I am a poisoned tree,
and you are my apple.
I made promises to you
that I may never be able to keep.
But above all else,
I pray you never grow
into someone like me.
May the poison end with my roots,
and never find its way into yours.
I’ve had my fair share of mistakes,
but most of all, I hope you turn out great.
From palm trees to gardens,
I’ll spend my life tending your light,
so you’ll always know how to bloom.
I’ll fight my biggest battles
just so they may die with me.
I want your life to be free of pain.
You’re my biggest blessing upon this earth.
If this curse must claim a soul,
let it claim mine—
so that when you take root,
only love will grow.
Truth will not die, it always finds a way to be reborn.
Bury the truth and it will take root
deep within the earth it lives
Waiting for the time to sprout up and feed
upon the light shinning it's path forward
and onward, traveling as a whisper
in the wind . First softly as gentleness of a breeze
awaking emotions into the hearts of men,
suddenly Truth spreads as a wildfire
by winds of hurricanes in voices
of repressed and enslaved seeking
and fighting for freedom
lead by truth.
All men are created equal by the breathe of God
Liberty is not dream but a birthright
For truth wrestles the weary soul free
into a living spirit of justice and liberty
won by the spelled blood of fallen heroes
whose sacrifice shields all before present and future.
Truth lives for a world that hungers to hear it
to speak it, to see it, to feel it, to taste it to live it.
We are free for Truth lives.
One joyful footstep
loosens procrastination
morning air tastes sweet
the mind keeps that light aglow
long after the walk has passed
Pleasure leaves a trace
on shoes waiting by the door
soft invitations
before thought can intervene
habit heeds motion's call
Inner loops turning—
unconscious desires take root
deep beneath reason
each fond spark of exercise
trains the nerves to yearn return
Laughter after strain
widens the spirit's landscape
breath steadies the mind
small victories slowly build
through patience and resilience
Outer loops rising
gather strength from calm delight
builds hope through movement
each glad act enlarges life
as wellness echoes health back
No harsh discipline—
only the pull of feelings
gently repeated
what once needed force and will
becomes enlightened desire
Words have power,
Don't forget,
What comes out of your mouth,
Is what you're gonna get.
If you're filled with anger,
Contempt and unrest,
You must purge it and kill it,
This is no jest.
If you speak anger,
Hate and revenge,
This type of thinking,
Will never avenge,
The pain you once felt,
And still feel right now.
If you will find peace,
Put it down and avow,
To think only about,
The here and the now,
Whatever is worthy,
Of virtue endowed.
Peace is the order,
From this moment on.
In time you will find,
That the pain is all gone.
It's that which you think on,
How you meditate.
What goes on in your mind,
Will sit and gestate,
Till it finds a way,
To become manifest,
And affect your whole life,
In your heart make it's nest;
For thoughts are alive,
But you give them their power.
It's what you allow,
To grow and to flower.
Whatever you nurture,
Whatever you feed,
Wil take root and grow,
And produce many seeds.
Compassion, thy blessings.
Within all three take root.
No use second-guessings.
Just give the end a toot.
Bitterness, thy blizzard.
Blight, blanket all you see.
Bane, gibbous thy gizzard.
Belladonna, be.
Blistering sun ray, fire it up!
Make it happen fast!
Goddess, covenant and cup!
Please be meant to last!
Yellow rose, thy desert storm.
Lightning, crash and burn.
Volcano, lava in form.
Tamarisk, taciturn.
Reincarnation, station.
Seance, ensconced. Trounced.
Lost souls red dead, creation.
How the ball has bounced.
Tale, never end. Fickle, friend?
They cannot defend.
Broken are those which ne'er bend?
To the devil send.
Ankle broken, mend? Quite slow.
Maybe not at all.
Guard of treasure, way to go?
Brother, I may call.
Hawk, thy eye. Run real reply.
Reconcile, rely.
Doubt, thy torment. Constant cry.
Wave, O tops of rye...
There's something that lives inside me
I feel it cause it feeds on me
It feeds on all the softness
And leaves my rough edges to rub on me
I need an X-ray because I can feel it's big
It's like a cancer that consumes me
A darkness not from this world
Forged at a time I was lost
This unexamined pain can't be left unattended
Most days I babysit it and it drains me
I'm awake even in my sleep
Cause i need to keep an eye on it
Maybe that's why love is hard to keep
Cause it doesn't take root
How can it while the pain sits there
It's made a home where it shouldn't
And all the medications I keep taking ain't helping
Cause it goes straight to the pain
And leaves my body aching
And all this pain I'm left to project outward
The PO£T
Of the world that we live in, and all that we know,
From the seeds that take root in the rich soil below,
To the sun in the sky and the tides on the shore,
We are seeing a wonder, we’re seeing much more.
Oh, the light of the morning, a soft, gentle gleam,
Or the peace that arrives with a welcoming dream.
We just look at the stars with a soft, quiet sigh,
At the marvelous grace of the clouds drifting by.
There is life in each breath that we take in the air,
In the intricate patterns we see everywhere.
In the simple design of a leaf or a tree,
Lies a boundless and deep, silent mystery.
Not a moment that passes, not ever a day,
But a new little miracle comes on its way.
For the whole of existence, the simple and grand,
It’s a gift we can hold in the palm of our hand.
The wind arrives first.
The vane follows—
both pivoting on each other's breath,
each feigning command of the other.
