Men in Black

A halting walk. A forceful pace.
They cease their talk. They steel their face.
With withered hand they touch the veil.
They understand the empty shell.
Then file away and know too soon,
That Death will play; they'll hear the tune.

A soul unseen, that won't be back.
They'll lie between the men in black.

A forceful pace. A halting walk.
They steel their face. They cease their talk.
They touch the veil, with withered hand.
The empty shell, they understand.
They know too soon that Death will play.
They'll hear the tune...and file away.

Sweet Dreams

Lying here, I think of you.
I wonder where you are.
There's not a thing that I can do,
But wish upon a star.
The air I breathe is not as sweet
Unless I'm by your side.
The world is cold. I feel no heat.
My lust for life has died.
It never is just like before;
Won't ever be the same.
And even now I want you more.
And now, I say your name.
It's getting late and soon I'll drift,
In sleep, I'll think of you.
And dreams will take away the rift
That separates us two.

A Fowl Finger

While walking in the forest night
Across a moonless bog,
I came across, in the ghostly light,
A stranger there in the fog.
He blocked my path as he approached,
His stare never leaving my eyes.
He probed my soul, and then encroached!
It caused my pulse to rise!

"You have trespassed upon my ground!
You've tainted my expanse!
Your soul to me would now be bound,
But first, I'll give you a chance!"
He put his finger to my chest,
And then he said to me,
"A riddle is to be your test,
The answer will set you free!"

"What burns like fire in darkest black
For travellers on a wayward track?
It's lust for rich and poor alike
Will grow the instant Death does strike!"

And then a sort of twisted grin
Appeared upon his face.
An evil shown from deep within,
From some corrupted place.

"Ti's Hell!", I cried, "You devilish beast!
The answer was there in your eyes!
I'll not become your bloody feast!
You've given away your disguise!"

He dropped his head, and then he cursed,
And changed back into a fiend.
To answer his riddle, I'd been the first.
My slate had just been cleaned.
He wheeled about and did not linger.
He had just lost the fight.
He bid farewell with a bony finger,
And disappeared into the night.

If I Could

If I could write what's in my heart
I'd tell you all my pain.
But, I don't know just where to start.
I feel it's all in vain.

If I could say what's on my mind
I'd empty out my sack.
Too many memories left behind.
Too many more come back.

If I could show you how I feel
And let you see my soul,
You'd see a wound that will not heal;
An unrelenting hole.

If I could have the things I want,
I'd only need a few.
But fickle fate will tease and taunt,
And never give me you.

If I could be, just for a while,
Right where I want to be,
I'd take a beach; a sandy isle,
Somewhere across the sea,
Alone, just you and me.

Altered Memory

I saw her just the other day,
And barely caught the face.
Her memory had been stored away
In some forgotten place.
She looked at me but didn't know
Who I had grown to be,
Or maybe didn't want to show
That she remembered me.
I watched her for a moment or two,
But shied from being rude.
I searched for something, just a clue,
That gave away her mood.
She acted different than the way
That I remembered her.
I didn't expect her looks to stay
The same as how they were.
But something deep within my mind
Said that she hadn't changed.
The truth, it seemed, I'd left behind;
The fact I'd rearranged.

My mind replayed a book I'd read
About how thought proceeds.
What we perceive within our head
Is changed to suit our needs.
Then all the things I held as truth,
My mind began to ponder.
Conceptions I had formed in youth,
My ignorance, they were under.
I thought on this all through the night.
Without sleep I went long.
What I thought wrong just may be right,
And what was right is wrong.
This madness pressed upon my brain,
Possession, the final intent.
My sanity drowning in lunatic pain,
No reasoning left to dement.
My soul was weary with the fight.
The war then came to naught.
I saw that girl again last night.
She wasn't the one I had thought.

Simple Love

Her smile could calm a raging storm,
Or melt an icy heart.
Those eyes so innocent and warm
Could tear a man apart.
A poise as graceful as a queen
Yet gentle as a dove.
They say an angel can't be seen.
She's one from heaven above.

But now that smile has gone away.
Her heart no longer stirs.
She left it to another day;
A time when I was hers.
That little flame that used to play
In eyes so deep and blue,
Has slowly died and gone away.
But to her man shes' true.
She vowed to follow wherever he leads;
Through sunny sky or rain.
When simple love is all she needs,
Seems all she gets is pain.

