Heaven Our Home

Heaven Our Home
Hinged through this temporary time
Into the larger chapter of this life of mine

Rooms
Some large, some small
Their size representing blocks of years
Measured by clock and calendar
Mechanized through laughter and tears

I am alone
In this grand home
Rooms vacant of any furnishings
I just left God's throne

This mansion's beauty indescribable
Opulent with ocean view
Fountains spray rainbows on lengthy lawn
On winding path with subtle dew
This is not my lifetime home
But the one my Savior gave form

Here come those I was expecting
There are those who followed
And those that preceded
Me through the Gates of Heaven

They are all carrying a treasured possession
I did not expect this
Jesus leads the placement directions
Stories are shared
Telling the details of the furnishing birth
Fashioned by the moments we shared on earth
Each guest blesses
With laughter, embrace, and kiss

All are accounted for
And now I meet more
Generations of family who interceded
Before the Author of Life
Their prayers carried us all
Through rooms full of strife
Who seeing our worst inclinations
Prayed for us as a united family nation

The list of sur names
Boucher and Kaeterle, Costa
Suprenant, Sowalskie, Michaud
Martin, Gomes and Andrews
Guana, Dearing and Harris
And others still

All of us living with Jesus
This is a thrill
All of us having come through refiners fire
Are beautiful and meant to inspire
Each tear has been wiped from
Crying and laughing cheeks

Our Redeemer
The architect of this Mansion reunion
Invites us to sit,
We share communion
No more tears
For all of us are home
Heaven is now the place
We get to roam

50 Washington Square

The Personification of 50 Washington Square

Yellow brick skin, and marble stair bones

Conscience watched by a prince of the street

He is depicted in recycled art,

Sitting on the wall doing his part 

Shadows of soldiers and sailors

Adorn its historic walls

Mother's sons did more than their share

Lungs in a shaft that sniff the Newport sea, 

But breath Broadway blues neighborhood air

Frames of all shapes and sizes

Circulate through veins

Of its living corridors

Each man and woman

A life sized cell and more

Its hands belong to

Working men, and fisherman

Cooks, cleaners, and CNAs

Its creative mind belongs to

Painter, bakers, music makers

Seers and poets, writers of verse

Its thoughts heard through

Lips and on tongues

Of those who converse

This yellow brick body

One building, with three addresses

Has its very own Oz

Who has protected it from

Those who do not understand

This building
Is a vital organ

In Newport's larger life

Why would you need to protect

What is vital to life in our city

A place where all are greeted with a smile,

Shared laughter or handshake

Well you see

It has housed many

Who did time

Others have illness of mind

There are those that fight addiction's monkey

Others whose dress is more than funky

And of course some who ask tourist for money

It's personality wide and winding

Like it's artful banister

Three addresses one building

For the soul of folks who

May need a hand

4 Farewell,

Where no one need say good bye forever

15 Meeting,

The place for a roof top BBQ

50 Washington Square

The shape that will

Help if you come 'round

Its architectural excellence

Adds to the hospitality

The heart beat of the building

Sits in the directors seat

Looked over by a service man's Mom

Who gave life to that heart

And commissioned a building form

Where living art is the norm

Janis Girls

To all those Janis girls 
Who wake up with curls 
Loving curls is your way to go.

Life is too short 
To be measured by vanity insanity 
From those who try to control

Beauty is beauty 
Found in every sister and brother we see
Because it is ourselves 
We are trying to be!

So put on a tee shirt
Mini skirt
Or a dress to your feet or your knees
Because it is the you in you 
That you are trying to please

Life is too short 
Not to convort 
With living from inside to out

Be you mild or wild 
There is nothing so freeing as finding your own kind of shout!
So dance and sing
Like one who left us too early
And jiggle and giggle 
No matter the size of your belly
You’re Janis girls 
So take that whirl 
Braless and breathless with your morning honey!
She would tell to live and to play
All that you can 
While it bright and sunny!

I Dream a Dream Beyond Myself

I Dream a Dream Beyond Myself

My Life is more than a Single Volume Pulled from as Shelf

Yes, It is Bound, It has a Beginning and an End

But it is also to Connected to what has Gone Before and what Lies Ahead

There are other Volumes that tell My Story too

Stories of Men whose Voices I still hear in my head

Some I heard, others simply Echo through time.

Their influence only felt in the lives that influenced mine

There are Women too, Their Essence, their Smell lingers with the Turning of each Page,

Maybe it is a Recipe or a Craft I embraced and thought was our own along the way,

But it was really a Gift passed down by a Still Watching Sage

They Compel me, in the routine of my day, to write on the pages of lives who are still on

the way

I dream a dream beyond myself, my life is not a single volume just pulled from a shelf

Life Cycle of Truth

The Life Cycle of Truth

Truth is conceived in living imagination

Nurtured in creation's imitation

Heard in ears of revelation

Born through the womb of expectation

Strengthened in recitation of generations

Taught in the mind of consideration

Lived by tradition's reputation

Weakened in language deregulation

Buried for cause of atrophication

Lost in the dust of institutionalization

Discover in archaeological restoration

Reborn for new interpretation

Truth there finds revitalization

Hillbilly Cajun Canuck

Dedicated to Too Many Dead People

Hillbilly Cajun Canuck
To me they all got that
Same kind of look

Work hard to pay your way
When you're done
Then it is time to play

Many did time with Uncle Sam
In order to feel right
You got to serve the land

Hillbilly Cajun Canuck
To me they all got that
Same kind of look

If you fight
Get hurt
Don't give a damm
Sometimes you just
Gotta throw hands

Never minded
Paying my own way
Got that job
Intended to stay
I gave you my back
You gave me the wave

Left in the city
Factory gone
Ain't educated but
I am young and I am strong
Easy to see
The Man did me wrong

Hillbilly Cajun Canuck
To me they all got that
Same kind of look

What to do with my time
Maybe I will cop a dime
Pick up a pint and few beers
All I got to kill
Is years

That pint turns into a quart
Lost my crib
No place to squat
Now on probation and parole
On some kind of devil roll

Doctor gave me oxy for
Factory back
The odds against me
They are stacked
The needle and the damage done
In a coffin
I am laying flat

Hillbilly Cajun Canuck
To me they all got that
Same kind of look

Seasons

Watering the grass
Knowing it is going to rain
Doing what you always did
Though the elements have changed

Life is tolerated
In the same old routine
Wisdom recognizes
When seasons switch scenes

Are you shovelling sand
Acting like it is snow
Are you sticking around
When it is time to go

Are you raking leaves
Through puddles of mud
Living in fear
Is really a drug

A summer heat wave
Is not made for igloos

Don't blow up your spot
For confusion of reason
There is a perfect place
In all of your seasons

Warrior Flat Face

Warrior Flat Face

Moving Slow, Affect Flat
Shuffling 
About to fall
Where does this soldier want to be?
No where at all!

