Sonnettics

An Ironman is more than one who Tris
We swim, we bike, we run; we do all three
One forty, then point six, we’re girls and guys
I’m one of them, but now there’s more to me
An Ironman no more, I hit a car
My bike was trashed; I almost lost my foot
And yet I need to thank my lucky star
And surgeons who made sure my parts stayed put!
My ankle has titanium inside
The plates and screws keep everything secure
I’m able still to swim, to run, to ride
I’m more than most triathletes, that’s for sure!
I’m back in training now; I have a plan
To challenge M-Dot. I’m an AlloyMan!

I wrote this sonnet while flying from Seattle to Chicago on my way home to Virginia.

Dichotomy is silent words of truth
In silence I can hear the roar of thought
I miss the solitude I felt in youth
I hear the poetry that time has brought
Together, words like precious pain inspire
If inspiration comes from words at all
I love the cool intent of rhythmic fire
I watch it rise and hope its heights will fall
When lies belie intentions, hope recedes
Like tides that ebb from beaches of deceit
The water that brings life, brings life to weeds
Sweet flowers drown and feel their roots retreat
There has to be a middle road or song
Where all my silent words and thoughts belong.

Yay! My first high altitude sonnet!

Happy Birthday, Scott!

From, Scott

I’ve orbited the Sun once more today
While riding on this globe that’s known as Earth
The rising of the Sun’s a perfect way
For Helios to celebrate my birth!

I’ve grown to more than just a little song
I still remember being just a seed
But Helios’ light has made me strong
And from the cloak of night I have been freed

From night to day, my volta is complete
From day to night, I journey through my dreams
I never knew that life could be more sweet
Than birthay cake or even some ice creams!

Another year has passed through heaven’s sky
And yet I know you know, I’m just this guy.

This is the tune I am working into this sonnet:
gibeon
****
Remember when we said we would be gods?
Remember when we learned what gods we were?
Our memories are such divine facades
They’re plaster words to which our souls demur

The things we said became forgotten tripe
As things we tried to do became mere words
The gods we were could only grouse or snipe
We couldn’t even fly like little birds

Omnipotence was poetry we read
But when we tried to write, our pencils broke
Our graphite souls were brittle, pencil lead
And when we’d try to sing, we’d only choke

Let’s learn to write with just a mortal pen
And be content with being simple men.

1.  We Meet  (Warm Stranger) (If I Love You)

1  We Meet

---

Verse 1

You felt so warm; I tried to understand
Your hand was soft; your voice was soft and sweet
I’ve been too cold; my life has been unplanned
I sat, but didn’t know that we would meet

Verse 2

So warm a girl, so beautiful and nice
I wondered if my hand was warm to you
I thought we might have met, not once, but twice
I didn’t know what fate would have me do

Chorus

You feel like more than poetry to me
We shared our pain, we shared compassion too
The moment wasn’t awkward; we were free
I wish I had some wishes that you knew

Warm Stranger, I would love to know you more
You may be what a second chance is for.

Verse 3

Beside the fountain where we sat and talked
Where water spouted crystal clear and cool
Our meeting wasn’t something fate had mocked
It happened like the water formed a pool

Verse 4

Such warmth can take a thousand years to be
The warmth of two, who let each other in
The warmth of us expresses you and me
Beside a fountain where we might begin

2.  Losing a Star

2 Losing a Star

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Verse 1

I drank too much that starry, starry night
Beneath the stars, I laughed myself insane
We held each other close, but not too tight
Within a love the wine could not constrain

Verse 2

I told you that it wasn’t just the wine
And even though my life was never real
I have to swear I stepped across the line
The line I tried my whole life to conceal

Verse 3

It sounded trite, but not as much today
And yet it was the truth, or not a lie
In all these years I couldn’t get away
No matter how I’m eager to deny

Nor can I cross the line which has been drawn
As you forgot the stars and then moved on

Verse 4 (used to be Chorus)

