Love Needs Its Mystery

Poets have an inner eye and write what they see,

The images might be there but they don’t have to be,

Physical reality often means nothing to me,

For in the shadows a new world yawns,

Stretches, shakes, as a new day dawns,

A parallel world without wars or fears,

Founded on love where there’s no need for tears,

It’s there, existing, waiting for me it seems,

To stir my imagination whenever I dream,

In that world love is more than lust,

It’s a choice, an action, truth and trust,

Love in its fullness ready to share,

Bubbling over into my world and everywhere,

How can I open my world to let love pour in,

Why did love stop and can it happen again,

In the shadows the worlds could meet face to face,

Filling the darkness with love’s sweet embrace,

I’ll look to the other world to provide a spark,

When my world’s problems chase love from the dark,

And when science puts my love under a microscope,

Dissects it, inspects it, and neutralizes hope,

I’ll remind the world that love needs its mystery,

Where everything might be real but it doesn’t have to be.

Dream Big, Little Girl

For all the world,

Will be there when you wake,

I know you don’t want to sleep,

But tomorrow will just have to keep,

The stars are shining bright,

No, you can’t have a pillow fight,

I think it’s for the best,

That you get lots of rest,

You’ll be dancing around the stars soon,

And laughing at the moon,

Dream big, little girl,

Let your dreams unfurl,

The world needs your smile,

It’s been waiting awhile,

So in your dreams, dance and sing,

Help bring beauty to everything,

Perhaps an astronomer you’ll be,

Searching faraway worlds relentlessly,

Stretching your imagination into the night,

Letting your dreams take flight,

I know you’re looking for your special star,

The one that follows you wherever you are,

It’s there, keeping your wishes for another day,

While you dream, you’ll dance on the Milky Way,

And sprinkle stardust across the sky,

Count the falling stars that go by,

Just remember, while you are sleeping,

Angels will your heart be keeping,

So, dream big, little girl,

And let your dreams change the world.

Secret Identity

Who am I in real life?

How do I struggle with poverty and strife?

Do I need a mask to stand against wrong,

Or can I be myself and still be strong?

Do I need a special cape to take a chance,

Or do I know what to do and take my stance?

Should I step from the shadows and make a choice,

Or hesitate to see if someone else will raise his voice?

I choose to love others, even give up my life,

Joining the battle against poverty and strife,

I don’t need a secret identity to help one or two,

I will be there for someone, maybe it’s you.

"Nothing But the Truth!"

I raised my right hand and said,

“I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,

And nothing but the truth,”

The bailiff stopped me, I had just begun,

“We don’t do that anymore, son,

There’s no need to plant that seed,

We try to assume no one lies in truth or deed,

“Then why are we here?” my voice loud and strong,

Isn’t somebody being tried because he did wrong?”

“Contempt of court!” the judge roared my way,

“Lock him up, for a week and a day,

He’s prejudiced this trial, I’ll tell you why,

We wanted to find out who would lie,”

I should have been quiet, like I usually do,

I didn’t realize just what havoc would ensue,

“Judge, I have the answer, I surely do,

Anyone who moves their lips, is lying too,”

His face was distorted, he mopped his face,

“I don’t think you have a clue about this place,”

He rolled his narrowed eyes before he said,

“I wish I was a king and I’d say off with his head,”

Instead he sentenced me to a day and a year,

My lawyer explained until the message was clear,

“Justice is blind, and the law is ruthless,

We challenge each person as if he were truthless,”

“See this coffee cup?” He pointed to the one in his hand,

“I’m going to ask you questions until you understand,

Answer the questions truthfully, and do your best,

When I am finished, there will be a short test,”

He chuckled gleefully, “This is as easy as falling off a log,

I’ll lead you to the conclusion this cup is a frog,”

“But what about the truth?” I asked with some doubt,

“Forget the truth,” he snapped, “we want all the facts out!

We want evidence, arguments, burdens of proof,

When it’s all verified we’ll come out with some truth,”

I shook my head, “If a liar tells the truth, will someone believe?

Or if someone normally honest lies, will you know he deceives?

Is truth a mixture of reality and imagination, a poet’s dream?

Or is truth stranger than fiction, just as it seems?”

The lawyer scratched his head and started to grin,

“If you were a lawyer, I think you might win,

Lying for a good reason, twisting truth on a case,

If you stretch the facts a little, you’ll build a good base,

If you lead people to a conclusion with your evidence,

You’ll win most of your cases if the juries you convince.”

He patted me on the back and looked me in the eye,

“You should know the truth, when you’re released by and by.

The truth must be outdated,

At least it’s considered overrated,

However you can get by,

Whether you steal, cheat, or lie,

If you can get away with it,

Don’t let it bother you one bit,

                                   

When I was just a child,

Perhaps I was just a bit wild,

But Dad took me aside and said,

“This could probably be left unsaid,

But just so you can sleep at night,

Learn to treat folks just right,

Be honest when you give your word,

So they don’t have to guess what they heard,

And if you shake hands to seal a deal,

Remind yourself your word is real,”

Through the years I’ve stayed on track,

And I don’t see a reason for turning back,

I found it true I could sleep at night,

Just because I did things right.

(Part one)

The Most Efficient Path

The Most Efficient Path

As I take my walk through the woods,

I see untold beauty unfolding before me,

But I peer closer for I want to really see,

Nature’s royal form wrapped in fractal cloaks,

Natural occurrences as in the leaves of oaks,

Complex patterns rising from simple rules,

Fractal recurrences of nodules,

Using a mathematician’s way to explain,

How nature is not so complex but plain,

There is so much simplicity, yet elegant math,

Because nature follows the most efficient path,

Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio have a say,

How beauty even exists in such a way,

With so many stimuli to overwhelm the mind,

I have to concentrate if the beautiful order I’ll find,

Branches, layers, spirals, are everywhere displayed,

 Concrete examples that can be touched and weighed,

Pine cones with the Fibonacci spirals, feathers of owl,

Gathering specimens with camera as I continue to prowl,

Later to change the pictures into numerical models to test,

Analyze, and record patterns from this treasure chest,  

Everything studied and written down as planned,

Like William Blake, “See the world in a grain of sand,”

Then once more I’ll be free to soar and see with eagle’s eye,

Chaos unchained and let my imagination fly.