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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Reprobate

Rejected as an outcast…

Lost soul searching for a home,

Damned and duly destitute,

Despised and wholly victimized.

 

Seen through sad judgmental eyes that

Never seek to look within.

Disapproval driving home a

Wall of censure full of hate.

 

Lost to stroll the streets in silence,

Walk among the heinous hoards

Sowing seeds of condemnation

In a garden so corrupt.

 

Gypsy bands play gaily

Til the fall from grace is absolute,

 Dance around the fire until

The gloom of Lucifer appears.

 

Who are these unprincipled?

These hail and hearty sideshow freaks?

Watching as their numbers grow

Until damnation is complete.

 

Flimflam

You can’t sell that nonsense here.

This is not some backdoor scam,

A bait and switch to flim the flam on

Some poor unsuspecting dupe.

 

Break the chain so much reviled

That preys upon the meek and mild

With unrelenting painful force and

Knocks the victim for a loop.

 

Is this some vast eBay scheme?

A slice of toast, an image seen

By someone whose imagination

Casts a wide suspicious net.

 

Should I bite and make a bid?

Cast my lot across the grid?

Forsaking common sense and logic,

Take a chance on what I get?

 

Can I beat the flimflam man?

Will I lose and be the dope?

Taking chances,

Dancing dances,

Holding out eternal hope.

 

Torque

Hunker up and make me spin.

Hunker down and twist again.

Keep the pressure turning in

So we can glide into the wind.

 

Twisted with a finger wrench,

Not a worry, not a pinch,

Feather light, intent to quench,

Fulfilling every measured inch.

 

Every moment hand in hand

Seals the bond so neatly planned,

Tightening our troubled band

Into a strong united stand.

 

We have been and yet will be

Purveyors of utility.

Wheels revolve eternally

To make us one,

To set us free.

 

Accolades

Praise upon prolific praise

Heaped up to the hilt,

An avalanche of accolades

Falling from the sky.

A maraschino cherry topping

Mounds of whipping cream,

Tickles of a Ferris wheel

Twenty stories high.

 

Beat the drum for all who come

To sing their heroes praise.

Shine the subtle spotlight

On the golden haloed hair.

Tell the hallowed haunting tale

That led to paths of glory,

Trials and tribulations overcome

To get to there.

 

Will you find it difficult

Accepting tributes prize?

Have you earned the worshiping

Reflected in their eyes?

We are but mere mortals

Acting out our escapades,

Hoping to be worthy

Of accepting accolades.

 

Bamboozled

What say we go dupe the dope?

Give him just enough of the

Unwinding rope to satisfy, mollify,

Catch his eye and offer hope

Where hopelessness alone prevails.

Hear the senseless plaintive wails

Softly as they emanate

But fail to reach the ears of fate,

Gasping as they grope.

 

Pray! Who are these bamboozlers?

These plausible confuselers,

These hearty, hateful handlers,

These unexcused excuselers

Who prey on pretty pitifuls

With easily committables,

Trancing and then trampling

The lame and limping snoozelers.

 

Must the weary always be

The victims of such piracy?

Failing to transcend the

Vague illusion of transparency.

Open eyes can catch the prize

And yet avoid bamboozlement,

If only they are tuned and wise;

If only they are meant to see.

 

Contiguous

As nighttime follows daylight,

As sidewalks hug the street,

As fingers fold to handshakes

And the music forms a beat,

 

The second hand sweeps constantly

Erasing yesterday.

And who will know the overflow

That swiftly slips away.

 

Is it not all connected

In some melancholy rhyme?

Are we to be suspected of

Diminishing in time?

 

And there are lessons to be learned,

And patterns to obey

In skillfully connected

Interactive interplay.

 

And daylight yields to nighttime,

And the street is sidewalk’s friend.

Our hands enfold in friendship

And the music never ends.

 

Dilatory

Putting on the putting off

Leads to yet another story,

While the moans of lazy bones

Speaks in volumes dilatory.

 

If the season captures reason

In the rhythm of the rhyme,

Chances are the pithy plan will

Meet demand to end on time.

 

But if sidetracks switch the cargo

And the focus goes awry,

Who is left the beastly burden?

Who explains the where and why?

 

Let me be the fiend of focus,

Crack the whip and set the course,

Dash the dilatory demon,

Banish him with lethal force.

 

Heroes haunt the halls of rescue

Never seeking fame or glory,

Always in the nick of time,

Never late or dilatory.

 

Oxymoron

It’s been a long-short, easy-hard,

Noisy-quiet time since the

Frizzy-frazzle, paddy-paddle

Came-went away.

And the clearly muddled message

Of our logical-nonsensical

Led us all to follow

What unspoken words can say.

 

And the moving stillness calls us

In a voice we cannot hear

With a razor dullness sharper

Than the blunt end of a spear.

Come and heed the mute rendition

Of a song no one is singing.

Come and wrap your restless arms

Around the nothing that is there.

 

We will win the losers battle.

We will fight them in retreat,

Run to cover with a vengeance,

Raise our flag in proud defeat.

They shall feel our passive anger,

The grave weakness of our might.

