Poems

Breath

2025-02-05

I can see the mountain's breath. The water is too deep and the shore too far away, The tree line has faded. The current rips me down. Lying in bed alone my soul drowns, Breaths away from the lighthouse.

Iron

2024-06-02

Tattered wire of rusted iron I find myself felled and forgotten To the dusty road ahead, Iron is afoot. I lay the track nail by nail. But I am no John Henry.

Ride or Die

2024-05-11

Time after time, Ride or die. I ask myself why, Do I tread, When I know is the water is rising, "Death is the end, But the ride is life." The voice said. My head is still above water. I send a look to those perched above. And find myself under. A place of great wonder. Blissfully unaware of the clouds above and the swells below. I muster the call. And then I saw the fall. "Never again," I said, Walking forward.

The Witching Hour

2024-05-06

The clock strikes three, The dark ones have come to be. Sitting alone, listening to those that sleep, The monsters find me as I dream, And introduce themselves. As I lay awake in bed, I pray this hour fades. Stepping down into the ground, The Witching Hour is unbound. Hear the roaring liminal hum, the ringing of the chanting ones. My nose clutches the sweet smoke of burning oak. Churning through the leaves of the wood, Seeing in my minds eye what I believe to be ecstasy, And everything I never expect to see. It was Magick.

Gallup

2024-05-05

The Gallup of the Fiery Steed cracks the ground. I knew the call. I will not fade till the grave. My Axe cut deep, As I felled timber for you. The gaze of the Dark One consumes my soul. A mistake or an honor? I won't know until the toll is paid. And the pain in its eyes ceases to exist.

Trail

2024-04-30

The trail behind is the trail ahead, So I was told. But to me, that's the definition of insanity. A continuous loop. Realizing this, a third trail appeared. One foot in front of the other. Walk. Stepping forward, I could hear the words, "Move to the unknown." And life was afoot.

Sepulcher

2024-04-29

I could hear a faint whistle, In the cracked ruins of the Sepulcher. The life before whispered, "Have you done it?" Walking near to the bones, I stopped, And felt ashen. The crickets silenced, And a chill fell upon me. All went still, and in the moment, I said, "I don't know what I am doing." "Looking back, you will," The voice sounded.

Under

2024-04-26

I am haunted by the wailing from the Under Up or down the ghosts keep telling tales for the unspoken. The Under is the haven, The harbor for the dead and broken. I wonder, What could be plundered from the damned.

Weight

2024-04-24

The fat cats keep rolling uphill, Do they know they carry too much weight? Or the gravity of the other side. Pockets packed tight and you'll forget how to walk. When there is only self thought. Blood on my knuckles. I washed off. It's time to walk off.

Perfect

2024-04-18

Always striving for completeness, And never reaching it in the end. The perfect system. Seeing the short, my wisdom fell on the long end. I see yesterday on the cliff below, But I can't see the summit. The spiral into the abyss is something that these calloused hands cannot climb. I float between The Have and The Have Not. Anchor down, I hold my will to be. I am.

Ring

2024-04-17

Standing in the old ring, I remember the last fight. I lost but won in the loss. I could hear the corner scream, "Fight!" The rings came off, but I know they will be back on. Swollen face and bloody knuckles, I put on my collared shirt, Walked out of the ring, But left with you.

Moon

2024-04-12

As the Moon grows larger in the sky we start to fly. Lights trailing behind show the dying glow fading in a glass jar. I float between fragments of the Earth, breathing fleeting pockets of air. Following the luminescence of the moon, I hope to reach my destination soon.

Tacks

2024-04-09

My mask is held up with tacks, It hurts each time I put it on. Like the pictures from the past on the corkboard from a time long gone. Now my Polaroids stay black. Masking the moments of the past, I remember the photos, Hoping they develop, As I have not. I've grown tired of the tacks on this mask, Perhaps I'll fade to black.

Ashes

2024-04-07

Ghost ashes fly across the sky. Illuminating the above like fire flies, Showing all that has burned. A flaming sky with clouds of dust and decay. Charred remains still smolder along the horizon. I began to rethink my actions, Of what I had created.

Tired

2024-04-03

The tired old rhythm, An endless loop of lethargic success, Scattered between failures. Lying in my bed, wanting nothing but the symphony of departure to begin. I gain momentum and progress without ever noticing. Standing, I know there is nothing but me and the curtain's glow, As my soul fades below. They are drawn, but I am tired.

Fault

2024-04-02

The old Fault, A crack in my inner earth. The core is split with what was said. Kneeling with white cloth upon my knees, I feel the folded steel. My molten entrails spill out. Honor returned, The fault lines are mended.

Theater

2024-03-30

That evergreen theater, Sound is true, and stage ne'er withers. I was there lost and found, but I saw you. A show that eases the senses and excites the mind. The sands break through the hourglass, And the red curtains part. The screen lights and I am living a story that I see. Our exploits sent off to the world, And as the sand drops through the hourglass of time, I try to hide behind the curtain. Cloak and dagger, waiting for time.

Nothing

2024-03-28

Any one thing cannot be, Without having Nothing in between. The Void is empty without Presence. The horizon line is far. Perhaps it's not the end of the journey. It is the moment in between. Enjoy the push and pull, Of Nothing being filled and emptied.

Ridge

2024-03-25

A high ridge looks over the village, Hiding it from unknowing travelers. None of them knew what was to come. And walked absent. Light in foot. One day the ridge cracked and buried the village. No one knew about it. I awoke, shaking and sweating on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Knowing it was only descent from here on.

Fold

2024-03-25

Our Sun has reached a fold in space, A galactic doldrum. Taking the paper and folding it, I wrapped the note. The Sun drifted along the fold, Finding a new home in a different galaxy. Gone, orbiting in space alone, I bent the memories of time. It was my fault.