Eulogy to the Unborn

You'll not get to run through the green with bare feet,
Or see the white puffs in the blue.
But now you can run and fall at His feet,
And give Him the credit He's due.

You'll give no account for the word or deed;
For the thoughts that were formed from within.
You went home to the Lord while still as a seed,
Being chosen, He covered your sin.

The Kingdom, for me, is dark through the glass,
Yet, you see the truth face to face.
But my fleshly vision will very soon pass,
Then, I too will see by His grace.

The truth is unknown. Were you sister or brother?
You left with the story untold.
Perhaps you were taken to stay with each other;
Two lambs in the heavenly fold.

For now I will keep both your memories with me
And think of the place where you are.
Then I'll know for sure, that one day we'll see
Each other, in a better place by far.

Dedicated to the Campbell children who are patiently waiting.

If I Could Stop Time

If I could stop the spinning hands
That sweep the wretched clock,
Or yet, the hourglass' sands,
If somehow, I could block.
If time would still at my command
And hearken to my rules
I'd be a man in much demand
For madly racing fools.

If I could take our children's looks
And freeze them in their ages
I'd have their lives in story books,
Yet, could not turn the pages.
If I could break Death's stranglehold
By turning back the date,
I'd kill a wish of one who's old,
Who yearns to see their mate.

So I'll not dream of stopping time,
But carry on my way,
And live my life, not quite sublime,
From day to fleeting day.

Release

I wield this pen with tired thumb,
So weary from the fight.
My wrist is weak, my fingers numb,
Alone in candlelight.
The pulse of tension will not cease;
In sleep, I will not sink,
Unless my thoughts can find release,
And flow out in the ink.

I Saw The Sun

I saw the sun one early morn
While going on my way.
Like light the instant one is born,
The sun is to each day.
The pains of birth are to the mother,
And so the child alike.
The one gives lifeblood to the other
And makes it's heart to strike.

As I continued on my path,
And as the sun rose higher
The world was given a shining bath;
A cleansing, as with fire.
The early childhood of the day
Was warm, and bright, and pleasant.
The morn that kept the heat at bay
Was soon to turn adolescent.

At noon the sun beat on my back
And scorched the desert sand.
I realized now I'd lost my track
In this wasted barren land.
The anger of the sun I felt.
It brought despair, then fear.
I stopped, I bowed, and then I knelt
And hoped that God would hear.


By evening time the sun had dropped;
Was sinking in the west.
I slowed my pace, and then I stopped
And sat to take a rest.
I fell asleep. I had a dream.
I walked beside a clear blue stream.
The grass was green. The flowers bloomed.
The clouds were drifting by.
But deep inside I felt so doomed;
Like I was going to die.

Then I awoke and looked around,
And there beside me on the ground;
A body lying in the dust.
The sun had turned the skin to crust.
The face I saw I knew so well.
I hung my head and cried.
For long ago within this hell...
It burned me till I died.

Progeny

A young boy will look at the girl by his side.
He'll give her a handful of posies.
A young man will gaze at his beautiful bride
And give her a bouquet of Roses.
Two forget-me-nots, I've given to you;
The yield of our labor and sowing.
And when we are gone, as all must soon do,
Our flowers will still keep on growing.

Written in Stone

Back when it was written,
No future was known.
A prophecy, true, made the call.
The chisel was smitten
To write in the stone,
"A Good Man Remembered By All".

Traces

A tuft by the trail,
A broken egg shell,
An empty nest up in a tree.
A wing in a web,
Driftwood in the ebb
That widens the shore by the sea.
A track in the mud,
A spot of dried blood,
A tire mark that once was a toad.
A pile of old bones,
Some moss covered stones
Once laid in a square by the road.

As life melts away,
Surroundings decay,
I can't stop the crumbling alone.
But time will erase what once was a trace;
A piece of my memory, soon gone.

Seed of Revenge

Late one night while I lay sleeping,
Came a caller slowly creeping.
Deep within the cerebral cleft
An evil seed, by Death, was left.

The pressure grew as days went by.
The Reaper knew that I must die,
And yet he filled me with false hope.
To cling to life, I'd grab and grope.

