THE LACKLUSTER LYRICIST

(An excerpt from Daydreams and Desires)

My light is brighter than the sun.

Super-sized,

yet superseded,

by my tangled tongue.

I stammer,

forcing others to confuse

my stanzas with my intellect.

So I refuse to try,

refuse to marry my thoughts

with my dialect.

I pray to fly,

but once I share my words

with whispering eyes,

the size of my rise

would force me

to leave my cage.

And force me to be

the hero that I’ve formed

upon my page.

Trapped inside of a prison

of my own creation,

my thoughts sit, decaying,

from impatiently waiting.

Only I have the keys

to unlock the box,

where the spark God gave me

slowly continues to rot.

Yet I refuse to move

beyond my hesitance,

secretly turning down the dial

of my radiance.

So my gifts lay forever

self-proclaimed,

while those who lack my shine

reap all of the fame.

STARGIRL

(An excerpt from Wants and Wonders)

I’m your star girl,

shooting by.

For whimsy and wishes,

how high would you fly?

Were you hurt when you tried

to shoot for me and missed?

Give me the pain that paints

the back of your eyelids.

I come alive in your darkness.

I’m your star girl,

burning hot, unbelievably bright.

Fallen, and sometimes broken,

as I bleed into the night.

Yet all of me is yours,

name me,

claim me,

chart my course.

But don’t dare stare directly at me,

or your soul

might get scorched.

Wait until the shadows touch,

then come join me in the far.

And my might…my light,

will illuminate

everything that you are.

YOU

(An excerpt from Wants and Wonders)

The very thought of you

and I forget the moon.

The big, faceless ball in the sky

is shadowed by the gleam

in your eyes.

Disappearing from my mind,

is every low and stark denies.

There is only you.

The very feel of your breath,

caressing the back of my neck.

magnifies stimulants

that triggers a remembrance

drenched in the sublime.

No need to waste

another’s time.

There is only you.

ROBBERY

(An excerpt from Sense and Starlight)

I was yours for the taking,

heart,

soul,

bone,

and being.

You held me up,

demanded,

claimed,

and held me tight

while you were fleeing.

As the sirens resound,

followed by warning shouts

for us to hit the ground,

you clutched me in your arms

as though our world

had cease to turn round.

I know I’m not the one you wanted

to fund this love affair on the run.

But I know that if your heart made room

our love would bloom and go boom,

like the bang of a gun.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN, PART 2

(An excerpt from Sense and Starlight)

My skin is art,

painted with earth

and night sky.

Blackberry juice,

cinnamon dust,

and shooting stars

zooming by.

With milk and honey,

and a touch of smoke,

and the color of forests,

filled with wildflowers and oaks.

My skin is beautiful,

despite what others may see,

undeniably,

indefinably,

and phenomenally me.