When I stop staring at you in wonder,
you can be sure I am done…
Till then
Even if there is constant change of scenery,
Or on a day of cruel mockery,
Through the thickest of cloudy days,
Past the flurry of turbulent bays,
Inspite of the very many rejections,
Amongst the disheartening aberrations,
I will plough through,
On and on.
Because
Every smile is kindness
A stinging tear, care…
Every hug a bonus
The eyes, a soul stare…
Every day is newness
For hope is never rare.
So,
When I stop staring at you in wonder,
you can be sure I am done…
Walls protect you as you move,
I’ve built them too high to scour.
Leading with survival instinct
demands the thickest of skin.
Flattened ears always on guard
lowering my gaze won’t happen.
Open range feels like freedom
without risking vulnerable parts.
Envious of those built to shield
rare are those called sheepdogs.
Wild doesn’t mean being obvious,
a quiet strategy is what it takes.
Labeled by image not by action
lacerates straight through reality.
Feral flourishes inside of silence
leaving chaos to bloom and grow.
On the run when I’m standing still,
what else did you expect from me?
Energy must eventually be expelled,
rather than remain inside to fester.
Thickest mist will hide the way,
Gold has turned to leaden grey.
Forest paths begin to bend,
Seeking for a hidden end.
Voices whisper from the deep,
Promises they never keep.
Heart is heavy like a stone,
Walking in the dark alone.
Thoughts of you fall like colorful confetti
Cooking my brain like soft spaghetti
Water flows through my veins no blood
For you vampire drained me with sucks
And I couldn’t get enough
Self sacrificing for lime love
That smells of pine and lavender
In the thickest part of winter
Are you warm or is it charades charm
For love is always fresh in indigo infancy
Melting hearts red painting sky blue
My soul consumed you like red cherries
Fruit in my womb like bright strawberry
From kisses and reminiscences like cranberries
Bitter sweet to be so heavy with child
I can never get away from your smile
Despite the end of romance so wild
Is it that you can just walk away
And I can honestly say
Some seasons must end that way
The sky is full of ice.
Anguished shrapnel that
tears through the thickest
of winter coats.
Between us is a dock.
An impassable canyon
that rots at my feet
and falls away into waves.
Your eyes.
Glassy pearls nestled above
a crimson dragon
curled tightly around your neck.
The loose end flails in the wind.
I yearn to tie it into a knot
but am reminded by the flapping sails
that this was an inevitability.
A final glance.
Your face is a boiling tattoo
etched into my mind-
it warms the heart slightly.
I turn and walk towards the hills
because on the snow capped peaks
is where the mountain and the sea
will finally meet.
Winter’s love is swallowing me whole
The death that follows the seeds I sowed
Ghosts clipping my heels where I tread cold toes
Immortalizing paired tracks frozen in snow
An icy grip on my throat, I start to breathe slow
Winter’s love is swallowing me whole
I blink my eyes wide for the lessons to show
Another year of life’s cycles come to a close
My skin favors blue as the ground starts to pull
Curled up like a fetus, like a fruit in a bowl
Winter’s love is swallowing me whole
My body is settling but how restless is the soul
Painful tingles subside as I relinquish control
Who might I be come next spring when the sun takes his toll?
I lay my mind to rest, as the thickest frost grows
Winter’s love is swallowing me whole
Is it so hard to accept the truth
When history shows the proof;
When reality doesn’t miss
Defeating the thickest mist?
When the facts destroy the lies
Does one close their ears & eyes?
Does it come as a surprise
When the truth outweighs the lies?
Does one run or do they hide?
Try to justify those lies?
Try to bury history woes
In the hope that no one knows?
Is it so hard to accept the truth
When history shows the proof?
Like the sun that shines bright
Defeating the darkest night;
Like the vastness of the sea
Truth will always be;
Forever one can see
Throughout eternity.
Is it so hard to accept the truth
When history shows the proof?
i didn't like living in the house of my parents. i hated the constant stress and worrying that lay on my back as i fulfilled the duties of being their only son. i tried to make myself different from them, to distinguish that i was my own person, i wasn't the same people who judged, the loud persona holding people they were.
but then i looked into the family bathroom mirror. i looked at my hair- thick and curly. my father's bald now, but in his childhood pictures, he had the thickest, curliest hair to exist. i have my mother's temper and her eyes. me and my brother share the same sway back.
i'm just like my family.
