Apologies to Matthew, but this is not about you.

This is for the things we seek but can never quite attain.

When I see the green lights in the distance, the beautiful green lights, I always cry.

Cry for a life that could have been.

Cry for missed opportunities and unrequited love.

I know I’m not famous, but why not me? Why not me?

You are not getting any younger.

What are you looking for? They always want to know.

How can I explain the green lights?

Have they ever seen them too?

You are too old they say. 

Too old to believe in dreams.

And what about you I want to ask

I have even seen the lights in my dreams.

Green lights with narrow eyes, slender thighs, and waists you could put one arm around and still have plenty of room.

You cannot have that they say.

Disgusting

You’re too old for them.

But can’t I dream?

I was young once.

Don’t I deserve love too?

Is it really too late?

I see other people that are happy, together, and wonder why can’t it be so?

You must be gay they say with a laugh.

No, but does that really matter?

Everyone deserves a shot at love.

A chance

A green light

Fitz thought so too.

Or so he wished.

54, 55, 56

If not now, then when?

When?

No rhyme

No reason

No time like the present

I still have the juice.

I still have the dream.

I’ll leave the light on for you forever I promise.

Whatever the color





Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Green Lights

He wished he had gone directly home,

Instead of making a bad decision that he now has to own.

He gave the woman her money,

They did the dirty deed,

And now he lives with regrets that haunt his every dream.

 
He wakes up covered in sweat in the middle of the night,

And thinks of his awful choices, and feels a sense of fright.


I should have been more careful!

I should have used my head!

Instead he was reckless,

And now may wind up dead.

 
I wish I was stronger,

I wish I could go back,

But life doesn’t work that way,

And unfortunately that is that.

And now that he’s here, and desperately wants to live,

If only there were do-overs,

If only he could forgive.

 

What do you do when you make a bad choice?

Pick up the pieces, and ignore that inner voice.


Take a deep breath, and believe you can cope today,

Learn from your mistakes, and love yourself unconditionally.



Photo by Simeon Jacobson on Unsplash

He Wished He Had Gone Directly Home

This poem is dedicated to anyone in the world dealing with the difficulties such as the Covid epidemic, and and climate change.  Stay strong!





If you listen very closely,

And slowly open your eyes,

You can experience it very clearly,

Every morning sun at it’s rise.



Purple, orange, and a glint of green,

Are made daily by God’s great machine.



You can taste it in the dew,

You can smell it in the air,

Sweeter than a sugar beet, and oh so much more rare.



It tempts the inner soul to go to heaven’s gate,

To climb a forest tree, and share it with your mate.



Rainbows are infrequent,

Flowers come and go,

But give me a sunrise,

What a glorious show.





 


Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

A Found Sunrise

It’s hard to be a kid these days,

It’s harder still when you are hurt for something that you say.



Hurt for what you do, and hurt for what you did,

Hurt for no reason and hurt because you hid.



They hit, they yell, they cast you glance,

They hold you so close, but could you ever enjoy that awful dance?



Like a python and its prey, what can someone trapped say?



Talk to a friend like a teacher, a coach, a priest, or some other,

They can really listen to your troubles like a devoted brother.



You think your life will get worse, but sometimes things get better,

Change your life, make that call, text, or email that letter.





 


Photo by bady abbas on Unsplash

its hard to be a kid

I’ll see tomorrow’s sun that I assure,

It doesn’t matter how much pain I must endure.

 

I feel like a painting because my limbs are attached to the wall,

But in my mind I am Monet, by a field of verdure.

 

Listening to Mozart instead of listening to others scream,

Picturing a different reality is something I dream.

 

I cannot hear my captors, but I hear them when they laugh,

And I think of my children, and I think of the past.

 

I think of God, the bible, and the book of psalms,

I think of heaven, Job, and the things I have done so far.

 

I dream of goals I will certainly attain,

I think of people I’ve met, and my last trip to Spain.



I remember family, and friends from the past,

I remember mistakes, and overcoming them at last.

 

I think of my wife, and the women I have known,

I think of lives I’ve touched, and the things I 've owned,

 

But most of all I think of tomorrow’s sun,

How warm it will feel when I finally go home.




 

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

I'll See Tomorrow's Sun

I walked the beach to find a shell to keep,

But no matter how far I walked I could not find a representative of the ocean deep.



One that sparkled or shone with fire, and that could be seen alone in the dark sea,

I found out instead that nothing was more beautiful than what lay inside of me.



A clam, a pearl of potential, lies in all of us you see,

They speak of one thing, what makes one truly you, and truly me.



When you feel hurt or sad try to harvest your pearly gift,

Because your treasure is enough to always bring a certain lift.



And if you can’t find a pearl,

Why man give your imagination a whirl.



Think of all those sad faces that could use some cheer,

And if you found out how to change their lives you could cast away your own fear.



A bit lip never bleeds forever, and a broken heart can be mended,

A broken pot can be put back together, and as you tap your inner strength your troubles will seem like feathers.



Do not fear dying, or pains you imagine,

Just give of yourself, and anything can happen.





 


Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

I Walked the Beach

I watched the hard compact balls of snow pass by me

Moving like bullets from a gun.



The battle waged savagely on the grounds of SUNY Albany

With volleys and parries, attacks, and counter attacks.



