Night Song

The night it surrounds me
And sings me its love song
And fills me with yearning
With sweet sad impressions
On the edge of a memory
And love that runs deeply
I urge them come to me
These lovely old memories

These faded impressions
They tug at my heart strings
And fill me with longing
Of times past remembering
Of youth and its wanderings
Of life that is passing
And loved ones long taken
But loved, not forgotten

How gently the night sounds
Stir up these old feelings
And memories of love songs
The treasures that live on
I welcome the night song
As gently it plays on

Dreams

There was a time when I was young
And life stretched out before me
I dreamt of love, a perfect match
Someone who would adore me

I pictured just how it would be
This life that we would build
With happy home and family
Each dream would be fulfilled

But life is complex, I have found
The choices unforeseen
It's twists and turns unfathomed
Wreak havoc of our dreams

Yet even though the life I have
Is miles from what I planned
I find it's been a good life
With you to take my hand

All the tears and arguments
The troubles we've been through
Mean little, for I've realized
The dream I dreamt was you

Always

Always was once a game I played
How long have I loved you
How long will we be one
Always, of course, always

But disappointments keep building
And hopes have been shattered
Leaving always behind us
Our dreams are in tatters

Still, I keep on smiling
Surely things will get better
I want us to matter
and I wonder who I'll be
Now my dreams are in tatters

So, I keep on pretending
As if everything's fine
Hopes and dreams lying shattered
We've run out of time
I'm all out of time

The Chimes

The chimes they play their lilting tune
The melody uncharted
I listen as the changing wind
Creates a tune that has no end
Unsure of when it started

There is no chance to duplicate
The liquid lulling tune
The dulcet random melody
Grows louder now then fades away
Fading all too soon

I love to hear this concert play
No clue to the next line
I find that I am mesmerized
Immersed in winds own harmony
Music nature wrote

The Days

So swiftly do the days go by
Dazzling in their hurried flight
Like shooting stars across the sky
Blink of an eye
Flare upon the night

Oh, to gather up these days
Learn the way to make them last
To savor them along the way
The living of the days
Make memories for our past

Beautiful Mom

Beautiful
Endearing
Accessible
understanding
Thoughtful
Inspiring
Funny
Unforgettable
Loving

mom

Empty Pages

Life is sharper with you gone
It has edges I didn't know existed
Where pain slices me
Unexpectedly

I find myself standing
Frozen in mid thought
Tears streaming
From no apparent wound

I'm not sure I'll make it
This world has no warmth left
I am empty pages
No will to write anymore

Loves War

There's no peacefulness to our sleep
We toss and turn beneath
Tangled covers
As if there's a war on

Why are we so angry all the time
When did being together
Become this struggle for territory
When it used to be a happy
Compromise

Do you remember
How you said my smile
Could turn around your darkest day
And you would lean close
To smell my hair

Do you remember
How I would reach for you
In my sleep
So a part of us
Was always touching

We can get back there
We can end this war
That neither started
Nor can win
The love is here
Where it always has been

Love Lost

It rained the day you left me
I never will forget
The pain that bloomed within my chest
The choking lump that stole my breath
My life one vast regret

How did we come to this impasse
I feel completely lost
We were the best that we could be
We wanted all that life could give
No matter what the cost

I don't know how to do this
I cannot bear the pain
The thought today that we are through
A future where there is no you
I shall not love again

Cloudy

I love to wake to a cloudy day
When I have nowhere to go
Nothing urgent needs doing
I can wake up nice and slow

It's as though the day is muffled
The clouds have softened sound
And the day is mine for lingering
While there's no one else around

The light is strangely filtered
Smooth edges, none too bright
It makes for gentle waking
So slowly comes the light

Sweet Obsession

Oh, my love
My sweet obsession
How I yearn for your light touch
Oh, my soul
My sweet possession
Never dared to love this much



First you came
You smiled so sweetly
My poor heart was all undone
How could I
Stand by so meekly
Knew from the start you were the one

When I was
Alone and lonely
Hopelessness within me churned
Now it's you
I long for only
You arrived and hope returned

Years have passed
We're still together
Life and love now intertwined
If I thought
You'd leave me ever
I fear I would lose my mind

Life is for Laughter*

Life is for laughter
And sharing and growing
For teaching and learning
The things worth the knowing

It's taking the time
To reflect with a smile
On the wonderful friends
I've enjoyed all the while

My life is just brimming
With loved ones who share
The good times and bad times
The joy and despair

To all of my loved ones
And dear friends I speak of
I thank you for all of
Your laughter and love

I

You killed me
With your cruel asides
Or worse
Your silence
You crushed me
Was that your intention
All along
Not surprised
But I'm strong
Stronger than you thought
I survived
And moved on

