Petals
the dying
of humanity
is clearly
in not caring
to consider
the sorrow
of another’s
suffering
as suffering
unto one
TL
Poetry
Petals
the dying
of humanity
is clearly
in not caring
to consider
the sorrow
of another’s
suffering
as suffering
unto one
TL
Boxing Bag
as time goes on
and you get older
looking over your shoulder
and in the mirror
and what’s ahead
and what’s over
it can be a lot
to deal with
some people drink
a lot
some people eat
a lot
some people smoke
a lot
some people sleep
a lot
some people sleep
around
a lot
some people pop pills
a lot
some people shop
a lot
some people whine
a lot
some people blame
a lot
some people judge
a lot
some people hate
a lot
some people yell
a lot
some people hit
a lot
some people hurt
a lot
it can be a lot
instead of self-imploding
self-loathing
or taking it out on others
get yourself a pair
of boxing gloves
and find a boxing bag
and learn how to throw a proper punch
pick a song (NF) and put it in your ears
and disappear
5 minutes later
10 minutes later
15 minutes later
20 minutes later
25 minutes later
30 minutes later
an hour later
it won’t be as heavy
whatever it is
and you’ll feel
a whole lot
lighter
TL
Move On
“do as I say,
not as I do”
ain’t that
what I always say
to you
“do as I say,
not as I do”
I’m for real
though
kid
I don’t ever want you to be
like me
I want you to be
like you
I want you to be
free
and unafraid
to live your life
full out
living in fear
is no way to live
at all
some people
just exist
subside
and find it hard
to face their fears
there can be many reasons for it
too many
but excuses are excuses
make no excuses for your life
and how you live it
take responsibility when you’re wrong
and move on
if somebody wrongs you
I hope you figure out how to forgive ‘em
and move on
life is not black and white
it’s not just good
and it’s not just bad
look for the silver
lining
understand the situation
whatever it is
and think
don’t ever nod
if you don’t agree
don’t ever laugh
if you don’t find it funny
don’t shrink
or diminish
or forget
why you’re here
that you’re never your career
or just somebody’s something
you have a purpose
a gift to give
a gift you were given
a way to make it better
than you found it
make it better
please, make it better
and move on
TL
Careless
to read only
one page
one paper
one view
one way
is like looking at
a palatial palace
with stately gardens
and never going inside
to see the broken glass
to read only
one page
one paper
one view
one way
is like looking at
a rundown shack
with no grass growing
and never going inside
to see the crystal vase
full of flowers
to read only
one page
one paper
one view
one way
is like looking at
a beautiful bridge
with water on each side
and never going under it
to see the person living there
to read only
one page
one paper
one view
one way
is like looking at
the land
flat and rolling
and never grasping
all the graves
out there
without markers
or laurel
TL
Create Space
I peel back
the curtains
and the room is empty
I walk around
and get a feel
I pick a spot to sit down
and watch the window change
its picture
the way the lights switch
in the sky
I go to sleep
and wake up
and it’s just how I imagined
it would be
when the room was
empty
TL
Wonderland
in the snow
I saw a rabbit once
so fast it made no tracks
so white it was the snow
but the eyes looked at me
right through
a familiar shade of blue
and I wanted to
follow it and see
wherever it might go
but I blinked
TL
Tumultuous
the sea
was not calm
as last it gently lapped
against the sand
an internal storm
had seized and taken hold
the land
the rise of turmoil
in the wind
lashed the sailboats
to the harbor
and scattered lingering gulls
kited in the sky
the clouds had dropped into the sea
with strings attached
that made them dance
in a frenzy
that woke up all the waves
thus the rise and fall
of castles
in a storybook
yesterday
TL
Sand Dollars
there’s money
in my pocket
that I don’t spend
in vain
I just keep it
invested
for it has a good return
and when I can
I’ll add to it
in waves
TL
Room at the Table
there’s a photo
of a little girl
in a pink shirt
holding a clear bag
that holds all her
worldly possessions
and she’s hugging it
close to her chest
one hand over the other
as if it were
a stuffed animal
or a blanket
and she has this look
on her face
so calm, so strong, so quiet, so sad
and all around her
is complete chaos
and uncertainty
she’s an immigrant
who was born into
uncontrollable circumstances
her eyes are old eyes
in a small face
she hasn’t a home
to go back to
or one to go to
now
she’s caught in a struggle
of power, money, greed, hatred
and she has no power
no money
no greed
no hatred
she just knows she can’t go home
and she’s got no home
and nothing makes sense
in her head
she sees people crying
and yelling
and fighting
and hurting
and she’s standing
in the middle of it
still as a statue
not crying
not yelling
not fighting
she stands there
frozen
in her pink shirt
hugging her bag
to her chest
with hurt in her eyes
completely helpless
in a mess
she didn’t make
and I pray for her
I pray she knows
in her little heart
there is a God
who never forsakes
who hears her
who sees her
who feels her
who will give her the strength
to endure
“I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content
in any and every situation, whether well fed
or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through Him who gives
me strength.”
