The category “Rhyme-N-Reason" is intended to be a place to share poetry that stimulates thoughtful reflection. For me, writing poetry is cathartic. It’s a way to encapsulate a group of feelings or thoughts that might be on my mind such that when I’m done writing, I experience a level of resolve that is both comforting and motivational. It has the same effect for me as listening to a song with which one has a significant connection. It takes you somewhere you’ve been or to something you’ve felt or experienced and allows you to further interpret the intended meaning or the lesson learned. Hopefully this can be a place for readers to pause and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. Your comments are welcomed as well as any poetry you might want to share.

The following poem is called "Circles". I decided to include a video clip from the movie Finding Neverland with this poem because I believe they capture much of the same sentiment. If you've never seen the movie and you plan to at some point you may not want to watch the clip. If you have seen the movie, the clip is the final scene. I loved the movie so I would certainly recommend you see it if you haven't.

The category “Rhyme-N-Reason" is intended to be a place to share poetry that stimulates thoughtful reflection. For me, writing poetry is cathartic. It’s a way to encapsulate a group of feelings or thoughts that might be on my mind such that when I’m done writing, I experience a level of resolve that is both comforting and motivational. It has the same effect for me as listening to a song with which one has a significant connection. It takes you somewhere you’ve been or to something you’ve felt or experienced and allows you to further interpret the intended meaning or the lesson learned. Hopefully this can be a place for readers to pause and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. Your comments are welcomed as well as any poetry you might want to share.

The following poem is called Broken Shadow. It was inspired by a number of different thoughts over a lengthy period of time. Rather than explain this one, I decided to leave it open to the interpretation of each reader. Feel free to share whatever meaning you feel it holds.

BROKEN SHADOW

Often the excepted and no one knew
Rarely accepted and not the rule

Exceptions rejected, set to the side
Never accepted, never in stride

One in ten and then again
Slice the pie, you don’t fit in

One foot on this side
One foot on the big slide

Cash me out, save on rent
Barely living, life’s lament

Psycho pilot, cyber spent
Another quake, the walls cement

Happy endings are ends no less
Stories moral, the gods digress

Broken truth, the truth they spoke
At journeys end, the future provokes

The wheels full circle, it comes around
The sting of sand, the holy ground

The shadow stands till the light goes out
Born of shadows, consumed no doubt

Lights flicker, the suns on the ledge
Rushing madly to the shadows edge

The category “Rhyme-N-Reason" is intended to be a place to share poetry that stimulates thoughtful reflection. For me, writing poetry is cathartic. It’s a way to encapsulate a group of feelings or thoughts that might be on my mind such that when I’m done writing, I experience a level of resolve that is both comforting and motivational. It has the same effect for me as listening to a song with which one has a significant connection. It takes you somewhere you’ve been or to something you’ve felt or experienced and allows you to further interpret the intended meaning or the lesson learned. Hopefully this can be a place for readers to pause and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. Your comments are welcomed as well as any poetry you might want to share.

I wote this poem called Life's A House while thinking about life and death as a process of renewal. There is great solace in knowing that even though people come and go in this life, humanity persists regardless. Much like a centuries old home, the world continues to be populated with new faces...filled with hopes for the future. Such is the cycle of life. It seemed to be an appropriate sentiment on Mother's Day weekend.

LIFE’S A HOUSE

We build a home from stone and glass
The door is locked, the latch is clasped

Draw back the drapes, no view obstructed
The window shutters, the souls constructed

The cold seeps in through double pains
The furnace fires, the heats retained

Electricity flows, the meter races
Guests are welcomed with warm embraces

Layers of life, painted on the walls
Faceless frames adorn the halls
The spirits scream, the silence calls

Who walked before, who slept inside?
A child laughs where ghosts reside

The trees will grow, the shadow spreads
Across the threshold, the traffic ebbs

The heart is weakened, the hearth lies still
The vase sits vacant on the window sill

The house grows old, the stone is cast
The windows shattered, broken glass

And yet within, the circle spins
The deed is done, then death steps in
The house remains, the day begins

The category “Rhyme-N-Reason" is intended to be a place to share poetry that stimulates thoughtful reflection. For me, writing poetry is cathartic. It’s a way to encapsulate a group of feelings or thoughts that might be on my mind such that when I’m done writing, I experience a level of resolve that is both comforting and motivational. It has the same effect for me as listening to a song with which one has a significant connection. It takes you somewhere you’ve been or to something you’ve felt or experienced and allows you to further interpret the intended meaning or the lesson learned. Hopefully this can be a place for readers to pause and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings. Your comments are welcomed as well as any poetry you might want to share.

I wrote the following poem called Holy Wars while thinking about conflict and what makes it so prevalent. It speaks to the "tit for tat" mentality that I've recently been writing about and how difficult it becomes to step back from this escalating rhetoric. The poem also attempts to expose some of the hypocrisy that exists in the words and the choices of those in positions of leadership.

Holy Wars

Decisions made by dignitaries, neither will retreat
Time to launch the missiles, the price of pride is steep

Issues framed in declarations, soldiers winning decorations
The uniforms delineate, flying flags to note each nation

The minions meet the mortar, the victory’s essential
Sent to do the bidding, so death’s inconsequential

Men meet to fight the battle, the enemy they blame
The blood pours on the soil, the colors all the same

A knock upon the door, they say your son has died
The message is the same…for mothers on each side

We choose to hate the foe, the people are the pawns
The culprits in the castle, the kingdom must be strong

The order is reversed, the laws of god invoked
Lives are bought and sold, the flames of hatred stoked

Someone pulls the strings, the reasoning is spun
The guilty are absolved, the damage has been done

The origins forgotten, when abundance was provided
Then greed became the norm, so humanity subsided

They say the goal is heaven, and yet its things they seek
The deeds defy the words; the strong must be the weak

No man exceeds another, yet often do they try
The truth cannot be hidden; it’s in each person’s eyes

Each one of us diminished, when one destroys another
Men preceded nations; we’re in this world together