I dropped our stars into my glass of wine
I lost the night, within the wine and you
To wish upon the stars would be divine
If starry wishes ever would come true

Chorus
 
Oh, starry, starry, starry, starry skies
I need to cross the line which has been drawn
Oh, starry, starry, starry, starry skies
Forget the stars and wine and let’s move on

Verse 5 Instrumental

Verse 6 (used to be Chorus)

I dropped our stars into my glass of wine
I lost the night, within the wine and you
To wish upon the stars would be divine
If starry wishes ever would come true 

Chorus
 
Oh, starry, starry, starry, starry skies
I need to cross the line which has been drawn
Oh, starry, starry, starry, starry skies
Forget the stars and wine and let’s move on

3.  As Close as We Can Be (Alone) (Annabelle Lee)

3 As Close as We Can Be

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Verse 1

Alone is worst at night, when I can feel
her skin, and smell her hair, and hear her breath
I can’t imagine anything as real
As lying by her side; alone is death

Verse 2

I want to be with her; alone is death
Come put me in a grave, alone and cold
It’s just the same as how I feel today
I’m just a story no one ever told
I’m just a story no one ever told

Chorus

Alone, I’m words that she will never say
It’s dark, and I remember when the light
revealed my lover’s beauty, like the dawn
By her, the world was golden, warm, and bright
But now I lie awake and she is gone
I feel my lover, soft within my heart
I hope she feels me too, when we’re apart.

Verse 3
I  want to be as close as we can be
Like pages, close together in a book
The book of life surrounds my love and me
It’s worth the time to take another look

Verse 4
She knows the way to justify my heart
To her, the words I am are precious gold
But words are only words when we’re apart
I’m just a story no one ever told
I’m just a story no one ever told

Chorus

Verse 5
As close as we can be is skin to skin
I’ve felt her warmth within my thoughts, my dreams
But now that I’m alone, it seems a sin
And we’re as close as we can be, it seems

4.  It’s Over Now


4 It’s Over Now

---

Verse 1

I wanted her to wait, and yet I knew
Uncertainty would take her where it would
I saw her off; she faded from my view
I thought our love was simply understood
Oh, I thought our love was simply understood
But fate could give a damn what things we want
It took her far away; now I’m alone
We felt each other, almost like a taunt

Chorus

It’s over now; it’s hard to say, she said
It’s over now; what we once had is dead
It’s over now; I’ve gotta live somehow
I’m tired, but I just want it over now.

Verse 2

We loved each other, but we should have known
that separation always has a cost
we may not want to pay, and yet we must
She journeyed far away; our love was lost
regardless of our faith and of our trust
But if her journey brings her back to me
I’ll hold her tight, as close as we can be.

Chorus

It’s over now; it’s hard to say, she said
It’s over now; what we once had is dead
It’s over now; I’ve gotta live somehow
I’m tired, but I just want it over now.

?Bridge? (But or Maybe)

?Ending Verse?

5.  Riesling Kiss


5 Riesling Kiss

---

Verse 1

There’s time for one more glass of Riesling wine
as time begins to fade as we define
the complicated sweetness of the taste
of timelessness, devoid of bitter haste.
Aromas gather slowly in the dim
of twilight of the presence of the thought
of lips that linger lightly on the brim
of sweetness and the essences now caught

Verse 2

There’s twilight in the presence of the thought
Of sweetness in the essences we caught
the musk of sunlight captured in the skin
of fruit from fertile vineyards far away,
the tang of inspiration from within
a bottled soul, consumed like night by day
the musk of sunlight captured in the skin
of fruit from fertile vineyards far away

Chorus
————————————————————————-

I drink my love and lose my self control
The bouqet of her kiss is mine, all mine
I taste her in my mouth and in my soul
The way I like to taste a noble wine
The soft and subtle glow of nurtured bliss
compels her to release a Riesling kiss.

The soft and subtle glow of nurtured bliss
compels her to release a Riesling kiss.