How do you connect 
Through the mind fogged with haze
How do you break through 
Those eyes so glazed

Let those who shared that walk 
Show the way
Let those with wisdom 
Have their say
Take life by the hour
When days are longer than a day

Leave no man behind
Ain't just about sand and mud
Sometimes it is about 
Laying down the bottle and drug

Man down
Might mean
My Wife don't wanna be Around
As Memories Drown

THERE IS HOPE
Recovery Wins
Pound for Pound
Life don't have to be 
Lived by the Round

Wounded Warrior!!!
Fight !!!!
Your Mind Will Be Sound
What was Lost 
Can be Found

Laugh, Live, Give, 
Push, Shove, Love
Read, Seed, Need
Let your Heart Bleed
We Bear Witness
You Served
Therefore You Succeed

My Clock

My Clock

Wrestling with The Clock

Inside a wind filled 

Parachute

Dragged through the dirt

Scrapes on my knees

Its clicks unaffected by 

Strong gust or gentle breeze

It mocks with a body   

Of only face and hands

Being pulled from ground 

How do I pin this 

Relentless time piece down

I lose, 

My strength gone in a 

Fight of attrition 

Me or the earth is pulled

From its secure  position 

My loss carries me 

To high places I did not want to go

Teaches me things I did not want to know 

The view from age

Is broader than expected

I can see Six maybe 

Seven generations 

When the view is clear

As I declare Peace 

With The Clock

That was never at War with me

I see

This time piece 

Is not in a 

Parachute but in an

Air balloon

Street Beat

Street Beat
Too Sweet
Never Repeats

Listening to life
However you define it
Call it ESP
Call It the Universe
Call it Revelation
I Call it Prayer or
A God Conversation

Catch it in a rhyme
Catch it in a song
Catch in a look
If you are practicing catching
Ultimately you won't get it wrong

Don't boast about your leading
With those who leave you bleeding

Casting your pearls
Is more than dinner for swine
It separates you from the pulse
Of your listening line

Don't get bitter
In the haste of Earth
The whole thing catching fire
In the grand New Birth

I am looking for the Christ
The ultimate King
You may be looking for Nirvana
Or that kind of thing

I am not looking for an argument
About what is true
What is true remains true
No matter our view

What I want are friends
Who have ears that hear their own beat
Whose fellowship and company is
Always so sweet
Who get there are zero moments in life
We get to repeat

Street Beat
Too Sweet
Never Repeats

Walk Thru The City

My Walk Thru the City

Roaming thru a city
That was once my home
In no hurry, strutting out alone

Not looking for a pretty place sit
Always been comfortable
On steps with the grit
Grab myself a piece of
Convenience store fried chicken
Chill out listen
To passing urban rhythms

Factory driven cities
Have never been clean places
Jack Daniels nips dropped where they were drank
Tits sag in wife beaters
Worn to help with the stank
Cheap cigars hang on lips
Of wrinkled filled faces with no teeth
I am looking for a place
Where shaggy beards meet

I turn from the curb
Into a storefront art collaborative
Bob Marley sounds
Make the vibe attractive
JFK and Robin Williams images
Are hung are without complaint
Robin has earned his place
Among the tacky art saints

An ambulance siren echoes
On the marble stairs of library on the block
Where street smarts
And street art
Will be cool in a generation
Today they are the voices
Creating the conversation
Some are profound
Some meant to shock

A shop must sell 3 wheeled scooters because I saw two
One was an instant friend to a Harley
The other went to war with a pick up truck
The scooter, then the truck, spun U turns
Running and chasing
And shouting fuck you
All I could think is
What are they gonna do!

Hot pastrami sandwich from a kitchen RV
Ended my trip
Another meal ate on the curb
With the grit
I enjoyed my day
Hanging and moving in no particular way

Drops of Thoughts

Thinking to the Sink

Thoughts follow the cadence
Of a full and slow dripping sink

A drop per thought
Can't decide
Should entertain them
Or want them to stop

Awake and Asleep
Simultaneously
Are these thoughts
Friends or Enemies

Thoughts filtered through Scripture
Provide a clearer picture

Am I Anxious
Be anxious for nothing
Am I in want
He provides all my needs

Whatever is pure on lovely
Think on these things solely

A Drop of a Thought
Is always a search for wisdom
Asking is the only condition
For an abundance
Of its provision

Like cool water splashed on a tired face
Is wisdom to thought
Refreshing in its place

That drop of thought is a friend
If a friend I see
My own mind is not my enemy

Thinking Thoughts of Wisdom
I can Let It Be
If I want my mind
To be a friend of me

The Spirit Knows

Magic moments not a spell
The Spirit moves
Human hearts swell
In His presence
We were made dwell

Repeated in time
Never twice
The magic lives
In the air of life

Being present, being real
Is laying life down
Love The face in front of you
There the Spirit is found

Complain no more
About doors opened or closed
Where magic is
The Spirit knows

Lonely Patriarch

The Lonely Patriarch

The lonely patriarch of our time
Left his third wife
But he will tell
He is fine

Ain't seen his kids
Since he don't know when
But he has a 401k
That will keep him comfortable
Almost to the end

He used to own houses
Now he rents a one room flat
Yells at Fox or CNN
Because Facebook
Keeps him in the facts

He stop thinking about his linage
Years ago
Back when he was Kool
And picking up hoes

He lights another smoke
Because he doesn't really care
If he losses a year, or if seven are taken
If you open his shallow heart
It beats out the word forsaken

He is not really sure
If he did this to himself
He never gave much thought
To feminism on academic shelves

Not a victim or a perpetrator
In his own mind
He is just the lonely patriarch of our time

My Generation

Don't want to burn out or fade away

Just want my generation to have its say

Don't want that say to be 

Look at my stuff

Don't want that say to be

Look I am tough

Hope we leave the world

Better than we found it

Racism might die

I hope by starvation

Domestic violence

By relentless confrontation

Our planet can't sustain more

Oil and plastic

Recycling garbage

Isn't really that drastic

There is plenty of land

With plenty of food

For plenty of people

If life were valued

The whole world

Would be a successful

Commune!

