Too Old For New York City

Winter in that city ripped the warmth from my soul.

All those faceless people with frozen hearts and minds,

Alive but not living, pushing… rushing…struggling

Like rats scuttling in and out of nameless places

 

Life there was for dreamers and only the young have

Any dreams left to give. There’s no inspiration

There for a man too old for imagination.

Not there among all those hurried, screaming masses

Life

The stone is set

My die has been cast

What the future brings

Will slide into the past

No amount of want

Will ever make it stay

It will fade to memories

Of yesterday

Being an Artist

At what point do I give up on my dreams

When do I know that my innovations

My poems or novels will not it seems

Live outside of my imagination

 

When should I realize that my brilliance

Is overblown desire; not artistry

They say I am showing my resilience

Not settling for my mediocrity

 

When will I understand that I’m lying

Thinking that there is someone who might care

When will it be alright to stop trying

Never! As long as you are there to share

 

 

To My Young and Innocent Jerry

You are too impatient

In your eager search for the now

You’ve left no time for reflection

On ‘the once was’ or the ‘what will be’

I will tell you to slow down and enjoy the ride

I know you will not listen

You will not listen to anyone

Just stop trying so hard

Let us wear out our life

Listening to the wind in the trees

Feel the summer warmth on our face

Breathe the coolness of the evening

Hear the music of nature drifting across open meadows

Smell the intoxicating scent of wild flowers

Opening their souls to worship the morning sun

I know that in your rush to reach

What you believe to be success

You will ignore it all

Until you realize that it was not worth it

I pity your journey

August 25th, 1973

 

We watched the barefoot children in green yards dart through shadows, playing their childish games. We saw their innocents and we knew that…

They were not us

 

Through open doors and windows we saw them staring blankly at their flickering screens. They were sitting so close yet ignoring each other. Wishing…

They could be us

 

There was an old couple sitting on their front porch, fading from life. They smiled and waved, trying to remember a time when they knew…

How to be us

 

We pause for just a moment beneath the street lights glow, your hands in the pockets of my jeans and mine on your shoulders. Our souls touched and we were…

Happy to be us