some people are like
an unripe persimmon
firm and flawless and
smooth on the outside but
break the surface and
they suck you dry

it’s not worth waiting
i heard them say as they
dashed to make the 5:15
in agreement and
three piece suits

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let’s meet someone smooth tonight
it meant the whiskey

it is not for them a place of mourning
nor for me

no more life ended than would have
yet enough to dry tears
turn warm hearts cold

now arrogance and impatience stir
a longing for convenience’s return
restoration of a false peace
a forgetting of the grave

ask to know
answers not questions
that remind again

puzzles bring wonders
and wonders bring puzzles

again remind that
questions not answers
know to ask

hot, dark
hideous black beast
an iron face

i feared it as a child

grandpa was brave
sinister demon mouth pried open
him feeding flaming guts

they told me, fear not
i didn’t believe

situated, sitting on the sofa i’d stare
silently
waiting

waiting for movement
for life
i was ready to run

i was fast
faster than its stubby legs
fast enough

family laughing, dancing, singing
unaware of the slumbering menace
permitting the gaiety

i knew better
better than them

year by year
i left my fear
forgot the monster

until the day 
the day it burned me
i was right to fear

It seems the laws of physics you can bend.
You make it look so simple and effortless,
Like gravity and momentum are your friends.
I wonder if you ever need to rest.
I’ve stood on rooftops and I’ve thought of how,
You leap and gracefully swing from wall to wall.
I dream that there are forces which allow,
A mortal man to leap and not to fall.
The hero’s heart inside me dormant lays,
Full of courage, waiting to unsheathe.
Before this life without adventure slays,
That paladin, that knight which still yet breathes.
But in my longing you have helped me see,
Great power brings great responsibility.

stand o man and
answer the angels
for to them great mysteries
have not yet been revealed
though long have they dreamed of death
and the resurrection of the dead

gaze upward and call out
to the heavenly hosts
tell them of a love which
stirs the soul to die for love

for they know
only what has been shown
and understand
only what has been seen
though their beauty and
power humble the proudest of men

stand o man and declare unto them
these unseen truths of sacrifice
and forgiveness and speak as one
for whom there is no longer any death

remembered
by those who follow
those who went before
until all that was worth
remembering is forgotten

and only dust remains
upon which will be written
triumphs and tragedies of now
a reminder for those who succeed
those who are next

to remember

“We think he’s in bed.”
Spoke the fish blue and red.
“We think that we saw his
Round, balding head.”

“Or he just took a trip,
And gave us the slip.
Oh the places he’ll go
On sliptrippity ship.”

“You Whos are confused
Like Private Snafu.
You’ve spent too much time
At the river in Nool.”

“Haven’t you heard
Or haven’t you read.
The great Ted is dead!”
The hatted cat said.