A name change or a 

Hollywood facade can't hide 

the rot and ruin 

 The rain and sun shake 

hands and with a wink and a 

nod confuse us all 

Blood river runs high

as nations seek out victims

for bridges of bone 

Tabula rasa 

again as at birth all thoughts 

vanish with your smile 

You've been looking through 

the wrong end with myopic 

straining, missing all 

Go ask Sisyphus 

how he feels every time it

goes to hell once more 

From within the light 

flecked bushes two eyes sparkled

blinked and then were gone 

Acquiesce or rage

against unyielding forces 

either ends the same 

Once upon a time

a story ended before 

it had a chance to... 

The all-powerful 

I devours us, crushing 

the collective we. 

Waste your time like a

teen as the bell tolls warning

eternity's nigh 

Within the darkness

there remains a light, small 

but high-spirited  

 On the wind a whiff

 of smoke awakens fear of

another forest fire 

With planks in our eyes 

and stones for glass breaking we

wait impatiently 

The skeletons spill

out of the closets and scare

the ghosts at the feast   

Disaster's death toll 

is only faceless numbers

until you know them  

You can cling to a 

life raft helplessly or raid

the seas guns blazing

Light breaks through the clouds

in life as in nature and 

bathes us in blest warmth 

Between fate and toil

there exists, perhaps, a world 

where things turn out fine 

I wandered lost in

my memories and dreams like 

a motherless child 

The city once known 

so intimately is now

veiled, aloof, transformed 

They plant seeds with love

and hope for growth, these teachers, 

from sapling to oak

Plasticine parts are

de rigueur today for our 

laminated love 

Twist of fate or a

knife it really matters not 

since it's all a game 

A delicate web 

so dangerously beautiful 

is designed for death  

Life is fragile like 

a soap bubble built from a 

child's breath floating free

Your smile inverts time

taking me back through our life 

to the first shared kiss 

The whispering drapes 

danced in the breeze scattering

the bright morning light 

You clawed your way up

to what seemed like the apex

to find an abyss 

  

I heard a distant 

conversation, a cadence 

rising and falling 

Face the raging sea

with your eyes open and taste

salty air and smile