anyway...

anyway...

(sand)...

some mortar left a mason's trowel...

a long... long... time ago...

upon those once smooth flawless seams...

encrusted cracks do show...

each crack a sign of tensioned-time...

expressions of an age...

of weather-beated

...

manmade-treated...

sands exposed to rage...

within a crack... the newest gap...

projects post-history...

of never-ending... sand expending...

itself into destiny...

left alone... with only time...

its naturalness unfolding...

no longer does there stand the wall...

of which the sand was holding

...

~~~~~~~

(

that odd-shaped egg

)...

oh that odd-shaped egg that cracked...

beneath the crow's nest watch...

and fell to hell to gently hatch...

inside the edge of a crooked notch...

no offspring food for lonely brood...

whose siblings ceased to be...

whose father's flight took off one night...

to search eternity...

whose mother hen with wings tucked in...

had flown the coop with fate...

and laid a few to set unto...

while chance renewed her mate...

they say the bird was never heard...

couldn't hear the smallest peep...

no feathered sound to ruffle ground...

as fluffy down slept deep...

though sickness nursed this baby chick...

with mystery held as so...

secrets sprout to nuture bouts...

which helped the young bird grow...

he learned to fly by nature's eye...

to soar the boundary plain...

then flew above to meet the love...

of scattered seed remains...

he caught the catch of brethren batch...

who shed to spread their youth...

and shared with care his being spared...

as he dared to bare the truth...

he kept the course he set well lit...

and met with prayer in air...

then landed smooth on jagged groove...

to level roughness there...

and as that outcast did outlast...

his task of every deed...

he came to know the undertow...

that flowed for those in need...

the ones who sought what couldn't be taught...

the ones who chose to heed...

the ones who fought off living naught...

to save their dying breed

...

oh that odd-shaped egg that cracked...

beneath the crow's nest watch...

and fell to hell to gently hatch...

inside the edge of a crooked notch...

a fledgling reared by soul's own pledge...

a promise vowed to take...

its power straight from the great unknown...

and see what life can make!...

~~~

(

is it what life's meant to be?

)...

a roller coaster into who knows...

where it's gonna go...

chatters scatter wailing sounds...

of those afraid to show...

crowds on upward bending courses...

crescending thrill-filled fears...

of ailing falling failing faces...

smiling sweat into tears...

crouched down 'neath cracking walls...

a miser makes his mark...

too much stored-up solitude...

cemented in the dark...

fortified with fortune's doom...

in graveyards filled with wealth...

his epitaph will read too soon...

his money killed his health...

in tongues too quick to wait for wit...

the jestors take their turn...

appeasing hopes of happiness...

with lessons never learned...

grand prize so wished by drooling drones...

each drop their promenade...

into catapulting circuses...

of the worthless words they made...

society on such slick wheels...

each spoke its powers send...

facades of false authority...

from puppets trained to bend...

such glory two-fold evermore...

on signals framed with doubt

...

directing dead-end roads to take...

on how to get about...

a man perched on a manmade fence...

weakened near the ground...

two sides and all that's in-between...

pushing him all around...

birds and sky above him...

trees and seeds below...

yet

all the while he's shoved around...

earth ain't allowed to let him grow...

what names we're under it don't matter...

we're all so much the same...

if only we could break down walls...

and lose the lustre of our halls...

to find inside we're only souls...

living out game-play schemes...

is it spoiling our innocent dreams?...

and all the while we don't seem...

to see reality...

is what we're creating...

is it what life's meant to be?...

~~~~~~~

(now i'm homeless)...

lost my job a year ago...

workin' for the railroad...

took me hard... seemed unfair...

lookin' back... this wasn't there...

didn't take long to miss the pay...

that saw me fed and off to bed each day...

i had enough... a reason to care...

lookin' back... this wasn't there...

now i'm homeless... i'm nameless...

peekin' around to where i just don't know...

i'm homeless... i'm nameless...

man... can ya help me find somewhere to go...

mercy... can ya hear me?...

come be near me!...

i'm sittin' here in sin and shame...

lookin' for my home and my name again...

wantin' things the same as they once had been...

say... can ya lend a hand to this man?... my friend...

now my bed's a sidewalk bench...

i feel the cold i smell the stench...

my house is only lowly city air...

lookin' back... i wasn't here...

seems i'm just humility...

see the stares they give to me...

they step away... they won't come near...

lookin' back... i wasn't here...

now i'm homeless... i'm nameless...

peekin' around to where i just don't know...

i'm homeless... i'm nameless...

man... can ya help me find somewhere to go...

mercy... can ya hear me?...

come be near me!...

i'm sittin' here in sin and shame...

lookin' for my home and my name again...

wantin' things the same as they once had been...

say... can ya lend a hand to this man?... my friend...

please... won't ya lend a hand to this man?... my friend...

