The cliff is stalwart

Strong granite glowing at sunset

And the sea covets the beauty

The unchanging strength

That rises up over the highest waves

And so the waters flatter it

Roaring of its greatness

With wave after wave

It presses against its surface

Desiring to be it’s equal

But the rock resists

As year after year

Sea pounds away

Until rock crumbles

And is consumed

Beneath the water’s surface

Lost to oblivion

While the sea seeks

A new love to wear away

hope is a rising tide
that is flooding through my mind
a cleansing wash of waters
sweeping away the filth
of unworthy thoughts
of aimless gutter guilt
and dragging it out to sea
where it might stay forever
if i can learn to hem in this ocean
and keep it forever high

It’s 3 a.m.

And i cannot sleep

So I’m writing poetry

In my head, in my bed

That will be lost to memory

Fragments like papyrus

Scattered in the caves of my mind

To be reconstructed perhaps

Or to vanish in the storms of time

It’s 3 a.m.

And i cannot sleep

So i will build worlds

And i will tear them down

Until darkness finds me again

I see art

In the dark

And the absence

That hints at longing

And a desire

To be filled

In the craving

Of a thing deserved

Of a thing wanted

And the knowledge

Of a light somewhere else

That we would consume entirely

If we could wrap our mouths

Around it

There upon the commode he sat
Deep in thought whilst he
Considered the world about him
How the flowers were blooming
Near the place where he did sit
And all the air nearby smelled of
The good black earth and life
He could see it through the window glass
As he stood and strained to wipe his
Eyes which brimmed with tears
At the beauty of it all
Until finally he flushed
Red with anticipation
Of the day’s prospects
Feeling lighter for the effort.

Some wounds

Take longer to heal

Than other wounds

But given time

But given care

They do heal

And the mark that’s left

Reminds us

That pain can pass

It’s been a long, dark sleep

But something warm awakens

Stirring us toward newness

And a path left untrod

That wants clearing

And bright new steps

To clear the way ahead

Once more.

I am a jealous god

Hiding in the shadows

Ensuring creation accords

To my great will

Seeking the best for myself

Assuming it’s the best

For all else

remember
there were times
of lying in the grass
fresh and sweet
with morning dew
and the smell of the rich earth
cradled us like an embrace
as sun’s light slanted
east to west
across your face
while far off
laughter rung
like silver bells
hanging from the trees
mixed with bird-song
to announce the morningtide
and quicken our hearts
as if we had never woken before
and all was new and bright;

why would one
ever make the mistake
of rising up
to enter the day?

but such is life
this length of time,
a stretch of catastrophe
strung with beauty;
a stretch of beauty
strung with catastrophe
depending on where you lie

so i choose beauty
and grab hold of it
like a drowning man
grasps a far-flung rope
pulling himself
onto a doomed ship
for the sake of a few
extra moments
to watch the tempest
framed in lightning
and stand in awe
of the fact that life
is even a thing
to stand in awe of

Everything falls

No matter the peaks we climb

Small things knock us to the valleys

Small people with dangerous dreams

Until the climb stops

And we welcome the covering moss

That takes nourishment from our flesh