A blank canvas I’ve learned how to give Not how to be Walking on eggshells Maintaining illusion Fighting for what you say you need I am what I have always been Moments of pleasure Blisters raised that cannot heal As the light fades I cannot be the rock When I am only made of sand #vss365 #sand

God no longer speaks to me Yet I'm filled with calm When the church bell rings In the street the murmur of voices Those made whole by faith Journeying where I dare not be Long ago forsaken I have no strength of belief Though my heart is still drawn To the place where I once would sing #vss365 #ring

Don’t type at me Your texts offend Missives that pretend to care When sincerity is not there You can raise a pen Search carefully for words That push toward new beginnings Not ugly ends Place your heart on paper Where you can't unsend Don’t use words that vanish With the brush of a key #vss365 #pen

You said you'd never be with another Time has made you a liar It’s not the gray hair Or rolls of life lived Packed around my waist The free spirit has died Smiles turned to sighs You look at me Sorrow and pity and regret Knowing I will never again be The man that that you once loved #vss365 #man

Do not pass by When you meet yourself As more than a flash In the eyes of another You are not an optical illusion Motivations can be illusive Know yourself As more than the sum of actions Do not shatter When someone destroys The calmness in the pool From which you are reflected #vss365 #illusive

They said no drugs Be clear of mind Yet as a child we'd spin #Revolve round Till dizziness took us down Thought it a harmless game As long as you stood on grass Crashed onto soft ground So as adults we thought Pills and drinks were fine As long as there was someone To catch us when we fell #vss365

My modus operandi Drawn to secrets troubling the soul Peering through doors slightly a jar Where just a hint of darkness shines I'm fascinated by mental beauty Tinted with colors that never blend How one expects them to My desire is to lay on hands Not upon the body but the mind #vss365 #fascinate

You've only known the storm Sunlight a feint from a god Not uncaring just confused A deity who has too many worlds spinning My existence a bubble bath with pink ducks When I see a flash the shows about to start Yours a tempest in a test-tube After images following you into the dark #vss365 #tempest

Things that frustrate live rent free In a spare room tucked away In the back of the mind Solutions flicker as a candle in the window Till the soil to kill the roots Gardens keep the fear warm Thoughts squirm as worms to evade the cutting edge Pain lingers and finds a way to sprout #vss365 #frustrate

More Than A Whisper is working down the list of new poetry releases! Now at #65! “A relatable, deeply human book of poetry" writes Indiana Beat Poet Laurate Chris Dean. Pick one up today! www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSJLQ8D... #vss365 #writingcommunity #poetry #poems #readingcommunity

You must #endorse me As your favorite cat I bring the best mice Give acupuncture at night Decorate carpets with technicolor barf I’m feline of the highest order Yet you choose the Siamese I deserve your vote If I don’t get it I'll cast a spell Animate the dolls Send them for you in the dark #vss365

Predator scent Do not reply Deer in the headlights Rabbit on the run Answer just a click away Go or stay To waver is to wonder Taught to always smile Fear no evil Stretch to touch the sun Petals of the flower Capturing breeze Fall with purpose To the well-worn ground #vss365 #waver

Mark the Equinox Divide winter from spring New season begins Still it snows A heart may be given Though pieces broken off Can never be returned Season of yearning Turns to season of despair Winter sun upon the face Turns to spring storms An unrelenting deluge Washing away the soul #vss365 #divide

Overcast With a chance of music Springing unbidden into my head Symphonic sound shifting clouds Words half remembered Meaning never fully understood Keyboards tickling pretty A final note that drifts and fades Reminiscent of how your voice Would follow me as I walked away #vss365 #overcast

Currently #77 in new poetry releases on Amazon! Thanks to all who have picked up a copy so far. Get yours today and lets see how much higher it can get. #poetry #poems #books

Fattening frogs for snakes Who will mediate Between the needs of many Needs of the few Influencers saying what to do Don’t capitulate Mourning love at 3am It's never too late Rabbits run at dawn Talking heads say get a gun Can’t remember if I have finished Or if I have even begun #vss365 #mediate

