January Afternoon

January winter afternoon
Powdery landscape that I saw
From a window where I’d taken lunch
Previous day snow not yet to thaw

Gently bouncing sparrows
Come upon branches to rest
In their tethered feathered coats
Worn proud upon their chests

Wind blown dried brown leaves
Curled tight in winter’s hold
Waiting for another spring
To free them from the cold

A single cheeky sparrow
Stares in outside the pane
Hopping upon the frosty snow
Such a moment has to wane

Behold a geometric building
Diagonally obstructs my view
Of a soft blue sky before me
Off Eight Avenue

Now I must leave
A passerby adorns a heavenly scent
I must go on my way
Now my time has been spent

The sun is getting ready
To change so very soon
From the way it had started
On this January afternoon

Fall From Grace

I know I will grow older
Maybe show it in my face
But let one thing be bolder
And always hold its place

So many things can change me
Through shame and through disgrace
But please don’t let it make me
Don’t let me fall from grace

If I take away these garments
These possessions have no name
And like I who chose to wear them
Cannot go back whence they came

As I live through all tomorrows
And my feelings get displaced
Years can bring much sorrow
Don’t let me fall from grace

If I become old and forgetful
Let me keep my manners and ways
And if everything I had is gone
From all those early days

Let me remain most gracious
Let me be the same
It is what others will remember
When they speak my name

I’m beginning now to notice
It is something that should be shared
It’s a precious thing that’s lost on some
It’s one thing I do want spared

I see it gone in others
I see it on your face
But please don’t let me be like that
Don’t let me fall from grace

The Swan

An autumn breeze
A rising sun
Just her life
As it begun

Has a die been cast
Can it be done
Can she be
The dearest one

No special place
No special song
In a world sometimes
Where she doesn’t belong

While she grows
My pretty one
She can’t be
With just anyone

In her pond and river
That goes upstream
She just passes through
As if in a dream

Don’t ruffle her plumage
This lovely one
With flights of fancy
That are only for fun

Dainty and gracious
But yet not to boast
She’ll blend well with others
But still unlike most

In puddles and ripples
She still wants to dance
It muddles and cripples
If she won’t take the chance

Not a bird of a feather
Where all seem so rife
Still charting her course
Through her river of life

Be like the lovely
And then just go on
You can be like the others
Or just be the swan

When I was Small

Awakened in a giant bed
Hills and mountains
Of covers
On my head

Cloud-size pillows
Propped up there
A long climb down
From way up here

My shoes like islands
On a carpeted land
As I am but
The size of sand

Four cornered sky
When up I look
And towering horizontal shelves
Sandwiched in between are my books

Multicolored fabrics
Hung in a pose
Something for a giant
These are my clothes

Of all the things
That I could be
If only just larger
Where I can see

Those all around me
They’re not my height
Won’t think to look for me
Where I’ll stay for the night

Then I closed my eyes
And I sank down so deep
That I drifted away
And started to sleep

Then I had a dream
That I’d become tall
But that was then
When I was small

Passport

Grant me another passport
Place it in my hands
Granted I can further my journey
Traveling to foreign lands

Much longer I’ll want adventure
Sailing across the sea
Longing for someone to sail with
Come sail along with me

Come sail in my painted felucca
Like tourists we’ll make them smile
Maybe pose for us in a picture or two
As we continue down the Nile

Grant me another page in my passport
Another place I won’t forget
A mystical sojourn to always remember
And the strangers that I met

Come away with me to another world
Antarctica, India, Angkor Wat
And places not written on any map
A terra firma that time forgot

Another page in my passport
Will not need a stamp
Like inside of a darkened cavern
Come along and be my lamp

Come go with me and together
We’ll take it day by day
And with each other always
Someone to light the way

Come along with me
Until there’s no more room to spare
In our worn out tattered passports
That are far beyond repair

Grant us another passport
Until our lives are done
We’ll have seen many moons rising
Until we see our setting sun

