Too many leagues have felt the beat
of my old and tiring heart
as well as worn boots on my feet
since this journey's distant start.

Woods once open now are deep
with shadows, not sun, now the rule;
brambles replaced by vines' creep,
warmth giving way to ceaseless cool.

Since I topped last mountain side
where sun shone on the western slope
here on the north shadows abide
moss, ferns and mushrooms barely cope.

Tattoos
piercings
mere expressions

helping
the challenged
a humble act

fine art
does not need
a signature

The flowing deluge
has rained down upon my soul.
the sky’s again blue

everything has its way of crying out
for attention
and need often has the most
ingenious expressions

like the vibrant coloring of flowers
attracts bees to pollen
we, too, rely on design and fashion

like hungry kittens
we sing our arias
and then crave and market
mass euphoria

every modern endeavor
finds it genesis in nature
but will our ambition
make us a non-sustainable sort of creature?

the gift of desperation
may also be our downfall

The clatter and the crossing,
define the schism of two opponents,
the clanging of their swords,
swish to rhythmic beats of the drum, gong and bass,
it's a graceful dance,
a fantasy trace,
The swerve and verve,
The essence and effervescence.

Sword play,
one unmatched even in arm to arm combat,
The fate of the swordsman,
The fame of the sword,
Blood trickles,
Tears are shed,
Sweat drips,
theatrics delight to the eyes.

breaking creates noise
is mending fences unwise
youth is in turmoil

Ubiquitous assignation of guilt
Targeted persons accused of treason
No remorse for the innocent blood spilt
Knee jerk rule devoid of rhyme or reason

Coddling potent criminal elements
Constant monitoring of victim’s kin
To try and prevent the truth issuance
Relentless actions convict the vermin

after years
of being together
sometimes you the pot
sometimes me the wheel

our love
baked
like choice
ceramics

held liquid
and soft love
and hot boiling chemistry
cooling to taste
with each of our lips
blowing

I did not expect
for us
to be dropped
upon the floor
a million jagged pieces

now my heart
is a kaleidoscope
of broken clay
and I think yours, too

(and some of our pieces
have made it into
each other’s pile)

sitting by the riverside
bordering summer and fall
I listened to the lyrics
of the river song

I saw the autumn leaves
bursting in shades and hues
some of joyous mood
some on tenterhooks

on this side of the shore
the grass was greening out
other side though wore
a sort of sulky pout

soon I saw some leaves
leaving their home
sailing through the stream
they were on their own

I wondered if they wrote
lyrics of the songs
on strings of gentle breeze
the river was streaming out

The elites have failed us he admonished
Rightly stating the crux of the problem
But his own record was also tarnished
Being for eight years the elite emblem

Ignoring massacre violations
Of allied regimes, yet giving them aid
While victims not supplied even rations
Nobel Peace prize prematurely outlaid