Did you #entreat me at the start Before I was hardened Against emotional appeals Before I’d built walls To blunt the chill winds Before wisdom was lost Flailing in the dark I think you did I didn't listen then Now I can no longer hear You voice carried silently away By a wind I cannot feel #vss365

Once a cab driver in Boston Worked the drunken revelry Of St. Patrick’s Day Every young person was Irish Ready to barf all over my taxi Date rapes waiting just around the corner Everyone did partake The real Irish sat back Sipped whiskey Recalled the joys and poverty Of the homeland #vss365 #partake

My first full length book of #poetry! Indiana Beat Poet Laurate Chris Dean says “A relatable, deeply human book of poetry” Tony Brewer writes “a surprisingly tender collection ... exploring unrequited love and busted relationships ... home, comfort, and the security of love” Link below ⬇️ #poems

Once I’d pull the curtains open Let moonlight splash the carpet Dance in beams lost in the depth Of deep plush frayed but alive Now I’m obsessed with nothing Muted drums mark rhythm of time passing Heart beats slowed from banger to dirge Wrapped in sheets so nothing can touch me #vss365 #obsessed

No one marches on my street Except to complain your grass is too long Your flower bed full of weeds My neighbors are not joiners Until they want the help of the HOA #Enchanted with the power To command their neighbors Obsessing over the height of your fence While the house behind it burns #vss365

Always the gentleman I didn't lean in for a #kiss Thought your smile just Alcohol talking I don’t think often of That moment in time Though it's the only picture I have of you So simple So beautiful Today I saw your image again Beside facts of your life Loves come and gone Yet you died alone #vss365

This album is different from just about everything I enjoy. Is it the amazing voice of Alison Moyet? Perhaps the point in space & time it transports me to. And then there is the spot perfect use of Only You in the show Fringe. Whatever it is this is a beautifully crafted piece of techno-pop genius.

Banish me one-time lover No more doorway pauses Creaking floors a warning Of just one more haunting word Let silence rain gently in my mind May every sound in the dark Not be chimes in stuttering winds Church bells for the dead Tones trapped in my heart As a coming scream #vss365 #dark #poetry

"No more pussy jokes" the cat said in disgust "It's not my problem you are alone on Valentine's day. Watch folks in tights on ice. Or ski jumpers, they're really loading up this year. I don’t care. But whatever you do, if you're going to touch yourself again, please shut the door" #vss365 #touch

What reality is this No meetings No back #ache No cigarettes Cat is healthy Temperature over freezing First poem spills out of me In many weeks A cruel trick Universe surely you jest I sip my coffee as the sun Tease the edge of the sky I must not sleep again Lest it turn out to all be a lie #vss365

Hold me in place Hold me down Hold me close before I slip away Hear me out Hear me scream Hear me when I call out in a dream See me off See me cry See me as my soul becomes unmoored Remember me Remember what was real Remember things the way they used to be #vss365 #slip #unmoor

Our paths only seemed to cross But in truth you were never Near enough to touch There were those dreams But even then your eyes Would always veer aside I knew with just a glance We could come together Slip into a joy we both deserved That neither of us ever was Able to find alone #vss365 #veer

Beauty is trees without leaves Sky without sun Clouds shades of gray and white Swirls of monochrome haze Beauty is first frost Early this year A stream’s last #murmur of the season Downed leaves disappearing Just hints of faded color Poking through snow Fingers trying to escape the grave #vss365

Let's call it Americana with a bit of a dark edge. She is one of my favorite artists of the last 10 years. Also special to me because when I last saw her live, opening for The Amy Ray Band, I had just had my first date with the woman I would eventually marry. Never too old for new things.