Monday Morning Faith

Monday Morning Faith

Long Sunday Night
Passes slowly
As the early Monday morning
Is anticipated
The juggle of demands
Reacted to in half formed plans

The halfback sweep of life
Stretched for linebacker tackling ways
The violent wrap
And driving feet
In stress
Contrary to being present
And giving each moment
Loves best

To be mindful
And kind filled
Prayed up
Not laid up
From a swirling mind
Tied to task not matched
To your nature talents

To regret
Yet attend
To the light you hold within
Certain and confident
That your life is directed by Him

To testify to the accomplishments
Of things you were sure you could never do!

Conformed to an Image
Not your own
But one conceived
At a Heavenly Throne!

Forrest of Recovery

Got to ride the Zip line at work today
Reflecting on what we really do!

Harnessed for a thrill
On a zip line hill
Repairing the souls
Of some who killed

Grounded in midair
To a new found care
The Love of Brothers
In a forrest of trust
Teaching art of loving yourself
In the dare


To remove the lust
Of a mind addicted to distraction

To engage in The Work
Recover is Action

To make Amends
To end the Pretend
To own your behavior
While feeling your very real hurt

To seek and give forgiveness
Is the cure for the illness
That drives us to death prison and madness

Scares remain
The prescription the same
For pain managed by the day

The reward is the thrill
Of a life Lived
Feet on the ground
Surrounded by people
Who love you
And who want You
To be around

Debts to The Dead

Paying interest
On debts to the dead
For days not mourning
Time to be measured by the heart
Not the head

Confusing depression
For grief and seeking relief
From life and its sorrows
Not contemplating
Our limited tomorrows

A hidden revolutionary war grave
Decorated with flags
Where the dead are honored
A place to be sad

A place to consider
The youth of forrest trees
The age of the bones
How rock walls were made
On hands and knees
How graves speak
Isolated but not alone

Mortality is an enemy
That will meet defeat
On bended knees
Before a Resurrected King

To receive rewards and
To pay debts for this life
For tears shed or
Tears failed to be shed

A bitter task
For all humans in time and space
An obligation and privilege
From the living to the dead

Eyes Are An Ocean

The eyes are an ocean

Whose depths plunge 

Leagues into the soul

If honest they will tell 

All that needs to be told

All the currents of emotion 

The waves of knowledge 

Contained within 

Are warm moving streams

Fluidity to living dreams

They are like dolphins breaching

Inhaling joy while breathing

If the light refected from its depths

Is rooted in lies

Then all those eyes speak 

Is to be despised

They are like sharks hunting

Fulfilling appetite their only meaning

If those eyes change 

From the churning waters within 

Those eyes are caught

In the subtlety of sin

Not discerning 

Where joy ends and appetite  begins 

The mystery of eyes

Is the mystery of the depths

Where there is life 

That generates its own light

Frightening to see because 

It is alien to the surface

The deeper you search eyes

The more you perceive purpose

So look to the eyes

And you will see more 

Than a school of blind fish

You will find a human being

And fathom eyes 

Made for speaking

Not simply seeing what you wish

Imagination

Need inspiration
Without hesitation
If not seen in reality
Search the imagination

For a world of sights and sounds
Where squares are round
And anything can be found
8
A world where invention
And innovation are birthed
Where men create
A richer and deeper earth

Where trees can be people
Fed from lava springs
Where birds can swim
In rocks that sing

Where love is inhaled
Through the pores of skin
Where the sun beams
Through hearts that grin

A place limited
Only by how far
A mind can travel

The best minds
Make gravel diamonds
And bringing healing to
Imagination's unravelled

Men of PEACE

The suppressed man of peace
Submits to the bullying and battering beast

Seeking release
He builds muscle and might
For the strength to fight
For what is right

Strengthened he takes his stand

To speak
When silence is the demand

To remain silent
A speech the oppressor
Cannot understand

Dignity and Honor
Will rule the day
The arc of the moral universe
Bends justice's way

Trusting in the higher good of man
Has not often been done
When it has
Goodness has won

Not in quick fixes
But in softened hearts
Entire Kingdoms
Have made new starts

Men of peace
Are men of hope
Eternal words they have spoke

Wearied soul
Grab hold
Be bold
Men of peace are rare
Learn from their words
Imitate
As you can
Their precious mold

Do What Your Doing

Do what you're doing
Cause life is brewing
Don't stew
Don't spew

Don't have to prove
Don't have to be legit
Don't have make a profit

What I got to call
Is for me and mine

If I let competition fall
We doing just fine

I read that rhyme is passe
Then rapping and song writing
Have had their day

Try adding free verse
When I converse
Got to find the rhythm
Words have purpose

Communicate truth
While I can
Champaign 's not for drinking
In the back of a hearse

Playing with words
May not be a paying gig
But it puts me in touch
With the things I dig

Find your Art
While you are on the Earth
No one creates
Once covered in dirt

Warriors in Recovery

Dedicated to Gene St. Pierre
Fall River Fights Addiction

DRUG Dealers pushing
Slavery and death

Every addict becomes
A bitch to a pimp
No mercy for the chain
He just tied to your lip

Now you're an expert
At finding a vein
Too bound to know
What your doing is Insane

Where is the outrage
For our kin in a cage

Satellites can take a picture from space
Of a man's balled spot
Where the poppy plants and cocaine are
Some how we can't spot

The body count keeps rising
Expert keep analyzing
How our population got itself
In this addiction mess

People without purpose
Always seek to escape
Minimizing Love and the relationship plate
By the time they know its value
It is often too late

Driven to sickness and disease
By the devil in hell
Will anything ever become
Close to swell

It can
One day at a time
It can
If you admit to the lie
It can
If you admit you are powerless and broken
It can
If to a higher power you have spoken

The brain science is helping understand the root of this satanic attack

But The Warriors for Recovery
Can never relax!

