before

One Night Stand

I didn't want you number 

or your address

I didn't want to meet your mama 

your sister 

or your friends

I didn't want a key to your apartment 

or a toothbrush in your bathroom

I didn't want to be part of your life 

or your lifestyle

your problems or your growing pains

I didn't want to cook for you 

or wash your drawers

drive your jeep

or listen to all that bass

I didn't want to cater to you or 

kiss your to get along with you

I wanted your hands on my thighs

I wanted your youth and your brawn

your innocence and inexperience 

your staying power

but no one here was talking about tomorrow

no one here wanted to talk at all

I wanted to drink a mean margarita and 

get my freak on 

and no I didn't wait for your call 

bro that wasn'...

love in two acts

act 1

he enters left

removes his coat

and sits in the dark

she hears him enter 

but pretends sleep 

the house is silent

except for the hiss hiss of the heat

and the tick tock of the clock

he slips between sheets

he does not reach for her

she hopes he does not sense how much she wants him to

act 11

morning arrives on wings of night

soft sunlight invades the room

he takes her roughly and too soon

she gasps from the heft of him 

and the smell of saliva on his neck

her senses tell the tale

he has another he has a lover 

her body betrays and comes 

completed he turns from her and sighs

a satisfied sigh

she goes into the bathroom and 

washes him and her pride down the drain 

before

before i knew of her existence 

i saw her in your empty eyes

felt her in the words you did not say

glimpsed her in the little lies

your silences and empty stares

before i knew of her existence

i felt her in our bed 

the island between us

the quiet quick way we made love

the space at the corner of the bed

you hugged instead of me 

your eyes became my enemies

your hands my hated foe

they'd touch me and say goodbye

I 'd hold you tight and  let you go 

today

I saw you bury your child today

       with such grace

a single tear ran down your face

and pierced my heart

children should be allowed to play 

without fear of bullets

         stray

I saw you bury your child today

a single tear

In this House

in this house of

weeping walls

our love hides under beds 

seeks shelter in closets

sits in the corner and sighs

too weary to rock or rise

in this house 

of too many lies and broken promises

our love sits on a shelf

a forgetten prized possession

as distrust parades in the hallways 

like a loved family pet 

our love begs for attention, revival, renewal

but withers with regret

reeks of neglect 

in this house of weeping walls

I remember love

Mourning Becomes

on steel grey morning when the sky is still

and the air is undisturbed

I celebrate the bare trees

stretching their limbs in prayer

the bird's soft sweet serenade

I revel in the morning's splendor

I feel GOD smile

the morning awakens as I awaken 

to bliss

the dew upon my brow

a kiss

from GOD

I weep because I breathe