Outgrowing

Outgrowing What a concept so easily misunderstood I’ve grown too much for this space I’ve found comfort in something that has left you behind I am no longer worthy of your emotional crevices for they can no longer contain my feelings I’ve gotten too big for my britches You resent my departure as I embark […]

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Devil With The Blue Dress On

Dorothy landed in Oz, house in tow, with an involuntary manslaughter charge waiting for her from a green jury of one. And while not the best fashion statement, her blue gingham dress did not clash with the ruby red slippers she inherited from her victim. Luckily, the people of the city, named after donut holes […]

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Peace Be With You

Simple words I listen to them at every Mass and respond ever so prescriptively ‘And with your spirit’ It’s a ritual and I’ve learned it well Today, I actually thought about and what they can mean to others The words transcend repetition and routine They are words of comfort saying ‘you’ve got this’ ‘This’ being […]

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Walls Don’t Scare Me

To be pushed against the wall in a show of domination is never going to deter me from doing the right thing Walls don’t scare me, those behind me or before me are supposed boundaries Boundaries have never scared me either They’ve served as guideposts of where I need to cross or draw the line, […]

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As It Is Now

When Dorothy saw him behind the curtain she tried to hide her sadness She realized he was not what she had expected and more importantly, what she needed. She had to get home and he was not going to be able to send her back There was no magic and no spell The road back […]

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Put The Fishing Rod Away

At times, the best action is to be silent There is not a need to provide a response to every query, thought or challenge Taking a step back and reviewing the landscape allows you to reflect As long as the traffic of ego is in check, then the inaction will prevail Marking territories and spewing […]

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Into The Box

Among the shards of glass stands the one wine glass from the box that did not break It stands erect waiting to be collected from the floor where the remnants of the others now remain It represents the set that once was as its siblings of drink are now discards Still, we refer to them […]

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The Gardener

Sunshine isn’t for all We can never predict what our sprinkling of seeds is going to do to our garden How do we know that each plant will want light and water, simply because it is the defined basic need In the midst of our blooms, there may be underlying weeds that want to see […]

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The Melt Is Inevitable

As a kid, I’d walk to Doc’s store on Palisade Avenue and buy a chocolate cone with chocolate sprinkles It was my favorite treat and it was the best walk I’d take through the back road that took me to Doc’s It is one of those memories that is etched in my persona The smell […]

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A Clean Shaven Face

The ship is quiet today It knows the end is near Crowds enjoying a private island Today I shave I’ve given my face a much needed breather from the daily blade My face looks weathered and worn amid the much relaxed days I’ve had Too much of a good thing is not always good We’ve […]

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Especially Her

On a floating city we are Plans mean nothing Life is always busy trying to challenge the schedule Routine becomes meaningless The start and finish is never what it should be Patience withers and finds replacement in anger The simple is no longer easy The hard becomes harder The break is difficult to pinpoint but […]

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Where Once You Were You

I miss you as you live in our home I miss me I’ve become detached, withdrawn and I’ve spiraled inward It is easier to live in the dark reserving the energy for those moments where light is required I look through things now, not focusing on detail; I see the forest and miss the trees […]

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Unanswered Prayers

What does it mean to be spent? How do we get to the point where our cup runneth over, so much that daily routine seems unmanageable? News headlines come in spurts of ugly sprinkled from bad to worse A Friend only known through airwaves dies The world as we know it appears to be spinning […]

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Thirty-Two Stained Glass Windows

In the quiet of my just-for-me-post-COVID pew, I am wrestling with my constant observations I look up and start counting windows After going from left to right and then right to left, I note there are sixteen on each side Thirty-two If I remember my parochial training correctly, He would have died around thirty-three, so […]

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While The Wisdom Parade Passes By

The questions come and the questions go It’s an endless parade of inquisitive minds who need to share their queries They need to know whether to go right or left or up or down They need to be pointed to the path They need to be guided to thinking independently or reassured that their route […]

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I Guess This Is Growth

Growth. It makes its way into my life and situates itself into my routine. It is unexpected and welcomed, collectively engulfing a moment and showing itself in the reflection of my reaction. I meet its gaze with surprise and pride. I recognize the who I was is no longer the who I am. It is […]

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She Used To Be Mine

The child we knew is gone Adulthood arrives quicker than we anticipated Although she still has the guttural, dragon-breath-laced laughter of a youngster She has amassed so much knowledge of those worlds that incite passionate conversations, conversations she engages in with aplomb, yet she still knows nothing of logic She veers left on the political […]