~~~~~

~~~~

(whip-poor-will-fill

)...

a whip-poor-will sits singing...

right outside my wooden door...

he plays a hand-blown sand harp...

that went missing years before...

somewhere in lost centuries...

he found those hidden strings...

beside a corner threshold key...

that opened up his wings...

in a panoramic forest gown...

of a mountain overlook...

he plays a sacred spiritual...

from nature's hymnal book...

where flowing notes in ripple boats...

move river drops to sea...

and harmonize their delta rings...

around truthful melodies...

this stark dark naked nightjar...

makes his flight upon a whim...

leaving a trail of echoes...

behind the tail of feathers he's in...

they say he got his name...

by taking milk from livestock herds...

but legends only fill half-pints...

of paradoxical words!...

~~~~~~~

(step-brother)...

the bottom step worked himself into a

curve

...

till he nearly sagged

onto the ground!...

i guess he's seen more than his fair share of feet

...

clearly longer than i've been around!...

i gave him new screws just a few weeks ago...

and then brushed him with two coats of prime...

his splintered face grinned and soon soaked it all in!...

under blue tint and fresh painted shine!...

now

he takes to the rain like a fine feathered drake!...

and those

puddles roll right off his back!...

gee

even wet mud that gets gummed on my soles...

does

n't crawl

between

grain into cracks!...

he seems to enjoy far more spunk from his wood!...

(or so my footprints could say)...

and his livelihood henceforth is pretty darn good!...

(with the front porch home

coming this way

)...

now the neighborhood man simply can't understand...

why it is that i

have

n't replace

him?...

well he's the first one up!... and the last one down!...

and you can bet your boots!... (we'll save 'em!)...

~~~~~~~

(outside a local venue)...

she carries a bag... and begs for spare change...

cracks in the sidewalk... fall short of her name...

her broken brass watch... can't tell the time...

but she's too poor to know that... and pays it no mind...

she walks with her home on... all seven layers...

buttons are missing... but she doesn't care...

her pockets are stuffed... with life's saving touch...

for papers and hankies... and ends folded up...

tucked under flaps... in smooth softened grime...

road dust on fingertips... rub it to shine...

her eyes look oblivious... to current events...

she checks out a street...

and

forgets where she went...

with no clear thoughts left... she discovers her head...

then comes up with a reason... to lose it instead...

long lines to nowhere... walk through her face...

dropping things she once owned... to get to this place...

i loaned her a ride... she borrowed a bath...

had an answer to give her... but she never asked

...

~~~

(ask

bandit

basker)...

there once was a bandit called "ask"...

he dressed up in a question mark mask...

he would steal replies...

from all kindsa guys!...

and then bask in the loot of his task!...

(what ?... who ?)... :)

~~~

(

lonely faces waitin' for a smile

)...

lonely faces waitin' for a smile...

on the corner of people passin' by...

longin

to be belongin

to...

that hope aglow

whereas they

try...

tho'

backing off

from glaring stares...

cause all it does is bring 'em down...

but maybe still

... just maybe till...

the next time someone comes around!... :)

~~~

(belly ache blues)...

a buncha bites with too much to chew in 'em...

savors the flavor of poor taste...

if onslaught fed a thousand tongues...

there'd be mouthfuls of leftover waste...

hunger sneaks in for an overdose...

crushing hundreds of hard pills to swallow...

too duped to feel what's filling inside...

its overkill empty hollow...

sweet teeth ferment to sour grapes...

and hide in the dregs of a keg...

with bottoms up for tenfold whines...

to the connoisseurs who beg...

appetite craves a belly ache...

so with nothing better to do...

it feeds for cheap on all you can eat...

then spits one out at you!...

~~~~~~~

(yesterday's news)...

picking up what came her way...

they branded her with yesterday...

the scars i saw don't justly show...

how deep inside her wounds must go...

i know in my heart it wasn't her fault...