Then came the day for me to die.
I saw the reaper standing by.
He started to laugh, but then grew dumb.
I too had seed... and a dark green thumb!

Homecoming

I went back home the other day
To see what did remain.
Could sense the place from far away
As I got off the train.
A mile away, but as a child
I still could hear that sound.
That wailing whistle, long and wild;
The trembling in the ground.

So off I walked down dusty road.
So long since I had been.
Returning to that old abode
To see my folks again.

The road went past the Simpson place.
I loved that girl of his!
I won't forget her smiling face.
I wonder where she is.
Beneath that tree in their front yard,
Her hand, I used to hold.
It seemed I held the winning card.
Somehow... I had to fold.
There's not much left; a stony wall
Right where the house once stood.
How did it look? I can't recall.
Right now... I wish I could.

When soon the house came into view
I almost turned and ran!
So scared of being overdue.
So scared to be a man.

Could almost see the neighbor's boys,
Who gave me my first pup.
I thought I heard my mother's voice,
"Come on child, hurry up"!
I listened long, but heard no sound,
Except the gentle breeze.
The old swing lay there on the ground
To rot beneath the trees.
The doors were locked, and windows too.
I'd seen enough today.
But one more thing I had to do
Before I went away.

I walked on out into the field,
Under a lone shade tree,
And saw the graves that death had sealed,
Yet time had set me free.
Then I recalled what Daddy said
The day he breathed his last.
"Son, carry on when I am dead,
And put me in the past".
I said a useless last goodbye
And left them both in peace.
My mind had let them finally die;
A bittersweet release.

My past was left around the bend
To die in rot and rust.
Then gently blew the summer wind
To fill my tracks with dust.

I, Driftwood

Driftwood, Driftwood, where have you been?
I've circled the world, and I've started again.
Driftwood, Driftwood, where will you go?
I drift with the tide. Please don't ask. I don't know.

"Something's in the water dad.
Out there beyond the bar"!
"You might as well forget it lad.
Tis passing by too far.
It's just a piece of drifting wood
That's washed away from shore.
It soon will sink, and that for good,
To never rise no more".

While floating in a moonless sea
With darkness for my sight,
So suddenly, it came to be,
I saw a distant light!
A growing flicker on a beach.
There's laughter, then a shout.
The waves once kept me out of reach,
But now, they'd turned about.

I'd been adrift for many days,
But that was in the past.
The shilhouettes around the blaze
Would be my hope at last!
I finally washed upon the sand
And caught two watchful eyes.
And even in the stranger's hand
My heart began to rise.

To have a space all for myself,
Was all I could desire.
To just be placed upon a shelf,
...Not cast into the fire!


Dawn creeps from the East.
The drifting has ceased.
And no one remembers
The smouldering embers.

The Fence

I walked the pathway with a girl
And held her tender hand,
As little hearts began to swirl.
(I think you understand).
How could we know that one day soon
A fence would block our way?
We each would hear a different tune;
A different song would play.

So as we walked around a bend
The fence came into view.
And soon I knew this path would end.
...I guess she knew it too.
We stopped beside that boundary line.
Our thoughts, we didn't hide.
She told me hers. I told her mine.
We laughed, ...and then we cried.

Then came the time to say farewell.
I had to cross that fence.
And still, I hope she's doing well.
I've not heard from her since.

Some days while travelling on my own,
Sometimes with chin on shoulder,
I see her at that fence alone,
Still young, as I grow older.

Answers

How can it be
That we have to see
This lawlessness without correction?
The answer is clear.
The end-times are near.
We're losing our natural affection.

The future is spilled
As children are killed;
The parents attack their own nest.
We're worse than the beasts.
We become our own feasts.
Yet not many voices protest.

We sit there in fury
And watch our T.V.
The courtroom's becoming a stage.
It seems like the jury
Is blind as can be.
Well, that's just a sign of this age.

With darkness surrounding,
We can't get away.
It's clear, if we'll just take a look.
The truth is expounding,
And there is a way.
The answers are found in "The Book".

A Picture of You

A picture of you I have hung on my wall.
It's where I can see it, in front of it all.
I wish you were here, then you'd see it too,
Cause lately I've really been thinking of you.

