poetomachia

i won’t let you ruin my good mood
no, i won’t let you, not ever, no never

you can rain, i will shine
i know you’re down, i feel fine

there’s more to be found
than a smile or frown

i won’t let your angry dark skies cover my sun
or cast a shadow on my day or way, i will run
i won’t let you, no never, not ever

go ahead, paint it gray or even black
no matter how the card’s are stacked
i know the motto, don’t look back
your mansion may be a shack
but i find riches in lack
and even these words can be seen as another attack

another fine time with friends and the little broken thing
which won’t mend, your heart from a different time
a moment which unforgotten gains strength and relevance
in every situation, how little how small
i won’t let you crush the new growth at all
no, i won’t let you, not never, no ever

Thank you for setting me straight
For showing me the path.

Thank you for pointing out my shortfalls
Thank you for lifting my fist
And wiping my face

I still enjoy your company
When you get lit
With truth

When I feel your falling
I come calling

I know just what to say
What you said to me when

You felt your words
Spelling themselves

In the forest
In the night
When your mom slept
And you dad wept
And the factory closed
And the crickets called you
Fool

whole heart
not just heart of hearts
the god
not just god of gods
life full
of compromise and reprieve
honest
all things always at odds

sleep too thick in your eyes
words that catch in the throat
a harsh word or a turn of
the face that gets my goat

maybe i’m not down but i’m out
caught here for all these days
i hold myself, back from the edge
almost comfortable in the shadows and haze

dazzling here amongst the trees
could you stand about, shuffle in
the needles and hold me in your smile awhile
i’ve decided to stay and keep wafflin’

let it begin inside where the fire
can’t be measured, heard, felt or sought
always ready to explode but never
the fury of the sun has come to naught

recognized a train boarded without a ticket
something found in the mouth spit out
trapped beneath these snow sheds and tunnels
could you be my passage out

i saw you on the bridge
and i loved you as the way
i recognized you at the well
and my thirst passed away

lying beneath the quiet clouds
steaming lightly away from directed thought
shadows at the edge the mind is light
freshly woven, lying lightly, within grasped

the thought to seize is enough to
put to flight, even unto itself a fabric
put to rest the desire to capture
control is the key by which this sewn

free by creation and intention
held by conception, shattered with holding life

shuffling through the morning rain
wax in pocket, something to protect
cover me, shield me from pain
braces twist to pull prevent reject

i walked in beneath his wings
and i dreamed the pain didn’t hurt anymore
there was a time when i thought
wings were all that was required to soar

sealed up tight behind plaster and lathe
safe from the rain and hurricane
i’m no poe, i’m no plath
casting about for rhyme crime or metaphor
worth a chuckle, maybe a laugh
bare my soul, fill my hole
carry words bound and float my raft

i travel these streets, these buses, trains
lunch in hand, and a child’s trainers
a notebook and broken pen, breast pocket
shy to express the thoughts of a no brainer

underpass full of talk, highway full of rumor
join us in our descent complete and profane
and all our words hollow as our hearts are made to feel
we can heal and grow far beyond simply maintain

It’s not about getting into heaven
It’s not about Holier than the next guy
It’s not about keeping the boss off my back

I’m waiting for the next piece to fall into place
Sometimes I try to shake it from the sky
But it’s not about that