Poetry Page

Most of the poems here were written when I was a teenager.  As a result, some of it can be a bit brooding, and a lot of it is full of exaggeration and youthful naivety.  It's also somewhat awkward due to my lack of experience.  It is, however, something I feel is worth sharing.  This is only a small sampling of the poetry I've written over the years.

Upward Journey

I’ve seen eagles soaring above

        a mountain as big as

                      passion itself.

Never forget what you want.

              Show me the stars.

I’ll wish for the future’s promise

        to become our reality.

           Let’s find the path

                                             to the moon . . .

A Spiteful Soliloquy

Lost in the maelstrom

I can’t find my way.

Walking through these strange lands

with so much debt to pay

Why have you done this to me?

You know that you’re to blame.

So why can you move on

without feeling any shame?

There are times I want to kick you,

let you feel the pain

and an ounce of the humiliation

I now have to my name.

The torment is ever with me.

The abuse . . . it never ends.

It’s bad coming from your enemies,

but even worse from your friends.

You kicked me when I was down

and now I wish to return the favor.

My will is set and strong

and my goal will never waver.

People say I should not be bitter.

I know that I should move on.

But how can I do this

when all other goals are gone?

Dreams

In the predawn light of the newest day

There is really nothing that I can say

Remains of dreams scattered in my mind

The truth is often hard to find

Mysteries of adventures played out long ago

The whole past of them I’ll never know

Why do dreams come to us in the dark?

Why are they so important to the human heart?

Where do they come from when we sleep?

Why are their memories so hard to keep?

Will we ever understand just what they are?

Please tell me, is the answer very far?

As I lie here in my bed, early in the morn

I try to imagine, just for a moment, why we’re born

Do we live in order to fulfill dreams and give,

Or are dreams there so we can really live?

Identity

I peer through the cracks

struggling to see

the person standing in the darkness

deep inside of me.

Who is it that I am seeking?

Such a stranger to myself

is the one closest to me.

Knowledge is my wealth.

Where have the days gone

when I knew all I required?

Knowing who it is I am

is what I most desire.

How can anyone out there

possibly hope to know

me for who I really am

when I don’t let my feelings show?

The idea of getting hurt

terrifies me most

so I keep everything inside

and am haunted by a ghost.

The ghost of my own making

is the ghost of my own self.

I killed my personality

and sacrificed my health.

I did it to fit in,

but still I don’t belong.

No one will accept me,

and I know that I did wrong.

What did I expect?

Why am I surprised?

How can they accept me

if I am living lies?

I feel their eyes upon me

as I wander down the hall.

Who will be there to catch me

should I stumble and then fall?

I suppose it should be me.

I need to remain strong.

I am capable of standing up

and have been all along.

When people see my confidence

and know that I love me

they may get to know who I am

and that will set me free.

Inception

As the day comes to a close,

remember this my friend.

Though all is cloaked in darkness,

it still is not the end.

All things will pass away

when comes their time to go.

In the midst of pain and sorrow

is an opportunity to grow.

Forget not that it’s always

darkest before the dawn.

Put forth each foot with care

and you will carry on.

Recall your past with fondness,

learn from what came before.

And do not be afraid to fly;

without risk, you cannot soar.

Seldom So

Wishing I could turn back time

I stare into the mirror.

I ask my friends for opinions.

They tell me what I want to hear.

I search the depths for a solution,

wrack my brain through and through.

Imagining that I have control,

though this is never true.

Inside I fight with myself.

There has to be a way

to fix this situation.

So much I need to say.

Pretending that it didn’t happen.

I want to mend the past.

Where can I do this?

A place to have a second chance.

To have control, to know for sure

where it is I need to go.

I wish for something to be certain

though this is seldom so.

My Path

Twisting, turning, churning

My desire is always burning

This ever relentless yearning

As I make my way up my path.

My insides are alive with fire

As I climb ever higher

In order to reach my desire.

I know I’ll carry on.

I know that I’m forever free

To be what I want to be

And that is fine with me.

I know I’ll reach my goal.

The clouds drift above my head

Tempting me to go to bed

But I’d rather continue up instead.

It is not the time to quit.

Twisting, turning, churning

My desire keeps on burning

And I know that I am learning

As I continue on my path.

Wounded

Dead inside

the falling rain

streaks my face

like the tears

I cannot cry.

Hold me up.

I’m falling

down into

the dark abyss.

Pain

My innocence slain,

                           Plagued by pain,

                                                I have no name.

                                                                  I am ruined.

Psychosis

Shattered self-image,

preposterous possibilities.

Not one moment’s comfort,

on constant alert.

The heart starts to race,

skin drenched with cold sweat.

Shifting eyes study

all with unease.

No sense of freedom,

paranoia does mount

to intolerable levels.

There is no escape.

Trapped in the depths

of the once human soul.

Summer’s Eve

Stars twinkling in the night

Fireflies glowing bright

Sitting around the fire

Spirits soaring higher

I feel vibrant and renewed

There’s no room for a feud

Not on this summer’s eve

Too wonderful to conceive

The passion burns inside of me

This is where I need to be

My Secret Place

What this place is, I do not care.

It has become my secret lair.

But it is tranquil and serene.

I cannot help but sit and stare.

The sun makes the lake water gleam,

And the morning fog looks like steam.

The tree leaves shimmer like gemstones.

It all seems so much like a dream.

All the frogs sing their steady drones,

The lilypads make tiny thrones.

There is no one near for a mile,

A silent place of the unknown.

Gentle breezes stir all the while,

It fits my current peaceful style.

I think I’ll stay here for awhile.

I think I’ll stay here for awhile.

Unlimited Universe

I love gazing at the nighttime sky and I dream

that I can leave my earthly ties behind.

I just sprout a pair of wings and fly

to a place where true happiness I will find.