I keep all your letters in a box by my bed.
One's under my pillow, real close to my head.
That one is real special. You poured out your heart.
The first time I read it, it tore me apart.

We used to go wading in a creek in the hollow.
Wherever you went, I would always follow.
We built us a snowman and gave him a name.
We loved life so much we made it a game.

We went to the dance every Saturday night.
We kissed and we hugged in the full moonlight.
The letters you wrote meant so much to me,
I carved our initials on an old Beech tree.

Then along came another and stole you away.
You wrote that last letter on a cold winter's day.
I sought you and found you down by that same creek,
His warm arms around you, your lips on his cheek.

I buried your bodies 'neath that big old Beech tree.
The same one, at sunrise, where they're hanging me.
And I know when I'm swinging the last thing I'll see;
Our two hearts connected, carved in that tree.

Soon a picture of you will lay in the dark
In a box with some letters and a piece of old bark.

Chalk

A child has drawn upon the walk,
A petroglyph, with colored chalk.
Her blissful life, without a care,
Of grown-up things, she's unaware.

A young man walking down the street
In paranoia, plants his feet.
A car speeds by. A popping sound.
The young man dives onto the ground.
The car is gone. The man then flees,
To get away from what he sees.

A child is drawn upon the walk,
A petroglyph, with marking chalk.

An Uncommon Purpose

We don't remember life is brief
Until we see one go.
And we forget that time's a thief,
So common seeds we sow.
But, then some flowers bloom at night
And some, just once a year.
These wonders rarely catch our sight
Unless they happen near.
They momentarily play a part
To brighten up the gloom.
And though you're gone, you're in my heart;
A rare and fleeting bloom.

Butterfly

Wings to fly,
For soaring high
Above the lowly ground.
Farewell to nigh.
Go touch the sky;
Horizons to be found!

A thirst to whet,
The course is set
Just through a narrow gap.
Beware, a net!
The end is met
Within the spider's trap.

Thoughtless Decision

Feel the breeze?
Smell the storm.
Touch the rain with your hand.
See the trees?
The sun is warm.
Dig your toes in the sand.

To climb in the trees,
To play in the mud,
To go on a trip to the zoo,
To fall on my knees,
To see my own blood,
Are things that I never will do.

Birds and bees,
Children at play,
A family out on a hike.
Remember these,
And then one day,
Please tell me what they are like.

A secret crush,
The High School dance,
Expectancies of the first date.
But I must hush.
I have no chance.
Another has chosen my fate.

The one that I know
Just didn't know me,
But, maybe I caused her some harm.
Before I could grow,
She had to be free.
Then somehow I sensed an alarm!

I struggled about,
But I had no voice.
Then came an unnatural division.
An easy way out,
A terminal choice,
Someone made a thoughtless decision.

Slipping

Rouse me not from waking dreams;
The musings of the day.
Too, in sleep, it always seems
My mind won't cease to play.
A fantasy, or was it just
A separate life I live?
Excuse me please, you will I trust.
I ask you to forgive.

Could it be I've lost the line
Between what's real or not?
Perhaps it just has grown too fine.
I knew, but ...I forgot.
And if I slip into the void
And leave the real behind,
I'll live the life I have enjoyed,
Composed within my mind.

The Gift

With careful hands she fitted both the buttons on the face.
She sewed the mouth down under, then the nose went right in place.
Two little furry ears on a little furry head.
The kitten was created with a needle and some thread.

The weaving of the basket took at least a day or two.
A ring of lace around the top, and then the job was through.
The handmade flowers topped it off, what beauty they'd provide.
The kitten and a ball of yarn were neatly placed inside.

A note was written thoughtfully. It came straight from the heart.
"To Mommy's precious little girl", was how the words would start.
The note was filled with mother's love, and then sealed with a kiss.
The little girl could not recieve a greater gift than this.

The gift was given to a child so tender, yet so brave.
The mother said one last goodbye and left it on the grave.

Hands

Clinched in a fist
The moment of birth,
The hands tattle-tale on the soul.
Bound to the wrist,
Oh, how much they're worth.
And yet, only parts of the whole.

To swing the gavel
That pounds the bench,
And thus, punctuates the sentence.
To grip the shovel
That digs the trench
In spite of the killers repentance.

