A Shoe Story

A pair of shoes sits on the table at a baby shower

Everyone is anticipating what the person will be like who fills them.

Too soon another pair appears on the feet of a stumbling toddler 

Then the child tries daddy's shoes and clunks around the room

Through out life these shoes will be hard ones to fill 

School shoes park by the door in the summertime 

Children are too busy filling days with laughter to fill shoes

Sports shoes are fitted and with them comes responsibility

Bare feet become a thing of the past.

Feet are now used for dancing, cheering and playing

This means many kinds of shoes of different shapes and colors

High heels and work boots now wait in the closet to be filled with feet

Comfortable shoes make it easier to carry children. 

But grandpa's shoes are so out of style!

Before long they sit idle as he looks at his  feet lying in bed

The grandchildren stand on tip toes in their busy shoes to plant a kiss 

So goes another generation of shoes

 

Lousy Liars

They were lousy liars 

That truth was plain to see

How do you break the rules

When you never could deceive  

How can there be stealth 

When you cherish honesty 

They never could keep secrets 

That's how it started anyways

Keeping feelings to ourselves

Is the way we should behave 

Spontaneous attraction

Was the price they had to pay

This will never change

They're committed to the truth

Some things are good to know

When the curtain is removed

There's a joy and yet a pain 

When lying's not for you

  

Firefly

I met a firefly one night

We soared to the greatest heights

It brushed my cheek 

And settled on a blade of grass

I put it in a jar on a twig

This didn't feel right so I removed the lid  

It was used to jar living 

And chose to stay inside

Soon in the field I was playing again  

With dozens of fireflies around my head

This time I'd give none a glance

But hurried off to bed 

Proud

I remember way back when 

Children played and men were men 

When a mom stayed home it wasn't sin  

We worked through things that were difficult

If you failed at something it was your own damn fault

We didn't back down, we were full of salt

 

A tough man knew to endure offense 

And rise above without getting tense 

People then had more sense 

It was no ones business how you voted

Kept your word and stayed devoted

Didn't need criticism candy coated

No one hid behind computer screens

We spoke direct without fake ID's

Unashamed, no image preened 

I'm proud to be a man from then 

When I mess things up I make amends 

When it comes to love, I don't pretend

 

  

The Scene

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed 

It makes my legs feel weak 

I know you're doing well 

Life is better without me 

Though it doesn't make much sense  

My thoughts just go this way 

I'm so glad that you are well

Yet they still somehow stray

The thoughts within myself 

What can be done differently

To kept ourselves as friends 

Where everyone can breathe

So I replay that old tape 

And rehearse the scenes again 

Where we share each other's smile 

And we'd always be close friends

Places in my Mind

There are places in my mind 

Where I walk through dusty rooms

I should close the doors 

But my heart cannot bear it 

Above the doors are signs 

No entry and lost causes

It is hard to obey them 

To abandon what is cherished 

I sit on the dusty couch 

To dream of a vibrance once there

Though it may not be healthy

It is nonetheless a part of me 

The room is full of promises 

Stuffed into drawers

Though dusty and fragile

They haven't lost their meaning

There will always be a path inside 

My footprints in the dusty floor

This doorknob will not see rust

There will be no last visit 

The shades are drawn 

There are pressing things to do

I must leave for now

And take the light with me

 

Fingertips

Passion at my fingertips 

The piano and guitar 

My keyboard types the words 

Maybe it'll be heard 

After I send it out

I hope a face lights up  

Making it all worthwhile 

I crave those smiles

So will write, dream and play

In case someone hears 

Maybe I'm delusional

At least it's my will

Out they go into the night 

So now they have a place

Pathetic as it may seem 

It's a way to be free