We will teach an unlearned lesson

In surrendering to fight.

 

Minx

Bold and brazen little minx,

Champion of a thousand winks,

Cast your cares and flaunt your wares

In hottest shades of reds and pinks.

 

Flap and flash and fairy dust

Sparkling in flaxen hair.

Not a care to cloud the way,

Every day a fantasy.

 

Subtlety a distant thought,

Seldom caught with set designs.

Don’t want to be left behind

When all the fun begins.

 

Walking tall where labels stick,

Stepping quickly in the mix.

No regrets, no looking back,

Knowing all the traps and tricks.

 

Just be careful and beware.

There is danger everywhere.

Seeds of lust do not breed trust

In victims who accept your dare.

 

Ricochet

Born of power, unafraid,

Totally indifferent to the caste and class

Written in the logs and ledgers of the world.

Cased in brass, ready to ignite with fury

In an instant, sending forth the unsuspecting infant

Hurtling with deadly force.

 

Traveling more than sight and sound,

Cutting, screeching through the air

Defying friction, gravity,

Screaming hot with total dread.

Searching for a target,

     Any target that may cross its path.

Nothing to impede the speed,

     Must concede to destiny.

 

But the object of desire

Hides behind an obstacle unexpected,

Unprotected from the fury and the wrath.

Now the path has been deflected, and

Your target redirected.

Who must fear your ricochet?

No one really knows.

 

Boomerang

Swiftly she travels in circular patterns,

Banking off currents, too busy to care about

Rules of inertia, bending the air.

Coming to rest where her journey began.

 

Bands of perception trickle and tickle the

Soul of deception replete in your sail.

Winds of experience always prevail as the

Hourglass sharpens and runs out of sand.

 

We who have known you are ever attuned

Of your vigilant countenance, true to a fault,

Tempted to vault over hillside and valley

Only to turn and return to the nest.

 

And those who you touch, may the angels be with them,

Heaven forgive them and all of their seed.

Quenching the need of our civilized union,

Putting our labors to rest.

 

Charisma

There is a power,

     Mostly unnoticed,

That touches perception

     Drawing its pleasure,

Feeding off charm and

     Self-deprecation,

Taking and giving

     In equal measure.

 

Siphoning pressure

     Defusing the tension,

Total suspension of

     Fusion and flack.

Taking the brunt of

     Blunt confrontation,

Turning it inside out,

     Giving it back.

 

Here is a gift

     Given to but a few,

Humble and silent,

     Hidden from view.

 

Hoopla

So much harping on pretenses,

Cannot take this manic craze.

Hopeless daze enslaves the senses

Leaving logic comatose.

 

So much cheering, jeering, leering,

Fearing nothing, come what may.

Basking in the hapless moment,

Taking in a lethal dose.

 

All this hoopla dulls the meaning,

Useless screening of the facts 

Peppered with acute sensations,

Accusations, thoughtlessness.

 

Riding on such feckless preening,

Truth careening off the walls

Carrying its weightless favor

Meant to savor sweet success.

 

Reason enters only after

All the hoopla fades to black.

Thankful witness to its exit,

Hoping it will not come back.

 

Intrigue

Fascinated by your swagger

As you glide into the room with

Such a confident demeanor that

You never touch the ground.

 

Animated actions flatter

Like the waft of sweet perfume.

Qualities befit a Queen or

Princess, made without a sound.

 

I stand silent, much in awe,

Wondering what secret mission

Brought you to this time and place,

Led me here to probe and pry.

 

I can’t find a single flaw,

Nothing to be brought to question,

No clue in your poker face,

Not a hint of what or why.

 

Let me solve your mystery,

Know the depth of your intrigue

That calls you from a different level

Somewhere in a higher league.

 

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.

 

Tommyrot

What is all this foolishness?

These blatant crude absurdities

That brings the mighty to their knees

And elevates the masses.

 

Is it nothing more than gossip?

Casting rumor in their lot,

Filled with useless tommyrot

To open bloody gashes.

 

Vigil hidden in the shadows

Waiting with a sudden flash,

Striking with a stinging lash

To capture indiscretions.

 

Pausing barely long enough to

Make their presence known to all,

Rush before the deadlines fall

To render their confessions.

 

We who listen, wait and watch

To see our heroes fall

Are more the victim in the end;

Tommyrot and all.

 

Understood

Seldom do we disagree,

     Though we could.

That has been our history,

     And it’s good.

Nothing written,

     Nothing formal,

Seeking nothing less than normal,

Trying hard and hoping to be

     Understood.

 

You don’t put the blame on me

     When things go wrong.

When I’m in your company it’s

     Like a song.

Seasons come,

     Seasons go.

Still and all it’s good to know

We still have each other and it’s

Understood.

 

Voracious

Nothing is safe from the jaws of this tiger

Whose ravenous appetite knows no remorse.

Stalking the jungle, the beast knows his quarry.

Daybreak to sunset, no creature secure.

 

No one approaches, in fear of his vengeance,

The catapult swiftness of his fierce attack.

Choosing in deference to cower in silence

Quivering quietly, deftly unsure.

