They Have Got Me (day 1013)

I have got angels.
They dance around naked with long blonde locks
And sing amongst each other banging a drum.
Whenever I stand up to join the chorus
They stop and they wonder and stare at me lost;
It’s not a ‘what the hell is he doing’ stare,
But a ‘caught in the crossfire of beauty’ look.
They tell me my voice is why they stay
Dancing around here, naked as they play.
I have no reason to not believe my angels
For when I am lonely, they are my commitment.
They are what brushes past my face after tears flow,
They are what flickers in my early morning eyes,
They are the cinnamon spicing my sauce,
They are what smooths my sleepy brow out.
My angels cannot do me wrong.
No matter what song perches about their supple lips,
Their fingers dance nimbly through the air.
When they dream of things I cannot yet see,
Their drum echoes through my heart
And I imagine that I can indeed see their spells,
– Woven upon me so tight –
And I hear even in daylight they’re not far away.
When I begin dancing, when I share their dream,
I know I have got angels, and they have got me.

Decisions (day 947)

Face to face with myself
And not a shout to match my anger
Gross exaggeration of ignorant ideals
Spun into webs amongst my dizzy spins
To catch me when I fall down
Strangely grasping, gasping for air
Leaning out the window at
Ninety miles and hour where
Oppression isn’t meaningless
Sunken windows blow over the moonlight
As my smile begins to fade, enrage
Standing at my post
Face to face with myself

To Harbor (day 909)

It is hard to be away,
To waltz down the street
Without your hand in my elbow.
To eat alone.
Your face my thoughts company.
With moments of clarity
Sparking the fire
Inside my soul.
It’s harder to slip
Into cold sheets at night
Without knowing
When next you shall be waiting,
Giving, expecting.
Warm breath tickling my nape.
Warm smile to curb my blues,
Warm kitchen to feed my soul.
And when last I find grace,
Will harbor – my old bones –
Be welcome to thine dear heart?

To-Harbor-by-Ned-Tobin

Black Licorice / Nobodies Darlings (day 720)

I remember watching you dance
It’s a slow song and there’s more emotion in your face
Then the hands floating around unconsciously
It’s a mood, a sly smile
A knowing smile that you know I’m smiling
We ain’t nobodies darlings
We’re crawling around on the floor
Dirty knees and loose nails in the parquet flooring
Making dreams in the air with punctuation marks
Black licorice tea in oversized beer mugs

I’ve indulged here all day
Fruitful indulgence without even leaving the bed
Sharing gospel truths and confident encouragement
Fretting woes with stronger advice

It’s the good days that last
Scaring away the drought like a vulture
One hundred miles in the air and fading fast
Broken in the land but hope on the horizon
It’s summer time, and nobodies left alone

You Cannot Hear My Screams (day 718)

I push you into corners
And suck out all your blood
I watch your face go pale
And feel the taste of life

You look at me with wonder
And speak out not a word
You flirt me with a smile
And hold on for your life

I cannot understand
And feel not for what I see
I have an urge for deliverance
And I will not let you cease

You flicker and wave in conscience
And fleeting memories flow free
You flirt me with a smile
And release all I’ve ever sold to you

I lay you down in sorrow
And unsure of what I’ve done
I will not survive another
And am lost in what’s begun

You shared your stream of life
And trusted the words I laid
You laid down now in harmony
And cannot hear my screams

Let Go Now (day 499)

Your poems that crisscross across the edges of my face
Make me feel like the angels have descended
Deep down within the glory hold of the champions heart
Sweet songs emanate out from the edges of sanity
Calling me closer to swim amongst the water lilies
The pond grows thin here, shallow waters and bright reflections

But along the other edges of my face
I see the enemy that crawls slowly closer
I remind him of the fortune that seeps down the drain
While I wash my face in the mornings hour

Now here, like the lost words of a lovers sweet embrace
Like the tiny footsteps that makeup the dust paths across the desert
I fall carelessly in pattern as I saunter along this path
I let the slow beds spoil their innocent laughter
With hands touching hands, faces touching faces

Elbows coming inwards in a bitter withdrawal
Like ghosts that see their reflection one last time
All too short and all to sweet and all too massive
Nobody can really understand that which hasn’t been told
We all feel from within the distance that doesn’t lay the crackers down
Little paths to find their way home after the soldier has been caught

Sing now in the morning of the next phase of life
Sing now as the passive monsters blow out the landscape: serene
Sing along thy empty beaches as they float on home towards the setting sun
Sing on now for the ones that hold their hands out in mercy

Crying after the last golden rays escape the tired pillow’s eyes
Holding onto the blankets that will not let go now

Lines Upon My Face (day 486)

The lines upon my face that have worn away the years
Don’t give away my fear, they only invite my destruction nearer
But that too isn’t the worst of my troubles that hold me here at bay
They dive deeply into the dark pools with the chances I’ve always took
I have not listened well when I’ve been told what to do
And to thank all those who have aided me well
Would be a valiant pursuit

So I write until I’ve answered the questions that Ive never held back from myself
I explore the possibilities that I’ve never kept away from my soul

I drink to this, in the pinnacle of the night
I celebrate the chances I have yet to take and make

But it would be a fools escape were I to think
My life could be comprised of late night toasts
For had I the chance to hold a romance
I would suffer from the guilt I’d feel
For in the morning, I’d sleep away all my nights delight
And then I’d find I’d have no mind
And be no man at all

So now I sit here and stare away the lines upon my face
Contort and twist and shape and adjust my thoughts
Until that which was asked is far from true
And the answer that is found is much more relevant
To the problems on my mind
Where no chance now could bring back time
To make me believe in you