I saw a dozen fresh roses,
beautifully made into a bouquet.
Twelve signs of love and promise,
just while I was on my way.
I saw a dozen fresh roses today.

They were surely meant to make someone's day,
to share love and happiness,
but they only show sadness.
I saw a dozen fresh roses today.
I saw a dozen fresh roses thrown away.

I paused exiting the bus,
people cramming by in a fuss.
The small trash can below.
Contained these flowers and a bow.

And all I could think of,
Was the rejection and loss
Associated with that toss.
I saw a dozen fresh roses today.
I saw the sign of love thrown away.

Upon a barren rock ‘neath alien skies,
Our starship, a funeral pyre’s guise,
Its flames devouring dreams we once had,
Peering down at your helmet, not looking all that bad,

We forged a path through voids of endless night,
Unveiling mysteries in nebulas’ soft light,
Hand in hand, we’d chase the galaxies’ embrace,
But now the silence mocks this empty place,

Through shared purpose we soared, a boundless flight,
Now your absence echoes, a thief of the night.
The stars we sought, their wonders now dim,
Without your spark, my heart’s a requiem.

Though universe’s mysteries still unfold,
Your loss has left my spirit stark and cold,
Ten thousand years could never ease this pain.
For what path remains when you’re no longer sane?

Once there was a witch,
Some would call her a . . Hold It!! We need to write a good, well, more wholesome sounding poem. . .

Ok, so on with the good poem with morals, I think, which, I as the writer haven’t actually figured out yet.

Once there was a girl,
Once there was a boy,
All he wanted was to give her joy,
All she wanted was one more toy.

Once there was a girl,
Once there was a boy,
One special day the boy,
Wanting again to give her joy,
Provided a trail of clues,
Thinking this would lift her blues,
He had rented a room at the finest inn,
Rented the finest Suburban,
Gave stuffed animals and flowers,
It was even on a day with no showers,
Bought her dinner,
Called her a winner,
But in the end,
She treated this friend,
By insulting him to offend,
Telling him he had no right to flaunt
For all these beautiful things were just a taunt
She yelled, screamed, cried at his insensitivity.

Once there was a girl,
Once there was a boy,
This boy was not too bright,
For try and try as he might,
Buying for her until he was in arrears,
Even changing careers,
Finally after 9 years,
When he had learned his lesson true,
He let her go,
But not before he got what was due,
For many years,
She would go on to sue and sue.

Things felt better,
Till I got a letter,
Current battles,
On so many levels,
The world it straddles,
Friends trapped in war in far off places,
While I Sit here in the rain making faces,
Through betrayal by kin,
We are cut off again,
Imprisoned by proxy,
Through poetry we build moxie.

For another I long,
I dance to her song,
I hug her bear,
But more, I do not dare.

I feel trapped by others rules,
In a cage that time pulls,
Waiting for others to be released,
I have this time, this purgatory,
I could use it to be ever free,
But then comes crashing the economy,
Now, my time feels of waste,
So much to do, I must make haste,
Because in the end,
When rejoined with friend,
No better off will I be,
And this sharpens my agony,

So many irons in the fire,
They are all a glow,
Some brighter than others,
I am waiting for one to really go,
But buckets of water the world continues to throw.

I am so close to being free,
It’s just infuriating to me,
Life is to short to wait,
Sitting with all my horses at the gate,
Checking their shoes, brushing their hair,
Doing what I can to keep them there,
But nothing is going to happen,
Unless these damn gates open,
If they don’t open this year,
Then cry the dogs of war and fear!

I will open them with brute force,
This will destroy my current world of course,
But I cannot stand by,
While life flows dry,
We will stand on the mountain of freedom,
Overlooking the smoldering battlefield of oppression,
Our long jackets waving like the flags of aggression
We will have our hour
Or with our blood the ground will be sour.

Grrrrr….

For now, I shall hold myself back,
Though my patience does not lack,
It is not infinite.

