the waltz

shut your eyes.
lay back in
your seat; for
tonight we watch

as we sleep.
a solemn
conductor
steps to the

stand, and all
await his first
command. he
lifts his hand

and stick in
the air and
all make the
motion to

prepare. he
commences
the waltz like
an ocean

wave, and the
melody
obeys the charge
he so gave;

like ripples
across a
placid lake,
the dancers

slide and bow
in their wake.
and endless
dreams of my

friendless heart
accompany
yours and with
joy depart!

as two wee
sailboats on
the wide sea,
i ask that

you dream this
dream with me.
with but one
measure left

till release, the
conductor
motions and
all then cease.

like the tide
under the rule
of the moon,
the dancing

abates. the
dreamers soon
wake. the men
bow; ladies

curtsy, and
in pairs the
quaint couples
leave curtly.

but the waltz
persists with
timeless ease
so long as

dreamers have
company.
as two wee
sailboats on

the wide sea,
i ask that
you dream this
dream with me.

To Janie

I have been in the deepest of dark places,
I have committed the most vile of sins that I told my Jesus
I would never do to Him,
I have been in dark alleys
when the icy cold wind of loneliness
nearly made me shiver off my skin...

but He was always there.

At the next corner/
ready//
with a warm winter coat/
ready to take me in it/
under his arm,
And take me back//
home.

K?

Chin up, jazz-cat-baby-girl Janie!

You're alright.
You're alright.

Love is a crime

Love is a crime
in this cruel culture, so

i’ll be the hitman and
you can be the mastermind behind
the killing of our loneliness.

come love, and hi-jack my thoughts,
hold my heart hostage, and
murder my pride.

break past my insecurities and
kidnap my ambitions
if they’re far from you.

forget about law and order:
Love is a crime. fear is the police, and
time is against us.

and if we get caught, we can always
escape. fear has no jurisdiction
where there’s Faith.

my hope is vigilante. my justice is
to look into your eyes and know this is
worth whatever price.

but in this cruel world:
Love is a crime.

(To my future bride.
I'm coming for you darling.
Wait, just wait.
This star-struck one is all yours.
All yours.)

Piano

There you sit,
like a lady in a black evening gown,
one shoulder covered in an expensive throw,
the other exposed.

I never saw a lady sitting by a window
in such a repose.
I never more felt inclined to touch
my hand to a shoulder, that very instant, like I did
my fingers to your keys.

As the afternoon sun lights every
individual key with a tuscan kiss,
my heart turns away ruefully—
"there is no time to play now my dear,
maybe later."

The sheets of music, like eyes, stare back at me
expectantly and I exit the room
feeling as if I had left the presence of a
long, lost lover.

Maria-Lucille, I shall return to you.