Always angling,
always gesturing towards fate,
we mistake the wind for destiny
and proclaim its turning, as choice.
The pressure to change gathers early—
before any thoughts take root
before any words dare surface—
caught in vain, in breaths withheld.
Mouths set their vanes in advance,
jaws brace against what's unsaid,
both poised in futile readiness.
Trying to predict the swerve and swirl
the vane will inevitably take.
A fruit from the tree of life,
Fed by goodness and strife,
Like a knife the winds blow,
It falls into the shadow,
Withered and rotting,
Waiting to grow,
Succumbing to the flow of time,
Priming the seeds inside,
Aware of the ride,
Through changing tides,
And riversides,
All the elements collide,
Dividing the seed from its needs,
They've agreed to the process,
As they progress down the river,
Quivering into crevices,
Eventually coming to rest,
Doing their best to take root,
Breaking through into a new world,
Growing toward the light,
Fighting the environment,
It grows into enlightenment,
The excitement of new things,
Brings many different offerings,
A collection of blossoms,
Waiting to bloom,
Grooming for pollination,
Opening to the invasion,
Any moment the miracle could happen,
The force of life takes action,
The interaction taking root,
The tree of life grows another fruit.
When the mood is too heavy to wear, When emotions are salted and laid bare,Insecurity creeps on a whispering tread, An echo of shadows where courage once fled.
The slash of shame, a knife so sharp, Carves a wound in life’s fragile spark.Rejected dreams, a wing torn apart, Colors once bright now desert the heart.
Loneliness, unseen and unsought, it stalks, In aching silence, its chill always talks.It weighs like a shroud, heavy and stark, Thunderstorms rage, wild and unbowed in the dark.
But words, both fragile and mighty, ignite, Parting the darkness with shimmering light.The unspoken tremble beneath the fear, Yet hold the chains of bonds sincere.
When harsh words take root, their seeds grow, Vines of doubt climb where sunlight won’t go.Dismissive voices, cruel and unkind, Sink fragile dreams in a stormy mind.
Another face, invisible, yet still in the fray, Battles the unseen, struggles each passing day.So let words flow with care, with love, For silent battles, they’re mindful of.
Understanding is not always blind, Emotions weave threads, so tenderly aligned.In the maze of feelings, where hearts are bound, Solace in kindness is always found.
We come from different places
carrying different stories
but the same quiet wish sits in all of us
to live without fear
to speak without restraint
to exist without being diminished.
Human rights aren’t medals to be awarded
or prizes to be earned
they are the simple birthright of every person
a baseline for dignity
a foundation for freedom
a reminder that no life is worth less than another.
Peace doesn’t appear fully formed
it’s built slowly
in conversations that refuse cruelty
in laws that protect the vulnerable
in moments where we choose empathy
over the easy path of anger.
When no one is silenced
when no one is cast aside
when justice is more than a slogan
and compassion isn’t treated as weakness
peace begins to take root.
And in that rooting
in that steady growing
we inch closer to a world
where people can breathe openly
stand confidently
and know they belong.
Epilogue: The Voice of Rome
CHORUS:
The years roll on, and men ascend and fall,
As waves that break upon time’s stony shore.
Yet virtue, like the sun, doth never set,
Though clouds may veil her face from mortal eyes.
We saw the tyrant crowned in purple pride,
And saw him cast to exile’s bitter wind.
We heard the sage rebuke with tempered flame,
And watched his seed take root in youthful hearts.
Now one who sat beneath his olive shade
Doth wear the robe once stained by Varro’s hand.
Temptation knocks, as ever it hath done,
Yet wisdom speaks, and he doth not betray.
O Rome, thy soul is not in marble bound,
Nor in the clang of arms or Senate’s cry.
It lives in minds that hold the law as sacred,
And hearts that scorn the lure of fleeting gold.
Let every age remember Lucilius,
Who taught that power is but a trust bestowed,
And that the highest rank is servitude
To truth, to justice, and the common man.
So ends our tale, but not its living flame.
For though the actors vanish from the world,
Their deeds endure, inscribed in memory’s stone.
And Rome shall rise, if Romans still be wise.
Why do I write a poem
Where does this need
This desire come from
When did this need take root
Flower through a cracked sidewalk
Ache to be seen, sniffed, appreciated.
Why do I smile, nod a hello, to passersby
Speak to babies seeking secret wisdom
Pet wet puppies and savor the scent
Whisper a secret, wrinkle nosed, I love you to my wife
Why do I write of secrets, kept secret
Opening the entrance only slightly
Peering out in hopes someone is peering in
Sing in an empty room for all to hear
I do these things for I believe
That I am the voice of an ethereal being
Speaking into a void
Listening for an echo
Hoping that my “voice” has touched someone
My song savored, rephrased, re-sung
For my words surprise me when written
And I hope surprise you when read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
war-torn field lies cracked and bare,
where shrapnel blooms once choked the air.
a single shoot, defiant, thin,
pierces the ash with trembling green.
dew softens scars where tanks once rolled.
new leaves unfold, a story told
in patient stems that reach, unbowed—
let peace take root, not be avowed.
Red field of war
Blood soaking the earth...
Silent screams take root...
Stained shields in the air
Stained wind, red war
Gray grounds
Pour out the cruelty of steel
Dislodge subtleties
Stir up storms...
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