We spent the summer of '99 waiting for the sky to break.
The old seer had promised us a king—
not of crowns or gold, but of sheer terror,
dropping from the heavy heat of July.
People pulled what they needed from the ink.
Some swore it was the third beast waking up,
a fundamentalist storm ready to swallow the map,
while others just saw the familiar rot of politics
finally bursting into a global fire.
Either way, the dread sold a lot of paperbacks.
The prophecy became a ghost in the movie theaters,
a blockbuster specter we could safely watch
while pretending the end of the world was just entertainment.
The world didn't end, but the earth keeps shaking.
With every new war on the evening news,
every disaster that leaves a city in the dark,
somebody always dusts off the quatrains again.
We tell ourselves it's just a myth,
until the horizon bruises,
and we catch ourselves looking up.
gossamer mists
dawn from nowhere
cross the lane,
sheer and diaphanous
they envelop the sunlight
in a web of mystery
the wind seeks to reveal
with soft puffs of breath
under the covers
day creeps to dusk
shadows stretch across the field,
drawing long dark veils
as threads, to strand the day's end.
They unravel their camouflage
to shield all the slumberers
trying to sleep
under the covers
I cried,
No meed!
Am afraid you don't discover it dead
Though you seems sorry to cross the threshold
To your conveniency
The uncultured tale you fancy
I want you to tell me my way
No one else would make this gay
As you fanfare it
Compels no birth to your credit
More rash journey on the hills
Left me no choice a guide
Rather wanders oath my tide
The gut wrenching grip of your ambivalence
Be set, kings will announce your stay
To which your doubt shall clouds peace
And wonder your mouth ever house may
Freezing the giantness of you pills
But while you still wonder on high
Doubting your place in my heart, I fly!
LIFE ESCAPES THROUGH MY HANDS LIKE FINE SAND BETWEEN MY FINGERS
TIME DISINTEGRATES IN FRONT OF MY EYES WITH NO WAY OF SLOWING DOWN.
THE INEVITABLE CREEPS AROUND THE DARK CORNERS AND LURKS IN THE SHADOWS, WISPERING IN MY EARS, DESPERATE TO POUNCE ON ME THE MOMENT I AM VULNERABLE AND EXPOSED TO ITS ELEMENTS.
FEAR OF ABANDONMENT LAUGH AT ME.
CHRONIC FEELINGS OF EMPTINESS PARALYZE ME AND ROB ME OF MY SLEEP AND PEACE.
I SCREAM IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE AND KNOW ONE HEARS ME, AND I CRY AND LET MY TEARS DO ALL THE TALKING WITHOUT SAYING A WORD.
A REPRIEVE FROM MY GOD IS THE ONLY THING I LOOK FORWARD TO, AND FORGIVENESS FOR MY DEEDS AND SINS THAT TORTURE MY SOUL....
sheer tenacity
come the challenges ~
i will thrive
AP: 1st place 2025
Your romance brings sheer delight,
Secret smiles shine so bright,
Hope you have happiest day,
Happy brains don't adult today,
P.J.'s on, cartoons to view,
Chips and lollies for me and you,
Sending blissful prayers to thee,
Love's blessings-our posterity,
You bring your joyful love to me,
Happy hearts last for eternity.
Sheer sweet delights appear as gossamer nets,
unseen, unheard, not felt with no regrets,
floating on puffs of wind to catch in your hair
before you care to know that they are there.
The warmth of dawn at sunrise.
The laughter of glints in eyes.
The taste you get before you bite.
The jolt of cold feet bare at night.
The déjà vu clicks down memory lane.
The heartbeat lilt before you kiss again.
The wind foreseen in quiver of leaves.
The thunder felt before heard in eaves.
The stings on a cheek as snow flakes land.
The sneaky touch of child's hand-in-hand.
So let the sheer ephemeral delights come,
to see what taste, feel, hear and see, can become
when you set your awareness alertness on high,
to savor the kiss of bliss that floats on by.
When poised precariously,
balanced on the edge of a precipice,
choice can’t wait for clarity.
For the mass of uncertainty,
tips the balance just enough
to topple you off the cliff
into the valley below.
The sheers gravity of choice,
is unrelenting and absolute,
in the face of uncertainty.
You're blindfolded by fear,
bent over, to leer, too long,
into the valley below.
Uncertainty and urgency
conspire to force us
to decide,
to leap before we hear
to leap before we know
or to wimp and stutter
and step back,
and make a hasty retreat,
into the valley below.
“Happiness is contagious. It can be sparked by one single happy man, making it spread into many, as a small amount of yeast ferments large quantities of dough" – By Poet
Happiness is seeing beauty in simple things.
It is drinking nectar from the wellsprings of our heart
We sense it as we listen to the sweet warbling of birds.
We see it on the beaming faces of children in gregarious company.
We feel it as we watch the clouds painted in pretty patterns and shades
In the burgundy blush of the welkin, as sun gets ready for his rest.
In the beauty of the moon, shimmering on the silvery waters.
Happiness flits round the innocent face of a babe,
As it is nestled close in the cosy warmth of its mother.
It is the sparkle seen reflected in the eyes of a mother,
As she cuddles her baby tight to her throbbing bosom.
It sneaks into young hearts with sweet whisperings of love.
It hides in deep caverns of the mind, jumping out unexpected,
But may withdraw into its secret hideout, when invited.
Happiness is something that we seek, but sadly it eludes our hold.
Something is wrong
That I don't know
It seems like everything is normal
But something is disturbing
It's bad and I want to be better
But when I look at the others
I'm not doing so well anyway
It's possible to live
It's somehow embarrassing to complain.
Hell hath no fury, when all Hell breaks loose,
Yet come Hell or high water, I’ll press on regardless,
For the sheer Hell of it, though I'm as hot as Hell.
I'm Hell bent, I'll fight like Hell, with all Hell to pay,
Having a Hell of a time, raising all Hell on earth,
On the road to Hell and back again, until I get the Hell outta here,
Then, Hell will freeze over, and Hell's bells will ring and chime,
Leaving me stranded, between the devil, and the deep blue sea.
Rapturous joy, sets my spirit alight,
Gliding in free-flight, with shear delight,
The frolicking, rollicking laughter, fills the air,
With dancing and happiness beyond compare,
My heart is aflame, no fears in sight,
I'm blown away by sheer delight.
I'm not afraid man,
but I'm barely tethered.
Tied up in knots.
So poorly measured.
Sheer Fear
Pink horizons mollifies probing eyes as clouds dissipate above
To the heavens bow gratitude where migrant birds hang glide
Venerated cosmic gods who quieted his pain then gave it love
Yet dusk arrived now this restless heart have no place to hide
A raging sea within me foresee fragmented ancient reflections
Impervious to heavenly rays of interminable mystical sunrises
Averse in utilizing rationalizations amending illogical emotions
Sheer fear appear sinister when incongruity incessantly arises
10/31/23
Aboard cruise liner:
Vision of the Seas
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