Protest

Clutched, I find our picket signs are
Painted hearts on wicked minds
Graffiti love–this sleepless town
A neon drug with wired sounds
The weak, the few, the scattered are
The warriors of tomorrow’s coup
Indifference: the enemy
The power: us. The weapon: you.
The cause is what we make of it
With future eyes’ unsilenced gaze
Across the codes we write of love
Across the viruses of hate
We pen a history to come
A melody as yet unsung
And cast our vote beneath the sheets
Of being free–of being we

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Tale of the Vanishing Artist

His footsteps, once upon a time
Struck soundly on the paved walk
In steady, even beats they rang
Into the crowded streets they sang
A chorus of ambitious thought
They did before, but now do not

His fingers, once upon a time
Performed their craft for crowded rooms
To raise the spirits of the saints
And soothe the souls of those who faint
A glimpse of hope to them impart
They did before, but now do not

His eyes, oh, once upon a time
Were brilliant blue and spoke the truth
Believing in a better plight
Believing they could set things right
Without the fear of falling short
They did before, but now do not

For once upon a time, it seems
He vanished into nouns and verbs
And faded into distant dreams
To still be seen but never heard
His soul translated into rhyme
His heart converted into poem
No more to walk among the world
But now, at last, at rest–at home

Dim Perfection

Autumn ushers overcast reflections
Flannel wraps and woolen hats betray the frailty of
Skin and bones in all our dim perfection
Knit together, fit and clever, better made for love
Harvest sprinkles carpet leaves for winter
Tuck us in our crafted dens like hibernating bears
Bring us dreams to compliment the weather
Sleepy eyes for stormy skies ’till I can meet you there

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”