Errant

Dancing at sundown
rising at dawn
Stopping to stare
at the flowers and fawns
Dressing up dapper
for your own amusement
Contemplate those things
that cause you bemusement
Roll down a hill
like you did when once young
Don't shy away
from what looks like great fun
Try to say yes
more then you say no
Find joy where you are
when you've nowhere to go
Pamper yourself
spoil a stranger
Try to see love as a gift
not a danger
The meaning of life
becomes more apparent
When you do the things
that others call errant

Refill

Pour out the pitcher
Shake out the dregs
Give your mind peace
Give your dreams legs

Rinse out the residue
Scrub the sides clean
Live as a pauper
Live as a queen

Let the air enter
Let the drips dry
Find depth in each day
Find love in each eye

Refill your vessel
Drink deeply with friends
Don't wait 'til tomorrow
Don't wait 'til the end

Swallowed

Swallowed up by the world
with a suck and a swirl
and a deluge that carries you down

You float through each day
drifting farther away
and your feet miss the give of the ground

Grabbing tight with your hand
what can help you to stand
and pretend you can feel the rich soil

Still those buzzes and beeps
take your time and your sleep
and your days seem to reek with the spoil

Swimming upstream is tough
but enough is enough
so you thrash 'til you break through the surface

On the shore you collapse
and your weary hand grasps
what you sought all along, your true purpose

The Love Within

In the name of love and charity
in rising solidarity
I wish now for the clarity
to see beyond disparity

In the name of sisters and of brothers
with the strength of fathers and of mothers
remove the hate that wants to smother
the joy of loving one another

In the name of wishes and of dreams
and the kindness sewing up the seams
we must listen to the haunting screams
if we wish to know what all this means

In the name of hands and hearts and heads
the laughs we've had and the tears we've shed
we must rebuke the lies we're fed
and seek the love within instead

Queen

Regality rings from each step
Though she was never crowned
Her face it brims with peace and joy
As if she’s never frowned

You feel her walk into a room
Although she’s unannounced
Her smiles burst like explosions
Her laugh is poised to pounce

Her arms fill in your empty spaces
When held in her embrace
Sometimes she stumbles publicly
Giving clumsiness a grace

She openly donates her tears
When yours don’t seem enough
She knows the things that need be said
Dispensing of the fluff

You know her eyes see so much more
Then she chooses to reveal
You know her heart has room to hold
The many that she’ll steal

Yes You Now

When you had those sweet moments all to yourself
what did your soul try to tell you today
The journey your mind took to its shagri-la
The sweet revelation you sent on its way

You said to yourself it was only a dream
Though blissful it seemed unbelievable
Your life couldn’t handle that much of a change
Twas a glory that seemed unachievable

Still now you can feel it inside of yourself
Don’t deny that it’s still ruminating
It grows deep within like a joy or a pain
A passion that’s real, unabating

So what’s wrong with grabbing it, use both your hands
March with it, see where it could take you
Ply it with work and effort and love
Try to see if those wishes can come true

You may not believe that it’s what you need most
So then why does it fill you with aching
What good does it do to just sit around
And ponder the chance you’re not taking

Follow me

Follow me said the sun
as it spread out its rays
and bathed me in light
so warm in its way

Follow me said the wind
as it threw back my hair
and blew away cobwebs
I ne'er knew were there

Follow me said the stream
as it twisted along
and the bubbles it made
sang an unyielding song

Follow me said the stars
as they twinkled above
hearing all of the wishes
I had e'er spoken of

Follow me said the moon
casting shadow and shine
fearing no darkness
not even mine

Follow me said my heart
dreams can fade oh so fast
you have to live life
if you want it to last

Facadic Bridges

We all have thoughts within our heads
that are wild and weird and loud
but we fear we would be judged and shunned
if we spoke our thoughts out loud

A fantasy or theory
that seems so very foreign
it surely would be met with looks
and words inciting torment

We are not sure if we believe
and yet they are recurring
but we dare not let it trickle out
lest others start inferring

A meaning or interpretation
read upon their faces
A horror they have gleaned from words
that represent just traces

A statement sought within your brain
that's aching to be born
Interpreted as hateful
as ignorance, as porn

Is the truth in their reactions
one that we cannot accept
or is the chasm that's between us
been deceitful of its depth

On this there's no authority
for your brain is your own
So we choose facadic bridges
rather then face life alone

