Every

Every day

Every morning

Every afternoon

Every evening

Every night

Every dream

Every nightmare

Every thought

Every action

Choice

Circumstance

Consequence

is ours

What will 

you make 

of it?

Summer Rain

Rain falling in darkness

A flash through the trees

A distant rumbling

Trembling

Bad Business

Night crept into my blood
Overwhelmed me
Woke up wondering
where my memories
had gone

The Fear

There was fear in all our hearts when the lights went out
Darkness fell and stayed with us for days weeks months
that we no longer knew if light would ever return to us
We adjusted to the absence of light as best we could
Many nights or at least I assumed were nights were rest
less I could only sleep in fits and bursts Uninterrupted
rest was something that felt as much a fading memory
as the Sun at high noon Heat too became rarer with the
passing of time Every day felt colder When the rains
began to fall it felt as though chilled liquid glass were
pelting the world What had we done to deserve a cold
world without light We became sicker more often and
crops began to wither and die Our people began to die
in greater numbers and we were no closer to knowing
the cause of this profound absence One day while in
the brief arms of rest I was startled awake by a young
boy who began running through the camp yelling for
everyone to look up Heads began to turn upward to
the towering darkness that had been lording over us
In the distant horizon light began to emerge piercing
through this night It grew more and more powerful
until at last the sky was filled by nothing but light

First Day of Summer

A beer and a whiskey
followed by a bummed cigarette
Slow pulls off all of them
Voices from the television
as the game goes into the last inning
and the batter is at a full count
Hoping the other team
won't make it's comeback complete
Ball connects to bat
and is driven deep to right field
A glove catches it
and the game is over
Dave and Moni are dating now
Couldn't be happier for them
Another beer
Another whiskey
My life coming back to me
Memories flooding
overwhelming me
I put out the cigarette
in an empty cup
A new cold bottle
reaches my lips
Old familiar places
I've been trying to leave
Here I am again
Keeping the world at bay
Trying to keep going
long enough to change things
waiting for sunrise
on the first day of summer

As The Sun Rises

I have no desire
to rise with the dawn
merely to find myself
content and next to you
To fill our world
with warmth
and peace
This
Only this
Forever this

Night and Morning 3/23/18 - 3/24/18

I saw the dawn in your eyes
And rose within you
Sweet morning dew
Taste of lips touching

Don't trust a word from me
My heart is a mercenary
and you're my next kill

Your soft kiss
Our soft kiss
Our lips saying
Hello
A pleasant
introduction

The nightmare became reality
as I held on to your hand
Your flesh withered
and your bones turned to dust
Standing here inconsolable
Wind blowing dust into me
All flesh is fleeting
All dreams are wind
All hope floating on air
All rain/tears falling from the sky

I want my body inside of you

The flies and the angels
feeding on the same bodies

Everything is dream and memory

Pouring rain washing the filth into the sewers
out into the ocean out into the vast expanse
between continents and men

Everything changes
Everything becomes something else
Everyone changes
Everyone becomes someone else

falling down endless stairs
bruising flesh and bone
steps upon steps upon steps

King of Light
Queen of Night
or is it the other way?

Listening to someone else's grief
Not knowing what to do
Listen listen listen
in the darkness of the room
in the light of morning
Listen listen listen
Grief coming in waves
Soaking your spirit to the marrow

You reach for the darkness and it touches your hand

Omnipotent God
Unable to save his son from sacrifice
Our sins forgiven
Couldn't he have done so anyway
Blood for sin
Innocence given to wind

I was reborn when I died
I was reborn when you left
I was reborn when my blood dripped on the dirt

A pool of blood
Life poured out
Light gleaming upon it

Starlight

Staring into starlight dotting the darkness
Cool grass cushioning my back
A point of light streaks across and disappears
I close my eyes and make a wish
Starlight watching me
Starlight holding me
Starlight
Starlight
watching over me

Dear One

it's getting late
and I'm listening
to Leonard Cohen
he keeps me company
as the night deepens
and darkens
why do I call on you
only because it was
you who brought
his voice to me
somewhere in
this darkness
you are there
and I wonder
if he's keeping
you company
as well

I woke up with the melody in mind
and the words were already singing through me
Beautiful words still hold me warm
These cold nights thinking of other days

