What matters
A little girl’s giggleAnd her fits and tears A woman’s loveAnd her sadness and fears A friendship lostAnd returned through years A sense of integrityAlways being sincere Talking for hoursAnd just being here
(Parentheticals)
Every day (and each night)I wait and hope (and pray)That you are freed (and can be mine)And then I know (and fear)That once you areEverything will change (for better?)And we’ll have all we need (and want)Forever.
Cast a spell
I want to cast a spellTo release you from your bondsOr say a prayer for a miracleTo hold your body like a pietaNo words can set you freeNo matter which I chooseTo wax poetic and weave like magicExcept to give comfortWhile I wait, thy will be done.
Eulogy: Charlton Havard Lyons, Jr.
I'm so grateful that my grandfather is not alive to hear this eulogy. In the first place, he would find it wildly inappropriate that we eulogize him in advance of his death. And secondarily, he would likely write me an extensive missive offering abundant praise and stark criticism for the content, word choice and presentation…
Sight of you
Unshaven, UnkemptIn a plain white undershirtLost in a spreadsheet of manipulation and liesStrategizing to find a battleship that’s probably sailing around the grid instead of following the rules.And my heart still leaps and steals my voice at the first sight of you. Left smiling like an idiot child, dumb and mindless.
Couplets
If I wanted to trap youI’d build a web of lies. If I wanted to control youI’d keep you hynoptized: If I wanted you to chase me,I’d run serpentine. I just want to love you,And know that you are mine. You know the steps to every danceA woman could use to lure you in, And…
All the steps
Teach me to dance.You know all the stepsThe approach, the embraceAll the romance The patterns so easyAnd often repeatedBut I’ve never done thisIt feels quite queasy
Ireland
There’s a certain feelingIn some places…That Paris happened and you missed it for not being born early enough in the century.That London is just around the corner in an alleyway, but not this one you’ve found.That Vienna is in a courtyardwith a sinfonietta debuting a piece you’llNever hear, in a place you’ll never be invited…
Hunger
There’s another needLike hunger or thirstI thought it was lustWanting, I mustFind a way to satisfyDesire and delightWaiting in dreamsFor youTo believeI’m walkingIn the light. It isn’t lustAnd needs no climaxTo be satisfiedOnly a drop of beautyFrom your tongueTo smile moreAnd runFor yearsOn just a minuteOf your time. “I loved your wordsToday” It makes my…
Dreams of futures past
A time machine to who I wasBefore any damage doneWith hope and promised livesEverything waiting to be won. I sleep with dreams of futures pastJoy stands sentry at every turnAnd you are there to point the wayGuiderails for the most dangerous curve. Your voice casts the spell on us bothPulling and pushing to the deepest…