Tomorrow, Butterfly

On frail wings
Spectacles of memories
Perhaps well suited for the pin
To mount up in some gallery
Go sailing far beyond my reach
But I should never wish it so
That beauty on this grander scale
Be found confined
By greedy man
Or turn of hand
As time, life, and love demand

Tomorrow then, my butterfly
If winded currents sweep you so
I will not keep you
No, not for trophies
Not for thirst to see your colors
Freedom owes itself to us
Your gilded wings deserve release
The slightest touch
Might hurt so much
For something there so precious made
So, to the breeze, I send you off

Tomorrow then, my butterfly
Today may be a time unkind
The sunset speaks
Upon your fragile form so sweet
Fluttering beyond my reach
But I can be
Content to know I held you close
And met you on this journey we
Were christened for
Before today was ever dreamed
Farewell, I hope you keep your wings

Advertisement

Adrift Alone

Adrift alone on open seas
At rest beneath a quiet sky
The depths below suspending me
As cloud parades go lazily
Across their stage adorned in white

No hint of earth or distant land
Has trespassed these horizon lines
My form reclines with open hands
Adjacent to this vast expanse
Emerging from my tired mind

I sense my body giving in
Against the pull of ancient tides
My restless soul, into the wind
Releases all it held within
The confines of this fragile life

Adrift alone on open seas
Beyond the reach of human shores
At peace, as once I longed to be
I sink into its melody
Content at last forevermore

For A Moment The World Does Not Exist

Float off inside the hum
Like a monotonous choir
Of a small mechanical device
Serenading me
I can feel at peace
As if the world does not exist
And I am not in it
But gone
Far away in some dimension
Where belonging is not a quest
And living is not a duty
For a moment I am unconcerned
With all the things that burdened these seconds
With life and love and sanctity
And I can just be
Me

A Solemn Reminder

Ashen remains lost to the wind
Traces of life now passed
Papers and symbols
Desk chairs and windows
Swallowed in flame

Pillars of hope crippled and broke
Giants we laid to rest
Faces of lovers
Children and mothers
Life without name

The enemy is elusive
Not a race or kind of people
We can hunt him or become him
We contain a kind of evil

The marks are ever present
On the surface of existence
The thoughts are evanescent
How the meanings tend to twist us

Innocence stained deep in our minds
Faith painted violently
Cultures and visions
Choice and decisions
Driving our fate

Ashen remains lost to the wind
Ghost of our history
Flickering embers
Gift of September
Whispers of hate

The enemy is elusive
Not a race or kind of people
We can hunt him or become him
We contain a kind of evil

The enduring testimony
Of a shattered false perception
We are living in the moment
Every life a fragile lesson

Are these numbers a reminder
I can choose my moves and errors
To be braver and be kinder
Or incite a certain terror

Are these numbers a reminder
We can all affect each other
To see hatred in the faces
Or embrace ourselves as brothers

Distant Relation

Dive
Dive
Shake
Strike through the heart
Shatter the veil and proceed
Miniature
Lives on vast ocean
Scattered amidst the world they believe
Branches
Asphalt and pine
Twisted together
Acres of lights
Parcels of heather
Tiny, like the circuits
In some massive machine
Blinking at me
Winking at me?
Somewhere within
Life
Death
Love
Sex
Fear
Pain
Hunger
Curiosity
Just like me
Fused
In some distant relation
Though some may doubt
Which situation
Spawned us all
Still all we are
Is bound
From here to the beyond
Fast flowing
Breakneck
Bloodstream enemy; alias; ally
That is I
Or we are us
Untouched, perhaps
But yet touched
Inside
And here
Now
Is that not validation
Indeed
We are relation

Vow Of Silence

If all the world would take a vow of silence
If all the mouths were stopped for just a day
If we could trade some stillness for our violence
And give a better thought to what we say
If all the world would hold their tongue a moment
If all the curses faded out in pause
If all the politicians and their rantings
Would take a second place to inner laws
I think it would be nice to pass unspeaking
And tilt a hat or smile as we greet
To listening to the birds in meditation
perhaps a day of quiet would be sweet
It seems to me that all the noise of language
And all the words we form will never do
To prove the truth of what we show in actions
To say, by way of living, “I love you”

Blustery

Rain on the window pane
Whispers secrets like a friend
How it saturated the stains
Until all the colors blend
Rhythms patter me to sleep
Like a flightless little bird
Snuggled safe beneath the leaves
In the foliage of dreams

Grey

I take comfort under grey skies
In the shadow of the storm
I feel better when the rain cries
And I don’t feel so alone
I would rather see the cloud line
Than to feel the heat of day
I am thankful for the sunshine
But I’d rather have the grey

For Rising

Look to the clouds
Leave the ground
Take your place above the earth

Nothing here can hold you down
You were made to take the wing

Enlist the breeze
Find release
Take your place above the earth

See your purpose from the air
Put your faith in better things

Just as the birds defy the dirt
And are not afraid to fall
You must climb beyond this hurt
You must move beyond these walls

Nothing here can hold you down
You were made to take the wing
See your purpose from the air
Place your faith in better things

Safe Asleep

She curls herself on the couch
The TV glow and blankets out
She’s had some trouble resting lately

Dreams of things she can’t recall
It doesn’t make much sense at all
Tomorrow will be better maybe

Lie beside her as she takes the better part of me
Because I give her all I have to keep her safe when she’s asleep
Sometimes I don’t think she even knows when I can see
But i’d give her all I have to keep her safe when she’s asleep

Mornings come too early now
Everyday there’s more to do
She wonders when it all will go away

Still she makes it through somehow
And sets aside the things she doubts
Now and then she takes some time to pray

Lie beside her as she takes the better part of me
Because I give her all I have to keep her safe when she’s asleep
Sometimes I don’t think she even knows when I can see
But i’d give her all I have to keep her safe when she’s asleep

I don’t think she understands the way I feel about her
I don’t think she knows how much I couldn’t live without her
I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t give to keep
All these things away so she is safe when she’s asleep

Lie beside her as she takes the better part of me
Because I give her all I have to keep her safe when she’s asleep
Sometimes I don’t think she even knows when I can see
But i’d give her all I have to keep her safe when she’s asleep

When Away

Taken for the thought of being far
Still asleep beneath the stars
Earth is not so very large
Not as big as, say, my heart

Spoken in the darkness for a thought
How my love for you is not
Regulated by the mile
But is free within my heart

They could fire you away into orbit
They could send you out beyond the galaxy
That could never ever change for a moment
That my love for you is bigger than these

When away
I will keep you here with me
In a way
You can never truly leave
When I say
That my love for you is strong
What I mean
Is that it’s everywhere you go

And I know that you can’t hear the things I say
Or see the lines I’m writing on this page
I know that you may wonder if I’ve changed
But I will always love you when away