Perfect

You are not perfect and why should you be
but more importantly why would you be
who was it that told you that it was expected
Someone you know whose shortcomings projected
A movie you saw, or a hot TV show
do they decide or do they just know
Life is more fun when we are unique
it adds something more charisma, mystique
Be bold in your differences, show them with pride
Let all the hidden things in you outside
Leave people gasping, let their mouths hang
Try not to tiptoe, come in with a bang
Redefine beauty with your joyful spirit
Sing your song loud so everyone hears it

Warrior Woman

The warrior woman emerges each day
stepping her toes to the line
armed with a heart that is open and free
and a wisdom that reaches through time
She never attacks but stonelike she stands
advancing with boldly made steps
She leaves her impression in day dreams and smiles
fueled by the tears she has wept
She loves unabashedly, helps with abandon
and heals with uncowering spirit
Her words work like magic on souls once thought lost
with a truth for those willing to hear it
Queen, witch, or sorceress she pays no mind
to the names that so many have called her
She knows who she is and what she must do
no matter what fate may befall her

Just Words

I fasten new meaning to innocent words
the things that they said aren't the things that I heard
my mind seems intent on hostile derivation
assuming the worst without hesitation
a drop of sarcasm a smidgen of spite
a simply spoke syllable didn't sound right
contemptuous consonants, volatile vowels
I feel the fury boil up from my bowels
the obvious judgement that sits on their face
oh how I long to put them in their place
the smiles fade too quickly becoming a smirk
it takes a saint to hold back from these jerks
just as my spine is shored up for attack
I breathe for a moment and take a step back
despite the sincerity they have or have not
what lured me to this trap in which I've been caught?
the impact imagined, the ire misplaced
they don't get to choose if I will be disgraced
I am the owner of these very ears
I am the curator of what sounds they hear
so I block out the angry the rude and absurd
and all that remains are quite simply just words

The Work of Art

A head holds words as can a page
Of any color and any age
A galaxy or grain of sand
A cannon or a shaky hand
But with these worlds come other thoughts
of times we blushed and times we fought
When devastation was our flavor
be it choked upon or swished and savored
So then blue skies become monsoons
and manors become tiny rooms
much like the dust upon our shelves
the walls that stand we built ourselves
Time now to lay askew the stones
that snare our souls and bind our bones
Our minds are meant to drift and soar
not fester chained to others bore
We've suffered sin and forged our follies
Faked our smiles through others jollies
but now we heal through reckoning
the truth in you is beckoning
so find the art that lives inside
and tell us why you've smiled or cried
it's not a burden you must hold
release and let your wings unfold

Becoming

The mask has slipped
The covering torn
so tightly gripped
so avidly worn
but then a breeze
a patch of light
it's shed with ease
no more a fight
The costume falls
the bareness felt
A new form calls
No clasp no belt
Free and flowing
Wild and strong
A look of knowing
A magic song
A step toward power
So unashamed
Feel them glower
then step again

Solace

Crawl into my arms
Safe from all the others
Hidden from the harm
Just forget how life can smother
Bring me all your tears
I'll wipe them from your eyes
The guilt, regret, and fear
that leaves you paralyzed
I'll hold you close to me
til all the tears have cried
and search then for the you
that has languished deep inside

The Waking Day

As the sky glows a light blue from its bottom
a new day comes
Not promised and yet it comes gloriously
The darkness dissipates inch by inch
A lone star shines proudly, still open for wishes
I realize there is no dread or worry in this moment
A once rare gift this feeling
Hope, as bright as that star
Happiness, as rich as the blue transitioning the night to dawn
It brandishes itself on the precipice of the day
Dancing on the wire that connects fleeting time and new purpose
Pushing me to make new promises
the ones I could never keep before

Blossom

Bloom my darlings
burst forth your colors
reveal your offerings to the world
Spread you fragrance far and wide
Mystify them with its richness
satiate them with its graceful presence
Translate the miracle of sun and rain
reassure them of the benefits of both
Show them the beauty that dirt can produce
Dance lightly in the breezes
and furiously in the storms
Prove to them the possibility of survival
through all things
Sleep if you must when the cold and darkness
come again
But when spring returns to you
Don't be afraid to blossom

Crush

My being gives a poetry, to your once artless world
Somehow just by knowing me your oyster now bears pearls
The thoughts of me that plague you have become your silver lining
You drift 'twixt life and daydreams, a victim to your pining
My words sit heavy in your mind, translated and decoded
Yet if the meaning spelled itself you still don't feel you'd know it
My nature unpredictable, as often is the weather
So lost in me you shall remain for now, perhaps forever

