Being There

Hyped up, the celebration

Is the event of the time.

Turned down,

You reject it in an instant.

Yes, you’d like to be there.

You would if you could.

But it’s not the way things

Seem to go, this time.

No, it’s not the will of the universe

To bring you to that point.

To have you there,

With friends and family,

Making the most

Of a little thing,

But, oh, it’s much bigger

Than anything else that’s happened

In your life in many years,

More than in theirs as well.

To be there, to toast to paradise,

To give a revelation,

Of things to come,

To speak the unspeakable,

To challenge the present

With what you have,

What you’d wish

For those you love,

The ones you live with,

And the ones you only see

Every once in a while.

Another Chance

I talk to you. I ask you how you are.

You answer that you’re good,

But it’s hard to believe you.

The world has come crashing down

Upon your head.

You can’t see the forest for the trees.

She’s awake but doesn’t see it either.

You both are trying so hard.

You don’t want to bother anyone,

You just want to fit in,

Live your lives independently again.

Do your thing, without

Asking anybody about anything.

If only yesterday would return.

If only you could put the past

In a bottle, and take it with you.

But time marches on,

And it carries you

To places and times,

Where and when you don’t want to be.

If only you’d get a redo.

If only you had known,

It would turn out this way.

If only things would change

For the better, yes, a little.

Oh, but life is not like that.

It grabs you by the horns

And tumbles you over,

Flailing topsy turvey.

So much you never said,

Nothing to take back,

But everything to give.

Just once again.

Another chance.

Civil War

Heaviness on my heart today.

I saw you there, but did you see me?

I’m worried about you,

Wondering if you know

What’s going on around you.

Troubled to see you,

Taking people’s lives into your hands,

Destiny falls before you.

Life force quakes beneath your yolk.

Bodies piled up, you crawl across them.

Some hanging from the rafters,

Their insides spilling out.

Begging for mercy, pity, anything.

But then I see you through the lens,

I see you fall, I feel the heaviness again.

Please, you say, don’t let them kill me.

That’s a quote for the ages.

Cling and Bow

Starch a shirt, a menial task.

Wash a pair of pants,

Drink from a flask.

Beware of infinite losses,

Clinging to your arm

In the middle of the night.

Don’t pick a fight.

You might, I know.

Catch the flow

Of air conditioning

On my skinny toes.

Feel the ringing in your ear.

Try to steer your car

Away from trouble now.

Cling and bow.

Cling and bow.

A Clue

The sheets of rain fell from the sky,

Down on my head, making me high.

Can I rescue you with a clue?

Can I help you stand for a moment?

I lost my grip on your hand.

I lost my senses. Now I can’t.

Can you feel the flow of rivers slow?

Do you get drenched with heaven now?

Place your hand in my hand.

Walk with me. Feel the fan on my face.

Heat rises, closes in, floods the air.

Get a taste. Win the race.

Make a play. Pull up a chair.

A Nurse

You are weak, in this difficult time.

I am not strong, I’m sorry to say.

Can you see an open door,

Out of this place?

Can you see the tears

Falling down my face?

I don’t know the answer to your pain,

Or to mine.

I can’t tell which way to go.

Is there a paper to read?

Is there a horizon to see?

Is there a nurse to rescue me, too?