Copper Hair Blowing

His copper hair now blowing,
his mind no longer knowing,
eyes no longer showing
recognition, pain or love.

In my lap his head hangs heavy
as my heart breaks like the levee
holding back the tears of every
painful secret known and kept.

I will miss you, copper friend,
selfless, loving to the end,
our forevers we will spend
loving, remembering you.

("Go slow, Willie. Go slow...")

-par

This Promise Sweet (for Mike and Jess)

This promise sweet, we duly make,
This wondrous day, we do forsake
All counterfeit loves, to favor ours,
This one, our own, reflects the powers
Of the Love of Loves, whose boundless care
We pray to emulate, long to share.

-par
4 15 2011

Whenever the Monsters Come

Whenever the monsters come, they come,
directly to my head.
Whenever the monsters say my name,
they fill me full of dread.
Whenever the monsters show their fangs,
I shudder in my bed
And whenever the monsters never leave
I pray that I’d be dead.

Whenever the angels come, they come,
directly to my heart.
Whenever the angels sing my name,
they tear my fear apart.
Whenever the angels show their faces,
I awaken with a start
And whenever the angels always leave,
my prayers my fears do thwart.

-par

1 6 2011

1974

My dad's Honda Trail 90.
Cuddles on the back.
Mrs. Thompson's Little League baseball team.
Dennis Horn's crack of the bat.

Greg Leno "acting" like fireworks
in the front yard, 4th of July.
Mom in her cut-offs, smoking Pall Malls, laughing,
classic as apple pie.

Hockey on the back yard ice rink.
Scalloped potatoes and ham.
Carol Burnett on Saturday nights,
First Communion at Panger's with Pam.

...recognition of Life-Perfect in fracture,
Suspension of disbelief.
Constructing foundations for coping, deceiving,
investment for payment in grief.

-par
2 2011

Jeremy

Jeremy

Sweet, sweet, beautiful boy,
what made you make that choice?
What compelled you?
What hell befell you?
Who's was that lying voice?

Who convinced you hope was lost,
that your life would be the cost,
for peace like you never dreamed.
That liar's voice that seemed
was exactly that, a "seeming."

Get on with your dreaming.

Rest in peace, sweet boy.

-par
9 2010

The Possibility Looms

Could I possibly be any busier?
Could I possibly be more bored?
Could I possibly be any more confused about
What the hell I’m here for?

If “all things are possible” is true,
Then I guess there’s still a chance
That I could be more busy and could be more bored
Than I am in this circumstance.

But, Man I hope that ain’t true.
I hope like hell it just ain’t.
Cuz, if it’s true there’s no end to this rut that I'm in,
I may have to start sniffing paint.

-par
12 2010

Silence

Silence

I guess you think it's Golden.
I guess you think it's nice.
I guess you you think it's peaceful, lovely,
audible eidelweiss.

But me, I just can't stand it.
I'd rather hear you scream.
I'd rather hear my bones break, shattering,
than quietly kneel and seem.

So, please, say something, sometime.
Say anything you want.
Say anything you feel or think,
only stillness taunts.

-par
8 2010