Human Connection

Human connection

The invention 

Of heaven

To keep us

From living in tension

Peace

That follows Love 

A Divine Gift

From the Lord above

A Hug

A Man embrace 

Exchanged 

To Slow the Pace

For Humans

In the Chase

For

Power

And Money 

All that is Sunny

Funny not funny

Along the way

Forgotten 

Maybe misplaced 

The knowledge 

That we are Humans

Not a Rat Race

So Stop

Take a minute

Remember 

We are connected 

We break 

When neglected 

We wilt when rejected

Love must be selected

In all endeavors

The devil is clever 

Looking  to split 

With his quick wit

Every connection to

Loves intensions

Trust 

Is Love's Glue

Be sincere

In all that you do

You will fail

As selfishness prevails

Remember

The One Who Was Nailed

Not for fame

Or power 

Or a great name

But To Teach

We are all the same

In the Love 

We claim

In our lives

And their pain 

For our Heart's

Hidden shame

Confession 

Covers our sins

It is the simplest 

Hardest

Place to begin

So seek to connect

Let Love select

Be sure to protect

The have and hold

Do it in haste

No time to waist

To Death

We go Alone

Live in Love

While Earth is 

Our Human Home

March & Stroll

March to death and walk of life
Stroll hand and hand
Meeting and greeting
On the street
And in the corridor
Some personalities
Build up
Others tear down

Overreacting to affirmation and insult
The result neutral
If we live in the present tense

Eat drink and be merry
For tomorrow you will die
And pouring your life out
As a drink offering are
Not mutually exclusive if
You live in the now

Empathy becomes great contenter
If I bear with the weaknesses
I see on others
Conscious that
I am blind to many of my own

The dung we smell
Is ground into our shoes
If you are projecting an image
That might is bad news

If you live your experiences
You know it is called
Paying your dues

So keep stepping
To the marchers beat
Not regretting the moments you meet
Affirmers and insulters
On streets and in corridors

Age will lead to forgetting
In this walk of life
With each step
Simply treat people right

Midnight Contentment

In the dark quietness
Of my bustling home
All are safe
As I sit alone

Rebinding my commitment to
Today's and tomorrow's
Labour

Children look inside to themselves and
Their  needs
Men look out to take care of
Others needs *
(Jax' s Teller)

By the sweat the brow
The diligent earn their pay
In wage, profit or creativity
To build for others
Is a man's destiny

All is not vanity
Even if you can't
Take it with you
If giving it away
Is the intent of
Why you do
What you do

A deep breath
A prayer of contentment

Constructing a life
Without using blueprints isn't wise
But it is an adventure
When Faith is the central allie

Time for the second round of sleep
My family's long day
Is now complete

Merle and The Purple Prince

Merle and The Purple Prince

Following a Texas plate
Listening to Merle Haggard pour
Yesterday's Wine

Driving in New York City
Listening to Prince
Growling Purple Rain

Little men
Singing big
Writing about life
And doing their thing

Creating lyrical dreams and
Making highway melodies
With a travelling music team
Providing escape when
Life grows a little to mean

Titles and Tags
Place makers in life
Like the volumes of
Old photo albums
Kept by my wife

They help me remember
In the wine and the rain
The Love that can be had
In the midst of the joy and the pain

Hugs & Kisses

Hugs from fathers
Kisses from friends
May not make
The bitterness end

They may not heal the hurt and pain,
I try to restrain from
Running thru my taumatized brain

But for a moment
Those hugs and kisses
Pull me from the place I hide

They cover
With love
The loneliness
That makes me want to die

Those moments
Have a shelf life
Radiating the cancer
Of the soul
They permeate my blood stream
Breaking me
While making me whole

So to Fathers that hug and
Friendship kisses
Given in Love
Hold onto hope
Even if I return to the drug

Love me!
If even if junkies
One day roll me in a rug
Dump my body
Like a cigarette flicked
From the fingers of a thug

If my outcome is good
Or if it is terribly sad
I will always remember
Kisses from friends
And hugs from Dads

Unwashed David Bowie

Unwashed somwhat slightly dazed
Caught in the steam
Of the new sexual rage
Feeling best when
Communicating on stage
Unfazed by public outrage

In private only my friends
See me unwashed somewhat
Slightly dazed
No victories or defeats
To be measured by
Solely friendship
From those who
Stay be my side

No makeup
No glam
Not that either is a sham
But there is what
I Have to say
Then there is
Who I am

My art
A creation
A snap shot
In time

My essence
My character
That which I am
There you will find

More than
The songs that I sing
The words that I rhyme

So to those that dare
To glimpse beyond
The Tin Can
Of Major Tom

I share my love
Weighted and freed
From the sweat
Of un-showered days
In the cigarette smoke
And inside jokes
There I will be
Unwashed and somewhat
Slightly dazed

The Me's in Me

The Me's in Me

Could have been one percenter 

With a formidable  patch

Could have been a Saint

Giving the Gospel my last

Could have done business 

Selling diesel cars or gas

Could have been a professor 

Teaching a class

The choices we make 

Determine the path we take

Walking in riches or 

Burned at the stake

The generation we live

Determined by God above

Whatever the vocation 

It can be walked in Love

What you do 

Isn't all of you

The way you do it

Doesn't tell the whole story either

We are all passing through

This human theater 

Attention to intention 

Satisfies modern convention 

But life is more than 

Acts of the heart

It is often keeping a vow

Instead of making a new start

Thinking one generation at a time

Is a luxury purchased by 

Grandparents and parents

In the past

Living for others

They prayed 

Peace would last

Living vicariously 

From the opportunities 

Of our progeny

Is not a cop out or a sin

It is fruit from the place

Where our faith did begin

Could have been 

Many things in this life of mine

The value of my life

Will be determined 

At the end of time

Capenter

Lawyer 

Janitor with a mop

All will be judged

When the final 

Mic drops

Surviving the Peace

Surviving the Peace

You fought in a land far away
And did what you had to do

You saw friends fall
At your side
So doing drugs
Was an earned right
And a reasonable place to hide

The War for you finished and done
But the fight with addictions has begun
So now the question is
Will the Peace I Survive!

