Stranger in the Mirror

 Reflections do so cleverly deceive

The eyes of those like you, who only see

Illusions, not the truth.   So easily

Accepted, this distortion you believe

To be reality is just a ruse,

An image I constructed out of fear

And insecurity.   You blindly peer

Into this misty myth I’ve learned to use

And think you understand what’s going on

Within my mind.   But you can’t know the shame

Behind my smiles, the guilt from playing games

Of hide but never seek.   And when you’re gone,

I look into my mirror filled with lies

                And to the stranger slowly close my eyes.

Last Act

It's a one man show with a cast of thousands
And I'm on center stage
But I'm also waiting in the wings
And in the back, learning page after page

These many roles I play for you
The director's desires are clear
But there are too many lines to memorize
And I've forgotten what you want to hear

The characters are blending all into one
Into the person I used to call "me"
And though I'm fading, I'm still your star
So here's my soliloquy:

Each time I try to spare your feelings 
I only hurt you more
And each time I try to be everything
I wind up less than before
So here I am trying and here I am lying
To be what you think I might
But will I still be your prodigy
When the lights dim on closing night?

The show is over, I take my bows

To no applause at all

Not a soul sits in the theater's darkness
As the curtain slowly falls

The Love Ladder

Crawling out of love with you
The rungs are weak
Hands are splintered
My fear of heights has been conquered
By my fear of depths
But I step and grip and climb
From the wonderfall I fell into
Higher away from you

Family

My castle was crafted of cards and sand
Built by a lacerated hand
A sinkhole foundation held it all
We never felt the air roof fall

Stick figures dot the family album
The injured lie just where you found them
People will whisper, and neighbors will talk
When they toe the faded outlines of chalk

They say a house is not a home
You can be surrounded and still feel alone
In a pile of sticks, in a mountain of stones
The last man standing has nothing to show

Survival of the fittest
Was the love that always missed us
We wanted to step on a solid shore
That never left us needing more

Unemcumbered
Flying free
I'm no longer "them"
Now I'm just me

And I look back
And see...

Standing on the Edge of a Dream

Standing on the edge of a dream
Looking over this vast expanse of
City lights,
Winking and blinking
Flirting with the midnight sky

Staring through the panes
As rain runs down the window's
Foggy face
Like teardrops I can't wipe away

Standing on the edge of a lie
Peering into this vast expanse of
Nothing
As the lights continue to mindlessly beam
At the starless midnight sky

Sleeping Dog

This particular piece probably doesn't belong in this collection - and it sounds a lot better with some guitar pickin' - but
country songs are, in my opinion, one of the purest forms of poetry.

Don't you tell me
That the past is the past
Cause nothing's been said and nothing's been done
Until I decide it has

Don't you blame it
On the whiskey or the boys
All of your excuses are downright useless
You better make some sense instead of noise

I got a bone to pick
I got an ax to grind
I got a sleeping dog
Who ain't gonna lie

I got a horse that's dead
And I won't stop beating
Until you tell me
Why you were cheating

I'm a force you'll be reckoning
That don't let go
It wasn't a slip and I won't forget
So I might as well know

What was was going on
Inside your pretty empty head
When you stumbled out that bar and fell
Into her bed

I got a bone to pick
I got an ax to grind
I got a sleeping dog
Who ain't gonna lie

I got a horse that's dead
And I won't stop beating
Until you tell me
Why you were cheating

I'm listening
And you're making quite a case
Explaining what you're claiming
Was just one big mistake

I understand
And I've got nothing left to prove
You said the words I hadn't heard
And that's all that you can do

So I'll put down the bone
And the ax and let 'em lie
Next to the sleeping dog
And that poor old horse that died

I'll forgive you once
And forget you twice
Cause as long as your heart's beating
I know it will be cheating
And I've got better lookin' fish to fry

I got a bone to pick
I got an ax to grind
I got a sleeping dog
Who ain't gonna lie

I got a horse that's dead
And I won't stop beating
Until you tell me
Why you were cheating

Three Ring Circus

Come one, come all!
Everyone goes
To my three ring circus
It's a one man show.

First I'm a clown
With a painted-on face
You can't see the frown
I drew a smile in its place.
I'm the butt of the jokes
It's really a riot
But hold your seats, folks!
The arena gets quiet...

Now I do magic
Saw myself into two
You don't see it as tragic
As long as half is for you.
I do all my tricks,
Accept every dare
And when you've all had your kicks
Vanish into thin air...

I soon reappear
Far from the ground
I walk the rope without fear
And never look down.
I step slow and steady
For inside I know
If I fall, you won't catch me
There's no net below

Come one, come all!
Everyone goes
To my three ring circus
It's a one man show.