her sleeve.
    She said, "if you'll spend one night
    in my bed I will remove the terrible
    spell."
    I said, "I'd just as soon die, and
    Go  straight to hell."
    But after several days as a toad
    her offer started to sound pretty
    good.
    Still I wrestled with the decision
    was it right or wrong or did I think
    I should.
    I said what the heck it wouldn't be
    all that bad, one night with the ugly
    whore.
    So I agreed to spend the night , but
    just one night with her and not a minute more.
    I woke up the next morning after an
    exhausting night, hoping that my actions had broken the spell.
    But I found out that she was not only
    an ugly crow, but she was a liar as well.
    This witch was lying on the bed in
    the buff smoking a cigarette with a
    big smile on her face.
    And I was still a green  horny
    toad jumping all over the place.
   The Band
    The band played a rousing tune,
    It marched and danced in the month
    Of June.
    Hey, hey, the band did play, on a hot
    Summer's day.
    The horns and the drums were syncopated, the cymbals clashed
    While the dancers gyrated,
    And hey, hey, the band did play,
    On that hot summer day.
    The music they played  was delightful, it was very loud and frightful,
    And hey, hey, the band played on a
    Hot summer's day.
    Everything was going well, then the
    Whole thing went to hell,
    The horns zigged when they should
    Have zagged, the drummers turned left instead of right, the whole thing was an awful sight.
    And hey, hey there was no more sound, cause the band was lying on
    The ground,
    On that hot summer's day in June.
   The Storm
    A dreamless sleep overtook me, it
    Was a welcome  relief after a long hard day.
    The wind howled outside my window
    Like a freight train's whistle blowing
    In the night.
    The lightning cracked, the thunder roared, a torrent of rain poured, but
    I slept undisturbed.
    I awoke in the morning refreshed from my night's sleep, thinking and
    Seeing clearly.
    I guess it takes going through a storm sometimes to really see the light.
   The Attic
    In my attic filled with cobwebs, old boxes and memories, I found myself enthralled by a particular brightly colored carton.
    It stood out from the others, even though it was covered in dust, and I bent to open it curious as to what was hidden within.
    Suddenly from the corner of the room came a voice, a deep man's voice that I hadn't heard in years but I recognized it immediately.
    It said, "son, is that you, it's dad."
    I stammered and shook and tripped on another box and tumbled to the floor not knowing what to say.
    "Son, are you okay?" Dad said.
    I got up slowly, apprehensively, "Dad?"
    "Yes son, how have you been these last ten years. Just stopped by to see how you were and to tell you I left something for you in that brightly colored box. I know you think I forgot about you, but I didn't. The box is for you."
    I started to ask him a hundred questions and to tell him so many things I wanted to tell him before he passed, but before I could he was  gone.
    "Dad, dad?"
    With great excitement I slowly opened the box to see what he had left me,
    In the box were many old black and white photos I hadn't seen in years and at the bottom wrapped in a bow was the deed to his house, paid for free and clear.
    A great surprise for me on the tenth anniversary of his death.
    No one believed I had talked to him, but I knew I did and that was all that mattered.
   Over the Top
    Desperate hours laid  before them, matching the desperate and bleak hours that had passed.
    "Gas," someone down the line yelled as they all scrambled to grab their masks and secure them snugly.
    It was a false alarm that time, but gas would come, they just didn't know when or where.
    Hell was where they were, a hell with no escape, prayers were prayed, some were answered, some were not.
    The trench they were in must have been ten feet deep, filled with the living, dead and the dying.
    The smoke and stench hung heavy in the air, the German machine gun nests deafened them and kept them sequestered in their holes.
    Many a man was cut to ribbons and many more would face the same fate when the order was given to "go over the top." But they would go, and they would die, for God, King, and country.
   Life Flows
    A tiny blade of grass, an enormous elephant, live and thrive as do we.
    The air, the rain, the sunshine, the atmosphere, is shared by all.
    The earth revolves, the sun rises and sets, as life goes on day by day.
    We must respect all living things for we are interwoven into one.
    In the wind, the sky, the oceans and mountains, we are them and they are us.
    The spirit and life force breathes as a single entity co-existing together.