Seen genocide and suicide
The memories of your killing
Have no place to hide
Your deeds had their place
In the protection of the human race
But will the peace I survive

Up for days alert at the trigger
Now sleep refuses to linger
Your mind that won't adapt,
Won't even nap

As you try to move beyond
The Ranger tag and Army cap
You ask...
Will the Peace I survive!

Addicted to War

Addicted to War

It was never my goal
But a merger occurred
The fright of fight
Met the pump of Adrenaline
War is Hell
But I am High Like Heaven

Bombs bursting in mid-air
And I don't care
I am a soldier of misfortune and
I am addicted to War

Limbs that fly
Guts that jump
Owning the world
On a cocaine high
I am a soldier of misfortune and
I am Addicted to War

The heroin ache
The ripping of my insides
On the chase
Fuck normal life and
It's meaningless rat race
I am a soldier of misfortune and I am
And I am Addicted to War!

Framed in a Flash

Photographers Poem

I think it strange
That in a frame
Essence can be captured
Both the manner and fame

A flashed second
Captured in a still
A camara's ambition
A photographer's thrill

Somewhere between
The image we protect
And the character we neglect
An eye behind a lens
Somehow detects

The person we are
The person we can be
The work of those looking at
What we fail to see

The sadness in smiling eyes
The joy of true surprise

The fear conquered
In the acts of the brave

The misery felt at
A loved ones grave

The horror of widows of war
The hope of a boy
Looking to score

The moments caught on camera
Are snap shots in time
There to provoke
There to remind
Man of his beauty
And his ugly acts
As we look at photography
It often looks back

The Journey to You

Truckers Song

Full moon shines thru telephone lines
As sky sparkles morning blue
Bubbling brook flows over root beer rivers
Leading me away from you

That moon mocks
Rising again beyond the dusk
I crest that green mountain pass
In love I place my trust

So far away
Yet so close by
It makes a man want to cry
Doing life by the hour
Ohh help me higher power

That diesel moan
Makes a man feel all alone
This trip is finally through
Time to turn this rig home
And let it lead me back to you

Full moon shines thru telephone lines
As sky sparkles night time blue
Calm brook flows into an earl grey rivers
Leading me back to you

Epidemic

In a country with
A substance abuse epidemic

What is the polemic

They have to hit bottom
That is what is wrong

But button is often a six foot grave
As providers fight
Through bureaucratic haze

When we are trained to engage
A disease baffling to mankind

One that is only healed
Through human connection
And time

We need a Higher Power
Who shakes our mind

To sanity

And emotional control
Often too late
After the drugs and alcohol
Have taken their toll

In payment

Of lost relationships
Money
The girl you called honey
The boy you called sonny

I Digress

My words need a rest
Trying to pass the kindness test
In a world that has lost its way
It is even controversial to say

Diner Man

Diner Man

Diner men
Sitting alone
Reading the local daily
Or checking their phone

Bottomless coffee cups
Pulled from a plank shelf
Seem right at place
For men who eat by themselves

If regulars the waitress
Knows their predictable sides
Anticipating their lonely hello
At times their lonelier goodbyes

Eating under diner florescent lights
Before and after dawn's early light
Often feels Kinda nice

The truck driver sitting
At the diner stool
Has perfected his
Uniformed working man cool

Their is a lawyer that always stops
Running a little late
He tells a bad joke
While dancing around the girl with the mop

She laughes at the joke
Then winks at the toothless old man
She always calls pop

Everyone has their favorite spot
If a new guy comes in
There is a chair to adopt

Greeted by a waitress
Pouring bean juice
Meant to inspire
His only ambition
Eggs overeasy and
Buttered white toast

If the eggs are all right
And the waitress worth her tip
On Saturday morning
He will grab a friend
And take him to a booth
Where diner men boast

O Dark Thirty

O'dark 30
In the freezing cold
Ice is clear
Time to roll

Hands are going to hurt
At the end of the ride
Layers of leather
Keep me warm inside

Scanning for
With each passing curve
Friends call me crazy
A title I might deserve

Sun might be out
In the afternoon
Twisting the throttle
It is time to zoom

Not Blind

Not Blind

Don't  want to be blind to the black
Blind to the white
Blind to sizes that fit people right

I want to see
To celebrate
The bony
The curvy
Those whose dress unnerves me

Don't want to be deaf
To thoughts that test me
Words that arrest me

Don't want to grow hard
To feelings that caress me
Conversations that bless me
Or Friendships that imbibe
What is inside me
The kind that don't hide me
In image and taste
All generated
By passing fashion that is hip
Until it is old
Unless federated by those who scold
The too....

Yes, the ...   too
The too tall
Too bright
The too round
Too light
Those who wear their pants too low
Or maybe too tight

Got to see differences as real
Homogenation steals
The diversity
Birthed in divinity
Displayed in dignity

From He

Who never saw beauty
As a one size fits all
Or one color for all
Or as a commodity
Purchased at the mall

To see differences as ugly
Is to be identified with the Fall
Truly the saddest blindness of them all!

Hearts Connect

Sometime hearts connect
Trying to understand why
Pours out the wine
Of an overflowing cup!

For a lifetime
A season
For only a moment
Love knows the reason

It is a place
Of smiling eyes
Or tear taught cheeks
Where knees get weak
And silence speaks

Loves Fermentation

Loves fermentation
Caught in the imagination
Makes life a moving vacation
It teaches souls from
Every economic station
That our value is not
Only In our vocation

Each moment is
An opportunity for adaptation
Got to realize
The most important thing
Is human relation

Then your heart will be the Cask
That pours the best wine first
And makes love last

Running Robin

Robin running on the pavement at night
Out of place until the morning light
Living through hours
That don't seem right
At least there are no cats
In my line of sight

Dungeon and dangers
Fill a bird's head
Why am I on the pavement
The place I dread
If I keep on running
I am going to be dead

To flight to flight
A place of no fright
Unless there is an owl
On the prowl at night!