Fighting with such ferocity at this time of night you would think you were on the front lines of a world war.



Movement back and forth like stampeding cattle.



Yelling and shouts of joy, and then crushing defeat.



The thump sound of balls hitting their intended target,

And the softer sound of the ones off track.



I wonder how many of the participants are smiling.



I couldn’t tell in the cold black darkness, but I could imagine.



An image so large of so many imperfect smiles that it would give my orthodontist fits of joy.



I was a witness to all of this when a geodesic mini moon nearly made me unconscious.



I was saved by the thick glass windowpane and wind controlled-door.



Then smiling I peered underneath the white mark and gazed on in eagerness at the ensuing battle.



Participating vicariously, I dance back and forth, while sitting in my cold but comfortable wheelchair.






Photo by ashkanis on Unsplash

Witness to Winter

The saddest picture I ever saw was of my friend when he was three or four.



He was riding his father’s shoulders, and exuded a sweet smile,

No one could possibly know it would end in a short while.



He died inside his car you see,

He didn’t believe he should go on and breathe.



He didn’t think life had any meaning left,

But when we saw his pictures we all felt bereft.



And yet I see him every once in a while,

He is on the face of people who rarely smile.



I don’t need to see their faces or hear them when they speak,

I just look at their bodies, which always talk to me.



And when I get down I think of the sadness his death brought,

I think of my life, and all that it has taught.



So instead of doing something rash I call family instead,

But inside I wonder who is really at their end?

Who could really use a friend?



That’s why I keep on writing to save even one life,

The Talmud says it can save the world, and somehow that would make things right.

 


Photo by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash

The Saddest Picture I Ever Saw

While lovers kissed the boat got closer,

While the wind blew it came nearer.

 

It crossed my line of sight,

The sails streamed by, but had no flight.

 

It moved on the power of gasoline,

Not currents, not wind, not even the human machine.

 

I smelled the scent of the sea,

But the gasoline was silent to me.

 

The ship dwarfed the others as it blew it’s mighty horn,

Not of vengeance, not of frustration, not of scorn.

 

The birds circled, but drew no further,

The water moved slowly, and the white was mirrored.

 

In the distance I saw the city down south,

And on the water was reflected the land and myself.

 

I heard the crows, the crashing of waves, and the wails of children,

I heard my heart softly beating,

And the bliss of the moment was captivating.

 

Slowly, slowly, the ship faded away,

But the moment was inside me now, and would most definitely stay.


 

Photo by Rusty Watson on Unsplash

Traci R

Stop running!

Stop running!

We just want to talk



Stop running!

Stop running!

We think it’s your fault



We saw you at the jobsite

We know what you did



You committed the crimes

You ran and you hid



We’ve got the proof

And the truck to arrest



We know the truth

And your hide we’ll get get



You ain’t no peach

But a plum to the core

Our true president knows

He knows the score



What hate? we’re just doing our jobs

The police are busy with your angry mobs



My son, my friend and I are jury and judge

Who needs the police when I have my truck and my gun?



Don’t move. don’t fight back!

Kyle said it’s self defense

And by God that’s going to be our tact.



Arrested? for what?

You committed the crime.



A trio of murder. Really?

We have to do the time?



Yes, because unlike you, 

We have impartial jurors and

Scales of justice that are blind.



R.I.P. Ahmaud Arbery








Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Stop running

he baby moved again

As I watched the TV drama unfold

SCOTUS debated her fate

And she’s only 3 months old



We know what women need

We know their babies too

They need a strong father

They need to know the truth



Don’t worry, we know what’s best

Forget 1973, The past is the past

Say goodbye to choice,

And we will do the rest



What about the hangers?

What about women’s pain?

It’s all the votes

It’s about the gain



Brett, we what know what you did despite the result

We know about your cowardice

We know you’re an unethical dope



But don’t do it

You’ve heard that before

But now women are pleading

As their wombs are getting sore



Sometimes change is not what we need

Sometimes the ship should stay the course

Voices should be heard

Voices should be seen



Its not about the party

It’s not about the womb

It’s about the freedoms

And sadly women’s choices

May end forever soon







Photo by Anna Sullivan on Unsplash

Hocus SCOTUS

Remember

I remember my neighbors next door

For their kindness and love

And so very much more

 

Sure, there were conflicts

Over the size of the fence

But you always offered to mend it

And always meant what you said

 

So many times, Richard would snowplow our drive

And I still can’t believe you both aren’t alive

 

Marilu and Richard thank you for all the things that you did

You didn’t deserve to die

You should be home with your kids

 

I remember Marilu the diva her flan and Spanish rice

I remember happy you both were

Spending time with Michelle and Kyle

 

Marilu planting flowers

And her trips to Puerto Rico

And Richard talking the news of the time

And how they always treated each other as equals

 

Marilu would always tell my mother she loved her

And that Bruce and I were great sons and brothers

 

Richard and Marilu you will remain in our hearts

Even when the years go by and there is less smart

 

RIP I still can’t believe you are gone.

I wish I could have told you one last time how much we appreciate you

Forget good fences make good neighbors

The truth is good memories are what we need most.

I remember

These are a few poems from my first book Art from the Heart, and some I wrote more recently. They deal with issues such as the environment, world peace, hope, God, and helping others.

Art from the Heart

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