From birth
the aversion to sleep
served a portion,
the first slice
of insanity,
sang-froid contorted
a barrior to sleep,
always present

A trigger pulled
at fifteen years
irrevocably damaged,
I endeavored to find
the earth underfoot,
finding nought but
space without end,
with no foothold
no iota of memory

I drifted away
into nothingness,
alternate realities
brushed my lips,
enticed me to stay
to become one
with penumbra

the durability, longevity, and tenacity of Homo sapiens,
after screaming headlines report one after another atrocity.

How did the human species manage to survive
with many means
of self destruction at their disposal?

Atomic stockpiles nothing
but ticking time bombs,
and prior to advent regarding
weapons of mass destruction,
the histories of civilizations
replete with one after another
ingenious modus operandi
for opposing forces
resorting to horrendous
feats of killing each other.

To make it clear,
I want nothing more
than to be at peace,
to feel a perfumed breeze
off gentle waves
kissing my cheeks,
to run my fingers
through desert sands
so milk white, I'm dazzled

I want to walk over
the hills and valleys
to the plains,
at my destination?
I want to run my hands
over ears of wheat,
swaying in thrall
to moonlight

It takes so long to let her live.
Her death is my hell,
it is all done well.
She's innocent unaware,
pushed with most care.

For weeks I sat and thought of her.
The words I wrote for her do say;
A love through night and work through day.
For me she lives a lonely way.

Each line a part sought,
each word carefully brought.
Worked and re-worked,
she’s about thought and re-thought,
doubt and re-doubt.
When brought to a whole
she’s part of my soul.