Let Go

Autumn leaves
Clinging to trees
In a Spring forrest

Holding onto the dry and withered
When life wants to sprout wild and new

Sun lit and watered
Ready to grow
The Breath of God
Whispering
Time to Let Go

The familar belongs to yesterday
Tomorrow is illusive as air
Today is the only day we get to share

Poets Last

Every poem feels like the last
Birthed from a man
Who lives inside myself

Attached like an appendage
A partially integrated soul
Recording abstractions
From an artist being made whole

Seeing and feeling
Giving the ordinary meaning
A parasite giving life
To the host he occupies
Searching for truth
Where lies abide

Once given voice
He looks for affirmation
While claiming dissent
Through poetic imaginations

A seer without a brush
Using language to create a hush
From guts moved by words
Be they sublime or absurd

Until silence falls
On this poet
One day
No longer heard

Mother's Cry

Mother I see your strength
It makes me cry
If you don't see a tear
It is because I cry inside

Mother I see your weakness
It makes me cry
If you don't see a tear
It is because I cry inside

Daughter I look forward
To where you will be
Knowing you carry
The best of me

My strength and weakness
Are part of you
You will sense
Their presence
In all you do

I hear your silent cries
We are joined together
In the places we hide

Our hearts are
Bound together
In mutual pride
As we cry
Side by side

Burning Bridges

Looking at life
Don't know what to think
Tired of pushing your stress
To the edge of the brink

Wanna pull the plug
You need a drink
You don't want to agree
But sometimes it is true
Love does stink

Burning bridges
To the ground
Sometimes you can't start over
Until it all falls down

What's so hard about
Girl meets boy
Can't get no Satisfaction
From a vibrating toy
All you want
Is your portion of joy
How do you start over
When too often it all gets destroyed

Burning bridges
To the ground
Sometimes you can't start over
Until it all falls down

Gather and Know

Gather and Know

We must gather

The green of the grass

The song of the birds

The softeness of a summer breeze

The salty air splashed 

From the crashed waves of the sea

What is not gathered 

Scatters 

Its beauty not seen
Or felt

The motion and color of life
Offers help

On strings played on blades of grass

Or the shout of ocean waves crashed

This is the poetry of He

Who writes washed words in the sand

Like summer fragrance  

Pushing the ticks of the clock's hand

So gather thine and mine

Not for collecting 

As selfish souls

But so others may also

Gather and know

Texas Strong

Heaven found in the hell of a flood
Brother helping brother regardless of blood
When you lose everything
Sometimes you find Love

In the sound of watercraft
In a truck driven by riff raff
When we need help
Everyone gets a pass

Helping Folks
Flocks
Pets and livestock
Sometimes our best comes out
In moments of shock

Don't believe the hype
Yes we are sinners
But we are ok
And Y'all are alright

Out of darkness comes light
What gets lost
Is fright

Fright of he
Who don't look like me
Skin color is forgotten
When we help others in need

Rebuilding is painful
But we know you are able!

Lone Star State
Our prayers are with you!

Up here in the land
We call Boston Strong!

Truth in the Midnight Hour

In the midnight hour

The words I have suppressed 

Will not rest

Their failed utterance increases the distance
Between the practical and ethical

That distance 

Grows like spaces left 

From rotted planks 

On a rope bridge 

Strung over a river whose waters 

Flow with the remnants of my identity 

Truth's crucifixion spills the blood of freedom

Dripping out the nailed pierced hands of Christ

Or it burst open through the bowels 

Of a suicidal traitor whose death rope 

Could not support the weight of 

30 pieces of silver 

Clinging to his pragmatically deluded heart

Either way truth speaks 

But how will it speak through me

Will I have the Faith to heed justice's

Demand for articulation 

In the face of reduced materialism 

Or I has a comfortable couch 

Seized my ability to do what is right 

The morning light 

Will give rise to resurrection or remorse 

As I seek God's chosen course

Sucking Sand

Sucking on sand
In view
Of a clear running stream

Searching for an oasis
While drowning
In the American dream

Trying to love what you hate
Starving for what is noble
Only eating what is served
Off the marketers plate

Jumping at hoping bunnies
Mistaking them for rats
Hungry for an ankle to bite

Choosing depression
In a world
That is full of delights

Loving Life

Loving life !!!
Feeling joy
Like a little boy with his
Tonka truck toy!

I Got Friends!!!
Real people I Love
Kissing the sky
In Awe of the Holy Dove

Family!!!
Man I am blessed
Obviously I am prejudice
But My Word!!!
I think they are the best !!!

Having your back!!!
You don't even have to ask
Make a mistake
Hey!!! Let's move on
That was the past!!

Children
I have a tribe!!!
All I want is that they catch Love
Before I die!!!

My prayer!!!
That I impart my faith
What does that look like?
A God who loves and redeems all souls ?

All of Adam on His Holy Roll!!!

Laughter and memories
Stored for all time

One God
One Human Race
From Age to Age
Praising His Name

Pain
Soothed by caring hands
Suffering
Eliminated from each and every land

Diversity
Let the rainbow of humanity be displayed!!!
In language
In dress
In the songs we sing
On instruments played as freedom rings
In the smells of food from every spice

Let us rejoice too
In what makes us the same
The joy of Birth
The sorrow at death
The wedding vow
Is known throughout the earth

The glory of creation
Speaks on every landscape
A designers mind
Impossible to escape

The animal kingdom
Speaks to us in the conduct we observe
Healing in every plant
So please let's conserve

Kindness
Needs no interpretation
So let's walk in Love
Then life and work
Will soon be a vacation

DAY AT THE OFFICE

A DAY AT THE OFFICE

I Loved The Euphoria

'Where Have You Been All My Life'

I said!

Then I boiled off two of my fingers while cooking hot dogs

I thought I should get help

I hope I can finish high school 

I am glad my grandmother didn't kick me out when I was stealing from her!!!

