Things

It’s the little things
That tear us apart
Build us
From root to point of no return

It’s the simple things
We can never learn
Understand
From beginning to lack of concern

It’s the hardest thing
To be content
Aware
From innocence to slaves of time

Bliss

Singled out
Ah, the throng… the throng
So seductive it glows

Voices like echoes still ring
Church bells chiming

Praise of my peers
Riches that flow and flow
Ah, the show… this vain show

Even the stars call my name
Smiling down like ivory incisors
Waiting for prey

Yet through it all
A simpler call
The flutter of tiny wings
Raindrops clinging to petals
Rustling in a heap of nameless leaves
Not knowing
Not caring
Not trying

Being

The Plunge

A sight for sore eyes
Tiptoeing around white picket fences
Follow the bounce in your step
Imagined serendipities

A figure of speech
Skin that resembles the waves
Swaying like an autumn breeze
Whispered sentimentalities

A symphony in motion
Tresses like droplets of free-run wine
Feral and uninhibited
Embodied sensualities

my pleasure

Let nothing distract
No one disrupt
Whether calamity or death
Insanity or a bet
Lessen my pleasure

Shed every barrier
Quell the memories scarier
Despite pushback or regret
Dangers beset
Threaten my pleasure

A barrage of questions
Claustrophobic dungeons
Lack of options or a safety net
Consequences I’ll never get
Taint my pleasure

Live a Little

Stay open and in awe of the wonders around you
Be vulnerable to ideas and beliefs that question yours

Take a chance and delve into emotions that make you uncomfortable
Step out of the lines you’ve drawn in your fixed ways

Understand that there is more than one way of viewing any situation
Everyone does not have to be wrong for your peace of mind

Challenge anything that doesn’t make sense to you
But also be willing to accept the choices people make

Try to create an atmosphere where differences can coexist
There are other things more important than people

seek

Seek truth
Every choice becomes simpler
Every road a little clearer

Seek love
Any hurt ceases to sting
Any failure is a lesson

Seek integrity
Whatever befalls, you will overcome
Whatever distorts, you will know

Seek freedom
From your old self that you’ve outgrown
From the fear of standing alone

3 aren’t enough

I wish we didn’t fear death
I wish we didn’t equate wealth with security
I wish we allowed ourselves to be wrong sometimes
I wish we trusted more and worried less
I wish we focused more on our similarities than differences
I wish we valued all life and not just our own
I wish we could stop doing things because they’re easy
I wish we could do away with all dogmas which segregate
I wish we practiced more kindness, instead of diplomacy
I wish we could learn from our failures and not be bitter
I wish we were not blinded by instant gratification and focused more on aspirations and ideals
I wish we could gracefully let go of things not meant for us
I wish we learned how to love without expecting
I wish we spent more time trying to be better people than being better than others

yours

You are unique.
Your standards are your own.
You are enough.
Your beliefs need no justification.
You are complete.
Your failures and disappointments don’t define you.
You deserve love.
Your flaws make you you.
You are not a slave to the past.
Your present is your creation.
You are broken, challenged, overcome, trying, hoping, living
Your path awaits

The Valley of Shadows

Where the light never reaches
Only faint sounds trickle through
Good company for overcast nights
Ramshackle meals by campfires
Slow-cooked to kill the boredom

A foreboding stream for water
Murky under the waning moon
As the pail sinks into the opaque soot
Forlorn sparks appear in ripples
Somewhere a hyena laughs

Worn reeds a pauper’s bedding
Ashen coals from the dying flame
Eyes close to caress the despair
The night settles like a frigid blanket
Narrow coffins await us there

vana

Silently it beckons
Strums of lyres and whispers
of sinister realms
Sprouting needles of desire
Tickling soles to explore

Foliage blinds the sun
Flickering lights of fireflies
and glowworms
Twinkling gems in the underbrush
Tugging the tails of moonbeams

The core a copy of the exterior
Shades of black and silver
Blurring the lines of before and now
Leaving no trace