We Are Not Here to Stay

So intertwined we are duly
As we go from day to day
Each morning there’s a sun newly
Starting whatever come what may

All the things we hold so dearly
So clever in our hand
Do not stay forever clearly
Do we really understand

Those lovely things we cherish
Is what others envy for
Even flowers perish
This we know for sure

So much time spent on living
So little time to give away
No time to spend on giving
We are not here to stay

Things we can’t keep never
These things will pass away
If eternity is forever
We are not here to stay

Despite all the ensuing chaos
Tomorrow is on its way
Can you hear it in my voice
We are not here to stay

Have another walk in the sunshine
Take that extra golden ray
Take the chance live a little
We are not here to stay

So easy to forget about happiness
Even easier to regret the past
Some days are meant to spend right now
Others to live like the last

When we are left the living
From those who pass away
It again occurs to me
We are not here to stay

My Dory

Land upon the Ocean

Such terror have befallen them
Pales in comparison you see
To all what we thought we couldn’t live without
Let’s not dare complain this is no travesty

Luck has been no lady
For high lands were not to be found
Poor island dwell of Haiti
Stripped needlessly bare to the ground

The cries don’t go unanswered
There are those for it’s been too late
Seems sinister and crippling
And still many who have to wait

I cannot know their suffering
For I have not lost a friend
Nor destruction have surrounded me
Will their darkness ever end

Makes one sigh in wonder
Yet beyond just disbelief
For some the suffering goes on and on
For many life was just so brief

Land upon the ocean
How has it come to this
I shudder to think of just little things lost
Can’t imagine what your trembling world will miss

Michael Jackson

Our hearts have been broken
How can this be today
Seems so quick you passed this world
Since you went away

It’s so incomprehensible
How long did it take
For our minds to tell us
It is true there’s no mistake

It’s like everyone has felt it
A tremendous personal loss
Now we know that some gifts aren’t free
When it’s our hearts that pay the cost

You tried to fix a broken world
So we could all belong
You paid your dues and so much more
You sang more than just a song

We will remember today
Yesterday and you of way back when
But we will never see
The likes of you again

How we will long to see
The show that must go on
How we will want to hear
The songs and you perform

You have given us a moment
And a place and time with you to share
But now all is left is music
Sadly you won’t be there

We want to come and see you
We’re screaming out your name
The stage has all been set up
But you never came

Patiently we could wait
But it’s just an act of love
Just one more peek from under your hat
And a wave from your silver glove

What about those moonwalks
Since you are not around
We are trying to get our footing
So we won’t keep losing ground

It wasn’t just a space walk
That may sound out of tune
As far as I can see
No one’s walking on the moon

Your young voice of innocence
Make our eyes well up with tears
There will be an emptiness
For years and years and years.

I’ll cherish the times I saw you
That now seems bittersweet
We’re left alone while you’ve gone home
Goodbye to Jackson Street

We will miss your natural appeal
We will miss your star attraction
We will remember you always
And always Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

The Thrill is Gone

I got the news
This afternoon
When I learned
You’re gone too soon

I can not conceive it
How could this be
I had hoped it was untrue
Why you wanna trip on me

I never can
Say goodbye
Where are you, where
In the corner of the sky?

It’s unbelievable
Forever came today
Never thought I’d hear those words
Seems to push me away

Maybe tomorrow
But it’s too late to change the time
You are now only reflections
In the mirrors of my mind

It’s going to be hard
To chase these blues away
I have to think of the good times
I’ll find a way

And oh your body language
You are a dancing machine dream
Your moves are dangerous
Make all go wild and scream

You are to your mother
I’m sure her darling dear
And as mamas pearl
That’s how you got to be there

It’s so sad I can help it
You’re the best I’ve ever known
The world is lost without you
But I think now you’re not alone

You have transcended all music
From pop to soul to rock
Even though you’re gone
I am in a state of shock

The world without your presence
It’s going to seem unreal
There’s no comparison to anyone
Like the way you make me feel

I know we must think happy
Never again will you come round here
And if another you there were
Well I know I’ll be there