Polar

2024-03-24

Ride over, Lakes and mountains. Ride polar, Land of ice and snow. Till deserts and sand and say "I always knew." She said "What's that?" I questioned "Forever." She said. The oldest absolute, no end. In the middle of a frozen lake, nothing. But with the sound of the ice breaking, the separating has begun. It has all been opposite as polar as it could be.

Lost

2024-03-18

Underneath the ice I've become lost. I tried to find the hole I fell through but found nothing and drowned. I awoke upon the ice, the snow had covered most of me. And the walrus spoke and said, "You are not lost. You are the compass."

Flame

2024-03-18

The Flame comes around once in a while, To burn away the brush, and reveal the ancient creation beneath. As Nero, I stand holding a fiddle with no strings, Playing as it all burns down The highest tower remains, a single flame at its steeple. And as embers fall I play a symphony for all that have come and gone.

Feather

2024-03-16

Each morning on the stoop, There lies a single feather. My grandfather would pick each up, And mutter, "flying home." Then he would unscrew the light bulbs and crush them in the sink. Screaming about the CIA. Eventually he had enough feathers to build wings. But like Icarus, he flew too high. Burning down like Nero's violin.

Free

2024-03-15

Those who run first ride free. But most fall. It is an avalanche of pride and envy to push the pack behind. Those without control are not free. Constrained by the limits of habit. But controlled chaos finds the abyss and wanders yonder. Stepping through a doorway that they might step out of.

Glass

2024-03-14

I know there is someone beyond the glass. Watching as I type away words I've forgotten. For tomorrow, I say I'm sorry I'm not what I said I would be. The ceilings of our homes are glass. Rainy days bring sweet privacy. Alone, I draw the curtains. As everyone around me shatters.

Gutter

2024-03-12

Find my life's work written in the gutter of an old battered tome Many people have tried to find the grave. It's in the streets in tatters and opus gone. The fire in those words dampened by molded pages that once held tight. I saw you lurching in the light. Of the fire in the night. Ripping the words from the bind. Looking for an ember. For the gutter once held fire, That once burned bright.

Road

2024-03-12

The path is too clear. Might be drifters in the sand. I feel the absolute near. I walk the old road rather than the path that they said. A crack sounded from afar. The ruined car near me began to shatter. Flakes of hot metal pelt my skin. And in the moment of uncertainty it was death or continuing down the road. I walked the road.

False

2024-03-12

A false construction, Of lies and pretense, You piled at the altar, Show me nothing but time wasted. There lies bitterness for your hoaxes and excuses. You stood in the water with arms crossed, and said, "I want action, not words." At that moment, I knew the ship was sinking.

Night

2024-03-11

If I have a late night, The next night's not so great. I find myself pacing the halls or in front of a mirror. Thinking. I would beam myself out to a place no one will ever see. To the stars and galaxies, that are not yet named. Bury me deep and let me go.

Just

2024-03-11

Taking the light from the mind, Is not just. He sat in the dark awake but unwanting Locked inside himself. All they see is a shell of what once was. But if only they excavated they would find more. It's just work.

Hungry

2024-03-10

As I find success, I still feel hunger Searching for the great under. As I find you in barbed wire and undergrove. Time we go above. Emergence is no small feat. Along the way the caves swallow up. All the grey and the dreams. Find me here with a tomahawk. I'm hungry.

Hand

2024-03-10

A feeble hand beckons me. I can't follow but I can't resist. She asked what I drink. I don't drink. But she hands me a glass. Reckonings pass. I kiss her and down the glass. "One more," I heard myself. Say.

Eye

2024-03-10

It was once a small star, then it was another moon. Pretty soon it was a planetary eye. Covering the sky. I saw this in only a blink from you. I dread the nightmare returns. Becoming the beginning and end. From the galaxy to a grain of sand. To be soon forgotten.

Yonder

2024-03-06

Dead yonder I couldn't quite see Your glowing eyes looking at me One day, you may see me And I might see you. But all I do is wander. And all I see is yonder. To the trees to the bottom of my feet, Lett me walk and go.

Alley

2024-02-21

Stick to the alleys you know. You won't find me around, Because too many Struck out swinging out there. I lost my fight, But I stood back up. Head down, hands up, Tally them up.

Ghost

2024-02-15

A ghost moans mid-evening, Never well. I remember morning and night, Asking for a spell. The banshee wails, loosening my grip on reality. And I relapse, To the rock and the stone, Bestowed with a bullet, Or drowned in the water like me.

Gold

2024-02-06

My body is corroded metal, But Gold will never rust. The days and nights panning for fool's gold shows me, Trust is lived on a knife's edge, And true trust travels the blade. The arm corrodes the knife. It turns to, Dull, brittle, Pitted mass, And as the time has mulled over the edge, Dulling the moment, I find myself in harm's way, Of the Golden touch of memory.

Window

2024-01-31

There was no light in the window. The curtains are drawn. I sit and wonder with the knife, "Do I still have the fight?" The window now speckled with the blue-grey shimmer of dawn, And with a whimper, I made it through another night, And maybe I might, See the light in this Abyss.

Everyday

2024-01-30

All day, everyday, A waterfall runs off a dust cliff And I stand below trying, to catch the ashes of what once was. The mist turns the ash on my face to mud. And I stay and pray, That one day, It will be like the first day.

Flow

2024-01-26

I floated like an anchor. "The Grand Salmon has you in its sights." The wild grass blows South and North. An arrow seeps through stone arches, And I march forward.

Time

2024-01-25

Time sits on a camel's hump. The stone's throw of an owl's eye. A kind gesture from a bear's claw. Be kind to the flow.