Shelves:

they make
shelves
for things
like this

better than
the attic

Jesse:

Jesse has dirt on his hands

she looks at him strangely

Jesse says

'this box holds the answers'

as he hands it to her

she looks at him

in wonderment

Jesse doesn't look ashamed

she says

'this was mine?'

Jesse nods

she looks at him

slightly puzzled

'you had this all along?'

Jesse doesn't say anything

she looks at him bewildered

Jesse puts his hands

in his pockets

she stares at the box

her mouth slightly open

'you made this?'

Jesse answers 'yes'

she looks at him carefully

'it's ours?'

Jesse opens his mouth

stops

then nods

she tries to open it

the box is locked

she looks at him intently

'where's the key?'

Jesse looks at her in the eye

'I gave it to you'

Salvation:

despite the necessary ensuit of dread

that is ever married to the silence of uncertainty

framing doubt almost callously

as if to hang it on the living room wall

beside the greatest of my accomplishments

that fate might relish in my open shame

I am always eager, [naively] filled with hope

as though I had every reason to assume

that this light were true

for, amidst the numbness of hypothermia

and disorientation of the starless night 

any light upon the horizon seems to promise

a sure salvation

and, no matter how hopeless the cause

or how little fight I have left in me

that light shines from an angel

sent by God to rescue me

The Forest:

there is

a stillness

that exists

among the trees

when it rains

a stillness

that is felt

more than seen

only 

when it rains

can the forest

sleep

covered

by overcast

skies

and guarded

by the falling rain

only then

can the forest

dream

The Ocean:

I want to show you the ocean

the coast, the shore, the rocks

the salted sea breeze, the birds

and how the trees crawl their way

almost to the very edge of the sea

I want you to understand how 

the seagulls glide through the clouded sky

calling to the ocean, for all to hear

for all to know that they are free

free, where the forest meets the sea

I want you to feel the ocean's spray

to walk across the moistened sand

and climb the rocky cliffs

that lean out into ocean's arms

longing to be one with the ebbing tide

I want you to search for starfish 

among the boulders that stand resolutely 

on the beach, and listen to their counsel

as they wait, faithfully

for the tide to take them home again

I want you to hear the waves 

as they break along the shore

they speak of peace and supreme 

confidence, that everything 

will always turn out all right

I want you to venture out

into the near frozen surf

simply to say you've done it

to know you have touched the ocean

that you have communed with the sea

I want you to watch the tide slowly rise

and then follow it as it beckons you out

away from the shore, onto the sand

as if it was here, that you will

first, truly, meet yourself

I want you to feel the wind's embrace

as it reminds you that I will aways

be there, like the sand and the rocks

and the cliffs and the birds and the trees

just like the ocean, I will never leave you

I want you to stand where I have stood

watching the sun set beyond the horizon

to feel the cool night surround you

as the sun is swallowed into the depths 

of the boundless sea, awaiting patiently

for the dawn

I want you to feel the freedom

that the seagulls feel

as you run along the beach

with your arms spread out wide

trying to catch the wind, convinced

it will carry you away

I want you to feel the bliss

of the trees that wander so close 

to the water's edge to watch the horizon 

and to share the sky with the gulls

whom the ocean, herself, has set free

I want to show you the ocean

the coast, the shore, the rocks

the salted sea breeze, the birds

and how everything becomes clearer

here, where the forest meets the sea

Dams:

they dammed the river
to create a reservoir
flooding the canyon
carving their niche in nature
bending its forces to their will

as the water climbed
up the mountainside
it destroyed everything in its path
washing away history
washing away memories

they dammed the river
to harness nature's power
to make the river stronger
to show the world
what man can do

held back by
countless tons of concrete and steel
the water sleeps a dreamless sleep
in the depths rests a power
not even the lake knows

they dammed the river
restained its flow
but did they build a savior
or a monster?

A Song, To Be Sung Alone In The Dark:

she said 

the devil taught her 

how to sing 

when she was only three

alone

and scared

of just about everything

she would sing

with a voice

that no one could hear

she said

her best friend

was the wall

that surrounded

her heart

and kept out the rain

the same wall

that held back the flood

from the well

that sprang up inside her

whenever

she dared to dream

she said

her parents taught her

to speak with her fists

but it was in

a dark alley

that she first

learned

to defend herself

with her lips

she said

that her home

was the edge

of a knife

each day

it cut deeper

until she practically

died

her head

full of riddles

and twisted charades

tears of self pity

would stream

down her face

blood soaked

and stained

she sings

in her watery 

grave

alone

and cold

afraid

of just about everything