The Time Traveler

I am a traveler
Skipping through time,
Sliding through time,
Hurtling through time.
I am a voyager
Racing through time,
The gauge on my wrist
Marks my progress.

I've been to the past -
I was there yesterday.
And if I may say
It was much like today.
I am now in the present,
But I cannot stay,
For I'm pushing onward
To the future.

The New Me

We parted ways with a handshake,
I'll miss me but time marches on.
Yes, I am still here
But it's painfully clear
That the me that I was is long gone.

The Beast

It waits for me down in the valleys and gorges,
Within the black shadows it hides and it waits.
It wishes to torment me, lash me and slash me
Gnashing its teeth, longs to seal my fate.
So I stick to the high grounds, the ridges and treelines,
The hills and the mountains where I make my home.
Though sometimes I wonder if I should go down there,
If I should confront the beast that wants my soul.

The Eye in the Sky

Peering closely at the planet
Giant pupil fills the sky.
Piercing gaze with lid unblinking
Ever watching stares the eye.

Tiny people scurry 'neath it
Seeking sheltered place to hide.
Silently it looks upon them
Can't escape the giant eye.

The Accidental Astronaut

I tripped and I fell off the world today.
I peeked over the edge, and to my dismay,
I carelessly stumbled
And I took a tumble
And slipped off the edge of the world,
Yes I did,
I fell right off the edge of the world.

And now as I slowly drift away,
I'm watching a grand and amazing display.
The Earth seems so small
As I fall and I fall,
And soon it will all disappear,
Yes it will,
And soon it will all disappear.

I admit that I'm feeling a bit perplexed.
I don't know where I'll find myself next.
I'm just floating through space,
With an ease and a grace,
Adrift in a sea of stars,
I am,
Adrift in a sea of stars.

My Thursday

I was deep inside a Thursday
When I heard the color blue
It filled my eyes with deafening whispers
Of a lonely, mournful hue

I don't know when or where it came from
Don't know how it came to be
Before I knew just what was going on
The waves washed over me

And I was swimming in a chorus
Of a thousand fallen tears
I caught the scent of baleful drumming
Winding rhythm through my ears

It was a symphony of sadness
Suffocating was the song
A taste of melancholy madness
And in a moment it was gone

Staring at the Sun

They sat on the grass, all bald heads and bare feet
And flowing white robes, as others poked fun.
They turned their eyes skyward in practiced performance,
They turned their eyes skyward and stared at the sun.
No one knows why they did it, they sat there in silence,
Unsettling scene in a picturesque park.
Tears flowed down their cheeks as they stared at the fire,
Unblinking until they saw nothing but dark.

The Last Man in the World

He walks through a desolate wasteland alone,
A fistful of daisies in hand.
He's not sure where he's going, forgot where he's been
He just aimlessly wanders the sand.
He belongs to no country, religion or creed
Adrift, the last man in the world.
And although it seems crazy, he clutches those daisies,
Just hoping to find the last girl.

Poor Richard

My name is Richard,
They call me Rich,

If I'm being Frank with you, though...

I have not a single Penny.

Could you buy me a cup of Joe?

Eat My Words

I have no training as a chef
Although I think I hold my own.
I make a fabulous 'braggadocio'
My 'rest assured' falls off the bone.
I simmer 'absolutely certains,'
I find they make a sumptious stock.
And try my 'spoke too soon' stir fry
That I whip up in the wok.

Now I don't have to cook too often,
Despite whatever you have heard,
But I always try to make the best of it
When I have to eat my words.

P.S.: I also have a delicious recipe for 'foot in mouth.'

It was passed down from my mother.

The Rainbow's End

Pack your travel bags, and come with me
We'll voyage across a purple sea
Under a golden yellow sun
To a colorful world far away.

We'll come ashore on fiery opal sands
Then push onward into a painted land
Of crimson and jade and sapphire hues
Brushed on by an artist unknown.

So come with me, my dearest friend
Together we'll find the rainbow's end
We'll toss our troubles to the wind
And we'll leave this world behind.

Deal With the Devil

An old cowboy rode into town
On a worn out horse with his head held down.
Stepped into a tavern
On a dusty, windswept,

Unforgiven street.

One last chance was all he had
'Cause things had really turned out bad.
And he sat down at a table

Dealing endless hands of stud.

That night, a cowboy came for blood.

Across the table, bathed in red
Sat the Devil, horns upon his head
A stack of chips
And a wicked, rotten smile.

The Devil looked like he'd been there awhile.

