Birthday

No you go first it’s your birthday.

Hurrying to catch the bus.

I told her I had a surprise for her when I get there.

Finished paying for a love bracelet at the pawn shop.

It was her birthday and she didn’t think I knew.

Love holds me in its arms and keeps me from falling when
the bus hits the brakes without warning.

She cries when she puts it on.

She cooks some up and gives me the pipe.

No you go first it’s your birthday.

She slumps over and turns dark blue.

No pulse.

Call for help on her phone.

Wipe my prints off.

Hope no one saw me when I left.

Took the bracelet and got my money back.

No you go first it’s your birthday. Hurrying

Uninvited

They relentlessly laugh and taunt inside my head.

always haunted

by the endless

parade

of screaming

voices

colors

shapes

pictures

as they relentlessly

taunt

and laugh

inside

my head.

Uninvited.

never a moment’s rest

praying

for silence

slowly

drowning

in my frantic ocean

of nonstop nightmare

and

never sleep.

tried to make them

go away

using

pills

potions

and powders

each night before

the next morning already

banging on my door.

Was ready to be pulled

under the tide.

that’s when

You rescued me

and came to my side.

filling me with

Hope

Faith and

Grace.

Uninvited.

They relentlessly laugh and taunt inside my

Satin

Her dearest companion.

She walks out the gate.

Feels alone even though
a guardian angel holds her hand.

Frightened from all the
people and cars.

She forces her feet to move
even though her soul is frozen.

The therapist often assured her
she could do this.

People pass by on the sidewalk
heading for their destinations.

She needs to find her compass too.

Puts her knapsack down and
takes out the picture.

Her dearest companion.

A blue eyed Siamese.

The road is no place for a cat.

Safe with a trusted friend.

Carefully returns the photo to its place.

She knows he’s asleep right now in
satin sheets and comfort.

Her dearest companion. She walks out the gate. Feels

The New Country

A better way of life awaits us all.

Many of us were cast aside innocents.

Eventually we put trust in false elixirs
that lied to us.

When we learned to see the invisible and stopped
running away we arrived.

We heard the loving whispers from those already on shore
welcoming us to our new home.

A better way of life awaits us

The Rain

I finally sit and rest my weary soul.

Hope’s ether escapes through the punched holes in my skin.

Dragons chasing me through endless scorched and burnt fields
dimly lit by my own black sun.

It wasn’t until I raised my head and
let the rain pour down on my face.

The drops cleansed a life time of
wear and tear.

I opened my eyes and see the lion and the lamb.

Laying down together in the shade underneath the trees.

Children laughing and playing nearby.

The stream reflects the sun on its surface.

Sparkling diamonds float on top of the water.

I finally sit and rest my weary soul.

I finally sit and rest my weary

Black Fire

I will not sail off the edge
of my heart’s ocean.

I say this over and over until I fall asleep.

The next morning I write that down
and show it to the psychiatrist.

She closes the notebook softly
and whispers don’t come back.

I close the door and look through the glass pane.

She buries her face in her hands.

She can’t watch us do this to
ourselves anymore.

She mourns our inevitable return to the black.

She disappeared after that day.

She had to stop burning
in her own black fire.

I wished her well.

I will not sail off the edge of