Mantra

The harder we try to stay the same

The tougher the pull to let go

Higher stakes to move on

Infinite uncertainty of moving along

The wrong choice is to hold on

To memories

That are full of childhood

And summer lawns

We leave

And the clock still carries on

We make like water

Flowing through life without knowing

Whether each decision is right or wrong

I call this our life song

We may not know the tune

But we carry along

We have learned to let go

Of people, places, and things

To see what the new morning will bring

Sing in new light

Holding hands and feeling alright 

This is my mantra tonight

A Family Reality 

This may be a little heavy

I will try to keep my hand steady

I just wanted to inquire

Not for me

But for the others around me

Has your mind been 

Assaulted by thoughts of suicide

As my father 

I know we have never fallen too far

From the tree

My brothers and I

We struggle with life’s

Pull and subside

But I wonder if we 

Have all struggled together

The same feeling from the same

Family line

Somehow if we struggle together

It makes it seem 

Alright

Sweating Souls

Love makes summer seem

Soft and seemingly subtle

Keeps the air

From sweating my soul

Hands touch hands

Cheering in splashes

Crashing soft on the shores of

The ocean

Winds of sands blown

On the southern beaches of

Virginia

8 hours from home

For it is in Love

That we are truly never

Alone

Sieve

To each their own

Front page celebrity

To the wholly unknown

For me and my wife

Unbeknownst to us a home

Rather sips and gravitation on the road

Everybody has a home

I am told

Those with simple desires

Even those whose desires are

More bold

In New York City

Rather a pass through

Than a stable

I wish I could say it’s home

Unfortunately

I am unable

So my heart wonders

From Oregon to the

Waters of Florida

I wonder if there is a place

Where our daily life is full lived

Rather than having it go through

The city sieve

No complaints

Restrain from bad words to give

It’s just my worried heart

Weighing out the negatives

Breathe

The city Monopoly on top of me

Run me over

Push and topple me

The middle class is

High under siege

Who owns these buildings

I see

In front of me

Behind me

Who’s pieces touch the sky

Down to the ground

All around

The goal of surviving

Is miles short of thriving

On the ground struggling to breathe

Can feel like I am dying

Not on my death bed I am lying

To my soul

The energy it is supplying

Paycheck to paycheck

Account balance recheck

Food and meal not set

In a city with a finger

Lingering

On my reset

Surely Uncertainty

Surely the uncertainty

Will certainly

Wear perfectly on

The real worthy

Feelings

Confirming me

Consciously

Putting me feet in front of me

Supposedly

There is a 1 out of 3

Chance

That whether we sing

Or dance

We will not have enough

Cash

To stash away

For the future

So we must take utmost precaution

With scalpel and suture

Sow our future

To know it can grow

And go where we hope it goes

Our future together

Must be stronger

Then when the wind blows

But truly

Who knows

Sympathetic Inflections

I am no controlled spirit

Untamed and overgrown

My emotions can be so

Easily swung

Not the words that I am

Proud of

Not in pride am I congested

When I am over zealous

My heart can be to little

Protected

How is it that the same tricks

With new names

Can catch a heart beat

All the same

If I could only go under cover

Into my own deepest detections

Pull out the weakest of

Sympathetic

Inflections

So rather than pick up

The pieces from hopes unmet

I could let my heart down easy

Lay it to rest gentle

While it’s quiet on the set

However my heart will wrestle me

At every turn

Up and down

It’s always involved

Every choice

All around

The Streets of Pollution

When the shift comes

When the good has come undone

Rung out of the feelings

Absurd little dealings

Of high dollar agreements

Gentrification and public ceilings

I have become the problem

No longer a solution

Another chimney

On the streets of pollution

My feelings have crackled

Dried up like timber

Burst into flames

Under the opposite

Season to winter

My hopes wither

From giant logs on a river

To little more than a small sliver

The exchanges of gold and silver

Have yielded a new type sinner

With higher debts

And higher fevers

To push up rents

And out the believers

So now maybe I am the problem

I am not quite sure how it shifted

From pushing keys

In the seat I am sitting

Now to the lords of rent

Coming down hard

In a city unfit for a family and yard

So I will move on

To new opportunities and games

For somewhere else I may be the solution

To help clean up

The new streets of pollution

Sweet Subtleties

The sweet subtleties of the city

Through the breeze of leaves

Blossom from the long winter

Spring man now enter

In the calmness of May

May we be entertained by the weather

Alone

The gentle feel of a mild day

Close your eyes

To feel the city lift you away

Swollen Skies

Growing up

Under swollen skies

Making changes

In our parents eyes

Commitments made

Growing mistakes

We just have to do

Whatever it takes

I watch you grow

You watch me

We help each other stay

From as low as life

Can be

We wake up together

To see another day

Whether its the sun

Or the rain

We grew up under swollen skies

When the rain fell

It pulled the tears out of our eyes

Yet we pushed through

I get to see a new face

Through the rain anew

I am honored and proud

To be your husband

Under these dark rain clouds