Sublimate anger 

into art that tears away 

the veil of falsehood 

With whiskey smiles and 

smokey eyes they hide as much

as their hearts reveal 

Your diamonds are dust

and your gold mere gilt as your 

temple walls collapse 

Dreams' reality 

more vivid than life unspools

unspoken thoughts, truths 

Link hands and shout; let

them send their worst to try and 

break our steely bonds

Blow your horn for the

angels, Sonny, and give them 

the thrill you gave us 

 

A raindrop down your back 

let's you know you're still alive 

and nature is at play 

"The world is burning

so why not have some fun?" they

asked, grinning madly 

Pin hopes on clover,

dandelions, and daisies, til 

winter comes again 

Sometimes when a door 

closes, you have to jimmy 

a window open 

Ghosts with shadows dance

among the gravestones lightly 

until the morning 

Thirty years ago 

they said take back the power 

but we heeded not  

A lone porch light on 

a lonely street snaps off and

darkness rushes in  

Play the blues for us

in a world with ballooning 

inequality 

In the light I see 

the beauty of everything 

until the sun leaves 

The fickle fates take

the best of us first, leaving 

the dregs to remain 

Fairytale endings, 

at least with the Brothers Grimm,

climax in violence 

Intravenous 

pirate ships come to maraud, 

plundering your cells 

They can stretch, fill, and

tuck, but time will have its say

and tell its story 

Accords are cored by 

hollow words on hallowed ground 

stained with blood and ink 

Identity masked

by words meant to convey a 

truth that instead shrouds 

Codes and cyphers can't

protect clandestine secrets 

of our sullied souls 

Let nepo babies 

wail as boughs break and cradles 

tumble from on high 

Soft dogs with hard bones

gnaw and gnaw and dream ancient

dreams of the wild world 

Ripped from the womb of

sleep we wrestle with angels

for a day's blessing

The hanged man sees the

world upside down, glimpsing things

missed by all the rest 

At journey's end we 

return to the peaceable 

kingdom of our home  

There is nothing left 

but entertainment to daze 

and drain us all dry 

Pick your own poison 

whether pens or apples to 

spite with or spit out  

Time so taunting that

crawls at dawn but is breakneck 

by the evening's end 

The rocks are bare and 

brown missing the lake water 

that gave them cover