I

I Love

Does that make me good?

I Hate

Does it make me wrong?

I Am

Does that make me important?

With Rain, Comes Fog

When the rain falls into your life

The fog holds you close

It doesn't ask for things to get better

It doesn't ask why the rain is falling

It just holds you close

A little removed

A little remote

But all around you

The fog can't give you a warm embrace

It can't do much more than be there

But it takes away the world

Lets you be alone for a little while

While the rain rolls into your life

While the day turns grey

The fog lets you forget

It gives without giving anything

Earth's Embrace.

I stopped holding gravity

and it said goodbye to me.

I kissed air a final fair well

and it left my lungs.

I spent one last evening on earth

and we shared a bottle of wine.

Then the sun waved to me

and I soared towards it.

The stars giggled at me

and I smiled right back.

The moon sighed at my freedom

and I shrugged an apology.

The universe nodded its approval

and I thanked it quite earnestly.

But winter reminded me of snow

and I stopped flying so fast

And spring reminded me of rain

and I slowed even more

And music reminded me of happiness

and I held still

And paper reminded me of art

and I drifted ever so slowly backwards

And clothes reminded me of comfort

and I started falling

And people reminded me of life

and I plummeted

And before I knew it

I was laying on grass

What a way to fly from the earth

What a way to fall into its embrace

Paying Attention

He said the most hurtful things

By not saying anything at all

I asked him for a little part of himself

That he begged for the world to see

But he wouldn't give it to me

Do you want the attention I'm giving?

Is it your fault or mine?

She said the kindest things

By being totally honest

She doesn't know I exist

And she'll probably never take the time

Sorry

Better luck next time

Do you want the attention I'm giving?

Is it my fault or yours?

I say what comes to my mind

Sometimes horrifying

Sometimes comforting

But I give myself freely

Take what you want or nothing at all

Do you want the attention I'm giving?

Is it our fault or happenstance?

Not so much

Do you need me?

Because I really hope you don't.

I really hope that I am not the only thing

That gets you out of bed.

If I'm the only person who

Can make your heart beat.

Then I am responsible for love and life

I'm responsible for you.

So don't love me with all your heart

Don't give yourself completely up

I want to love you for who you are

Not because you can't live without

The Question of Death.

What is death?

We know the heart stops

The breath stops

The muscles relax

The brain turns off

The tissue decays

The growth ends

Every part that was once ourselves turns to nothing

That is the aftermath of death.

But what is death itself?

That moment when everything finishes

When whatever it is that makes us alive

Flickers and shuts off

Does it disappear?

Like rain into the ground

Does it leave our sight?

Like the setting sun

Does it change its form?

Like a caterpillar and a chrysalis

Does it turn off?

Like a little machine

Does it live on?

Like a legend

In effect I ask

What is life?

And what is its relationship with death?

A Summer Recollection

Have I mentioned how I long for woodsmoke

To saturate my very being?

How I long for blackened soles

burnt skin and bruised elbows?

Have I spoken about skies that never darken

Nights that are too short and too memorable

Fearlessness in the face of sunny weather

Or fleeting freedom that bleeds into every action?

I don't know if I've said how much I love the sea

If I've used my words to sweetly caress and adore

The joys of friend, wine, music, and campfires

The things that live in the brief heat.

I cannot remember when summer was here

I don't recall a life without snow

Green grass is a mystery to me

A story that I used to know

But when I smell drifting woodsmoke

Or catch a glimpse of a bare foot

For a second I breath in summer

and for a second I remember

Awoken

Today

I woke up

From a dream

That I had been in

For most of my life

That dream

I was following and imagining

Was that I was an artist

That I was going to change the world

With words and songs and pictures and paintings

And when I awoke

It wasn't like a seven a.m. wake up call

Where all the pieces of life can't come together

But rather like a sunday summer morn

When you can't think of anything better

Than being awake and alive in this moment

I'm awake

And I don't need

To sleep away my time

My dreams are my past

And my future is about to begin

Thats why I want a dreamer

Thats why I want a believer

So I can make their dreams come true

So I can give a base to some else's hopes

This I can do

This is enough for me

This is more than a dream

This can be my life

Can you see this Reality?

As real as autumn leaves

As real as fallen trees

Climate change

As real as emotion

As real as commotion

Panic

As real as morning alarms

As real as the registry on firearms

Government

As real as screaming fans

As real as wedding bands

Celebrations

As real as late nights out

As real as a girl who chooses to pout

Interactions

I want this to be as real to you

As it is to me.

See?

And for a second, He becomes everything he ever dreamed of being.

He walked into the crowd

Like blue food colouring drops in a glass of clear water

Moving like piece of velvet caught in the wind

He was dressed in the finest silks

Ember threads danced with indigo fabric

Rippling on his flawless skin

He inhaled the crowds expectations

And breathed a sweet word softly against the air

With all the force of a heartbroken child

And every heart melted

Like thick chocolate on a summer sidewalk

A natural high brought on by love

He moved into the crowd

And tripped on the first step

Falling ass over teakettle

And the spell was broken

And the crowd laughed

And time started again

No feelings of twisting velvet

No magic and mimicry

No melted chocolate

Another day

Another dollar

And a man in overly flamboyant clothing.

"Whoa, doesn't that guy look weird?"

"I dunno. I think it looks good"

I had a weird dream, but it was kinda awesome.