Fragmented

I'm not used to this,
the feeling of an open wound
hemorrhaging and yearning for unguent calm
The feeling of a mannequin left naked in a main street window
The sagging wallpaper threatening to fall and expose my scribbles of madness
to a room full of prim and pomp
The heat leaves me writhing my clothes
The anxiety no longer needs this costume
The stray hair loosened from my meticulous bun,
savagely hanging, mocking
My sweet smile and tight neck challenge one another
The spreading pink hue of realization
emblazoned on my neck and chest
The betrayal of it all sinks deep inside

"Is anyone else warm?" has various meanings right now

'Can anyone else admit that playing a role for the sake of being liked and accepted is absolute fuckery and an abhorrent deviation of human nature?'
The wallpaper holds much more effectively then my tongue despite it's age, and mine.
I slip, I expose to them a true taste of who I really am.

The gasps are amusing, the sudden exodus a hilarity. The remaining solitude is golden.

Just the evening shadows and I, the way the universe intended.

Lost and Found

A redundantly spent friday evening
as common as it’s boring
Just as I was set to leaving
a timeless love found snoring

An envelope sealed with a kiss
found lodged inside a wall
So sad to see this moment missed
a love unknown by all

A heart unfurled and waving proud
upon these yellow pages
A love that longed to live out loud
once lost amongst the ages

It spoke of lofty aspirations
of daydreams and of truth
Alas the senders inspirations
abandoned in this booth

A tale of times now long since passed
things proper and forbidden
Tumultuous and overcast
the pain had overridden

A heart can hope for happy ends
the mind sadly knows better
The marked sentiment one sends
within a farewell letter

Tradition part 3

Here is Part 1 if you haven't read it yet!

And Here is part 2!


When I awoke, I felt restored in spite of my wounds, and a feeling of lightness spread over me. I was free. My duty had been done and was successful. I even laughed out loud with a sort of giddiness that made me feel a little uncomfortable after it was over. I exited the cave and found my bag and coverings behind the rock where I had left them. My love’s remains were gone, I had hoped to perhaps bury them, but a part of me wondered if it wasn’t some trick of the beast that had materialized her in the first place. I donned my gear and began my journey back. It was still morning, and there was a bright sun that shone with a warmth that had been absent the day before. The forest sang with life, and the sound of drops from the melting snow played a sort of music to accompany my walk.

I stopped halfway through and ate the remaining third of my meal from the previous day. I relived my triumph with each bite. Once I was finished and refilled with pride, I carried on. As the sinking sun dropped purple curtain across the sky, I reached the cabin and was greeted with a raucous noise. The celebration which had been hesitantly waiting to begin exploded upon my arrival. The joy on their faces reflected my own and some even surpassed it. There were copious amounts of food, music, and dancing. I even saw some mothers clutching their young sons and crying.

One of the elders who had trained me sidled up to me when things had quieted a bit and asked how it had gone. I relayed my story, leaving out the presence of my dream girl. He smiled proudly and clapped me on the back, but I could see a disappointment in his eyes. I asked what troubled him, and he simply said, “Do not despair. Just promise you will help train the next appointee.” “Of course!” I replied. He simply nodded his head and moved off to talk to some other revelers. I was then swept off to a warm bath in the cottage. As the layers from my journey dissolved into the bath, I watched the water, dirt and blood combine into a color not unlike the beast. I shuddered within, and despite the shedding of my travels in this tub I knew that I would not get over this experience quickly.

An older woman brought me to the backyard near the fire to rinse off the residue of the bath. As she dumped the warm water over my head, it rained over me like a wave of comfort. The warm feeling spread, and I bowed my head to let it wash over me. I watched the ground as she poured the third and final bucket over me and saw the remnants of the cave forming a swirl within the puddles of water that had formed. Then I noticed a glob no larger than a bubble, and perhaps it was a bubble after all, but it seemed more solid then that. I was fully shivering now, not because of the cold air, but because the idea of bringing any piece of that beast back with me seemed like a betrayal of reality.

The woman wrapped a warm blanket around me and led me inside. I sat thinking of the bubble and realized that I had not defeated the monster at all. I had only killed it. I had killed it and then given it the means to return. My blood was all over that cave, moist and red. This was the vehicle it needed to return. I was its new creator. It was then that I realized my true role, that I was a part of a cycle now, a cycle that brought nightmares, pain, and despair; a cycle that resulted in the heroes and their victories becoming fodder for the next revolution to progress. An ever rolling wheel that turns flesh to dust, then mud, then flesh again.