a soul forged in flames
such is stronger than it came
goes and comes and then
how many lifetimes
plagued by what you cannot change
try and try again
a heart tried and true
don’t mistake my eyes for you
big cats watch and wait
enjoy the unknown
look a tiger in the eye
live life like it’s fate
severed from the poles
in this lifetime i’m adrift
somewhere new to be
uneasy notions
haunted when the seasons shift
stealing warmth from me
the fire in my head
burns softly all through the night
inhaling ashes
cling to wisps of smoke
grasping for what isn’t there
visions and cruel dreams
writing on the wall
doesn’t make sense the next day
missing all the signs
i would drive all night
for a glimpse of that dawning
pinnacle morning
the first of many
bright rises on dark ridges
a new day is born
this is a list of things i’ve borrowed:
first, from my dad and mom
the genes passed down our family
from their parents, and so on
then i borrowed my mother’s body
while i formed my own
all the air i ever breathe
and the water that makes up me
i borrowed from the sky and sea
my cells have grown and been replaced
i’ve kept few since my founding day
these words are not just from my tongue
language comes from more than one
borrowed wisdom from those who teach
is lent out to those who need
and everything that i have drawn
i borrowed from something i saw
so what do i have that is mine
all we have is borrowed time
whence it comes and where it goes
we are all too small to know
but when it’s gone, as i have learned
all that is borrowed must be returned
digging in the dirt
years of silence underfoot
first rays of sunshine
warmth where there’s been none
things that don’t rot aren’t reborn
churn soil start again
sun shines on my back
warm thoughts underlie the task
shovel the days by
one heap at a time
each one is one heap closer
than the day before
when the task is done
shoveling days one by one
then at last i’m home
the skull you dig up
hands running over old cracks
can’t get that time back
rediscovering
that you can’t heal ancient wounds
time has failed to mend
asking empty eyes
how they lost their fabled shine
was it just your time
no one’s cross to bear
only pain is buried there
still you dig it up
get away from me
how do i get away now
self-induced exile
when you’re by yourself
there’s no one else to lie to
get your story straight
are you still out there
in a universe apart
each of us his own
see crystal visions
sometimes readings are unclear
but one is concise
lessons never learned
pitfalls into the unknown
swallow all the years
trouble never quits
i’d lift you til my spine breaks
just to prop you up
empty out the dust
crumbs of anger, guilt and fear
keeping you plugged up
say what you want to
no one listens anyway
find nothing to fear
everything to gain
from the scope of all angles
not all hope is lost