Don’t be a dead man walking.
No need to be a sitting duck.
Don’t be down on your luck.
No need to be feeling bad
when you miss all the things
you wish you could have back.
Don’t stare at your reflection
for too long. Change it up.
No need to replay the song.
Move on. Wake up and look
alive. Buy the ticket and enjoy
the ride. Know when to show
and when to hide. Look alive.
No need to slip into the night
when we can just take flight.
There are gatekeepers
that hold the key
to the kingdom –
the key to success.
They hold the key.
There are street sweepers
that hold guns and cuffs.
They hold the key.
There is a grim reaper
among the living.
He holds the key
to the afterlife.
With him, it’s on sight.
There are timekeepers
watching from the other
side. There are spirits
that know when to hide.
They hold the key
to the somber skies.
There are old leaders
driving imported cars.
They hold the key.
There are people
like you and me.
We, too, hold the key
that will, one day,
set our souls free.
Time continues to slip
through my gentle grip.
The clothes on my back
continue to get ripped.
My words get flipped.
Blue skies open wide
bringing those who hide
out into the holy light.
Blue skies seem to fade
to gray when the sun
goes away. I don’t mind
doing a little dance
under the thunder.
Days fade to gray
as rain drops drip
onto a vacant crypt.
All colors eventually
fade to gray. Evidently,
some shade is man-made.
I am the leading actor
in this movie of life.
The cameras are rolling
all day and all night.
The scenes are shot
from my eyesight
with or without light.
The film developed
is stored in my brain.
There are no ‘cuts’ or
‘do-overs’. The camera
keeps rolling whether
sleeping or bowling.
As my movie finishes,
my memory diminishes.
Once the movie is made,
all things in life fade.
Only if you saw behind
the scenes, you would
understand the man
that I am. You would
see all that I was:
the good, bad, and ugly.
See me for me and look
for all the good things
that I am and will be.
In life, we hide the things
we don’t want others to see.
At the start, the end seemed
far. At the end, we couldn’t
tell the two apart. In life,
we seek, search, and want
things and people
out of reach. Life can be
a game of hide and seek.
Some disappear as quickly
as others appear. Some stay
still and are scared to move.
Some dance despite the mood.
In the end, we will find
all that has been hidden.
In the meantime, find time
to unwind as you release
all the things on your mind.
IN YOUR DREAMS POETRY 