6.  Distant Lover (Through the Glass)

6 Distant Lover

---

Verse 1

I saw the sun explode behind the trees
At dusk, before I dragged myself to bed.
I felt a surge of promised distant peace,
But something else slipped in my weary head.

Verse 2

My bed was not the peaceful place of dreams
I tossed and turned and gazed beyond the drapes
They tried to hide the window, but it seems
Some sights go far beyond my dream’s escapes 

Chorus

Perhaps the shaded purple of the cloud
Was where the sun had touched the cloud too dark.
Perhaps the distant rain fell like a shroud
Upon some distant lovers in some park.
I know the vision that my eyes beheld
Was missed by many others on that night,
As all the highest joys the scene compelled
Collapsed before the sun withdrew his light.

Ending

From where I stood such beauty should be clear
Unless it was refracted by a tear.

7.  Alone (Is She the One?)  It looks like this is the same one as #3

7 Alone

---

Alone is worst at night, when I can feel
 her skin, and smell her hair, and hear her breath
 I can’t imagine anything as real
 as lying by her side; alone is death
 Come put me in a grave, alone and cold
 It’s just the same as how I feel today
 I’m just a story no one ever told
 Alone, I’m words that she will never say
 It’s dark, and I remember when the light
 revealed my lover’s beauty, like the dawn
 By her, the world was golden, warm, and bright
 But now I lie awake and she is gone
 I feel my lover, soft within my heart
 I hope she feels me too, when we’re apart.

?Chorus

?Is she the one?
?Oh, I loved her from afar

?Is she the one?
?Am I just wishing on a star?

?Is she the one?

?Is she the one?

?Is she the one?

8.  Audrey, I Love you (Abandoned again)

8 Audrey

---

Verse 1

Anoint me with your soft and tender care
Until I can’t feel anything but you
Depending on the love you bring to bear
Remembering the things I want to do

Verse 2

Explicitly, I’ll give my words their task
Your soul will feel the warmth within my heart
Intensity enkindles when you ask
Light-heartedly, if I’m prepared to start

Chorus

Oh, come and touch me with your tender hands
Validity is not the force I seek
Except to have you validate my will
You come into my dreams; I hear you speak
Of how you’ve come to touch my wanting soul
Until I feel your skin, and lose control

Verse 3 

Again, I feel your touch, your noble strength
Upon my skin, your tenderness, your care
Don’t doubt that I will go to any length
Regardless of the shackles I must wear

Verse 4

Entice me just by being who you are
You’ll never know the power of your touch
I need you like my music needs guitar
Like lyrics need a singer’s voice and such

Chorus

Oh, come and touch me with your tender hands
Validity is not the force I seek
Except to have you validate my will
You come into my dreams; I hear you speak
Of how you’ve come to touch my wanting soul
Until I feel your skin, and lose control

Verse 5

Alone with you is more than reverie
United like two hands in solemn prayer
Don’t think that love is just a symphony
Remember, I’m in love; you brought me there

Verse 6

Expect the music of our love to be
Your little song, your verse to hear and sing 
It flows from us like two-part harmony
Like life with you and me is everything

Chorus

Oh, come and touch me with your tender hands
Validity is not the force I seek
Except to have you validate my will
You come into my dreams; I hear you speak
Of how you’ve come to touch my wanting soul
Until I feel your skin, and lose control

9.  Half a Life

9 Half a Life

---

Verse 1

If half a life is all your life will be
If happiness is half a life, estranged
If every time you think you’ve found a key
You find that all the locks have all been changed

Verse 2

If Spring succumbs to Winter’s latest frost
If distance is your darkest enemy
If counting time is counting time that’s lost
And losing time is lost from memory

Chorus

Then let your mind recall eternity
And feel how near it is to soul and heart
Replant the seeds of faith in you and me
Our strength of love will break all locks apart

Verse 3

Don’t cry at half a life of joyful years
Though tears may come and go, the Rain will stay
The rain will always fall like joyful tears
To wash the tears of half a life away