'Next' Shouts nurse from the dosing station

Have you got a bandaid?

Or some goss?

I have blood pouring out this abscess 

The former injection site is bone thick 

And as tight as a three wine corks pushed under lanky muscled
Suntanned skin

Darkened
While walking sidewalks fumed by  

RITPs 22 & 11 bus lines

His grey hair was recently trimmed

He is very polite and several people kindly search for what he needs

No one judges

But all appear relieved the wound was not their own

Can you check this note?

The young, 

Eager 

Flowing skirt, and inexperienced, counselor was not sure what she should include in her first assessment of the suicidal client whose laptop screen was projecting voices to his mind.

Fortunately he was experienced at psychosis and was willing to go to the hospital !

7 intakes tomorrow!

3 staff members coming in early to prepare!!

Just another day at the office.....

Partiers in Recovery

Partiers in recovery
On the road to discovery

Layers of the soul washed deep
Covering pain sometimes sweet
Experiences lived
Not looking to repeat

Making amends
Makes one deep
Loving life don't come cheap

Lacing up kicks ain't no trouble
Sexy boots make you strut double
Last thoughts covered with a shovel
Leather heels and soles get muddy
One day we will all be ash and dust

Duplicity
Complicity
Leaves no room for simplicity
Honesty a must
Egos bust
When even our own heart
We can't trust

The sacred names we claim
They gain!
When character defects change
Daddy
Husband
Brother & Son
Might be Greatgrand Fathers
Before we are done!

To the partiers we knew
Who found recovery too
We salute you
For the work you continue to do!

Compassion"s Splash

Splashed by the fires of hell
Because you bowed low
To help those not well

Bound by the grime of Addiction 
For souls on fire
Every daily task is consumed in
Perdition

The cool face cloth of grace
Soothing balm
For the pours of the human race

Fever fleeing slaves to sin
Earth is made Heaven
Where compassion begins

My Soul for a Smile

You traded my soul for a smile
A lifetime for a mile
Love ain't a tool you use
My friend you're such a fool

You made love a small thing
Without love no one sings
Hearts beat slow but strong
Every time they're done wrong

How does a vow work for you?
Does true mean true to you?
Love ain't no bowl of gruel
My friend you're such a fool

The Tin man cried himself to rust
"Give me a heart or I'll bust"
All you fill is egos lust

We should have danced
The white dove dance
But you won't give love a chance
So go on and make doves cry
But my friend you live a lie

You traded my soul for a smile
The long gray and wrinkled path to the grave
For brief moments and a passing wave

It gives me no pleasure to say
You're going to hurt like me someday

You traded my soul for a smile
A lifetime for a mile
Love ain't a tool you use
My friend you're such a fool

Reminiscing

Bare foot and reminiscing 

About the souls I've been 

Pleasured to vibe

Who did not hide

Sharing power with words 

From lips that listen 

When truth is shared with eyes 

They speak

Experiencing love at every curve 

If courage vibrates your nerve

Then

You absorb songs thru skin not ears

You project thru hands to trusting guts

I'll be 

To you

The prayer of my recitation

We work laughter and tears 

In the neighborhood of our limited years

Where I am 

Is Iam

Planned in the span of 

Steps taken by a divine hand

Standing on toes that smell

And resting in faith on barefeet that breath

Veterans Circle

Vet's Circle

In a Veteran circle
With men half my age
Listening and learning
To the trauma they engage
In isolation Self Imposed
In the group they find Repose

Avoiding war entirely
Is too much to ask
I suppose

What's caught
What's taught
What's fought
When peace is sought

Not peace with the past
Though that is true in part
Peace with the future
Yah, but everyone
Wants a new start

To know it is or
Wasn't done in vain
That there is justification
For this life and its pain

That there are good reasons
We all should remain sane

To laugh as you go about your day
To enjoy the simple pleasures
Of playing a game

To remain as long as you can remain
And navigate the
Stages of Change
To enjoy both the sun and the rain

To know you can be alone and not lonely
Because what every Vet circle knows
Is you don't live for yourself only

Recovery Circle

In recovery circle with men my own age
Tough guys all
But they are quick with a hand shake
Or a pat on the back

Respect is the currency of street curbs
Hustle's temptation and drama
Now managed with simple words

Listen I am blessed
So talk to hand
Give it a rest

Years lost
Relationships tossed
In the haze of
I am on the chase for more

But every day is new
You know Recovery is true
When your mother trust you with her ATM again

Doing time
Gone like a passing cloud
Now I am believed when I say
I am never going back out loud

The circle adds new members
Like dry wood on burning timber
The embers turn quickly to flame
Suddenly there is meaning
When I hear my name

One day at a time
I will never be the same
I am done with the game of shame
And finding someone to blame

All I do now is share in a circle
The recovery I humbly
Yet boldly
Claim

Uncomfotably Numb

Uncomfortably numb with all I been seeing
Uncomfortably numb with all I been feeling

Bullets fly thru a Las Vegas night
Folks murdered in a fish bowl
To a lunatic's delight
Tired of waking up to the pain of dawn's light

What I thought was easy
Must be impossible
Removing hatred
Like simple obstacles

I still refuse to believe
Evil is unstoppable

How did we all fall this far!?
Neighbor loving neighbor
Must be too much

Are we devoid of wrestling from our hearts
All that makes us paranoid?

Thinking in herds
Instead of having brains that preserve
The dignity of our fellows
Above all that bellows

For division

By party
By nation
By tribes
By races

The most miserable of men
Can see everything but God's image
On a human face

Pen And Pad Daniel Boucher

By Daniel Boucher.

Stuck in reality
That feels like a dream
A daze in my head
Playing back scenes.

I see my little girl smile
Ain't need a plug.
Her name on my chest
Is worn like a bullet proof vest.

The insanity of life keeps
The pace going faster and faster

Running on a high rope
Trying not to look down.

When you look down
Depression surrounds
So you keep your head up
Till your feet can hit the ground.

Doing the same thing every day
Expecting different results

Fighting with my demons
Pushing them to jump off at the end of a rope.

On my knees
Praying for help.
Someone save me
Teach me how to love myself.

My life keeps changing the pace
Keeps racing
Catching my feet.