For now, I will watch the rain,
And try to sooth the pain
For now…

I want too much,
I need too much,
I love too much,

I want adventure,
I want tranquility,

I want to explore,
I want to stay home,

I want the unknown,
I want the familiar,

I want a lover,
I want a friend,

I want a companion,
I want to be alone,

I want to act crazy,
I want to be respected,

I want to own a huge empire,
I want to live in a simple cabin,

I want to sail the high sees,
I want to drift in a pond,

I want to sit beneath the tree sleeping, hat on my head
I want to climb the tree to the highest point and wave my hat at the world.

I want a love who is kind, loving and supportive,
I want a love who is strong minded and independent.

I want to run away,
I want to fight the good fight.

This is my life,
I love it,
I don’t

But what I do love, is that the universe is so complicated, that all these things are true at the same time. This duality makes life wonderful and I feel I will never be bored with it.

As I leave the Earth far behind
All the hate and petty squabbles fade, but so does the warmth of love,
The cold darkness of space,
Beauty to stretch the imagination, but vast and uncaring,
Feeling more insignificant than on a planet with billions
Then the exquisite feeling of love returns riding on distortions of radio waves,
reaching across the cosmos at the speed of light.
It lights the heart,
Out there somewhere, someone cares, and that gives me strength to conquer all.

Arriving home, stepping out of the old model A truck,
Over the corn field, I see smoke and hear the whistle of 5 o’clock train,
As I walked up to the house, a light breeze was blowing,
I could hear you singing and softly playing the piano just inside the door,
playing. . “You made me love you” I think.
I stood on the porch, watching you,
delighting in the beauty that was you and the magic that your voice carried, the slight movement of your body back and forth across the bench,
with the creak of the porch you stopped playing and I thought the moment was over,
You turned, looked up at me, let your hair free and fingered me to come closer,
I got excited, overwhelmed with your beauty, your hair glowing as the setting Sun shown through the window. As I approached, expecting to be swept off my feet, you grabbed my hat and ran out the door saying “It’s mine now!”.

You always were one to play games, perhaps that’s why I love you so much. After a chase across the yard to finally catch you in the barn, we laid under Stearman, laughing, poking fun, kissing until dark. Seemed every day had a magical way with you.

It was the summer of ’36, just before the war.
You and I picnicking, the tall grass, warm breeze.
You laughing as I chased my hat the wind had stolen from me.
Caressing your soft sun lit face as your eyes closed and you turned to grin.

Flying home in my Stearman, clouds gliding by.
Your dark hair, ends fluttering in the wind
Your smile lit the world
The world was beautiful then
When you were my world.

That was a previous life.
But still I remember.
I still look for you out in the tall grass.
I still see your sunlit smile.
I still can hear your laugh.
But you are not there.
Where are you?
I must find you.
I have been searching so long.
Dreaming of yesterday with you
Wanting tomorrow
Here I am waiting . . .
Please find me.

It’s been many years since that summer in ’36,
The summer of ’07, when I found you again,
Your hair had changed,
You were younger,
But it was still you,
After all these years,
You still were one to play games,
Taking advantage of my weaknesses,
How you laughed as you ran off with my stolen cell phone,
Around tables you ran, saying “it’s mine now!”
And this time we played on the waters of the Andes,
So high, there was barely air to laugh,
Somehow, we still managed to laugh until we cried.

My Stearman has long since faded into the past,
but together we flew high,
High into the depths of space.
Theft of my ship.
Left me stranded on a alien world,
But you were my world….again,
I knew it was in jest
And across the galaxy I pursued,
Until united by an infinite bond,
Billions of years in the making,
Seemed every day had a magical way with you.

And the days together formed a fairy tale.
It was so brief,
But it felt like a lifetime,
Now you are gone,
And I am once again alone,
With only memories, letters and photographs,
My day still begins and ends with you.

As I lay here, I can still smell the faded scent of you….bear’ly…