Convergence

Heat of summer nights

Daylight trapped within walls

All plans laid undone

Dark waves rolling in 

Still shores at rest

Breathing quietly

Where does the darkness

of sky and ocean converge

Unified into a point

far beyond the horizon

Looking and looking

Finding no answer

Summer Has Yet to Fade

The fan has been whirring all night
All we can talk about is the heat
Windows wide open
Fan oscillating back and forth
Summer heat has yet to yield
to cooler days of approaching autumn
You drink and you drink
and it doesn't matter what you drink
your body continues to sweat and thirst
Some miles away a fire consumes
swaths of land as if collecting
on a debt that had yet to be paid
Some will ask
Why me
Why us
The better thing to wonder is
Why us
Why not
Dawn has broken
and the relentless sun
is readying itself
once more

Even this night will fade
Even this sun will rise

Late Night Call

Calling me from my room
I get out of bed
and get into my car
I begin driving
through the night
Passing easily through
empty streets
Mile by mile until
the land opens up to
the black sea
flanking my left
At least I come to rest
With windows rolled down
I begin to listen
to the waters calling
Night after night
my blood is drawn
to this shore
I listen as if it were
the only sound
worth listening to
in this life

Even the darkness fades away

I rise and listen to
the voice of the world
calling forth
Our heartbreak
transmuted into some
thing greater than
the darkness
clouding the mind

I won't forget
being at your house
and deciding
we should take a late
night trip to the beach
Windows rolled down
the music merging
with the wind
Our voices going
back and forth

Taking you back home
Holding you
Telling you
I love you
Hoping enough of
the darkness has
been pulled away
from you

This morning
wondering
remembering
thinking of you
and all the time
that still remains

Found

It had been a long day and now he was home.
He made himself a sandwich and grabbed a
can of soda and sat by a window. It was night
as the hangnail moon shone down it's sliver of
light. A breeze as light as an exhale gently
touched the leaves of the trees. He took a bite
of the sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.
There was nowhere else to go. This was
where he needed to be. The crack the can of
soda made as he opened it cut the stillness
with it's metallic pop. The carbonation made
his throat burn ever slightly, he tried to avoid
drinking too much soda. His dad had told him
to not have too many when he was growing up.
Normally he would have put a record on to
listen to but not tonight. Tonight he allowed
the stillness of night in. It was so much more
peaceful here than growing up in the city.
He loved the city, he supposed he always would.
As he grew older he felt it to be a bit much.
As much as the city could bring people together
it could also foster a great sense of isolation
among people. Perhaps it was not the city
itself that caused the isolation, it was more the
result of the people living in it. The small town
he lived in was the kind of place he would have
avoided as a teenager or young man but now it
gave him comfort. He was no stranger to his
neighbors and the clerk at the general store knew
him by name. He took another bite of his sandwich
and let his mind empty for a moment. It was easier
for him to do this since he began living in the town.
The ability to slow thought down to a crawl was
never something he could afford to do in his old home.
Here it was not only possible but expected. What
good is a human mind that can not let itself be
empty from time to time? It would be summer soon.
The evenings would be a little warmer and humid
but no less pleasant. There would be nights when
he would put on his records and let the music
waft from his windows and into the calm night.
There would be nights when family and friends
from afar would visit and he would play host as
they marveled at the place he now called home.
They would wonder if he had gone mad or at
last found the thing they had all been looking for.

before the drive

Sitting in my car
looking through the windshield
flecked with rain 
resting on the glass
The world glimmers wetly
for a moment 
before I turn on the wipers
and see things as 
they are once more

If not for darkness
How would we know the dawn?

Listening

Finding himself unable to sleep he decided
to stay up as late as he could.
He opened his window and listened
to the still of night. At one point
he heard a sound that could have been
two people making love.
Listening to the world while others slept
he felt as though he had accidentally
stumbled into a great truth.
The greatness of this truth was quiet
and sought to bring no attention to itself.
It was content to simply be.
He began to yawn and feel fatigued
but he had no interest in sleeping.
He wished to sit in stillness
as the world around him dreamed
of things that would be forgotten
once the sun shone and life resumed.
The lateness of the hour burned into him
as he saw its red eyes raw and feral.
He decided to close his eyes and listen.
He listened and listened until at last
He listened to life in another world.

tied

to return from nothingness

night after night

this is our condition

morning daze

bright shining sun or

clouded over continents of gray

ever present wind coming in from the sea

water cannot stay still

continually crashes upon the shore

mind and body

together for as long

as the night holds the day