loses luster

And new starts to fade,

Then everyone seeks out

A fresh escapade.

Oh, fickle and feckless

These humans must be

To ornate their days

With such trite filigree

When matters of import

Grow tattered with age,

Then find their delight

Seeking out the new rage.

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Willfully Stubborn

Old Henry was a cantankerous soul

Who would gripe any point to submission.

Those who had known him

(And some wanted to stone him)

Knew stubbornness was his tradition.

He’d argue the news or political views

With a very short fuse to ignition,

Tear down your beliefs

In a volley of grief

With the fury of nuclear fission.

Most folks would relent

And escape to their tent,

Pack it up and scurry away.

But he didn’t care if

They choked on thin air.

Didn’t ask to be irked anyway.

But old Henry, the loner,

Had a different persona

Behind all the bluster and bluff.

Both family and friends knew

It all was pretend

When he acted all grumpy and gruff.

Behind the façade that he tried to ramrod

Was a mate with a heart of pure gold. 

And his ornery ways will

Endear him with praise 

When his story is finally told.

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Kindhearted Soul

Finding a heart filled with

Kindness and good

Is more precious than

Diamonds and gold.

The joy found in giving,

In words and in deeds,

Can hardly be measured,

Bartered or sold.

And if by chance

You can lend a favor

To someone in need

To lighten their load

You’re sure to kiss karma

When time turns the table

And you are in need

Of a hand to hold.

And we’ll rest contented

When our story is told

As we follow the form of

A kind-hearted soul.

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Technology Baffles Me

All these gadgets and gizmos

And new-fangled dilly-bobs

That only a ten-year-old

Can understand,

They hex me and vex me

Beyond all distraction,

Leaving me mixed in a

Pit of quicksand.

I read the instructions,

All detailed in language that’s

Totally foreign to my generation,

All wrapped in enigma,

Impossible babble that

Stretches my brain

Beyond imagination.

I guess that I shouldn’t feel

Such consternation.

The answers are there

Buried deep in debris, but I

In frustration 

Throw hands in the air.

This new technology baffles me.

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Mindful Folly

My head, so drenched in mindful prattle,

So much that prudent reason fails.

Intent on being in the moment,

Ignoring all of life’s travails.

Wistfully, I breathe a sigh,

A winsome whisper to the fates,

To fill my buoyant breast with calm

And all the joy it emanates.

Gentle as the waters flow

To softly brush against the sand

As soothing sounds of fife and flute

Float airily across the land.

And I am you

And we are they

And every us is all but one,

And blissful peace is ours to share

From glistening dawn to setting sun.

Every moment bids me stay

To marvel in its mellow light

Til I am blessed to find my way

And shed the darkness of the night.

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Oh, Foolish Empath

Feel the joy, the grief,

The anger, the pain.

Feel the folly of love

And the hope that remains.

Know the sadness that follows

The thundering rain.

Feel the fingers of fear

Driving wise men insane.

Every note, every song,

Every hullabaloo.

All the masses and mobs

Closing all around you

Til control is a stranger

And options are few,

And your once sage advice

Is no longer in view.

It strains beyond reason,

It weighs beyond doubt,

The burden the empath

Must ferry about.

The taking, the giving,

The in and the out,

The searching of souls

Within, without.

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I Can’t Watch the News

Every night it leads the same:

The muggings, the murders,

The scandals, the floods.

Tragedy always the head of the game.

Quick to the scene

At the first sight of blood.

And though the excuses

Might be loose and lame

The sponsors insist that they

Scrape through the mud

To find the despicable,

Drag them to fame and

Drop them on me with a

Thump and a thud.

Now, don’t get me wrong,

We all must be informed

When trouble surround us

We need to be warned.

But spare the sensations

When you blow the horn

And just give us facts

Without all the forlorn.

Keep me abreast, yes,

But please, skip the ruse.

Otherwise, I simply

Cannot watch the news.

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We had a Pretty Good Run

Could this be the face that once

Inspired another’s heart to beat?

The cruel mirror doesn’t lie

And I could cry at what reflects.

The happy pair that once danced there,

Now a solo, incomplete.

Maddened by the loss until

The voice of reason interjects.

Difficult to carry on as one

When two was so familiar.

Waiting for those sweet words

You would whisper in my ear.

Greeting every morning,

Every dawning of a new year.

Thriving without hesitation,

Together facing every fear.

In my memory your face glows

As bright as morning sunrise,

Follows every step I take

Until the day is done.

And I will never lose the love

I always found in your eyes.

Through smiles, through tears,

We shared a perfect run.

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Where are You Goin’, Sparkey?

Where you headed out to, Sparkey

In such an all-fired hurry?

Don’t you know there’s danger

In this helter-skelter place?

Creeps and cruisers,

Crooks and cons of

Cagey, crafty purpose, adept at getting what you’ve got

Then disappearing with no trace.

If there’s one thing that aging has taught

It’s ne’er cast “caution to the wind.”

Though chance may often favor,

Best to savor sweet discretion.

A second thought, a hesitation

Often proves the best of friends.

Far better than the mournful sigh

Of willful indiscretion

Not to say, “Don’t go. Don’t play.”

No one should need to live in fear.

But heed the voices of experience

When whispered in your ear.

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Family Never Fades

Thousands cross the muddled pathway

In this life of mish and mosh

Where nothing last beyond tomorrow,

Where joy and sorrow intertwine.

Strangers one day.

Friends the next as

Time creates a distant memory

Muddled in a clustered noodle,

Withered grapes left on the vine.

Family is different,

Day one to last the cast remains

A steady flow of come and go

United by a crimson bond.

Handed down through generations,

More than rote or vain tradition.

Bloodlines know no affectation of

Tomorrow and beyond.

Though reunions may be foreign,

Sad occasions of farewell, 

Where kinfolk gather reminiscent of

Long forgotten escapades,

Still the song goes on forever,

And the love runs still and deep.

In a world that holds no boundaries

Knowing family never fades.

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A Little Bit Off Today

Days like this are bound to happen,

Just like your Momma always said.

Maybe that midnight pizza was not

The best idea to come into your head.

Maybe that thing that went snap, crackle, pop

This morning when you first got out of bed

Was an omen of dragons lurking in shadows

Anxiously wanting their famine be fed.

Collision, collusion, confusion abounds

And Murphy’s law seems to apply.

It’s two steps forward, one sideways, one back.

Keep quiet and never ask why.

But giving up is never an option

If you want your piece of the pie.

So, you hold up your head to

Push on through the dread

Refusing to crumble or cry.

And yes,

Things might be a little bit off,

You and fate don’t quite see eye to eye.

But you’ll never know just

How much you might win

Unless you continue to try.

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Where are My Glasses?

Glasses? Who needs glasses?

Only need them when my eyes are open.

Thankful for the 20/20 I’d

Otherwise be denied.

Pity these old eyes can’t seem to

Focus on their own

Except in dreams where my imagination 

Reaches far and wide.

I see other folks my age

Stroll free and unencumbered by

The dual panes that ride the nose

Like cowboys in a saddle.

Wonder why the Good Lord chose

To have me hide my features

Behind glass and wire and plastic

As though my brain were addled.

But then, upon considering that

Sight to some has been denied,

My feckless fear of vanity

Throws caution to the masses.

Blessed to see the sunrise/sunset.

Blessed to know my loved ones faces.

Thankful for the awkward task

To ask, “where are my glasses?”

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