Miles Away

Another long, lonely night

400 miles from you

Pullin’ out of Lewiston

Six hours overdue

I drove 700 miles today

Thinkin’ of you all the way

I’ll spend the night in Reno

With whiskey to take it all away

Another long and lonely night

700 miles away from you

Snow as cold as your heart had grown

In that mountain pass the tears broke through

Well, I drove 700 miles today

I was thinking of you all the way

Felt Death Valley’s broken solitude

When I arrived at the Inyokern Café

Another long, lonely desert night

Since you went on your way

Things have changed but I remain

And the whiskey takes it all away

Truth’s Shadow

Between what we do

And what we say

It lurks

Hidden

And carefully guarded

Between what we are

And what we aspire to be

Its gleaming eye

Stares back hard

As we desperately look away

Between what is

And what isn’t

Desire

Retells the tale

Through silence, elaboration and lies

Between now

And then

Is woven a frightening tangle

We don’t want to face

Longing for a miracle in its place

Between hither

And yon

We sit

Unwilling to move

Yet praying for transition

Between our fisheye lens

And the camera eye

Life is deformed

Dividing a colorful image

From a bleak photo with calculating eyes

Between what I am

And what will be

Lies my truth

What I must face

Lest I stagnate

Accepting

Its shadow

Misconceptions

Misdirection and

Its fallacies

As my destination

My twisted righteous verity

To avoid knowing

What I really am

New Found Thunder

Your Memory has faded

In the light and shadow

Of new experiences

Both wondrous

And tragic

Although years have passed

Your face was always

Crisp

And came readily to mind

In the joys and sorrows

Of others

In the lonely and quiet times

When I felt regret

Guilt and shame

And worthless

The smell of your hair

The little nervous motions

Your smile

So full of mischief

The full force

Of your concentration

And angry glare

Remain a ghost

A potent portent

And a gloomy cage

A fate

And a cruel misfortune

In a single image

And a thousand

Details

But now your details

Fade and blur

As another face

Another name

And another time

Wander through my history

It is another me

Making these experiences

Taking these steps

Looking into new eyes

Chancing another mystery

Imagining a new future

Discovering new hope

It is a cautious new heart

Stirring for the first time

After such a long

Seemingly endless

Foregone conclusion

Is this poetry?

No

Just a realization

A simple fact I know

But cannot always feel

Like the speed of light

Or the presence of God

A thing without relative measure

Yet one thing is certain

This one thing I feel

Today my heart beats

Today my heart beats

With a thunder

And today my day ends

With a smile