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The Privilege Of Nostalgia

Nostalgia is taking a seat next to me this morning It reminds me of this near perfect childhood that I’ve never been able to replicate Playing in the street, kickball games where a home run was anything over the fence, waiting for the ice cream man and when he didn’t show, walking to Doc’s store […]

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Madonna Be Damned

It is exhausting to be addicted to control It is even more tiring to be subjected to judgement over feelings Feelings cannot be controlled Feelings are, they surface when emotion cannot be controlled, they have free will, they exist because reason and logic don’t have a locker in our hearts The trick is to bury […]

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Madonna Be Damned

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The Flash

Flashbacks were never her thing The going back and forth in the trail of pages was not something she enjoyed Always a linear thinker, she enjoyed her stories complex and chock full of plot twists (But keep them moving forward – don’t get caught up in what happened then – focus on now) How ironic […]

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I Hope

Quiet and fear reside in the eyes that sit in the chair The gaze around the room is one of discomfort I wonder what she sees that is so foreign? Perhaps I am seeing too much as I observe someone I know too well The basics are there, staples in a day where she follows […]

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Walk Away

Sometimes you have to walk away Dispensing crumbs of understanding is not always possible Harsh words cloaked in passivity don’t do the trick Say it loud and proud and pick up the pieces later The sugarcoat is never going to make the message more palatable The directness of the words might make the road difficult […]

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We Smell The Flowers

Nostalgia fills the flower filled room Flowers delivered yesterday from friends and family Vases line one table and then another Life has been showing its circle lately Depicting the reality of losses and gains A dear friend losing a sister Children in our lives commanding stages One child getting ready for the birth of her […]

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Far From The Home I Love

Morning taps me on the shoulder beckoning me to leave my bed I quietly make my way out of the room Sun is coming in through my dinning room window House is quiet save for the echos of my whispered sighs Sounds brought forth from my sore back showing it’s age These are my documentary […]

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The Suitcase

It’s a suitcase A suitcase full of every imaginable possibility, scenario or outcome It’s all stuffed in there in no specific order or fashion I keep looking at it as if my constant vigilance is going to change anything It doesn’t change a thing The suitcase awaits disposition of its items The question remains How […]

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I Am Not Deep

I used to think I was deep until I started listening to podcasts. I’m not deep. I’m not shallow. I’m somewhere in between. I’ve never given much thought to things like safe spaces, my truths, representation and giving back to humanity. I worked, I did my best, I lived by a code of ethics and […]

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Her Hours Of Question

Sunday evening is making its way through our quiet afternoon My thoughts are consumed in a worry that has become my norm Meanwhile, her hours in silence depict the fear I’ve learned to accept She’s fading ever so quickly and yet there are moments of pure clarity How to explain this fugue state we are […]

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The Hours

Questions come in succession and with a repetitive cadence that they are almost predictable Movement is slower, more deliberate and less controlled The crowd creates a chaos that hides the malady and draws scenery for the pretense From across the room I see her interact with the familiar I can see her trying to blend […]

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This Lost Boy Cannot Fly

She leaves for a much needed break from me, from her and from the hours that consume her routine. In her absence I see all the gaps she fills that are now mine to handle. A little bit of this, a little bit of that and a whole lot of me missing her. I fill […]

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Hunger

I go silent. It’s best to keep your thoughts close to the vest when they don’t appear to be coming from the positive pile. I go inward. I become an observer of my own activities and I challenge myself to dig deep, search for answers and walk away from the quiet. I take back my […]

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Maybe They Are One And The Same

The end and the beginning Sometimes it is hard to tell them apart Sort of like replacements and how we seek them We all need them Material things Activities People It is inevitable Things break Schedules change Relationships evolve It is more than fine to outgrow the temporary people who adorn our life street We […]

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Memphis Blues

Lights out too soon A pilgrimage to the land of old time rock and roll comes quickly as well The blonde yet ebony haired idol makes way for the reunion Will he recognize the reflection of himself in her haunted eyes? Will she simply say to him, ‘Don’t cry Daddy…’ His child, her child, himself, […]

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First Day

Another first day Resolution Sunday The pressure of what’s ahead can be overwhelming…or not We can simply live in the moments given us Or, we can seek to analyze what each given instant means Live, let’s live – let’s embrace our destiny with its twists and turns and let’s do this with deliberate abandon The […]

