The new man in old town

He was the last one to hear
 what he had to say.
Most days it didn't
 matter.
Words would've just gotten
 in the way.
She was the only one still
 asking why
 even a sunny day feels grey.

He thought about her
whenever he saw 2 people
pretending
that they were happy.

Heavenly Rules

I've been living under
heavenly rules
for most of my life.
I've been working with
a handyman's tools.
Masking tape
and a razor knife.
I've seen illustrations of
heavenly jewels
and Streets of Gold.
A man on a cross.
Hallelujah's  to them that got found.
Hallelujah to them that's lost.
I've been climbing over
heavenly rules
that made little sense to me.
I've been kissing fools and smoking Kools.
No  doubt.
No apology.

from Alsip to Iceland

What becomes of the brokenhearted?
i don't know.
But one of them
woke up one
morning
and looked at life
differently.

One of them gathered The 4 That Mattered Most into
a 1973 VW super-beetle convertible
and drove it
all the way
from Alsip to Iceland
hoping to get there
before the clock struck 12.

One of them wrote something down
every day
in the back of his mind for 40 years
and waited 40 years
to read
between the lines.

One of them took a lot of
the blame and
felt a lot of the shame
for making some really really stupid
choices
at important times
and paid
a big fat price for it.

One of them learned to laugh
out loud
when things got shaky
and shake
out loud
when it got too hard
to laugh.

One of them said what he
had to say.
Touched who he could touch
along the way,
paid union dues
and wore black work shoes
as shiny as a promise
to a ghost.

What becomes of the brokenhearted?
i don't know.
But one of them
woke up one
morning
and looked at life
differently.

10' wide & 3 votes deep

I'll punch your ticket.
Then sit me down
    or
stand me up.
There's nobody looking.
I'll shout out when i've had enough.

i knew why i wanted you

You reduced the noise in my head
down to a level
where i could
hear myself.
Where i could steer myself better.

The Kitten in the Mitten

                                                  The Kitten
                                     in the Mitten introduced the
                                               Kat to the Hat.
                                                 That bunch
                             coulda steamrolled me gently but didn't.
                                        They steamrolled me flat.


                                            as if you never been..

                                    Yeah, i'm admittin' i got bitten.
                                            It was my weakness.
                                              My crime de jour.
                     The Kitten in the Mitten or that damned Hatted Kat.
                                                  It's all a blur..

music made life on Earth

In those early
early
hours before
your brain begins
hammering
your hopes
and you're finger-tapping Muddy Water blues
with your back against the ropes.
Long before you look in the mirror
and cringe
or step outside
naked
and imagine
yourself.

You'll sing along..