I love this album. I've seen it on stage and it was fantastic. This soundtrack has an amazing cast. I'm not a Christian but I know great music, great performances and a stirring powerful story when I hear it. #vinyl #classics #rockon

Really pleased to have my poem Lullaby up at Months to Years. This is one of my favorites, I hope you will find it as touching as i do. And yes, there is a cat. #poetry #mortality monthstoyears.org/lullaby/

I don’t believe in fate Though we all have a destiny Not set in stone But a package that will come A #delivery that no matter how late You know will arrive You can change the contents Have control over it’s weight But whatever you may do There will be a day When you find it at your door #vss365

Your lingering touch coats my skin I adorn myself in your words People say I shine in a way They never thought I could Though it confuses them As they know you are gone I smile in return Tamp down the slow burn Echoes blow upon the embers Your voice still keeps me warm #vss365 #adorn

You call me clueless But I gathered all the hints you left Put them in a box Assembled them as puzzle pieces Breadcrumbs followed in the snow There are no secrets in winter No leaves to mask the branches The forks in the path That lead to the conclusion We were both afraid to reach #vss365 #clueless

Today is the 60th anniversary of ground breaking album Rubber Soul. Also today, this rubber soul broke upon the ground. Coincidence? I think not.

The storm is coming Is it the first snow or the last autumn day The first kiss or the start of the last goodbye A new song for the coming day The last echoes of notes fading The first drops of fresh spring rain The last breath before flood waters Take us all away #vss365 #last

I won't judge on your hair your weight Your clothes color sexual tastes I won't judge if you roam the streets With tattered clothes and broken heart I will judge on your actions taken When shadows of evil blot the sun What really #matters is your character When there is a call to arms #vss365

I measure my health not in heartbeats at rest But how fast it races when I see your face I measure my health not in sit-ups per minute But in how long I can sit silently with you in my arms I measure my health not in how long I will live But in how much of my life can be given to you #vss365 #health

Preparing for some Indian food as part of an unconventional Thanksgiving. This album by an obscure Scottish band has become a favorite. One of only 2 they released, it's a mix of folk and rock with 21st century sensibilities. Lead singers voice has a haunting resemblance to Sandy Denny. 2009.

I say come to me son In your eyes I see a #reflection Not of what I am now But what you remember me as Serving as a reminder of times forgotten You are #learning to adjust Moving forward as I move back You say come to me mother I care not what you have become As long as I can hold you close #vss365

Really Biscuit? This is kind of a private moment.

51 years ago Nick Drake died by suicide. He was enigmatic reclusive and had severe depression. He recorded 3 albums before retreating from public life. They sold poorly during his life and one can only wonder if had he achieved the success while alive he has since things might have been different

My book of poems with cats. Some silly some serious some more about the humans that the cats allow into their lives. Just the kind of entertainment we all need today. #cats #catsofbluesky www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXB3RCF...

Mother said when to be home Life #timed by bedtime Leaving for school Waiting for punishment to begin Slow click of the second’s hand Never clock watching at 3AM Dreading the nightmare I knew would come Measuring an hour with mother That she would not remember Her time sliding to the end #vss365

Fog doesn't lift Course correction not #relevant Tunnel thoughts The path goes just one way I don’t know what to say Watching you slip away Into mists of words that won't come out Thoughts elude, slip away Sun breaks through for a moment Then settles to the ground Drops of mist, mental decay #vss365

Escape the cage that’s Erected around your soul By one who claimed to love Let not your existence remain A silent tale of terror Screams only heard on the inside Your heart unseen Unleash your voice to echo In halls that once were dreams Destroy it that holds you in its teeth #vss365 #terror #unseen

3 years ago this weekend I had the honor to have dinner with @thekatemulgrew.bsky.social. She'd come to Bloomington to see the statue of Captain Janeway that I and a dedicated team had designed, financed and erected. I can attest that Kate was genuine, funny, and a joy to spend time with. #startrek

You I can fight An enemy known If I still have the energy A lifetime spent Battling demons’ unseen You come for me in light Masked minions who bleed I prefer this over the shadows That stalked my night You threaten to take me whole They drained my will to live Bit by bit #vss365 #unseen #energy

I know you loved me once More than a passing fancy Less than a gateway to a different time and space I don’t want you to suffer I loved you too But I do wish As I sit with my dog and my whiskey That my face hovers on the edge of your life Telling you I am the one that got away #vss365 #hover