The Piano

The Piano

A piano should never be alone

Never left in fading light

It was never meant to collect dust

Designed by the gods to be shared with man

They gave the knowledge to only the worthy

It was an instrument built by only a few

Men who knew what beauty sounded like

Men who knew what beauty should look like

A piano was made as a piece of art

It needs a loving person to come to life

To fulfill its destiny

To bring enjoyment to others

The keys need to be stroked

Notes need to be played

And symphonies need  be heard

A piano should never be left alone

For if it is it will die

And mankind would have lost something

Something that can never be replaced

And that would be a sin

Ode To A Wave

Ode To A Wave

Such beauty

Such ferocity

Such power

Traveling around the world

Pushed by tropical winds

You grow and fall

Only to grow ever stronger

Carrying ships and jetsam

Even moving lands before you

You are as destructive as you are beautiful

Yet, after your travels

At the end of your life

A child laughs and dances

As you tickle their feet as you roll across the sand

And then you are gone

Except in that child’s smile

The Cowboy Life

The Cowboy Life

He spends so many days

Traveling the old cattle trails

From Oklahoma to Abilene

Day after day with no end in sight

Just other men, horses and cattle

Mile after mile

Storms and endless sun

Sand blowing across the plains

Tearing into his skin

The cowboy waits for a single moment

To take time to relax and be himself

Away from the noise and the hardness

To lose his exhaustion

And just to take the time to look at his world

Sadly, that moment won’t last for long

Tomorrow he’ll be back on the trail

Surrounded by cowboys and cattle

And once again, despite the heat and the weather

He will love it

Because he knows one thing

It is his life and he will never give it up

The Normal Park Bench

The Normal Park Bench

It was just a normal park bench

Wood and metal

It was like so many others

Still, to him it was special

The most special place on Earth

It was where he met his only true love

Where they met every day for lunch

Where they shared their first of many kisses

Where he first said “I love you”

And where she agreed to be his wife

They took their children and grandkids there to play

And after years they still went there for lunch

It was on that bench the she told him something

Something he didn’t want to hear

His only true love was dying

And there was nothing they could do

For years he went to the bench for lunch

He talked to her as if she was still there

One day he left a flower at lunchtime

That bench never saw him again

And once again, it was just a normal park bench

Wood and metal

It was like so many others

Tribute To A Grocery Cart

Tribute To A Grocery Cart

I see it outside the store

Wait for me

Calling to me

Offering to help my aching feet

Making it easier to walk the aisles

But, I know it is evil

It knows just how much money I have

Not a penny less or a penny more

It leads me past the cookies

Past the candy

And past all the things I shouldn’t eat

Then it takes me to the register

Carrying all the junk I didn’t need

To a girl with the sweetest smile

She knows its power

She counts up my items

Dollar by dollar she adds to the total

I know it is laughing at me

I know I have spent every last cent

Then it follows me to the car like an old friend

Helps me by waiting until I unload

Then it laughs again as I realize

That I had forgotten the milk I went in to buy

And it gets taken back into the store

To wait calmly for another victim

While I sit and curse that lonely grocery cart

The demon of the supermarket

I Ask You Please

I Ask You Please

Please do not ignore me

It was not my fault I was born

I had nothing but love for you

I looked up to you

I needed you

And you just left me

I had no home

No food or water

No one to love

Against all odds  l survived

I begged and stole

I slept in the narrowest of cracks

I was too young to do anything else

I looked and looked for you

Looked for anyone who would love me

I watch people walk by

They do not see me

They never even look

But, I am there in the shadows

Hungry, cold and all alone

Still, I survived and I asked one thing

Please do not ignore me