Every night I look into the mirror and see a person I don't recognize.
She has short brown hair, jelled down, and brushed in her face that covers one eye.
Brown eyes of pain and sorrow, a beautiful soul, her soul is like a light slowly fading away.
Her thoughts of the past, and her hopes, and wishes for the future to be bright.
But she is hurt inside, torn apart, confused, disarray.
Everything she does is wrong in the eyes of people, especially her own.
In the eyes of the Mother and Brother she is brave invincible.

One day in my life that never should have happened.
The pain and sadness that rushed through my body when I heard the first tear drop.
Seeing my Mother cry, seeing the tears fall, and hearing the silence that follows it all.
Remembering the good times, remembering the fight and losing the war.
I know that you will always be with me in everything I do, but I still wish you were here with me to.
Looking into your bed and seeing you made me drop down and cry, seeing you still in my mind.
The weight you lost was too much.

These amputees you see
Along the streets of Freetown
Made their choices to stay alive
When the rebels asked them
To choose between the two
Long or short sleeves
And they cut off their hands
Accordingly
The wrist for a long
And elbow for a short
When Ben encountered them
He refused to select any sleeve
They tied him up
And cut off both his wrists
He begged them to kill him
Instead of being a burden
They put him in the boot of a car
And burnt him alive

Crippled individual
dismal outlook on the day,
knows there's only false hope
to coerce him on his way.

Pencil selling blind man
tells himself it's work,
the good news is he's spared the sight
of rolling eyes, and each knowing smirk.

So very tired of their homeless plight
and their consuming inner gloom,
a puppy of extremely rare pedigree
is sold so they can pay for a room.

prechorus:
sleepless nights
my memories return to you
haunting me
every time a show is through

Ears still ringing
head still hurting as I lay in bed
from the crowd and all the singing
that keeps running through my sleepless head

Too many empty wasted years
of too many clubs and bars
and far too many shots and beers
in front of the drums and loud guitars

chorus:
sleepless nights
bloodshot eyes
rocking nights
exhausted days

What if i wanted to write poetry
and offered alms to the poet?

Give me a few words or give me
poetic death--
stasis is not a state of mind
nor the gist of things
like stingers on a scorpion
shaken from swaggering boots
of morning,

or a bumble bee,
neither
too yellow or too black
to carry its full weight;

forgive me for being where I'm
not wanted
or being who I am--
I'm an American Outlaw:
a stone's throw from
royalty and deeper than dirt
in my own shit

The importance of knowing something
as opposed to knowing nothing,
for sure,
imposes a quandary,
words are objects of adoration, sometimes
words bite back from the margins of the page.

Tawny lions in the Gia forest of India roar
the Barbary lion is extinct.

The expedition to the inner landscape changes,
thorny forests of poetry rip the skin.

I’ve found dark places in my mind
but I’ve seen the light there too.
You’ve been the light of my life
since the day I first met you.

You shine your light in my heart
so I’m never lost in the dark.
And I can just look at you
to see love's light shining through.

If you’ve dark places in your mind
I will do the same thing too.
And shine a light from my heart
of all of my love for you.

Decades have lapsed,
Down memory lane,
Do remember me
When I’m gone,
The sojourn was fraught
With love,
Lost loneliness
Yet twas worth our style
Remember me when I’m gone,
Twill be worth your while…

Memories sure are interminable
Love has always so been,
The finale is a matter ordained,
Come hold me,
Remember me for my good
Bad
Also
When we were happy
And sad

For times a fleeting passing phase,
Only memories do for ever remain,
In this brief life’s domain

kaleidescope histories
flutter like moth wings
the unwavering furnace of the filiment
shinning
dark shadows rippling across keen
and blurry edges
and that howl caught in the teeth of fear

windowframes and taunting blames
they dig enough to scar
like blemished hearts
near seashore haunts

and a cold wind comforts
tossling through the hair
of troubles

wink wave of diamond teeth
mirage smile
dexterity of your kindness
I close my eyes and count
the miles