Now I stand

Free of you
I have won

Keep On

Blood coated boots leave smeared
prints in the mud
Tears fall from the sky
Did they think I would break so easily
Not I, no not I

It feels years since I was warm
and dry and home
Tears fall from the sky
I will keep on, we all will keep on
Til it's won
Til we've won

Quiet

I don't want silence
It's quiet I crave
With all its inherent sounds

Rain outside my window
The creaking of the house
The ticking of the clock
The beating of my heart
The whisper of my breath
The mending of my life

I don't want silence
It's quiet I crave
With all its healing sounds

The Game of Laughter*

Of all the things I've learned in life
With deeper truths come after
The best of them, first on the list
Is the game of laughter

It's not something you buy in stores
Then put up on a shelf
It's played all day at your expense
When laughing at yourself

It takes no special cards or dice
There is no secret word
It's played while living every day
Tuned in to the absurd

There are no rules, no way to cheat
No points that you are after
Just tell the stupid things you've done
And then join in the laughter

I learned to play this wondrous game
This game it is my mothers
She's played the game most every day
And bested all the others

Once you play the laughing game
You'll play it ever after
You'll find it quite addicting
The awesome game of laughter

The Seasons*

Spring flits
In soft new greens
Gentle rains
Sweet birdsong

Summer stutters
In sultry days
New mown grass
Cicada nights

Autumn hurtles
In brilliant shades
Rustling leaves
Gusty winds

Winter lumbers
With snowy feet
Frosty glass
Cozy nights

Spring softens things
And stirs our hearts
Summer slows us down
With lazy wonder

Autumn shakes us up
And hurries us along
Winter wraps us up
To dream and slumber

Spring flits
Summer stutters
Autumn hurtles
Winter lumbers

Yesterdays Dream*

I dreamt of faraway places
Not so very long ago
Of places exotic and distant
Where I yearned someday to go

I imagined the sights that I would see
The people I would know
The sounds of these distant places
Where I yearned someday to go

I thought I would be a traveler
An explorer who wandered so
Who'd return from distant places
Places I yearned someday to go

I am older now, if not wiser
And I no longer yearn to know
Of distant exotic places
Of places I'll never go

But now and then my mind drifts
To places still unseen
The far off exotic places
The places of yesterdays dream

The Rain

I close my eyes and listen to
The repetition of the rain
Its steady drumming on the eaves
The tapping dripping on the leaves
The mesmerizing hypnotizing
Steady rhythm of the rain

It takes me places sweet and languid
Longing that is almost pain
Deep inside the steady pounding
Pattern of the falling rain
The ever restful soothing clatter
Calming patter of the rain

I know that life will catch me dozing
Dreaming listening to the rain
I shall revive well rested, bested
By the soothing healing rain
I'll stretch and stand
Sweet dreams receding
Fleeting as a summer rain

Unselfish

You were so strong
Though life wore on
With burdens great
And sorrows deep
You mustered on
Our fates to keep

You faced it all
Though life was cruel
You carried on
Through shattered dreams
To better days
Or so it seemed

You held us up
When we would fall
But who held you
Through it all
When was your time
Who stopped your fall

And so it went
Your life a maze
of joy and pain
You took it all
And held our hearts
And gave us strength

And now time slows
You without dreams
No wasted life
Though it may seem
Because of you
We have our dreams

Naptime (Brycen's Lament)

"I need the hugs and kisses"
Comes chiming through the speaker
"I need the hugs and kisses"
And with each repetition
My resolve is getting weak

"I need the hugs and kisses"
Your message is quite clear
"I need the hugs and kisses"
It's been just 20 minutes
I try not to go near

"I need the hugs and kisses"
I've heard this tune before
"I need the hugs and kisses"
We've been through this already
I stand outside your door

"I need the hugs and kisses"
I hear your plaintive voice
"I need the hugs and kisses"
I know I shouldn't go inside

I really have no choice

Dozing*

Lazing

Leaving all the chores undone

gazing

through leaves

Hazy sun

Dozing
Leaning as the world recedes
Snoozing
Silly words
Delightful deeds

Random Thoughts*

Random thoughts stop me in my tracks
Did I pay that bill
Did I take that back

Random thoughts keep me up at night
When's that paper due
Did I close that tight

Random thoughts pull me from my dream
Where did I leave that
Do we have whipped cream

Random thoughts stalk me as I drive
It's a wonder how

I make it home alive

Random thoughts, much too much to do
Did I feed the birds
Where'd I put that shoe

Random thoughts running through my head
Bet they don't shut off
Even when I'm dead

Mellow

Mellow is a feeling
Soft and liquid, brief
I think there's not another
That brings such calm relief

A word to soothe your inner noise
And I would have to say
A deeply restful feeling
To help you through your day

So if you're feeling mellow
Sit back, enjoy the time
For mellow has another name
The name I call sublime