A silver stage,
dim lights,
applause, resume.
Silent pause, you assume-
Your electric presence,
my eccentric absence.
And I presume, it's time
for a curtain-call.

You, and me;
that’s all.

(part two of the three poem set can be found at http://new.neopoet.com/node/encore )

this then is poetry,
the skin of our teeth
clinging to words
stealing the breath
of all that remains

bones drying in the sun
splintered by stories of our names

what do we crack open with the
dark shade long shadows make, hiding
from what we profess like sardines compact
in tin cans, the last food in our knapsack
and us with no opening lines,

that awkward ride home
after a night in jail,
or those chance encounters
one can never tell.
It's the crashing of cars
and old folks dancing,
baby's first steps
and our dear parents' passing.
It's the dogwood's lean
under the shadier birch
it is starvation, war
and so much more.

Roll the dice of life
And place your biggest bet against my heart
Take the world by its hand and make it right
Remake it from the start
Long lost birds symbolize hope
That you would be back some day
But paper promises burn and flake away
Dying ashes lay out in patterns I can’t understand
Tell me the truth about the Promised Land
This blue vase holds your ashes
I wish I could put you back together again
Time was gone and then came back
Your origami heart was so fragile