The Tolling Bells in Brooklyn

The bells gently toll along Brooklyn Streets

Reminding us

That this city celebrates and grieves

Lives and breathes

From my studio

You hear the city life come to light

Lighting the sky

Filling the rooms

Walking down Manhattan Avenue

The fog wears heavy on the Manhattan Skyline

Tucked away from view

A sleepy afternoon

The memories of my life

Will be created here

Not in Paris or Tokyo

Rather just east of the Hudson

Learning to go from walking to runnin’

All under the ringing bells

of Brooklyn

If You Let the World

If you let the world

Serve you bad coffee

It most certainly will

Some may blast this as

Pretentious

But be cautious

As my case I present

–

I walked slowly

Rolling into the cafe

Dim lit on my way

Through Illinois and Iowa

I could just tell from the sight of her

It was not going to be easy

Uneasy was the feeling

Her stare into mine

But I had to wonder

Is it worth my time

To ask for something

Other than a glass of turpentine

–

I realized this rush was no longer

About coffee or personality

I was unsure if I was afraid

If I should abate my post

Where were these feelings

Overwhelming me

Like the holy ghost

–

She could tell I was uneasy

Pushed hard for me to move on

In a quick minute my mind had reacted

I was going to let her

Her

Win

I was not going to step out of line

I would rather walk away disgruntled

Than to let her get her energy infused to mine

–

As I walked away and the next customer approached

After I was dismally reproached

In such light and airy way she won her way

Exacting my energy from my eyes I would say

–

I opened the door for my fail grandeur

She managed her own will on mine

I was let down

But I soon learned in the quickness of time

It is with certainty

That I can speak certainly

If I do not speak certainly

Than uncertainty will belittle my will

This will leave my ego and soul ill filled

So when the world attempts to push you down

From a simple coffee – blurred old brown

Don’t let the light be pushed away

Sometimes the light is needed

Confidence displayed

The world will accept you

And not push you back

Instead of slowly whimpering

“I’ll just drink my coffee black”

The Little 

The smallest amount of time

Of distance 

From start to finish

From beginning to end

Fathering mile

To resting place

Over 3,000 miles on the earths face

We begin with a push

Knowing full well the end lies 

Far far ahead

But we push on

For me

Through poems and songs

From sea to shining sea 

From pale white to vivid blue

We see our journeys through

From the boroughs of the city

To the far west LA

Eternal summer fitting

A journey that teaches us to open

Rather than close

To grow

In what you learn

And what you know 

A Kiss of Rushing Waves

The webs we weave

The dreams we chase

Unchaste and yet true

At first we were revered as outcasts

Not sure of the way

Decisions would see us through

We made a life in the city

Tried to keep our heads

Above the rushing waves

Staved off by a blissful kiss

Sea myst

Over our eyes

We saw the world

Around which we realized

That staying put

Was no option

No higher calling

Even when the walls

The dream itself

Was falling

We see it through

Another night spent

Late night chatter

Even thought nothing was really

The matter

We see it through

Me and you

Ignorance of Conscience

Once a wonderer

Now forever lost

Is possible to go far

And near

Yet never be settled

Running from love

Hope

Fear

It’s a game of chess

With no pieces

Or what is there

Must be interpreted

No meaning

No beginning

No end

I don’t understand

I can’t

When one lusts for every moment

Every fleeting thought

Nothing becomes concrete

No desire

Objectifying

Denying any sense of self worth

For what its worth

To claim ignorance

Fleeting thoughts from ones conscience

Delay rather than develop

Bringing all but hell up

With the loved ones around

It seems low

The life keeps swirling down

I ask

Futile in my attempts

So sometimes I just wonder

What is once a wanderer

Can be now

Forever lost

Sentimental Tease

Oh the heart strings

Pulled in every way

Frayed

Dismayed and overplayed

I relish past moments

With pleasure

Small delights

Love beheld in my eyes

Yet it is lies

Nothing more

Nothing less

Just a quest into the past

No answers given

No questions asked

But in a very uneasy way

There is always lust

In such great nostalgia

What is past is past

What is gone is lost

What I want I will take

What is left I will leave

It’s just another little

Sentimental Tease

Certainly Uncertain

We are not creatures of perfection
By nature
Or nurture
We are malleable in form
From start to finish
I struggle with my own imperfect humanity
Trying to make the best of what I have
Having not the best to give
Unmistakably mistaken
Poured just short of perfection
In times just the simple reflection
Lets me know
That I am imperfect
Certainly uncertain
For my known unknowns
Are what what make
Me
Remarkably
Human

Anomoly of Jackhammers

Eyes slap open

With the crack of the jackhammer

It’s 9 AM

Monday in the City

I rush over to close the small gap

In the window

The loud crash of shovels

Iron cast on asphalt

Giant machines with splendid

Saws, jacks, and hammers

Traffic held back

While the men hit the ground

With cement hammers

The window to the city

Has shown so much to me

It is a true story

Yet an untold anomaly

Of jackhammers

I grew up in the soft quiet fields on Indiana

Acquaint myself

To the new sounds

Of my surroundings

The Commodity of Space

Thank God for public transportation

This revelation

Is one of the finest gems

The beauty of the capital of the nation

We are able to move swiftly

Through station

Feet connected to floors

Cold and eternally soaked

To the floorboards of the railcars

A collective quiet continuum

Running from face to face

Some disinterested

Wearing discontent well on their face

Underneath the city

There is a currency of space

Being given and taken

Awarded and mistaken

The sole private goal

Of a seat on a reasonable Subway

Some would just rather pay

Because there is always the lingering

Unreasonable chance

That the cart is filled in advance

But we stagger on

With the commidty of space low

Take it slow

Get on the train

Pull away,

Go

Finitely Undivine

In hopes of doing good

Doing everything you should

Stood proper ready for arrival

But in between every single line

Stands the true test of mankind

Finitely undivine

Some poor fellow with bright light

Shines upon a small error

Eroded and undone

Your lips begin to tighten

As you realize you have failed

At this one chaps small finding

I strive for the perfection

Perfection as far as my detection

But there will always be

Other perspectives

That feel less connected

Intersected with our vision

Even though I do my best

With good will and intention

There is nothing that can prevent

This holier than thou

Intervention