I had a dream that you and I went on a date

But I forgot the way

I asked for your plate

From the french waiter who dropped

Our shared piece of cheese cake

I remember it started with a stutter

And ended with a kiss

You were like melted butter

But I was more like margarine

Underneath the willow trees

I'm pretty sure you asked for roses

With the thorns all taken out

But I think I got a few lengths of hoses

And just covered them all up

Moses supposes

I only wish that I could see you in person

The way you were in that dream

Because the sun on the lake

And you standing there without a mistake

Was too beautiful to remember

I just have to see it again

So maybe I'll go to bed

Alone in a bed two acres too big

And maybe if I'm lucky

I'll dream the dream of how I asked you out

That started with a stutter and ended with a kiss

and took us across the world

Back to my bed

Now with an occupancy of two

The Voice In My Head.

There is a voice in my head

It tell me all the awful things I can do

and I listen to it all day long

Half smile on my face

There is a voice in my head

That talks about all my fears

and I ignore it all day long

With a grimace

There is a voice in my head

It doesn't say a thing to me

But I listen all the same

I'll wait for it

There is a voice in my head

And it reminds me of everything to do

I listen to it on occasion

While I roll my eyes

There is a voice in my head

It says things are going great

I listen carefully for that one

It makes my smile carefree

There is voice in my head

And it says all these things

That voice is me

Or is it someone else?

Sometimes I forget.

Life and Trees.

Life can be like a tree

A thousand little branches and needles and bark

Incapable of being captured in fine detail

Like life

Beautiful in its simplicity

Like life

Both fragile by fire and stoutly strong

Like life

Life like

Live life like a tree

Weather the storm

Sleep in the winter time

Grow towards the light

Blossom

Flower

Age

and die.

Unconventional Means

I eat junk food to plug my veins

I drink energy drinks to fry my nerves

I lay around all day to make my muscles rot

I watch TV to drain my brain

I stay inside to lose the color from my skin

I say stupid things to aggravate those around me

I stay up late to make my body weary

I work from dawn till dusk to break my soul

I sit at home alone to disappear from civilization

I sleep till noon to ignore the rest of the day

I kill myself with unconventional means

My body is a temple

I'm an atheist

OutSide

This world is not as it seems

This life is actually much larger

Everything around us is a room

In a giant manor

We keep the doors shut

Bar them with wardrobes

Cover the windows with blankets

Sit in a corner with the lights turned off

Because what lies OutSide

Is too much

Too Much

TOO MUCH

It defies imagination

Thos things consume understanding

Devour common sense

Relish in their world and shun our little hideaway

So we stay tucked away

Living life in a dark room

Unwilling to open our eyes

And happy with the lights off

Because we know

As awful as tomorrow may be

Or as terrible as our actions could be

They could never be quite as horrific and incomprehensible

As what lies on the OutSide

Projected Self Image

Does it matter

How you dress

What you say

Where you look

Who you are with

Does it matter

How your body appears

If you want to stay out late

If you don't like someone

Does it matter

How you spend your time

What makes you laugh

What turns you on

It doesn't

It doesn't and it makes me sad

That kids are willing to die

For things that have no bearing

On who they are or what dreams they have

Can we drop the pretence

and just admit to the world?

Can you stop the pretending

and embrace yourself at last?

Can I end this hiding

and just move on with my life?

Duel Drivel

From the sky

To the earth

Falling

At the bottom of the hill

Rushing to the top

Climbing

Face on the headstone

Hammer swinging down

Dying

Flowers at graduation

A road trip to anywhere

Living

A couple in love

Together in the unending

Commitment

A couple of fools

With others in their heart

Abandonment

How Quiet

The snow that fell is turning to ice

The sky has gone from blue to grey

The trees look more like death than life

And all the sounds of summer

Have gone silent

Birds flee to the iron grey sky

Laughing children now respect the hush

The wind no longer rustles the grass

There is none left

To disturb the winter day

Phones lay unchecked

Mail routes have been snowed in

Even conversation dwindles to mere necessity

The cold claims more sounds

The ones of human connection

All across the chilled hearts

A respect for the season of silence

No one dare faces it

All words and well wishes

Wait till spring

Plea

I abdicate control

Because I want to give it to you

Okay?

Take me

Because I want you to have me

Please?

Don't fight with me

Because I want you to be free

Understand?

I give myself up

Because I want you to feel as I have

Alright?

Shut up

Just shut up

I don't mean to hurt you with my words

Or make you feel like you cannot speak

But instead of being kind

I thought I'd be direct

Shut up

Don't speak when you don't know what you say

Don't express an idea that is more complex than you can dream

Don't try and seem important by association to a cause

Don't pretend

Don't assume

Just shut up

Listen

See

Witness

Experience

Know

You don't need to be the axle

Sometimes you're just the wheel

You don't have to be the catalyst

But just ride the wave of change

You don't need to be more than you are

You will learn soon enough

Shut up

These words hurt like a tonic

A sharp cure to a dull disease

Ignorance

Prairie Spirit

I'm an Alberta boy

Through and Through

True Blue

Prairie Child

Born to be wild

Upon the foothills

I've taken to roam

My Canadian home

With winter chills

and summer thrills

My heart beats for more

Than the earth I tread

It beats for the people, living and dead

It's about the spirit of the west

Long forgotten by the rest

I would leave the fields of wheat

See what other places hold

If they're all I've been told

But the mournful winds speak of pride

From which no country boy can hide

It tells us that we can't leave

No matter how many miles we go

We will always know

Just as this land was pioneered

We were also domineered

I'm an Alberta boy

This place is my place

It's a part of me

For better or for worse

We're together for life