I soar freely through the velvety black void,

and when I look ahead, I can see the past.

I look in wonderment at everything there is to see,

and I am surrounded by places that will everlast.

In my eyes, the universe is infinite

for the human mind knows no bounds.

Things can transpire in our unlimited imaginations

that all the laws of science would never allow.

But just what are eternity and infinity?

Can two such large concepts ever really exist?

And is there a utopia out there somewhere

where everyone lives in a state of constant bliss?

How can utopia exist when everyone’s idea of

happiness and perfection are not the same?

My utopia would be a life of writing fame,

but is it wrong to want everyone to recognize my name?


Hopes For Our Future

In the future, let us not
forget the lessons we were taught
as young children while in school
about the old golden rule.
Sharing is vital in our lives.
Let us be good and ever wise.
When we venture forth from this earth,
let us be as we were at birth.
We must be free of our hostility
for all to live in harmony.
Preparedness is also key
to coexisting as a family.

Let not our xenophobic tendencies
bring us more adversity.
New beings and ways of doing things
is the destiny that progression brings.
Let not our violent ways prevent
exploration and content.
At the same time be well aware
of any threat that exists out there.
Our home we must defend,
but attack not a potential friend.
Be ready for the new beginning
which open-mindedness is bringing.

As we boldly test these new waters
and honor our modern founding fathers
let us not forget the past.
Without love, we cannot last.

Suffice It To Say

I could get lost and not come back,

and I doubt that many would care.

It is not often that I hear people say,

 “Oh honey, if only you had been there!”

Suffice it to say that I am not well-liked,

but at the moment that does not matter.

Who wants the world of the popular,

Which is filled with meaningless chatter?

Suffice it to say that my dreams are not

what anyone would call well-known.

My mind is uncommon, and that’s just fine,

but sometimes I feel all alone.

Suffice it to say that I am quite strange,

and not even I know who it is that I am.

My emotions are stifled by years of pain

in which I lived my half life, a sham.

Suffice it to say that I am quite unlike

any other person you have met.

I have tried to conform, tried to fit in,

and that is by far my biggest regret.

Suffice it to say that I wasted my time

when I tried to change my own heart.

I soon realized that it could not be altered

and I felt my hope and my life fall apart.

But I picked myself up, I didn’t give in,

my world was not entirely shattered.

I accepted myself and I moved on,

and that’s all that actually mattered.

To Walk Upon a Cloud

Embarking on a journey

high into the sky.

The dream of man has always been

to learn how to fly.

To walk upon a cloud is to taste

what dreams are made of.

Fascination’s focus examines

what resides far above.

To sit upon a star and gaze around

would be absolutely grand.

To hold the secrets of the universe

in the palm of your hand.

To taste eternity on your tongue

and feel solar winds caress your cheek.

What a gift for someone to experience

something so utterly unique.

To fly into a rainbow,

to soar above the sea.

Such a glorious adventure

would be heaven to me.

To exist within the mystique

of the star-specked nighttime shroud.

What would you give to be able

to walk upon a cloud?

Revelation

And with alarming swiftness, there came a chill to the air,

halting to the hearts of men.

It spoke of symphonies, sonnets, and songs,

and the makings of a long-time good friend.

And with it came a promise of which none dared speak,

Except in whispers ‘round a midnight fire.

A solemn oath to be as one with the earth

until the day man mounts the funeral pyre.

Oh yea, it arrived so swiftly, yet not did it last,

for the hearts of men, they do forget.

While at battle with friend and foe, the revelation slipped away,

and came to pass a time of naught but darkness and regret.

Reassurance

Wistful dreaming, wishful thinking,

nothing’s as it seems.

Mental landscape ever-changing,

scarcely realistic themes.

Reality can be overwhelming,

always wanting more.

Something new to look toward,

making things more complex than before.

The times, they will always change,

that much will be forever true.

One thing I hope will never change

is the reassurance I have in you.

This last poem, and the paragraph following it, was written for a speech I gave at my high school graduation.  Some of the references made in the poem were inside jokes regarding things that happened with my classmates, but I believe the sentiments I expressed are still relevant.

Moments of Transition

In these moments of transition

time fractures.

Bits and pieces of memories,

stored for the whole of time,

document days gone by.

In these moments of transition

we become all too aware

of our capacity to feel.

This bittersweet ending

marks the start of something new.

Thirteen years summed up

in this single instant.

It has yet to sink in.

Today we depart these halls,

as a class, for the final time.

Do you remember when we began?

Climbing on the building blocks,

higher and higher,

with not an ounce of fear,

defying gravity.

I feel that way right now.

Oh how the time flew by . . .

Paper clips in outlets,

spit wads on the walls.

Homework at 1 A.M.

The anticipated calls.

Going out  with friends.

This moment of transition

must never allow us to forget

the times we spent together.

We laughed and joked,

loved and learned.

Moments of transition.

A looking-glass reflection

of our former selves.

In such a short time,

how all of us have grown.

We have matured together,

each of us molding

and shaping each other.

Little did we realize

how important we all were.

Off we go now . . .

To fly, to explore,

to experience a new life,

to expand our horizons

and become who we must be.

This is one of the biggest events of our lives.  All of us are excited, and some are sad to be leaving this place.  But no matter what, this is our moment.  We earned it through years of hard work.  Let’s momentarily set aside our concerns for the future and focus on the happiness of the occasion.  Never forget to live in the moment because, in the end, the moments are all we have.  The future may be frightening, but life is too short to be spent in a state of constant worry.  Always make the best of a difficult situation.  Remember this saying from the cinematic classic of our time, Joe Dirt.  “Life is a garden.  Dig it.”  Go forth with confidence and enthusiasm, and everything will be all right.

To your new horizons, whatever they may be.