A run in
With the old hood
Unkept feelings brushing in
Like they should
Faces familiar and strange
Somehow the world spins
And the hood stays the same
The coffee is still sweet
With aroma swept out on the streets
I miss and fear this place
Staying in place
Erase time with a new perspective
With my heart strings
All interconnected
We left years ago
To leave behind
The fields of northeast Indiana
Without a plan
We left our lives here
Unchanged and untouched
By the hands of time
Cecil the Lion was slain
By nothing more than a human stain
Utmost disrespect paid
In each US dollar
Held all the locals
By the fabric of their collar
To get his intended target
He came prepared with padded pocket
I could barely stand to hear it
While he enjoyed to watch it
It is an unfortunate play
A game of intended consequence
Now we have one more reckless action
To answer for
It makes the honor of being American
Feel more destined to sicken me
Than free me
We now wear another badge of recklessness
Story of money paid for another nations trophy
Coldly executed
Lured out and destroyed
This making a living plucking plaque
Pleases himself with the attack
Of a icon
A symbol
Go ahead and cash it in your criminal
Let the fluorescent lights of your office
Offer a scathing reminder
That no bleach can undue
Hang your trophy on the shelf
But please never forgive yourself
To hold or let go
To live
Or grow old
We shoulder these decisions
In what I learn
What I know
The sensitivity of progress
Can be held up
Reset
Regress
If proper attention is not paid
To forward motion
And progress
I obsess
About the shape my mind
Creates
The inner monologue
That projects my final epilogue
“My journey will never get easier”
To a stranger I said
He quickly replied with no fetter
“True, but we only get better”
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
There is no final dance
No significant closing chance
Understated
Undermined
Love and Passion
Just takes a bit of time
No looking toward the sky
For a fulfilling sign
I stretch the curtains
Of my wandering mind
I refuse to let go
Claiming there is a closing time
In my mind the scene changes
Arranges the lines around me
I hear that the weary word
From the wings of a low flying bird
Flapping wings unheard
We bend at the knee
To touch the ground cold
As I maintain my posture
But am getting old
There is no final dance
No closing notes
I will not hang my life work
On that whimsical hope
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 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
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 velvet blue seats
Set adjacent to the table circles
Whirled with oak floors
The Brooklyn Coffee Shop
Full of headphones and beat up leather shoes
Glass windows giant to see through
I await my wife
In the Empire State
Under a sign that reads
Toby’s Estate
A single bird flies down Manhattan Avenue
2 wings flapping strong in the wind
Gentle acceleration
Calling out lightly at 6 AM
Such stillness can exist in the city
High hitting trains come to a stop
To see this small bird perched atop
The brownstones of Brooklyn
Resting its wings
To begin it’s ritual sing
Lighten the roads with laughter
The clanking of iron clad walls
Retracted
Open for business now
Seemingly attractive
Deliveries on time and delayed
Now I rush out the door
To see the bird fly away
A Cup of Songwriting 