Everybody is going to miss you
You’re the uppermost of all time
What girl would not want to hear you say
Oh baby be mine

The one who gave to the entire world
Didn’t matter if they’re black or white
Bless his soul forever
And let it burn the eternal light

BLACK BIRDS

Summer changed to autumn
before my naked eyes to see
the sky was blue and oh so new
it meant so much to me

The clouds were swirling over
like a river in the sky
with oh so many black birds
right before my eyes

It brought back a memory
like a time oh back in June
the memory of a loved one
like a note struck out of tune

And those very black birds
went soaring through the air
I wonder do they think of me
as I stare up at them down here

I wish I could fly with them
and feel their ecstasy
blackened against a brilliant sky
with such velocity

I need to have that freedom
and set my spirit free
I have no wings to sail upon
some things aren’t meant to be

Then the snow began to fall
those black birds flew away
they left me standing all alone
on that autumn day

I looked to the horizon
towards an amber view
awaiting for those black birds
to show me what to do

Then winter changed to summer
before my naked eyes to see
And then I saw those black birds
bring autumn back to me

Stay Until the Fall

It seems you’ve gone away
Some time a little after June
Couldn’t you stay until that moment
Until another harvest moon

Are you seeing the foliage change color
Because I’ve seen nothing at all
Can you believe I’ve waiting all summer
For you to stay until the fall

I narrowly escape this moment
A sudden chill fills my mind
I can’t explain the feeling
Can’t leave the thoughts of you behind

I know when the leaves are changing
The season fills the air
Through a molten sunshine
I can see autumn through your hair

But you have found a reason
For which you must give all
Just for the beauty of the season
I wish you’d stay until the fall

How much I have longed for you
In my mind you’re always around
Your voice holds the answer
How fast is the speed of sound

But I’ve stumbled onto a rough patch
A Halloween trick or treat as I look down
Is this a sign of things to come
All of the pumpkins have a frown

Another heart can’t wait
And you must answer the call
But my summer contemplates
That you’d stay until the fall

Another season comes and then
I know I will stand tall
I don’t think I will wait again
For you to stay until the fall

Living the Dream

The world can be an abstract artist
Turning life upside down
But I’m keeping a visual perspective
While going around and around

Despite all the costs
Life was not how it seemed
But it all changed as I began
Living the dream

I put down past moments
And picked up these days
I rushed into the now of the matter
I left behind in a haze

I always knew it was right
Like it walked into the room
My creativity soared
I am so consumed

Now I’m smooth sailing
Too many currents were in my stream
I’ve steadily set my course
Living the dream

Unimaginable contentment
And exciting just the same
Unimaginable even more
Someone knowing your name

Like I there are many
Who want out from the team
I am following my hearts desire
Living the dream

But it’s a gift to a child
Everything is a colorful hue
I can share it with the world
All these things that I do

I have filled my life with festivities and cultures
Shades of dark to a lighter cream
They too like I are also
Living the dream

It all feels so right
When you become who you are
That’s fortune and fame
Like becoming a star

Like out of the blue
In one single beam
I am yes of course
Living the dream

Snow

I can’t believe the things I hear
In spite all the things I know
Something not here all the time
That so many want to go

Has life become just a package
Conveniently wrapped for some
That no bow is ever good enough
And close it cannot come

There’s so little natural beauty left
The things that once was grand
Bigger vehicles plough right through it
Have we forgotten how to love our land

It’s just part of nature
So dazzling and bright
While silvery glistening twirling
Seen through the darkness of night

Many wishing and hoping
Until it’s no longer here
Getting fainter and fainter
And will soon disappear

Don’t wish it all away
Until it’s no longer here
Like the world getting smaller and smaller
It too will soon disappear

Have we all gotten so jaded
From life and had enough
That it’s something bestowed upon us
And not just frozen stuff

Some are just forgetting
At least for goodness sakes we know
It’s a promise of another season
So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

