Broken

Broken clocks and faded colors

Glowing hands that tell no time

Flowing words that search for reasons

To these questions set in rhyme

Empty rooms and moonlight windows

Memories dance across the floor

To a tune long since forgotten

That we both sang once before

Broken promises and whispers

Spoken softly in the night

Midnight vows of restless lovers

Disappearing in the light

Where the glow of burning bridges

Brightly burns, then fades away

Like a dream you can’t remember

As the shadows come to stay

cn10072013

Paradox in Paradise

Living in the land of freedom

Where the jails all overflow

And the guilty thrive and prosper

While their victims never know

How they bully them and rob them

Of their children and the wealth

With enough to feed the people

Never caring for their health

And the ones who stand in power

Like the ones who stood before
Before the field is ever taken
Plan the outcome, know the score

Where the players die for nothing

Faceless pawns lost in the game

Someone's child is gone forever

Now a number not a name

So, the voices of the people

And their stories to be told

Fall on ears forever deafened

By the sound of counting gold

Has the dream become a nightmare

Is the truth forever lost
Do we find the price of freedom
Is never worth the cost

Life Without Parole

I have always kept my guard up

Hiding here behind these walls

But the loneliness wears on me

As I wander down these halls

To a graveyard filled with faces

Memories etched on every stone

No one's there to take their places

Feeling weary and alone

Empty rooms and hallowed footsteps

Silence echoes in the night

Tracing photographs and journeys

Silhouettes against the light

Recollections of some moment

From another place and time

In a prison here forever

Where the sentence fits the crime

Doubt

Waking every morning

Trying to stay strong

Living all the lyrics

Written in some song

Words some poet's written

Feelings set to rhyme

Like he saw inside me

Memories set in time

Cups of real strong coffee

Songs strung end to end

Desperate for something

Comfort from a friend

Looking for some answers

To questions I forgot

All the things I tried to be

I find out I am not

Words that stain the paper

Pain that stains the heart

Living with mistakes I've made

Just trying to play this part

So much road behind me now

So many wasted years

Trying hard to look ahead

Blinded by these tears 

Can you hear the singer

Do you know the song

Is there rhyme or reason

For losing for so long

Memories of love that failed

Things I can't forget

Callous words I can't take back

Leave my pillow wet

cn08262013

Inspiration

I’ve got so much to say to you

I never find the time

To share these secrets locked inside

I put it down in rhyme

A song inspires the writer

The writers pens a song

To speak the words the mouth cannot

It never takes too long

The fingers strain to keep up

With what flows from the soul

To offer up a sacrifice

That makes the writer whole

The writer starts another song

The singer sits and waits

To put words to those feelings

Before it gets too late

cn 3182011

The Longing

There’s an emptiness inside me

That nothing seems to fill

And a loneliness down in my soul

That nothing seems to kill

There’s a desperate lover waiting

For one I have not met

And a memory of what may be

Of one I can’t forget

There’s a thirst that is unquenchable

And a well that has gone dry

There’s a sadness in the dampness

Of a teardrop in my eye

A song is playing in my ear

That takes me far away

A place where love is blossoming

And gracing each new day

It’s there I find you waiting

And I pause for a short while

To find comfort in your loving touch

And beauty in your smile

So, come to me, if just in dreams

And stay with me tonight

Hold me close, sweet angel

Until the morning’s light

The Message

There’s a special kind of genius

That won’t make you a cent

It lands you in your autumn years

Just wondering where time went

There’s an endless hunger yearning

For a soul that’s satisfied

And a fire forever burning

In the message you can’t hide

There is method in the madness

But the madness takes control

Leaving just regret and sadness

And the losses take their toll

Thoughts you hide from in the daylight

Haunt you in the dark of night

With no comfort to escape to

Waiting for the new day’s light

There’s a masterpiece inside you

If you reach that far inside

Behind walls built by the failures

You have known each time you’ve tried

But still, the light inside you

Draws you closer to the flame

So, you search on for a reason

Things won’t always be the same

And you write about the pain you see

To ease the pain you feel

Just hoping someone will believe

These dreams could all be real

And even if they never read

Or understand a word

The messenger may never know

But the message will be heard

cn 9242011

This Far Down The Road

I've been torn and I've been tattered

I've been beaten by the rain

And I've waited in the darkness

For the sun to shine again

Lost so many friends and lovers

And I nearly lost my mind

Looking for a rhyme or reason

Never seeing I was blind

Always doing it the hard way

Seemed the only way I learned

Heading in the wrong direction

Lost, no matter where I turned

But I always found the kindness

Of loving hearts so sweet and pure

Gentle spirits I could lean on

Helped my wandering soul endure

And I still have miles to travel

But I've learned to bear the load

All the love that I've been given

Got me this far down the road

cn08062013

Scars (Lovers Lost)