 

 What makes his hunger abide so voracious?

When is enough ever truly enough?

When will the lamb get her chance at the table?

How much injustice can one world endure?

 

Zapped

Separated from the burgeoning tribe,

Trapped inside this vast enclosure,

Flitting and zipping one station to next,

Seeking the freedom of larger domains.

 

Not understanding the wonder of windowpanes,

Trapped by a barrier one cannot see,

Banging against it again and again,

Wondering why my prison remains.

 

Seeking contentment, not knowing exactly

What that may entail, but knowing enough.

Knowing no purpose except the annoyance of

Creatures giganticus swatting in vain.

 

Who can endure such pervasive perversion?

Mindless existence can be such toil

Until all of the sudden, without any warning,

Zapped to oblivion

Sparing no pain.

 

Quasar

The closeness of your distance

In your brightly darkened sky

Is the evidence of witness

As it offers solitude.

 

Far from civilized perfection

In the clouds above your halo

I find solace and reflection in

Your peaceful attitude.

 

With the flickering of starlight

Tapping gently on my shoulder

Comes a quiet resolution

Brushing softly on my skin.

 

Though the cannons may be rumbling,

Thundering on the distant hillsides

You can still their blundering

And make me whole again.

 

Brightest object in my night

Shine on me your giving light,

Kindle fires in my heart to

Make my wretched soul take flight.

 

Swirls

Stir the magic frothing foam to

Soothe the seething cauldron of

Her mystical elliptical

Simmering upon the pit.

Sending signals in the air

To hither, yon and everywhere.

Passersby are mystified,

Eyes transfixed to catch the prize.

 

Simple swirls,

Lovely pearls adorning alabaster skin.

Complex rhyme

Marking time around in circles, then again.

 

Peaks and valleys never seen,

Must be totally serene.

No sharp angles, tears or tangles,

Shades of yellow, red and green to

Give direction, offer pattern.

No rules given or allowed.

Swirling, twirling, billowing

High above her anxious crowd.

 

Resurrection

Mention me on the other side.

     I shall be coming soon enough

          As is the fate of mortal flesh

               To shed the trappings of this world.

 

You’ve not truly gone away,

     Just gone ahead to ease the pain

          That we had thought unbearable,

               To clear the bramble from the path.

 

And I shall hold your memory,

     Keep it warm inside my breast,

          Hold your story to the light so

               Others may ingest your fame.

 

And you can tell all whom you meet

     That I shall join you in due time.

          We will feast in jubilation

               When again our eyes embrace.

 

We shall survive to meet again,

     In what dimension no one knows.

          Only that the surety of

               Resurrection bodes us well.

 

Ostentatious

In the grandeur of this manor

Lined with all its’ gilded service

Lies a subtle message of

The privilege I can’t recall.

 

Shunned by lines of landed gentry

I am from more sturdy stock

Whose generations tended fields

For those who dwell inside these walls.

 

All the finery to witness,

All that riches can provide.

Priceless points of peerless crystal

Filling out these faultless halls.

 

In my folly youth I longed to

Know these treasures, taste the wine,

Kiss the fair-haired maiden as

We waltzed at the cotillion ball.

 

But alas, reality comes beckoning as if on cue

To quell this ostentatious paradox,

Send it to oblivion unceremoniously,

Or keep it safely sealed inside a box.

 

Posturing

Arms crossed, waiting-

          Silently.

Head tilt.

          Eyebrow raised

In just a hint of mischief.

          Folly that.

Meant to discount points of view.

 

Sweep across with mandrill arms to

Bat away succinct opinion.

Nothing matters save the words that

Finally escape your tongue.

 

You must be decision grantor.

You must have the final thought.

Only one king rules the kingdom

Though usurpers vainly try.

 

No one can convey your wisdom,

Feel the pulse inside your veins.

Can your stubborn will be met

In witness to such posturing?

 

Notorious

Void of any social graces,

Banned from all the nicest places,

Falling off the learning curve

That common etiquette embraces.

 

Not adept at tolerance,

At building trust or building fences.

Brutish force seems more adroit

When necessary to convince.

 

Strong winds blow to feed the flame,

Kindling ill-gotten fame.

Notorious, uproarious,

Seeking someone else to blame.

 

Burning candles through the night.

Right is wrong and wrong is right.

All that matters in the end is

Who will win this futile fight.

 

When the beast comes home to rest

Will he finish second best?

Will his pride be satisfied?

Will his conscience stand the test?

 

Idiosyncrasy

Peculiar as it all may be

It’s really quite the norm for me.

You say yea and I say nay

When simple maybe would suffice.

 

We solve it problematically

With idiosyncrasity.

The ups, the downs, the turnarounds,

The dogma of pure sacrifice.

 

Subtle difference often plays

A character in our malaise,

A comic thief, brief relief

To make the picture worth the price.

 

Karma often wears disguise,

Hides behind flirtatious eyes,

Bending rules and acting cruel,

Deceiving hoards with its device.

 

You have nothing left to fear

As smiles spread from ear to ear.

True is true and you are you to

Be yourself and not think twice.