LIMITATIONS BY EXLUSION

Another one from "Works In Progress" back in 1996. This e mail newsletter lasted about a year and a half. So somewhere out there in cyberspace there are over one hundred other poems floating out there. I had followers from New Zealand to Austria.

I think what I am trying to say here is that the appearance of beauty is not beauty itself.



LIMITATIONS BY EXCLUSION

Protected by thorns,
the enjoyment of
a rose is limited
by its nature.

Beauty must be
experienced at
a distance and
partially.

Never able to fully
give if itself
the flower remains
incomplete.

BAPTISM

This appeared 14 years ago in WIP. It's hard to believe I was that spiritual at that time of my life. Basically I think I saying is that we learn from all our experiences.



BAPTISM

Washing away
sadness or
moistening the
seal of joy.

The water that
flows from our
eyes christens
personal experiences.

Life's moisture
can quench a
dry, parched
soul.

OUT OF THE CAGE

Being a parent is never easy!


OUT OF THE CAGE


Can you hear
me scream? My
pride falls on
deaf ears.

Must I act out
to get your
attention? Sadly
I must live

with the consequences
of your silence.

LOVE BITES

This is the title poem from my second book. It was written (the book) during Memorial Day weekend of 1994, the last year I lived in West Virginia. Composed after my second divorce, oobviously the bites weren't fatal because I got married two more times. I guess I was looking for the prize.



LOVE BITES

Nibbling at the heart,
it causes damage even while
providing pleasure. To love
is to suffer. It is avoidable.

Bleeding comes from the
pressure of proximity, not
intention. Bandages provide
only temporary assistance.

Separation is always
inevitable. Desire plays
no role in the outcome. We
are prisoners of the finite.

Despite the prognosis
there are plenty of crusaders
ready to start the journey. The risk
of injury forgotten for a
chance at the prize.

STATISTICS OF SHADOWS

I was inspired to write this poem after listening to some specialist telling this teacher hat to teach in order to get her student's higher standardized scores.


STATISTICS OF SHADOWS

Education by
complication leads
to failure that
masks itself

as achievement.
Graduation becomes
the cultivation
of inadequacy.

Manipulation of
documentation only
provides illusions of
standards met.

COACHING FALSE IMPPRESSIONS

You can't teach a test.


COACHING FALSE IMPRESSIONS

Education by the
numbers is learning
that equals faulty
reasoning.

Knowledge is zeroed
out through the
operations of administration.

EMOTIONAL TOPOGRAPHY

No matter how much we want to, you can't hide from yourself.

EMOTIONAL TOPOGRAPHY

Moving away to run
away. Away from
problems that overwhelm
my sanity.

Changing locations to
avoid a contradiction
in reactions. Unfortunately

a change in location
only leads to a
change in problems
instead of solutions.

MELTDOWN

I guess I have to learn to accept what I can't control.


MELTDOWN

Explosions happen from
the deterioration of the
control of my environment.

Attempts to manage
the variables result
in frustration. Even

though the outcome is
predictable, it is
not always preventable.

The casualties however
are necessarily
permanent and personal.

MENTAL MORTIFICATION

Such is my life!



MENTAL MORTIFICATION

Reasoning with the
unreasonable, imprisoned
in an altered
reality.

Intentions are
insufficient for
the regulation of
sanity.

Resurrection through
medication is not
always a guarantee of
modification.

HOLY ANSWERS

This poem was inspired from a line from a song that my priest, Father John Sheridan posted on Facebook. He does this quite often to get us to see God in the everyday.


HOLY ANSWERS

Dreams are prayers
longing for a
voice.

A voice is a
prayer answered by
God spoken through
you.

For us to speak loudly,
we must listen to
God's softest
whisper.

Jovial Finale

This was the closing poem of my first book. At the time I just thought it was a good way to end the book. That was in 1988.

In the spring of 2009 it was read as a closing benediction at a Catholic writer's conference I attended. Looking back on it I can see it was pretty spiritual.



Jovial Finale


Laughter became tears.
Order became chaos.
Lost but not alone.

Guided by love.
I found my way
out of darkness and misery.

Calculated order has been
restored. My sense of
accomplishment has been worth
the struggle. Life goes on
and so will I.

Behind The Veil

This was the title poem of my first book and my first serious attempt at poetry. I honestly don't know what I am doing but maybe that's better. Too much attention is paid to form and not enough to content. I was trying to show that things aren't always as they appear.



Behind The Veil

It grows inside me,
unseen by even the
most penetrating eye.

My exterior is aglow
in perfect disguise. No one
suspects anything to be
amiss in my private hell.

What can I do to escape
these feelings of bitter torment?
Am I trapped by my own
sweet powers of reason?

My hope lies in the future.
Despite the sores tha fester
under the dark shades of my
accomplishments, a light
shines on the horizon.

Library Fines

I wrote this poem in response to my volunteer activities at the Ford School's libraries. This poem appeared yesterday in my other blog, "Lynn School Watch". Is this shameless self promotion? Most definitely but I am moved when I see a little kid clutching a book.


Library Fines

The library is no
laughing matter.
Without librarians our
education only gets sadder.

Books are written
necessarily to be read.
Without reading, learning
surely must be dead.

Bring back the librarians
to give our kids a chance.
Without them how can
our MCAS scores advance?

IN REFERENCE TO REVERENCE