"Raise the Shields"
(Dr. Spence Linking Pin Sonnet for Child Abuse Prevention Month)
Cries pierce the silence where trust should have grown,
Grown are the shadows where safety's unknown,
Unknown are the wounds that no eye can see,
See how the soul screams while lips whisper "free."
Free them from hands that betray every vow,
Vow to stand firm and protect them somehow,
Somehow light breaks through the thickest despair,
Despair shatters when bold hearts choose to care.
Care isn't passive — it shouts in the street,
Street after street, we march so harm meets defeat,
Defeat the silence, the shame, and the fear,
Fear not the battle — the children are near!
Near beats the heartbeat of futures at stake,
Stake down the shields — defend every child’s sake!
© USA Goodwill Ambassador, professor Dr. Joseph S. Spence Sr. (Epulaeryu Master). All Rights Reserved (April 29, 2025).
My love for you, it runs deep.
My love for you, it runs too deep.
It knows nothing of tenderness, nor relief.
It runs through the thickest air of the night
Grows heavier with each clap of thunder
Grows darker with each bolt of light.
It swells with rain
And it promises that it will drown us, dear,
If we ever dare to sleep.
This love I have for you, it runs deep.
In every way that we can know,
We know this runs too deep.
It tastes nothing as our flesh
Enters its vicious mouth and goes down its godless throat.
It tastes nothing but it hungers just the same.
My love for you, it runs deep.
My love for you, it runs too deep.
I try to hide from it,
I pray for its death.
But it finds me, and it shakes me from my sleep.
These dreams I have,
my love for you won’t let me keep.
These dreams I have,
of loving anyone or anything
Please let me love anything but you.
Tears slide down from ebony eyes
Burgundy broken heart burnt fried
Wounded by words like stones that fly
Stunting self esteem killing pink pride
You speak kindly to strangers though
You even greet plants finely and they grow
Yet you blindly hurt the ancestors soul
With your desire to let the truth be told
It’s not what you say but how you do
Everyone in life at times has been a fool
No one lives life without a mistake or two
And only God Christ can judge not you
Let your tongue be a poem for the lord
Be it firm or soft but not a silver sword
Inspire powerful energy and prayer indeed
Winning bees with words sweet like honey
Tongues that teach are tongues that lead
One to reflect inspect and digest wisdom speak
One can not expect an infant who has no teeth
To chew the thickest stew of spiritual meat
So kindly feed the needy
Purple pauses peach pleasantries
Offering hot coffee or sweet tea
Warm welcomes with charming smile
Sitting on the porch in southern style
Saying hey to everyone of y’all
Thickest accent in the way you talk
Appreciative of nature that silver sings
In eyes and hearts of soul that dreams
Devotional devotees dazzlingly delight
At an amazing aurora’s star of abiding light;
You’re yawl-like year-round of Yahweh’s areole-sight,
Starlight of sunshine, starlight in splendid night,
Twinkling tirelessly ‘til the thickest tip of twilight;
Ardent acclamations in our hearts arise…alight,
Reuniting us in rejoicing with reverence in thy rite!
Can you hear the sound of winter's calling?
The sound of icy crystals ringing like windchimes
Luring in those who possess an icy heart
The cold blooded who enjoy pure arctic beauty
Warmed through the thickest blankets of snow
Our souls long for the barren of blizzard landscapes
Where the only lights in the sky are stars and auroras
And the sun never rises to show its blinding rays
The wildlife who are resilient enough to survive
Turn into majestic sights for one to gaze upon
Pure white foxes hunting gracefully in the snow
And dark green trees frosted over like cakes
May the light of the moon reflect off the plane
As all of the members of the starry night sky
Sing out their songs, notes dancing about
And create the perfect moment to freeze in time
Do you hear the sound of winter's calling?
Are you brave enough to survive its wrath?
And be rewarded with its ineffable sights
My spirit is revived with winter's touch
Did Charles Darwin really say Survival Of The Fittest?
When overwhelming evidence suggests he meant The Thickest!
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