I Don't Know

I don't like to see or hear others cry especially on my behalf.

I don't want to hear the laughter die for I fear the aftermath.

I'm saying I'm okay, but I know something's wrong.

I'm not hungry, I'm not sleepy, my sadness keeps me strong.

I feel right in the head, but wronged in my heart.

I want to purge the pain with loving tears, but I Don't Know how to start.

- aL 01/06/08

Every September 11th

Every horror horrified
Every minute miniaturized

Every terror terrorized
Every reality realized

Every person personalized
Every family familiarized

Every peril paralyzed
Every memory memorized

But every remembrance reminds...

Every journey journeyed
Every flight flown
Every sail sailed
Every shine shown

Every run ran
Every road ridden
Every stand stood
Every drive driven

Every sight seen
Every smell smelt
Every taste tasted
Every feeling felt

...is TRULY a blessing to bless.

- aL 09/25/01

To Those

Wind-milled giants beckon,
Ferry travellers reckon,
Hedonistic secrets of shory white inventions.

The loud mediterranean sun burns,
The whispering Meltemi wind churns,
Telling tales untold to those that turn.

Buzzing buzzers,
Cackling cacklers,
Herding herds,
Revealing unmarked paths to those that beset the long billed bird.

The stewing lamb,
The dry mouthing sea,
The scent of settling dust,
Giving hidden hints to those made mystery by midday musky musk.

The baking pebble sand,
The lukewarm liquid blue,
The feel of silvery showy show,
Entrusting experienced feelings felt to those and Me-To-Know.

- aL Mykonos, Greece 09/09/01

Clear Moment

Oceans of Hope
Captured limits below a line

Mystifying dreams escaping across the divide
From mirrored sky to sky

Still white deliverers
Rolling towards peaks of peaks

To trickle teary promises
Through rocky passageways

Joining waterfalls of joy, rapids of happiness
And streams of laughter

To purified containment
Resting upon full lips of enjoyment

Quenching both our desires
With an eternal Sip in time.

- aL 1997

Mind, Body & Solace

I strengthen my arms
to catch you when you're falling
and to lift you to new heights.

I strengthen my shoulders
to soak up all your tears
and for you to lean on late at night.

I strengthen my back
to relieve you of your burdens
and to give you solid ground.

I strengthen my chest
to control this love I have in my heart
that grows with every pound.

For the way you make me feel
when I have you on my mind

Gives me the ability and the confidence
that I once could never find.

- aL 1997

Swap Meet

Collecting experiences to trade with my Regular.
She marvels at the junken treasures
eyeballing the secondhand goods to bargain the price.

"But the offers include special histories!" I cry.
She understands and pays plenty with smiles.

When she is gone, my business is gone.
So I rush to Her booth
to return cherished patronage with smiles of my own.

- aL 1996

In For Life

How can I forget a moment of bliss
a moment of happiness

My senses make no sense.
The love I had, past tense.

Be deaf to the sounds...I regretfully hear.
Be blind to the signs...that are painfully clear.
Be numb to the feelings...my heart still holds dear.
Be dumb to a future...ever so so near.

I once was a temple built by the purest of thought.
My architecture strong, resisting weather and rot.

Then a Visitor of love went in and out of my door
and cursed my most sacred structure forever more.

My temple now a prison.
My drive no longer driven.

The quest for spiritual clarity
now a desperate search for sanity.

For my mind will be waiting for the One with my key
to unlock this lonely cell and set my soul free.

- aL 1996