One

There was once someone
Who came upon
One believing a dream

That’s how it begun
Now away they run
One no more that’s how it seems

Burdens weigh a ton
Never half the fun
Love outweighs the sum

Now that special one
That had come upon
One that dreams had came from

Each other hearts they won
Before the setting sun
Now the dream has come true

So go and find the one
Before your life is done
One that dreams as you

Face of God

To all the world I say that those
Who seem off to the land of nod
To all of us they seem standing still
Are they face to face with God

Sometimes it seems that anywhere
There’s a golden heavenly light
Even in the setting sun
Spirited in the night

A presence that is everywhere
In the fabric of our soul
Can’t you see the handiwork
That is never to grow old

One day I met a stranger
Now I see it was second sight
Could not believe what I was seeing
But I knew that it was right

I understand this world we’re in
We’re a planted seed of our sod
We are forming kindred spirits
No need for a deeper prod

There have been so many images
And stories by the wad
In anything and everything
Is it the face of God

Over that mountain on that tree
Many things I can’t explain how
On that road following that stream
Do you think you see it see now

Sometimes I see there’s a need to lift
And stretch for a spiritual rod
Because this world raises an earthly bar
To see the face of God

Do we always look for You
In what seems rather odd
Or is it in our inner selves
That we’ll see the face of God

Broken

No two words are truer
When two hearts have spoken
They can never break free
When on heart gets broken

I didn’t start this by myself
It just rolled in like a wave
If I were like the meeker ones
Probably languished to their grave

Why do we search for some things
That have passed us by
Perhaps we will understand when we find it
We’ll know then and why

He left behind your dream
Never to be awoken
I know exactly how you feel
What it’s like to be broken

Halfway there halfway there
Halfway we’ll have a look
And see who wrote this chapter
And see who wrote our book

Tears sheered too many mountain tops
Carving years of broken dreams
I’ve put away my walking shoes
How those lonesome roads can teem

Some things you ought to know
Is it too much for you to ask
We are not the same as long ago
As we hide behind this mask

What is the meaning to this story
When will I be set to sail free
From this never ending ocean
At times is wrecking me

At times just misunderstanding
Of what life is all about
So much we have to live with
So much we can do without

Love’s little treasures
Is truly no small token
Love can so break your heart
I too have been broken

Born to be Me

I was born to be happy
How I love to be free
I hadn’t wasted one moment
I was born to be me

I was born in the morning
It’s never too early to hesitate
And if I were born tomorrow
I would have been born too late

I wasn’t born to be a dancer
No easy road for feet to be
I think I have the answer
I was born to be me

I was born in color
You were born in black and white
We would all be like one another
I was born to make it right

I will adorn like no other
Visually for your pure delight
There’s so much more we need to cover
Especially where I set my sights

You weren’t born to be my lover
Or to say how I love thee
I could have been many things
But I was born to be me

But this game or challenge
Had no rules let’s keep it fair
Then someone is bound to lose
What a cruel move beyond compare

No one can follow my direction
And travel down this distant road
Is it a life filled with luxury
Or just a humble sweet abode

Right on time for my arrival
To make my dreams come true for me
And just for a lifetime
I was born to be me

Blame it on the World

From this one to that one
From this boy to girl
Poking for fun just for fun
No more novelty to unfurl

They have everything indubitably
That’s what they say
But minute by minute
It’s slipping away

Everything is getting smaller
So go tell that girl
Who’s blaming her mother
Blame it on the world

Should we stop talking
So many words are in the air
We’re technology walking
There is no doubt my dear

We just send out our thoughts
To the tune of a single thread
Leaving some in the world to reel
Some things are better left unsaid

The very fabric of our society
The connections are starting to ebb
When will we communicate
Is there a hole in the web

The confines of a belief system
Wearing away our hope of who we are
So soon replacing our reality
Technology from a distant star

State of the art smart cars
And more things to buy
But whatever the reason
Do we really know why

There’s too much to untangle
So tightly woven it has formed a burl
Regardless of our clothing
Blame it on the world