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Last Day

Last days carry the weight of all that’s happened before Those final moments when something comes to a close can be legendary or merely ordinary A year that used to be longer than a minute is no exception It too comes to an end, opening the door into a new era Another minute of life […]

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Old Fashioned

Bourbon bonds Interesting how they find us The spirits summon our tastebuds Sending notes of cask and age Dripping with clove, honey and spice Cherrywood smoke invading the glass Ice fighting for space in the small vessel The cold sphere fighting to cool the inherent warmth The glass has a mind of its own As […]

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Gracias

Sighs Whispers Relief The echos of gratitude Using our hands to cook for loved ones Sending greetings of thankfulness Employing our minds for positivity Preparing cocktails and opening wine bottles Letting the spirits takes us to tears of joy Going from one house to another Passing out on the couch Laughing Remembering Making new memories […]

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As We Remember The Palace

On the way to the Palace One small stumble leads to a tumble and time stops It all goes on as we seek remedy and alter the course of the walk (literally) The unexpected enters the itinerary without a warning Plans have to change to accommodate the trip The programmed hustle and bustle slows down […]

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Bumps That Color Our Life

Walking toward the door of the aircraft we march hand in hand This seems familiar yet foreign all at once It’s been a while since we’ve moved about the world so freely We do the dance we’ve mastered through the years Retrieve the items we need Store the items we don’t Move out of the […]

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Five Before Seven

Age inches up the number line without a thought The number keeps going right and the alternative is not a happy option Let it move up Let it add up Let it move forward Let me continue to tell the tale in my blurry vision version Numbers only have relevance if we give them more […]

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The Path Is Clear

There’s never an easy way to uncover something you didn’t know was there It could be an uncomfortable feeling of malaise Perhaps it is a lesson that is materializing at a given moment It could be the realization that someone has entered your space It could be welcomed or unwelcomed Discovery and awareness comes with […]

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Smell The Effort Petals

The words come with a noise and sting to them Definition and interpretation stir up emotions Take a step back the voices say Know your speaker and don’t be that audience Suppress the desire to respond for justification in the presence of injustice is lost Know yourself and mind your place Embrace reason and exercise […]

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Thank You

Time to congratulate myself I’ve been populating this space for eleven years It is one of my longest collaborations with words So much to be said and so much to consider on what and how I arrived to this space I think back on people like Dan Tosado who forced me to deliver a writer […]

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As If I Could

It made its way in ever so quietly First, showing small signs and signals Making its presence known I’d see it and attribute its arrival due to the new normal Months of isolation where screen time was the companion Little moments of slowness and deliberate movement Turned on my observation eye Making me keenly aware […]

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I Find These Words

Silence comes easily Don’t have much to say or share I’m listening to the noise of my world now and trying to figure out how to replace it with a new music It’s a hard undertaking when everything appears to be turned upside down So many reminders coming to the forefront, but I can only […]

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There, We Will Always Be

I look at this pic and see one of my loyal readers (not only of words, but of heart) The brain is working nonstop as the heart feels the unease Memories, thoughts, past and present all converge on the brevity of one pending moment How quickly we have gotten to this place where near and […]

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One And The Same

It looks upon you, rather than you look at it It has a commanding presence Literally taking root over one’s line of sight From a window From a back porch From a moment where reality begs for reason What strikes me as funny is that nature has always passed me by Never coaxing me to […]

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Northeast Calls

The Northeast called me twice this week First, to feed my niece’s art soul as we took a twenty-four hour jaunt through NYC She craved truth, beauty, freedom and love via windmills of a distant Paris Second, to color my friend’s aura with the specks of my presence as she fights illness Both were restorative […]

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No Matter How Much Color

From one day to the next, things change Suddenly there is more to do, more to worry about and less control over events Living affords us the opportunity to manage challenge and embrace change As I look at the person who stares back at me from the mirror Seeing the older man my father would […]

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Beyond The Trailer

Never fully realized Small vignettes of plot and character on the screen Enough to entice, drawing interest from the brevity of the images Dialogue that captures our ear and our interest Scenes that appear disjointed come together in cohesion As we watch, we imagine how the full tale will transpire Letting our mind wander through […]

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And My Conceit

Finding peace in the quiet that surrounds me and my conceit A morning like any other as I visit with my thoughts Introspection seems to be the mood of late Looking inward as the days pile up to complete the the first fourth of the year I’ve pulled from my banks of selfishness recently to […]