Confident the cowboy

Slid his chips into the pot.
Looked at his cards

And he felt his face grow hot.
But times were tough and he'd had enough
He bet his soul, and Red called his bluff.
And when the cards fell
The Devil laughed

And swished his pointy tail.

Can't take it back, once you go all in.
Sometimes there's just no way a man can win.

The Devil lit a fat cigar
He laid the contract on the bar.
And Old Scratch let out a chuckle
Through a toothy yellow grin.
And then

The cowboy looked him square in the eye
And he signed his name with a tired sigh.
He had no choice
And now his fate was sealed.

Someday the Devil would collect his due.
But what else could a beaten cowboy do?

Funhouse Mirror

Gaze into the funhouse mirror

Destiny was never clearer

Shrinks the legs and tugs the heart

Watch it spread your eyes apart

Gilded Bird

Gilded bird, polished bright
Emerald eyes blind to the light.

Prized parrot in cage nearby
Has a voice but cannot fly.

Small brown bird sits in a tree
Worth so little yet so free.

Sweet Dreams

She laid her pretty little head
Down on her pretty little bed
She shut her pretty eyes as daddy said "sweet dreams"

She found a land of lollipops
Skipped down a path of sweet gumdrops
She crossed a bridge above a gushing chocolate stream

She strayed so very far from home
A little girl all alone
Lured by things that weren't exactly as they seemed

Entered an endless saccharin maze
That turned a hundred different ways
Cut through a thicket unlike any she had seen

And so enchanted by the scent
Of winding vines of peppermint
Continued on to see what waited 'round the bend

She tasted of forbidden sweets
An endless feast of truffle treats
That left a smear of chocolate fudge across her chin

And as the hour was growing late
From candy apple trees she ate
Crunched sweet and juicy bites of red delicious sin

But then a breeze began to blow
And powdered sugar fell like snow
And her indulgent romp came to a sour end

The path grew dark, the vines closed in
The candied thorns tore at her skin
For she had savored far too much of a good thing

And when she caught the sickly smell
Of sticky burning caramel

She felt a frantic panic quickly setting in

Her feet left gooey taffy tracks
But she could not find the way back
She was as scared as any girl had ever been

Lost in a wicked candy land
She finally came to understand
The rancid side of life that woke her with a scream

And though still safe within her bed
Sweet visions danced inside her head
The pretty girl's too scared to go to sleep again

He Wears a Mask

Concealed and exposed
Walks through a world
That no one knows
He wears a mask
Tied 'round him for eternity

A blessing and a curse
Defines the best
Reveals the worst
Becomes the only him
That he's allowed to be

Modern Man

He leaned back in his kitchen chair

Until he found the razor's edge

A dance choreographed in millimeters

And for a brief moment

He was transformed...

Daredevil

Thrill seeker

And he found himself
in the open cockpit of a WWI plane,
taking fire...

And then he was twisting the throttle
of a sleek black motorcycle,
coming out of a hairpin turn...

And he was taking a step to the left
as an arrow whistled harmlessly past his ear...

And he was breathlessly willing the dealer
to turn over the ten of spades...

And he was hiding in the brush,
downwind from a pride of lions...

And he was holding a machete high in the air,
pausing briefly before the downswing...

And he was locking eyes
with a mysterious redheaded woman...

And he was releasing a Molotav cocktail...

And he was standing on the edge of a canyon trail,
staring into a deep ravine...

And he was squeezing the trigger
of a large-caliber revolver...

For a split second,
he felt the thing men have always felt
as they taste the salty blood of life...

And then, his morning ritual complete

He leaned forward, slowly and deliberately

Carefully letting the chair legs down to the floor

And he finished his oatmeal

In silence

And tried not to drip any on his necktie

We Regret to Inform You

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The thing for which you were waiting, patiently
Has been discontinued.

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Please accept this substitute, for it is a fine item.
We are certain that you will find it useful
And enjoyable.

We appreciate your business.

Tin Soldiers

Tin soldiers lined up in the sand

Placed gently by his soft sweet hand

And some will die

Young boy grows to become a man

Plucked from the vine on which he tanned

Ripe fruit of war

Ten soldiers line up in the sand

A sunbaked, bloodsoaked foreign land

And some will die

On a Beach

Barefoot and dressed in jeans, standing on a beach at sunset
Damp sand, sea foam, footprints stolen by the hungry surf
Toes wet, feet wet, knees wet, too late now
Rhythmic waves. An unplanned wade into the unknown.

Shaman, standing on the edge of forever
Swaying gracefully in the restless water
Silhouetted by the silver moonlight?

Or just washed up,
Alone and afraid
In the
Dark.