born in battle
straddling the edge
years of surgery
but heir to the torch
shielded
by grandpa’s armor
walking in step
with angels
certain people
and animals
sensed the glow
they…were touched
i…was spooked
peach ridge
the turning point
Gideon’s in pocket
treading satan’s soil
i felt the chill
blood shed to him
soaked thru my heels
i took him on
before my time
and for all the wrong reasons…
lost my bible,
my power
shorted to ground
in my eye’s corner
stood the haggard old man
i turned
he was gone
and those dreams
black, hideous dreams
changing the sheets
i found a message
H E L P M E
written in red
faded letters
the dreams went away
turn around
the crowd
the drinking
turn around
the drugs
the world
my mattress
burned…
fate sealed
restricting the gift
to gray graphite
and blue ink
i won’t make a pact
with the dark one
never
fame and fortune’s
not worth my soul
reaching for jesus
feeling polarized,
magnetically repelled
i long true love
unblemished contentment
but no
now life’s a circle
think i’m on top
but the bottom’s adjacent
no warning
no fall
just…impact
and loneliness
friends can’t fill
punishment’s clear…
the finest poet
since david
dies in obscurity
Norfolk, Virginia ‘87
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