Tautology [Lyric Poem]

It seems there's no need for a sign
   that says: "No Outsiders, Inside!"
 Wherever you may draw the line,
   it can't sensibly be denied
   that the outsider who steps across -
   having crossed - is an insider. 
 No need to consult the rules or boss
   Re: the "IN" side of the divider. 

Out of the Box Crocs [Lyric Poem]

To find oneself within a crate -
 packed inside and labeled "Freight"
  seems like the worst that things can get,
   but then I peered out through the slit,
 and what a thing it was to see
  a croc's keen eye stare back at me.
 
It had so many freakin' teeth,
 both on the top and underneath!

I concluded the box 'tweren't so bad.
 To stay a while, I would be glad!

Queen of Slaves [Lyric Poem]

Of all the masters & all the slaves,
   I find that mind fire burns in waves.
 And sometimes the emotions derail
   too quickly to lengthen the exhale. 

 Trees falling in the forest, unheard,
   can still crush a nest of baby birds.
 Turns out it's not the sound that matters,
    but what the destruction leaves in tatters.

The phrase “Queen of Slaves” comes from a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem (Canto 4, No. 24)

Dark River [Lyric Poem]

flow on, Dark River;
  slip through the night.

midnight's thick clouds
  block the moonlight.

your voice drowned out
  by insect chirr.

a Huck Finn raft
  drifts by at a blur:

the rafters unseen;
  their secret stays hush...

but for those red eyes
  in the underbrush.

Zero [Lyric Poem]

I look in the middle;
 it's the same as the 
  outside.

White space - White space,
 and no place to hide.


A peaceful patch of emptiness -
 I know this much is true:

I could turn it any way I liked,
 and not change the view. 

Mermaid [Lyric Poem]

Waterhouse, John William; A Mermaid; Royal Academy of Arts
So many miles of coastline,
   of rocky coves and outcrops.
 Where none can see a straight line,
   and water sloshes and slops.

Oh, might one miss a mermaid
    hidden among the inlets,
 so snug in stone palisade -
    a lair of shells and torn nets?

If you say that you've seen one,
    I'll not call you a faker.
 I rather think it's great fun
    to flirt with claims, wiseacre.

What Lurks Below? [Lyric Poem]

I'm swimming in the lake -
miles from one and all,
feeling peace and calm - when
the monster comes to call.

What could drag me under?
I'll never, ever know.
Some will always wonder
what caused the undertow.

The lake is surface calm,
and should be at its depths,
but in its muck lie bones
of those pulled under breath.

Some will swim tomorrow,
and in the days to come.
Most will come and go,
and just feel blissful numb.

The Fall [Lyric Poem]

Rome fell,
     the Mongols & Ottomans, too.
 Great powers fall
     often sans much ado.
     
     [Psst! someday yours will, too.]

They can't help but crumble;
     the foundations get rot.
 And there's too much weight
     to bear, without spurring plots.

Plots and schemes and pandering, 
     all throughout the State.
 Forget those Barbarians, the threat 's 
     inside the gates. 

A Poor Place to Be [Lyric Poem]

A turned field on a cloudy day.
 A clapboard shack, with threat of rain.

Oh, it's so dark and gloomy -
 a rickety roost, not so roomy.

Staring out the window, wondering:
 was that sound grumble or thundering?

Grumble of stomach, thunder of sky?
 And I can't see out this bad eye. 

Mythical Kings [Common Meter]

Don't sell us benevolent kings,
  such creatures can't exist.
 An unchecked mind won't self-censor,
  and lame dogma persists.