To wield the blade
That pierces the backs
Of anyone found in the way.
Then come to the aid
That poverty lacks,
And carry the weight of the day.

They cling to the ledge,
Refuse to let go,
And hold on that to that final breath.
Once over the edge
It seems to be so,
The hands will release all at death.

Continuum

Forgive me please, but I must go.
I've lingered long enough.
My will to stay has faded so.
The war has been too tough.
It's not your falt. Don't feel so bad.
It seems a natural thing.
Remember all the fun we've had.
Now Death... Where is thy sting?

The weather's turned.
The seeds are sown.
The crops we've yet to see.
The wick has burned.
The wax is gone.
The flame has been set free.

A swift ascent into the glow
Towards a shining face.
I know this man from long ago,
The one who took my place.

Departure

Clinging, waiting, holding on.
The timing must be right.
Once with the others, but now alone,
The journey would start tonight.

Not knowing the reason that it grew,
Not knowing it's final end,
The leaf let go of all it knew
And caught a ride on the wind.

Harvest

Bowed against the blowing wind
With roots into the ground,
The stalk of wheat will surely bend,
But hold the footing found.

Pounded by the pouring rain
Through storms that pass this way,
The stalk will drink, and still remain
To grow another day.

Baking in the burning sun
Without respite from heat,
Each eve another battle won,
So close to it's defeat.

Keeping silent in the night,
For predators may pass,
The stalk sees prey pursued in flight,
Though fleeing, caught, alas.

The many dangers that may be
Within the golden glade
Cannot compare to you or me,
Who wield the harvest blade.

Merge

The billows have blackened
Engulfing the West.
There's flickering now here and there.
The wind hasn't slackened.
The boughs have been stressed.
There's urgency filling the air.
The shadows have vanished,
Or merged into one,
And cover the face of the Earth.
Security banished
Along with the sun,
Debasing the sense of one's worth.
A hiss in the distance,
And pillars of gray
Approaching as wide as a wall.
Defying resistance,
Devouring prey,
Encroaching, the storm conquers all.
The streets become lonely,
And empty, the park.
Though fleeting, the light lets me see.
Now lingering only,
So near to the dark,
Alone, in the storm I am free.

The Call

My spirit lay rotting in a bodily grave,
Or was it a battlefield trench?
Without life left for another to save,
The corpse was so full of Death's stench.

The judgement of God that I had to face
Was, because of my sin, an assault.
To remain in remains was such a disgrace,
But that was my choice by default.

Like Lazarus was bound in the clothes of the tomb,
My spirit was bound up in sin.
My thoughts were on evil from the time of the womb,
Just like other natural men.

Forever in torment was my destiny.
I'd pay for the word and the deed.
The crimes I'd committed held great penalty.
I would suffer with all Adam's seed.

Then, while in the flesh, while spiritually dead,
Unable to please God at all,
Against my desires, and still as I fled,
To me the good shepherd did call.

With new ears to hear, with new eyes to see,
The Kingdom then came into view.
New birth and a pardon were given to me,
And all that was old became new.

Long since I have pondered, and studied, and prayed.
I've questioned those years of refusing.
I'm brought to the truth, and no longer dismayed
That God, and not I, did the choosing.

Rainsong

The evening brings the sounds of night;
The chirping of the cricket,
A hum of tiny wings in flight,
And owls down in the thicket.
And coming from the fields beyond,
Just on the edge of hearing,
The songs of frogs down in the pond
That say the rain is nearing.

The cricket chirps unceasingly,
Indifferent to the song,
For rain is just a memory.
The draught has been so long.
An owl begins a mating call.
The bats remain in flight.
And creeping things continue all
Their business in the night.

Then flickers in the distant sky
Reveal a cloudy wall.
The world will see that frogs don't lie,
As rain begins to fall.

Sleep Dreams

He'd conquer the dragon and vanquish the foe.
Sometimes it was tough, but he always did so.
He'd win the fair heart of the girl in distress,
And all of the townfolk he'd always impress.

She dreamed of a man on a faraway shore.
A loving relation to live and explore.
She'd rest in his arms, and bask in his love,
Until they both flew on the wings of a dove.

Repelling attacks from his fort in the trees,
From his point of vantage, a victory with ease.

