For Liz

Sticks and stones can break some bones

And we both tried our best

But time reveals what matters most

When love’s put to the test

The past that held our battles

Is the history we now share

And life is so much easier

Just knowing you are there

The loss we feel inside us

The pain that seals the bond

Will keep us close together

In this life and beyond

So, childhood sibling rivals

Become something so much more

Two souls standing together

Facing what life has in store

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Without You

Too much time for reflection

Too many hours spent alone

Too big a vacancy inside me

Knowing that I’m on my own

Memories that should bring comfort

Better times and brighter days

Sting my heart and leave me blinded

In an empty, tear-stained haze

Too afraid to face the future

Clinging to things in the past

So afraid of moving forward

Nothing’s ever meant to last

Sentenced to a life without you

With no option for parole

Knowing that you’re gone forever

Nothing else can fill that hole

Waking trying to find a reason

With this sadness in my heart

Searching for a new beginning

Never knowing where to start

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Carrying On

Memories that flood my mind

And probably always will

A pair of tiny little shoes

No feet can ever fill

A soul mate and a confidant

A mother and a friend

A road we walked together

Until the very end

An emptiness inside me

That will not go away

A darkness never ending

Even in the light of day

A sadness overwhelming

That tears my world apart

But love that death can never touch

Alive in this boy’s heart

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Morning Ramble

I’m too tired to think too clearly

But my mind won’t let me sleep

With this emptiness inside me

And these promises to keep

Regrets and obligations

Occupy my thoughts and dreams

Clouding all of my horizons

Nothing’s ever as it seems

Where the restlessness of living

Robs the hope that once was strong

Looking only for some reason

And the strength to carry on

But the coldness all around me

Cuts so deeply to the bone

Am I too old to start over

Feeling lost and so alone

So, it’s one more cup of coffee

Running out of things to say

Looking for a rhyme with reason

Just to face another day

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Mom

This journey isn’t easy

This life can be unkind

But in my darkest hour

Some comfort I can find

Because you’ve always been here with me

And I’ve never walked alone

I don’t think I could have made it

If I'd had to on my own

You taught me grace and kindness

And planted every seed

You made me see inside myself

Was everything I’d need

But still I look to you for strength

And in the darkest night

You lift my weary spirit

I’d be lost without your light

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