Chorus

Then let your mind recall eternity
And feel how near it is to soul and heart
Replant the seeds of faith in you and me
Our strength of love will break all locks apart

Verse 4 
(Same as Verse 1)

If half a life is all your life will be
If happiness is half a life, estranged
If every time you think you’ve found a key
You find that all the locks have all been changed

10.  Moving (Daydream Fantasy)

10 Moving

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Verse 1

As bright as spring expressed within a rose
In quiet tones of pink and green and gold
A bursting bud as winter’s drawn to close
As life reborn transcends forgotten cold

Verse 2

My love is this; my love is more than this
She radiates her warmth from heart and breast
The color of the Spring, like Easter’s kiss
Is deeper than her flushing cheek expressed

Chorus

It’s more than just a daydream fantasy
It’s more than real; it lingers in her mind
It’s more than just a daydream fantasy
It’s love, and no, it doesn’t make me blind.

Verse 3

She waits for spring no more; it comes to her
And settles on her heaven’s brightest ray
A light, a love that’s golden, warm and pure
Announcing that it’s found a brand new day

Verse 4

The sun stands still exactly where it should
Its light and warmth have never been more sure
Where spring and love and life are all things good
Where all that’s new is beautiful and pure

Chorus

It’s more than just a daydream fantasy
It’s more than real; it lingers in her mind
It’s more than just a daydream fantasy
It’s love, and no, it doesn’t make me blind.

11.  Missing You (Do You Love Me?)

11 Missing You

---

Verse 1

I miss your love, it never went away
But I became unmade beyond my choice
My life became a darker shade of gray
It justifies the contours of my voice

Verse 2

I miss your love, the way it makes me feel
above the simple words I seem to find
within the empty thoughts I thought were real
which fill the empty corners of my mind.

Chorus

I’m missing you: your touch, your voice, your care
I miss the way we held each other tight
and nothing that I know of can compare
to having you, your beauty, in my sight
My world has changed; I miss your love, my dear
I’ll change my world again to have you near.

Verse 3

I miss you, and I wish I had a case
To fill with all the love you used to give
I’ll keep it safe; I never can replace
Your love, regardless of the time I live 

Chorus

I’m missing you: your touch, your voice, your care
I miss the way we held each other tight
and nothing that I know of can compare
to having you, your beauty, in my sight
My world has changed; I miss your love, my dear
I’ll change my world again to have you near.

Verse 4

If fate will change my life, I’ll change it back
To how it was when you were in my arms
I never want a life where I will lack
The comfort of your strength and all your charms

12.  Coffee

12 Coffee

---

Verse 1

To her I smell like coffee, warm and bold
in fall when mornings plead for the embrace
of rich aroma, conquering the cold
and lonely air that fills her lonely space.

Chorus

She cools my heated taste with expert lips,
relaxes with the cup against her breast.
I seep into her slowly as she sips
and quickly where the cup is tightly pressed.
Consumed, I linger on to my surprise,
the catalyst of passion in her eyes.

Verse 2

She holds her cup in both unsteady hands;
she smiles and shrugs, expecting me to pour
my caffeine soul, implicitly demands
her fix of warmth and strength with nothing more.

Chorus

She cools my heated taste with expert lips,
relaxes with the cup against her breast.
I seep into her slowly as she sips
and quickly where the cup is tightly pressed.
Consumed, I linger on to my surprise,
the catalyst of passion in her eyes.

Verse 3

I love the way she tastes me with her kiss
She takes the smallest sip you’ll ever see
Her love for me will never come to this
Where cream and sugar hide the taste of me 

Chorus

She cools my heated taste with expert lips,
relaxes with the cup against her breast.
I seep into her slowly as she sips
and quickly where the cup is tightly pressed.
Consumed, I linger on to my surprise,
the catalyst of passion in her eyes.

