Rimbaud Is One Hundred Fifty

Rimbaud is one hundred fifty
And spent his Season in Hell with Verlaine
I spent mine with you
Did we learn enough from each other
Or is it time for another round
Trade absinthe for vodka
And I am ready
The scarlet sunset of my mind
Is a lie
I am facing a new dawn
The earth bows at your boots
Allowing you to walk
The way Christ walked on water
You are beauty incarnate
Art is your slave
How did beauty permeate your soul
Why does your heart shine as brightly as your face
I have moved from the darkness to the fire
There is a time to pay homage to a goddess
Without shame
There is balance in your gaze
I trust you
Your judgement is sincere
I am exploring the pathways to your heart
And I want to learn
The word love is overused
Give me heartbeat
Give me life
I will give you all I have in my soul

The Dark Well

The dark well
Searching for the lights of sanity
The flashes of truth and beauty
That bring hope

Tailspin of memory
Remembering what was lost
Or left behind
Out of necessity

Calmly grasping the rational
After the emotional has withdrawn
The pagan beauty of freedom
Shining from the abyss

Fortified by fear
Propagated by passion

Sad Eyed Pisces In A Flannel Shirt: Remembering Jack Kerouac

He was at the end
of the bar
Sad eyed Pisces
in a flannel shirt
So drunk
that we had to take him
physically
back across the bay
and to bed
When I first arrived
I did not know
he was the man I was meeting
until you arrived
and pointed him out
He seemed so quiet
at the end
of the bar
I was slightly startled
that he was the one
who drew us here tonight
and that I would have to carry him out
into the night

You Can Haunt Me

You can haunt me
in my dreams
but you can't stop
me
from living the life
I'm living now
I see the angry looks
and the empty rooms
trying to stare me
down
But I'm flying
over the city
And you can't
stop me or the things
I see
We thought we knew
something about love
what did we know
Give me two shots
in a glass
and it feels
the same

A Confession To A Stranger

Sometimes a woman feels
That sex is all she has to give
A power that is turned on herself
A double edged sword

At night come tears of self-realization
A confession to a stranger
That one can not see
In the darkness

Forgiveness should be for all who need it
For the asking
And we all need it and should get it
Whether we ask for it or not

Acceptance is easier than conflict
Let people have their own truth
Everyone sees the world differently
Let them flow

We came here to learn
And sometimes the lessons are painful
As we walk upon the earth
Witnessed by the stars

The Faded Carnival

I wanted to be there
Part of it all
The strangest irony
Is that I was

Watching the faded carnival
The stumbling star
Full of strong drink
And God knows what else

It was a strange marketplace
With everyone for sale
You paid your price
And I paid mine

Now it all seems like a lost dream
Like it never took place
The pain an illusion
Death an inconvenience

Youth dies
We search for other things
All are ephemeral
Life moving on as it drifts away

Fragments remain
In the end
Memories
Of a soul

A Way Into The Darkness: No Love Poems

If that's the only thing
You told me to do
Sometimes life feels
Like a death sentence
Our hands around each others throats
In this dance
Walking down the street
With a furtive glance
No rhyme motherfucker
No free verse
No love poems
Take my heart
Into your hand
And smash it
Against the wall
Until the blood drips
And it is time to go home
He was not interested in lies
All he wanted was the truth
Stretched out before him
So that he could see the sun
He wanted to dive into the sea
The peace of the day was at hand
Do we have to kill each other
To prove survival?
I wish I could conquer existence for you
I wish I could shame the sun
Into revealing its secrets
And dying with us

A World Without Challenge

A world without challenge
Status quo strictly enforced
Freedom as a curious concept
Order must be maintained
As we travel a narrow path
The knife pressing against the jugular
Step out of line at your own risk
Money rules the day
Food in mouth
Bolt in nut
And all are satisfied
When the nut cracks, beware
When the bolt breaks, back away
Sound the alarm
Something is out of place
Change is at hand
And must be feared
And fought
Before a new current electrifies the day
Charging a fresh path

Give In To Your Darkest Temptations

Give in to your
darkest temptations
And in your midnight
hour
try to look inside
yourself
and see the things
you have to deal
with
the things you have
to wrestle with
The stars are shining
on your old wounds
making them appear
new
And those old desires
did not disappear
They are hiding in the
darkness
Waiting for you to
come and look at
them

The Sword Of Your Karma

A time to hide
And grow
There should have been a way
For you to contact me
Besides my PO Box
How would you know I still had it
I feel guilty about that
And I am sorry
I would not trade a minute
Of the time I had with you
For anything
I treasure the moments you gave me
Your heart is full of wisdom
I should have listened to you more
You always watch my back
I have no fear when I am with you
The ways you hurt me are shadows
Compared to the ways you inspired me
My life would not be the same without you
I would not be half the person I am today
There should have been more action from me
And less talk
Less ego and more spirituality
I should have had more faith in you
More belief
Because you deserved it and earned it
If I could take all the pain from your heart
I would put it upon myself
And gladly fall on the sword of your karma