Drowning in a virtual reality
Escaping from the stress that all around me. Push and shove see the plugs and drugs.

Running away
Because sobriety is my only love.
No need for a bottle or a l.

Just a pen and a pad
To let my heart scream out.
These lyrics are my escape from fate.
My relief from stress
When I'm letting screws loose in my head.

So I continue to fight and
Continue to write
So my demons don't win this race.

I push
To set my own pace
And chance my path.

And God knows
That I don't know how to be a dad
But I try my best
To push away the press and stress
To see my girl
And take the weight off my soldiers
Like removing a bullet proof vest.

Feel a little lighter
And get more fight for the night.
Cuz when the light shows
All darkness cowers in fright.

Artist Say

Artist!

See and feel your pain

But don't drown in the rain. 

Don't let your broken heart 

Sharpen the  pen point so sharp

That you can't make a start

To each new day. 

Make sure you play and

Don't hold back

But give your heart away. 

I know it is a risk

But it it is better to seek the kiss

Than slice the wrist of loneliness

Draining the brain of energy and vitality

All that is reality

Because in the end

You have friends and family

Who love your heart

Who share in your art!

Words and images carry onward

Beyond our day

They have their say

Reinterpreted by future eyes and ears

With knowledge lost

Knowledge gained

In a time queer to us

But dear to us who reside

On the other side of time

Observing your paint and rhyme

Influenced 

By we who sought answers

Never found

By then 

It will be your go round

To speak 

Thru the art you have found

ROBIN WILLIAMS

You held Peter Pan
In your hand
Like Aladdin’s
Magic carpet rides,

And when you past
The dead poet society
Blew out mournful
Saxophone sighs,

Awakened, Awakened!
My what a mighty base ball catch!

Exciting enough to squeeze the red nose
Of a doctor whose name is Patch!

Despair Despair!!!
Like a cocaine day after crash!

My feet ain’t happy
It is not morning in Vietnam
And theFisher King
Has fallen off his horse

Feeling out of place
Like a flubber bra
Bouncing on the chest of
Daddy hurting from Divorce!

Making a funny
nd your laughing from heaven
I hope is the better part
Of your course.

The day the laughter died
We surely cried
hat went wrong with the world,

I want to sit on my head
ecause how can it be said,
That Robin Williams has died!  

Dedicated to Robin Williams! By don boucher

Comic Philosopher

Every comic is a philosopher
If you listen behind the laugh
Every preacher a rock star
If you give rock stars a pass

Boxed identity
Is not what makes a man
We are all more complicated
Then what we project first hand

We carry
The sad
The glad
The somewhat mad
In minds organized
Or a mess

Know for sure
Boxed identities
Always shade your best

So break out of the suit you've  sewn
If it hides your essential essence
What the world needs now
Is the courage of
Your manifested presence

Dying One Moment At A Time

Dying one moment at a time
In part for the words I rhyme

Don't want to live
In a no eye contact world
Gone are the days
When problems evaporated
With the kiss of a girl

The cost of my drink
Is dirty look
Gone are the days
When I got lost in a book

Breathing heavy
For no reason really
The  Eagles got it right
Just
Take It Easy

When I lose joy
I am often thinking stinky
There are souls close by
Who love and need me
The Beatles got it right
Whisper Words of Wisdom
Let It Be

My life is richer than the words I spin
But poetry can be the place
Where gratitude begins

Free Falling
Like Tom Petty
When he was strong
Artist die unexpectedly
Life ain't ever long

On the other side
You know
We still write songs

Downtown Girl

Downtown girl
A reminiscent image
Of girls from the past
Timeless through style changes
Spending money always a blast

Downtown dudes
Smoking cigs
On the corner

Where cool stands out
Geography don't matter

Every punk rocker
Is cowboy in 50's leather
Every country kicker
Is a rebel
Who thinks he found a cause

Camaro
Lancer
F150
Or Subaru
If you hanging downtown
You're a downtown dude

Marlboro box
Rolled in a white t shirt
If it were up to the boys
All the downtown girls
Would wear mini skirts

Taxi
Uber
BART
Or The Red line
Sometimes American materialism
Is teenagers best time

I Feel Like My Soul Is Crying

My disease is calling me

Thru the money in my pocket

I feel like my soul is crying

It is 24 degrees outside

I want to care

I can't resist

Alcohol's 

Evil 

Penetrating stare

I zip my coat

To the corners of my chin

I want to stay warm

As my lips embrace

My self-destructive drop

Once I begin

God knows

When I will stop

I measure sobriety 

In hours not days

I feel like my soul is crying

I want to live like other men

But I know 

Now

I am dying

I will be broke tomorrow

One day at a time

They say I should surrender

I keep failing 

At trying

I am hurting Bud

I know my soul is crying

Arthura

A sparkling wine
Without the spike
No need to cover pain

Proud to have Arthura
Be your name

Forget are days
Of bitterness
Of spite

Family and loved ones
Surround you with noise
Working to help others
So they too might enjoy

The fruit of recovery
The Love of sisters and brothers
A portion of the Faith
Your life has discovered

The decades in front of you
Are less than those
You have left behind

But mortality is ok
When laughter and Love
Are the spike
In your sparkling wine

Living for another day to say Hey

Living for another day 

To say hey

As the edifices I build 

Are eroded by the sands of time

If they all fall down 

I really don't seem to mind

I am living for another day

To say hey

Exaggerated importance 

As I stare at my stuff 

And add to my degrees

I am finding satisfaction 

Living for another day 

To say hey

I want my land protected 

From enemies within and without

The strength we muster  

As brothers exchange shouts

Semper Fi desires are met 

With another day 

To say hey

The happiest of moments 

Are spent with the faces in my life

In the simplest and profoundest things

Like giving and receiving advice

And living for another day 

To say hey

Playing cards and laughing

In accents made up at kitchen tables

When we get too tired

We watch a movie on the tv cable

And end another day 

To say hey

Hugs from children 

Who snuggle close and tight

Pull the blankets high

As you tuck them in at night

If I am fortunate to see old age 

I hope those I tuck in 

Ambition extends

To another day 

To say hey