Verse 4

?I love the way she tastes me with her kiss
?She takes the smallest sip you’ll ever see
?Her love for me will never come to this
?Where cream and sugar hide the taste of me 

Chorus

She cools my heated taste with expert lips,
relaxes with the cup against her breast.
I seep into her slowly as she sips
and quickly where the cup is tightly pressed.
Consumed, I linger on to my surprise,
the catalyst of passion in her eyes.

Verse 5

?I love the way she tastes me with her kiss
?She takes the smallest sip you’ll ever see
?Her love for me will never come to this
?Where cream and sugar hide the taste of me 

Chorus

She cools my heated taste with expert lips,
relaxes with the cup against her breast.
I seep into her slowly as she sips
and quickly where the cup is tightly pressed.
Consumed, I linger on to my surprise,
the catalyst of passion in her eyes.

13.  Driving to Serenity

13 Driving to Serenity

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V1
Serenity’s a hundred miles away
She calls me like she needs my lonely gift
Those words I’ll drive all night so I can say
Those words my heavy heart can’t seem to lift:

V2
I’m driving; I’m so driven as I drive
I’m driven as I drive; I drive all night
Serenity will keep this man alive
I need serenity within my sight!

V3
Intensity is not my lover’s crime;
Insanity is not my final cry;
Futility is just a waste of time;
Serenity will find the strength to try.

V4
Serenity was closer than I knew
The drive to my serenity was brief
She called me, and I drove. My love was true
Serenity’s my aching heart’s relief

I hear the birds, they chirp a Christmas song
They fly around their Merry Christmas tree
They seem to know where all the notes belong
They seem to want to sing to you and me

It sounds like they are singing Silent Night
They chirp it softly, like angelic choirs
They may not know the words, and yet they might
All calm and bright, their Christmas song inspires

They fly where joy is found on Christmas day
They fetch a star to top their Christmas tree
I love their song and hope that they will stay
And sing their Christmas song to you and me

I love the peace their song will always bring
On Christmas, by the tree where sweet birds sing.

An Angel and a star and then a child
There’s Peace on Earth because he brought Goodwill
When shepherds saw the baby boy, they smiled
And Sheep that know his love are smiling still

The wise men brought their gifts to show respect
Today we give our gifts with love and joy
On Christmas day our hearts and souls reflect
The precious story of a little boy

A little boy, the Son of God, who came
To give a priceless gift to us, his kin
We celebrate this giving in his name
With Christmas gifts we wrap our love within

The Angels and the stars watch up above
As we all celebrate this Christmas love.

I am. I write. The words are only words
This existential poetry is me
While some exist in existential herds
I think, therefore I think that I am free

I choose to write these clever little songs
My being-in-itself, the Words of God
The Words of Sartre’s God, my verse prolongs
Sonnettic form in place of some ballade

A poet of bad faith and yet I’m more
An Ironman, a TBI, so what?
I used to stand and shuffle to the door
But now I think my static line is cut

The words are only words; I’m more than that
Dichotomous, a mountain on a flat.

My nights are filled with metaphoric dreams
They flood my sleep with hopes in which I drown
They’re flooded by what once were little streams
And hopeful tides arise as I sink down

I tread such nights within my nightmare fits
I’d swim, but there’s no land within my sight
I wish my dreams were nothing more than bits
Of similaic rain on stormy nights

I toss and turn within poetic seas
My words are waves that mock my gentle bed
Poseidon never hears my simple pleas
He only seems to want me cold and dead

And so I write my dreams in lyric verse
Like little songs I’m waking to rehearse.

Iraq is more than just a fertile land,
Where writing’s birth on tablets may be seen
The Tigris and Euphrates make the the sand
Which wind and water move to keep all clean

Cuneiformic words remain today
To tell how long Iraq has given life
The words may change, but still their meanings stay
With truth and beauty, Sumer’s words are rife

The sand is also wet with sweat and blood
They mix as they evaporate with heat
They linger in the clouds until the flood
Of justice comes to make their gift complete

Within the skies of fertile lands remains
The gift of liberty in healing rains.