    The balance is fragile and easily fractured by any disruption.
    The ebb and flow of the universe is like a river that flows to the sea of life.
    The life given to us by the Creator and should be treasured.
   Sleep
    Sleep, peaceful sleep, please
    come and take me far away.
    From this world of hardship
    that haunts me night and day.
    Carry me away to a far off
    land in your loving arms.
    Shelter me from the storm and keep me safe from harm.
    Envelop  me in a blanket of sweet,
    warm and peaceful dreams.
    Rock me gently like a newborn
    baby in a  rolling stream.
    When I wake my troubles will
    be no more.
    And I will be the man I  always
    was before .
   Man is a Spectator
    Cascading waterfalls over
    cliffs jagged, foaming white.
    A moon, huge and yellow
    lights up a starlit night.
    Clouds dark and ominous
    threaten the tranquility .
    Oceans, rolling, churning
    lap the shoreline freely.
    A picture, landscape, a beautiful  water colored self- portrait.
    Sky and mountain, the sea and
    the sand clearly demonstrate.
    Life flourishes, in man's absence
    for he is not a necessary part.
    He is just a spectator in the
    beauty nature has to impart.
   The Book
    A book sits silent on a table,
    Mute for its content is hidden.
    The solitude fills the room as
    It remains an unleashed mystery.
    Dust covers its cover as time
    Disappears and fades into memory.
    No words can escape the prison
    The bars bind what lives within.
    The knowledge is forever locked
    Away but for one simple act to
    Unleash its power and glory on
    A world  in need of inspiration.
    All that is required is the opening
    And a revelation will manifest
    Itself with marvelous wings that
    Will spirit away with new found
    Freedom...
   
					     					 			;  And our lives will be forever enriched
    If only we will take the key, unlock
    The bars and bask in its radiant
    Knowledge, just open and receive
    Its power.
   Money
    Money can't buy love, it
    can't buy happiness, but
    it sure makes it a lot easier
    to live without those things.
   Utopia
    When I think of a utopia,  I think
    of quiet and happiness.
    Heavenly flowers of dewdrops
    drenched in rosy bliss.
    A fluffy cloud floating in a
    clear  blue sky,
    sunbeams  bouncing off a
    twinkle in your eye.
    Licorice lollipops licked by a
    white dove,
    chocolate  covered raisins rained
    down from above.
    A sweetness as sweet as a
    sugar coated dream,
    dipped  in an ocean full of
    chocolate ice cream.
    That's utopia to me.
   Heaven Can Wait
    Heaven can wait for the
    innocent souls of the children.
    Protect them like the precious
    creations that they are.
    Allow them to grow and flourish
    like budding flowers and discover
    all the beauty and wonder this
    world has to offer.
    Keep them from harm at any cost
    for they are indeed the future.
    Teach them and guide them so
    they in turn can teach and guide.
    Lead them down the right pathway
    and they will follow and become
    leaders themselves someday.
   Pride
    Take pride in yourself
    If you don't no one else
    Will have respect for you.
    On the inside and out
    Love yourself for as
    They say it is the greatest.
    Your body is God's property
    Be a good tenant at all times
    Keep it always in good repair.
    Be the best you,  you can be
    For you only have one self.
    Take care of it with all your
    Heart and soul and you will
    Reap great rewards in your
    Life and in the hereafter.
   Family
    A family is warm like a comforting
    fire place welcoming you to sit and
    relax in the bosom of love and bask
    in the sunshine of safety and freedom of emotion.
    A family wraps you  in its arms and
    tells you no harm can come to you
    while you are nestled in their strong
    and caring embrace.
    A family is the backbone of who
    you are , where you come from
    and where you are going in life.
    A family is you, a family is me,
    together against this big ole crazy
    world in which we live.
   Enough
    Have I paid my dues, run the race,
    Did all I could do to make things right.
    Loved and lost, suffered the cost,
    Gave my heart and soul to the cause.
    Sacrificed everything, stayed the course, lived life's game,
    Did I do enough?
    Did I leave no stone unturned, bridges burned, could I have done more?
    Did I work hard or  let down my guard, was I too lazy, did I do my best?