Every lover leaves their mark

You left a mark on me

So far beneath the surface

The naked eye can't see

A lasting sign of joy and pain

Revealed with every tear

Although it fades with passing time

It never disappears

A photograph of laughter

The sting of careless words

Unspoken feelings in the night 

That no one ever heard

Regrets and soft remembrances 

Of nights beneath the stars

Ease the pain of what was lost

But leaves behind these scars

cn07202013

Denouement (A Final Farewell)

I always knew the day would come

When I buried you at last

Because you can’t find new horizons

When you’re anchored to the past

The pain I felt from losing you

Left an emptiness inside

But instead of moving forward

I sought a place to hide

And all these years inside my walls

Spent too afraid to feel

Were wasted opportunities

A chance for something real

Friends and lovers slipped away

As life just passed me by

I lost the joys I might have shared

By learning not to try

For mountain tops mean nothing

Without the valleys low

And hiding in the shadows

Took away all I might know

So, now I’m at this precipice

A time to turn the page

And let you live in memories

That fade with passing age

Now, you are gone but I remain

The time has passed for tears

As I sail for new horizons

And overcome these fears

cn07172013

Today

I’m troubled by the ignorance

And indifference I’ve seen

I’ve seen it make folks angry

I’ve seen it make folks mean

But I don’t have the time for that

Won’t let it keep me down

Because I have a song to sing

While I am still around

I may have shed a million tears

I’ve lost my share of friends

But I’m walking in the sunshine

On a road that never ends

For everything that broke this heart

And every weary mile

I’m still standing on my feet

And I’ve still got this smile

For all the lessons I have learned

I know this much is real

The journey is its own reward

And that’s the way I feel

cn07162013

Walls

There's a reason we put walls up
To be safe or just to hide
To protect the heart from hurting
And keep the world outside
Its hard to trust a stranger
Its hard to risk the pain
The risk is not worth taking
When the loss exceeds the gain
So, I shore up my defenses
After letting down my guard
I am coming to my senses
Because losing is so hard
There will not be a next time
These feelings will not fade
I'll go behind these walls I've built
And live out my charade

cn 11/21/2010

Hunter Thompson's Disease

If I seem too melancholy
Won’t you forgive me, please
You see I woke up this morning
With Hunter Thompson’s sad disease
It’s a deep down sense of suffering
From all the hurt and pain
That builds up in a caring heart
That always feels the strain
From all the inhumanity
And all the endless greed
From tyrants drunk with power
And all their dirty deeds
From all the ones who hunger
And all of those who mourn
The losses of their loved ones
In lands that are war torn
Some days it is not so bad
And I really don’t know why
But today it has the best of me
So I just sit and cry

cn 492011

Terminal World

I’ve come down with something

From a word or a thought

And I can’t seem to shake it

This feeling I caught

Was it something I read

Or a song that I heard

Was it a tender I love you

Or a harsh, passing word

It’s shaken my senses

And it’s rattled my brain

I’ve tried to ignore it

I’ve battled in vain

No longer immune

My defenses are gone

The light is now fading

I won’t last too long

By the dawn’s early light

As the flags are unfurled

There are no survivors

In this terminal world

cn06192013

Cheetah (For Sophie)

Well, tomorrow’s never promised

Like the words in that old tune

But I never saw it coming

Never thought you’d leave so soon

Didn’t think that this could happen

I had so much left to say

Now I’m clinging to your memory

And the sky is turning grey

I can almost hear your laughter

I can see your special smile

And I know you’re watching over

That you walk with me each mile

I know summer is upon us

But inside I feel a chill

With an emptiness inside me

That only you can fill

Still some things live forever

And our love will never die

I’ll see your soul’s light every day

In our sweet baby’s eye

cn06152013