David Michael Jackson Just a quest,
wasn’t it?
We were caught,
it seems,
in that painting which
captured the moment,
in that touch of the hand,
that kiss, yes surely in that
kiss.
The moonlight has become passe’
it seems.
Vanity.
All the summer nights were
there in the touch of
a tiny hand.
Oh the folly of destiny
***
I am poison.
Alcohol, turbulence, anxiety
and self doubt, burning my soul
for decades.
Taking life hard
and making it harder.
She is love.
Natural in beauty and peace,
her essence effortlessly defines
her life.
She is hummingbirds and
butterflies.
And she is a savior, thirty
years in the making.
My shell has been cracked and
her love has seeped in, allowing
for hope, happiness and inspiration.
Precious gifts so long overlooked.
The power of gentle beauty,
underestimated, is delicately expressed.
Hummingbirds and butterflies.
***
Cremation is all that is left,
now, while I’m alive.
Enlightened flame stripping away flesh
and pretense, fear and doubt,
leaving only the essence, pure spirit.
A seed from which a true life can begin;
an existence pure in intent, raw,
reverently approaching
peace of mind.
Self help, mysticism, religion, reflection;
well intentioned and disappointing.
Decades passing through a maze of
false starts and beliefs questioned.
Rich irony in discovering that each
wrong turn adds another layer;
the seeking smothers the soul
in an attempt to reveal it.
My intentions are shattered and
the clock moves too fast.
Ignite the flame, an inferno
to rival confusion’s intensity.
Melt away all misconception;
introduce me to my soul
Hope Invades by Joe Testa
Hope crept into my head
like an assassin,
slipping past walls a
lifetime in the making.
Taking root in barren ground
it began to work its magic;
delicately, subtlety, like pebble ripples
in a pond, nudging stubborn despair.
I understood the implication intuitively,
although the language was foreign to me.
Suddenly a clock was time bomb ticking,
challenging me towards fulfillment; better
than measuring wasted existence as it once had.
Uncertainty wrapped itself around the feeling
as new directions are always blind,
but there was no fear,
and I reveled in its absence.
Hope comforted me like a lover
and I gave in, offering naked trust in
return for the promise of a life
lived passionately.
***
I was once a squirrel poem
and I ran halfway up the tree
before
pausing to notice your
look
pausing to remember your
greeting
your
voice
calling
calling to me
It is your beauty which is truth,
It is your faith which is hope,
your peace which is karma.
And the ships still sail
the deep blue sea
and the world never noticed
you are gone.
And the trains still roll on
tracks of steel
and no one ever noticed at all,
but, oh the difference
oh the difference,
oh the difference
to
me.
***
Emptiness from a belief
Strangled by its own cord
Proud to let it go
So alone
New roads heal past wounds
Set me free to find the love I need
Stop the Lies, Stop the Lies, Stop the Lies
Boundaries set, values upheld
Tightrope dangles by a thread
Wishing away the pain I flee
From hunger, within me
Set me free to find the love I need
Stop the Lies, Stop the Lies, Stop the Lies
Hate seethes
Evil mind controls me
Die bastard die
Your blood creeping in my veins
Ecstacy on the wind
Heal the walls of resentment sewn within
Evil eyes bestow on me
Bleeding too I still love you
Stop the Lies, Stop the Lies, Stop the Lies
***