    Did I fight the good fight, take wings
    To flight, played the hand I was
    Dealt to the best of my ability?
    And when my life is through, and I've
    Did all I can do, will I still wonder,
    Was it enough?
   The Artist
    The morning sunrise is like an artist's
    canvass awaiting his strokes.
    The beautiful colors, forms and
    shapes take shape in the brilliance.
    A magnificent hue of blue,  dotted
    with an interspersing of white and
    gray as  the artist begins our day.
    Grass as green as turquoise gems
    create a backdrop for the scene,
    Beautiful creatures and plants of
    every kind, all creations of the Divine
    Fill the artist's canvass as another
    day breaks, and He sees it is good.
   The Poem
    Searching through the rubble
    of my life, ravaged and torn
    apart by an horrific storm.
    I stumbled accidentally on
    a worn out page from a book
     with faded words of a poem.
    The old tattered page had been
    blown asunder by the howling
    winds and drenched by rain,
    but somehow had been placed
    miraculously in plain view for
    me to read in my time of pain.
    It read, "Worldly possessions are
    of no importance they can be easily
    replaced,  do not mourn for them.
    For in all things life is worth more
    than any jewel, diamond or gem.
    So celebrate and be merry for
    what God has given to you,
    look to your future with renewed
    hope and do what you must do."
    As the sun slipped behind the
    horizon, I thanked God for my life,
    and the lives of my children and wife.
    I somehow found the courage to smile, even after all  I had been through and realized I was indeed
    a blessed man
   . I found an old letter
    in the attic, it was
    tattered  and worn,
    the ink was pale and faded.
    It peaked my interest
    and curiosity for some
    reason so I took a closer
    look.
    The writing was scrawled,
    almost illegible but it
    immediately took me back.
    Tears began to well up
    in my eyes but I didn't'
    know why.
    Then I realized what it
    was and what that letter
    had meant to me.
    It was a letter from my
    father, the last
    he wrote me before he died.
    And how I cried tears of joy when I
    read how proud he was of
    me and apologized for not
    being able to attend my
    graduation from college.
    I never saw him again alive,
    for he died that very same
    week. How could I misplace
    such as prize in the attic
    among the boxes.
    Sometimes life just passes
    us by and we forget the
    important things  like a simple letter.
   Ordinary
    I'd rather be peculiar than ordinary,
    Obsessed and depressed, under
    Duress, hyper-active and crazy,
    Anything but ordinary.
    Following the crowd, talking loud,
    No mind of my own, mindset of the
    Masses, just plain ordinary.
    I'd rather be neurotic, somewhat
    Psychotic, on the verge of a breakdown, anything but ordinary.
    Singing the same ole songs, just
    Going along, blinders on the eyes,
    No big surprise, just ordinary.
    I prefer to be an individual, not dull
    And invisible, a lion not cattle, ready
    To fight any battle, a leader.
    I can be anything I want to be and
    I choose  not to be...
    Ordinary..
 
					     					 			   . I am Thankful
    I am thankful for each new day
    That breaks, every breath I take,
    For the sunshine and the rain,
    The pleasure and pain, the bountiful
    Blessings I enjoy.
    I am thankful for the flowers in
    Spring, the birds that joyously
    Sing, for the sun and the moon,
    The long hot summer days of June,
    And the joy I feel inside.
    But most of all I am thankful for
    The morning sunrise that let's me
    Know I'm alive, the morning breeze
    On my face and for God's saving
    Grace,
    I am thankful...
   Tears
    For every tear that is cried,
    A price has been paid.
    A heart has been broken, a
    Love one has been taken, a pain
    Has been suffered, a sadness felt.
    For every tear that is cried,
    Joy and happiness has overwhelmed.
    Guilt, shame, a traumatic event,
    Absence, or a fond memory
    Have brought us to the brink.
    For every tear that is cried,
    Lies, dirt in the eyes, a toxic odor,
    Wherein is the cause,
    Of the moisture on our cheeks,
    The running of the nose.
    For every tear that is cried
    We  shed salty manifestations
    Of our heart and soul,
    Expression of emotions,
    Sometimes out of control.
    But when's it's all over,
    We feel,
    Miraculously,
    Better...