– Philippians 4:12-13
TL
W o R d S
when a child
first learns to speak
a word
and then another
and another
and another
forming sentences
that turn into talk
talking on paper
like the books with the pictures
that rhyme
and sing
and repeat
the small words
become big
and the big words
become small
A-Z
big letters
and little letters
they all look different but mean the same thing
sound the same way
and it’s funny how
all the words
they first learn
to say
to write
to read
are all good ones
all good words
there are no bad words
in the A-Z
they have no idea
bad words exist
until one day
they learn
that words have meaning
behind them
and that some can hurt your feelings
and make you cry
while others can make you laugh
and feel love
the tone, the volume, the intent
the way words are strung together
in a line
spoken or written or heard
are interpreted
and taken in
but in the alphabet of first words
there are no bad words
in any of the stories or songs or poems or prayers
the words are all good
there are no bad words
except maybe the word:
no
TL
Transformative
in sports
they say
you never learn much
from winning
but you learn much
from losing
when you win
you feel invincible
when you lose
you feel vulnerable
invincible is harder to teach
vulnerable is ready to learn
when someone you love dearly dies
you feel loss in the deepest way there is to lose
not only did you lose that person
but you lost the way they loved you
not to say you won’t feel love again
but that it won’t be the same
how can it be
why would you want it to be
the way they loved you
mattered
the way you loved them
mattered
TL
Goblet of Gold
the sun
is lightening the leaves
a softer green
on a trail
lined with towering trees
you feel small
as you look up
and a little lost
as you look down
for the trail is so long
and weary
and you’re already tired
from your travels
yet faced with the choice
you don’t turn around
or sit down
you choose to go forward
to keep going
to keep moving
taking steps
all the small ones add up
as you look around
the mud turns meadow
the rough terrain
evens out
into a gentle slope
the steep incline
flattens out
into a clearing
you can hear the water
f
a
l
l
i
n
g
and rushing over rocks
spilling over
into pooling ponds
forming fountains
that ripple out
in all direction
you take your cup
and dip it down
into the well
and bring it back up
and pass it
round
TL
Blank Pages
when rife
with the stress
of daily life
don’t dismiss it
as it is
and keep pushing
past the point
there has to be stops
breaks
where you get off the train
the bus, the plane
not for vacation
or holiday
but to return
to a place
inside yourself
before
you ever got on the train
the bus, the plane
before there was somewhere
you had to be
had to go
for what you forgo
is always there
on hold
like a bookmark
in a book
understanding your story
is not in the summary
or skipping pages
chapters
the whole thing
you have to really read
so, you can write
new pages
new chapters
a good ending
TL
In the Realm
if you build
castle walls
don’t forget
the openings
to let in the light
and the air
TL
“Yellow Brick Road”
she throws
emeralds
in the air
and I spend
the rest of my life
in search
discovering new facets
in each one
I find
TL
In the Ring
when a fighter
is down
on the ground
all messed up
and bruised and bleeding
and the crowd is roaring
and the cameras are flashing
and the bright lights are blinding
and they’ve already wrote the headline
none of it matters
the fighter hears nothing
the fighter sees nothing
the fighter thinks nothing
there is nothing
no past
no future
only a pulse
the breath
rhythm and repetition
conscious and unconscious
like being underwater
the fighter becomes water
fluid
like a drop of rain
in the river
that cascades over the waterfall
and crashes down
into the deep
in total emersion
the energy dispersed
it evens out
in all directions
of space and time
there is no battle
to be
the fighter becomes
one
TL
On the Road to Where
in the great
classroom of life
we are all teachers
for we are all students
first
you do not have to have a college degree
to be a teacher
in the great
classroom of life
but you do have to be a student
always
and what you teach others
does not necessarily take semesters or quarters
or lifetimes to learn
a gesture takes but a moment
an extraordinary moment
in an ordinary day
is happening
right now
to each student
all around the world
in all stages of life
beginning or ending
we learn something new
something we didn’t know
until we lived it
‘til we felt it
the lessons are all different
and come in all forms
shapes and sizes
but no matter the form
the shape or the size
the lessons are connected
somehow
there are hard ones
and easy ones
there are painful ones
and joyful ones
there are surface ones
and deeper ones
there are strong ones
and weak ones
each person you meet
each experience you go through
teaches you something
you didn’t know
that you needed to know
from the moment of our birth
to the moment of our death
there is something
always something
more to learn
more to teach
more to understand
TL
Baby Steps
there’s a broken
turtle shell
on my desk
the insides got
destroyed
after somebody ran it
over
and kept on going
as if nothing
horrible
had just happened
to it
TL
On Repeat
some songs
are pure poetry
put to music
like That
Lucky Old Sun
composed by John Beasley Smith
and written by Haven Gillespie
in 1949
and in 2008
Kenny Chesney
and Willie Nelson
came along
with their mastery of music
and made it their own
yeah, I could listen to it
for the rest of my days
TL
The Past
When I left
I shut the door
Behind me
And went back
With bolts and locks
Three times
Just to be sure
And went back
With planks of plywood
Just to be sure
And went back
With sheets of drywall
Just to be sure
And went back
With a cement truck
Just to be sure
‘til I was satisfied
And sure
That nothing could ever
Or would ever
Get back
Through
That door
And winters went by
Summers and springs
And falls
And you wake up
One day
And realize
The only way
To shut that door
Behind you
Is to walk back
Through it
Barefoot
TL