To dance on the stage with a ballerina's grace,
Unseen in the darkness, a smile on her face.

But sleep interrupts and our dreams are then gone.
It fills our subconscious with dreams of it's own.

Symbol

I watched them when I was a child,
Their hearts under their hand.
I saw them crying as they smiled,
But I didn't understand.

They chanted words that made no sense,
But still I chanted too.
Though worlds apart, there was no fence.
One common bond they knew.

With fingers feeling racing pulse,
And chill bumps on their skin,
Their fear of the adversary dulls.
They'll die for friend and kin.

As it's been said with much regret,
"I've just one life to give",
Those patriots I'll not forget
As long as I may live.

That flapping rag before my eyes
Now means much more to me.
This man will fight until he dies
To keep that symbol free.

Scratches

I walked the same pathway almost every day,
And passed the same dead Hickory tree.
It's cover of bark had all rotted away.
The trunk was as smooth as could be.
The tree had more scratches than all in the valley,
Being wrought by a squirrel's little claws.
It seemed to be counting, likes marks on a tally,
The passage of so many paws.

I passed it in summer, and on into fall,
And swiftly the winter drew near.
These traces of life on a dead wooden wall
Had somehow become something dear.
Then one day I realized, while there in the park
The shadow of life will soon fail.
It turns in a circle with decreasing arc.
What's left is a tuft by the trail.

Intentions

In our hearts we have intentions
Much too sacred to behold.
We overflow with wise inventions,
Most of which will not unfold.

Actions that our minds design
May never come to fruition.
Within our souls we will incline,
But not complete the mission.

In our thoughts we form a purpose,
The final outcome, not for certain.
What we create, a Magnum Opus
May end before the final curtain.

A man may set a grand objective,
Defend it to the very last.
The plan may soon become defective
The moment the interest is past.

Uncognizance

As children grow up,
And as we grow old,
Our life will soon be left behind.
We fill up our cup
With all it will hold:
A poison that's numbing the mind.
Like robots, not men,
We breathe repetition.
Look at the time! Where did it go?
How long has it been;
This trance-like condition?
It's crept upon us very slow.
One day we will stop
And ponder enjoyments,
And maybe, they've been worth the cost.
The pulse rate will drop
In those final moments,
Then we will forget what we've lost.

Flowers and Weeds

A garden of flowers
Infested by weeds;
Their tender has now grown too old.
The green slender towers
Have scattered their seeds
And threaten to take back their hold.

The passing of spring,
The coming of showers;
The fate of the garden is sealed.
But summer will bring
A place for new flowers
Out there on the grave in the field.

The Keep

If one thinks they know me, then they are deceived.
There's part of me they'll never find.
There is a dark fortress which I have perceived,
Somewhere in the depths of my mind.

Did I build the structure? I hardly can say.
Apparently somebody did.
I stumbled upon it while searching one day.
Before, it had always been hid.

The way it is structured is much like a Keep.
It's built to keep something inside.
The walls appear sturdy, the foundations deep.
Within are the thoughts I must hide.

If walls ever crumble, or foundations break,
And mortar succumbs to decay,
My life, all that wickedness will overtake.
I shudder to think that it may!

One day they may gut me, or study my bones,
My brain undergo a disection.
As long as the Spirit will strengthen the stones
The world will have one less infection.

The Well

There is a place,
The edge of Hell,
That's not so hard to find.
A luring space
Within the well
Of darkness in my mind.

The winding stair
That marks the course
Is steep, to say the least.
A mortal tear
Within the force
That keeps at bay the beast.

The quick descent
Needs no intent;
The will is just released.
A slight consent
To false content;
Restraint is now decreased.

I near the well,
I dread the sight,
There is no turning back.
I feel the spell,
Choose not to fight,
My conscience growing slack.

The wall is thick
And draped with mold;
It draws with deadly power.
The shaft is slick,
Without a hold;
A deep inverted tower.

Then on the edge
I sit and look
Into that gaping maw.
Begin to dredge
With mental hook
In wonderment and awe.

The pull's too great.
I make a lunge
Into the sinful deep.
I feel the weight.
I take the plunge.
The consequence I'll reap.

The thrill is gone,
But not the mistake.
I know I must repent.
But later on
I'm doomed to make
That spiraling descent.