Where We Are Bound

We’re born without fetters
until we comply
with society’s lie
that people have betters

if we can just nurture
a new way to be
that’s prejudice free
oh, what a future.

Vultures

What hatches as a noble cause
can terrorize the plain
when over-zealous beak and claws
are used for selfish gain.

Piece

I was resting for a minute between shows
and hoping that this theater won’t close
for every new admission
makes me relish my decision
to make this life a reason to compose

so if you can’t be happy don’t be sad
and thank The Lord for ills you’ve never had
you can’t approach creation
in a state of indignation
for you’ll only wind up sounding slightly mad.

I’ll wait to feel the scrutiny once more
reprising all the roles I’ve played before
and though I’m quite uncertain
when they’ll finally drop the curtain
I hope someday to find the part that I’ve been looking for.

Movers & Shakers

A vagabond seeks virtue in the verity of vice
a millionaire makes money through the management of mice
a politician preys upon the people’s apathy
while music-makers mollify the masses mystically.

Ignition

If you keep the shutters closed
there’s no one else to blame
when others less composed
are fondling their fame
you shouldn’t be opposed
to entering the game
a wick must be exposed
for a candle to take flame.

Rakish

The leaves will fall
just like the tall
congenial types
that promise all
but always stall
while taking swipes
at those with gall
enough to call
for cleaner pipes.

Then snow will drop
just like the crop
of worthless tares
but it won’t stop
as spinners shop
for one whose stares
will help them hop
right to the top
where no one cares.

Instant Karma

Bubblegum is something I habitually chew
until it turns into a stringy blob of tasteless goo
then thoughtlessly I spit it out the window pa-too
and now I’m stuck with some else’s gobbed upon my shoe.

Sleeper

Don’t waste it on a tomb
where lost ambitions loom
it’s Summer’s final bloom

whose bittersweet perfume
should decorate a room,
don’t waste it on a tomb

an undeserved doom,
for nothing can illume
like Summer’s final bloom.

The coldness will consume
that fleeting floral boom
don’t waste it on a tomb

or angrily assume
the wonder of the womb
is Summer’s final bloom.

Deny December’s gloom
don’t waste it on a tomb
or hastily presume
it’s Summer’s final bloom.

Going to Bed Hungry

Last night I went to bed
with a poem in my head
and now it seems I cannot rest
until my muse is fed

so I’ll have a cup of brew
and see what I can do
concocting something to digest
whilst I begin to chew.

Abide

You’re my purpose and my passion 

and the future we can fashion 

will shame the greatest dynasties 

if we live by Love’s decrees.

Immediacy

In a flash I knew I loved you
and we started our affair
I was always thinking of you
with your long soft raven hair
and each day I’ve tried to show you
just how much I really care
because in a flash it could all be through
leaving nothing but despair.

Retouched

Assailed by autumn bluster
we joined the growing cluster
impatient to ride horses
that had long since lost their luster

to elemental forces
as smells from many sources
compelled our guts to clamor
for a taste of sinful courses.

What happened to the glamour
that made your heartbeat hammer
with such a giddy feeling
it could make a poet stammer?

The faded paint is peeling
each curly shred revealing
the looping ever after
that was once so damn appealing

but then I hear his laughter
refurbish every rafter
and suddenly the wonder
redefines a drab hereafter.

Subdued

I won’t forsake me
to join any club
I’ve labored to be
no, it’s not a snub

I’ll never disrupt
the almighty We
that tries to corrupt
the fatally free.

I won’t forsake me
so move right along
your chorus of glee
overpowers my song.

Chrysalis

Silk is softly soothing
and can easily dispel
the wrinkles that need smoothing
from the ever-pressing swell—

you mustn’t leave too soon
for you could shrivel up and die
but stay in that cocoon
and you’ll never learn to fly.