Warning Label

I smile

You smile

Like everything else

  Terms and policies

   My Little Pony castle instructions

   The sugar content in cereal

We do not pay attention to other people’s Warning Labels

Smiles with turned downed corners

Eyes glancing with no contact

Their love with conditions

We know the labels are there

But we simply check the box

    “I have read and agree to your terms.”

Please email me your terms of endearments

I’ll save them in a folder

  That I can’t actually find

  I only know the shortcut from my desk top

.

I know I can text “Stop” when this gets out of control

Unsubscribe to the updates

But somehow I live with the pain

I understand it is my penance for not reading

    The warning labels

Nothing will change until my computer

    Or phone

    Or heart

Crashes.



 This poem was inspired by a work from A.J. Lancaster. His work is powerful and raw.

Through the Field

It was a late afternoon during a warm August day

Walking through trees and tall grass

I came across a field filled with seeding dandelions

White puffballs seemed to float above the ground

The afternoon breeze gently caressed the seen

I stood amazed, lost in the personification of forever

I was tempted to disturb the scene

To pull a single stem and release the seeds

With a belief that dreams could come true

Instead, I stood watching the dandelions sway together

Almost envious of the way they moved

Each white puff seen but a part of the field

When I saw a flash of red rise then fall below the wave

On the horizon to my right

With it, the seeds rose angrily into the wind

Leaving a chunk of empty green space

The flash of red burst diagonally across the field

Small explosions of white marking its progress

I can tell it is a fox. I am unsure if it is chasing prey

Or playing with the dandelions, enjoying the way the

Seeds fall into the wind, paratroopers of the future

The air is filled with white tomorrows

The field looks like it was hit with bombs or meteorites

The fox playing the role of both

I watch the fox move to the wooded area to my left

Leaving the field damaged in its wake

Not a care for, or even a look back

To watch the wind clear the sky of the seeds

To see the holes it left in what was once a peaceful field

It cares not for the field it just passed through

I squat down to look at the line of dandelions

I touch a single one in front of me

The head seems so perfectly round

The seeds are soft against my finger, almost tickles

I stand back up, hand empty

The field is no longer the same powerful vision

The fox’s rumpus trot made sure of that

But I couldn’t bring myself to pluck the stem from the ground

Not my place to determine the dandelion's future

Didn't Know Forever Looked Like This

I believed in your whispers

 And words spoken in quiet moments under moonlight

I believed in your notes and cards

 Left on pillows and steering wheels

Forever looked different then

Forever was our fingers intertwined

Your head on my shoulder

Forever was a given

Never questioned

Always believed

But now

Forever looks like crumbling clocks

Rings that have broken to have a beginning and end

Frowns

Turned downed eyes

And unanswered messages

Whatever happen to kisses that stopped time

To holding each other until the sun broke through the blinds

I didn’t know forever looked like

Silent dinners

Stay late at work

Infomercials at 2 a.m.

I didn’t know that forever could look like goodbye

As My Daughters Sleep

4:48 in the morning

My day begins

Coffee is brewed

I try to stay quiet

Everyone else is still at rest

5:25 in the morning

Time to get ready

For work

Teeth brushed

Shoes match my belt

5:55 in the morning

Computer packed

Coffee mug filled

And I head for the door

Two of my daughters share the room

Next to the entry way

Their new string of lights glow

Soft and pink in the morning light

They lay sprawled out like dolls

Blankets twisted between legs and arms

They are Peace personified

My heart jumps

As I consider the world I will open the door to

I fight the urge to lock them away

To stand in front of them

As the world shoots arrows of discourse

Aiming for their hearts and minds

Aimed to destroy

6:00 in the morning

I make my feet move

To enter a world meant to destroy

But I have the strength to go

Because my daughters will be awake

With smiles and hugs

When I come home

It's Been a Long Winter

It’s been a long winter

  And another storm is raging outside

The power is out this Christmas morning

  No wrapping paper litters the floor this year

  No tree fills the window view

As a family we slept huddled together in the living room

To silence our hunger we eat Pop-Tarts and dry cereal

The drifts block the doors

Cell phones are on low battery mode

  But it doesn’t matter

  No service blinks at the top

I see the fear in my little ones’ eyes

My wife sends a question with a look,

 “What do we do?”

It’s been a long winter

  And another storm is raging outside

There are small flames in our neighbor's windows

The battery operated radio is just static

  Until we find a voice on an a.m. station

He tells us that this is the worst storm in years

  As if we didn’t know

I wonder if I have the Faith to wait it out

 Or should I grab a shovel and a scarf?

My wife produces a cassette tape

The joyful music feels like a scream in the grey sunshine

I see a small wisp as I breathe out

My oldest daughter has a book

Everyone has a blanket

Then our heads snap up in shock

  As a howl fills the space

There is a pack of wolves running between the houses

  Snipping at each other

  Sniffing the wind

  On sits atop the drift in front of our patio doors

I shrug in amazement toward my family

It’s been a long winter

It is Christmas morning

Another storm is raging outside

Instead of wrapping paper on the floor

We have wolves at the door

I'm so sorry for the rain

I’m so sorry for the rain

I tried to keep the love letter protected

But it was a downpour

Even my socks are wet

My words are now lost in the this pile of pulp

There’s no use trying to dry it out

The fibers are falling from my fingers

You will never know how I truly loved you

I’m so sorry for the wind

I tried to keep the flowers protected

But it was blustery

Even my skin is wind burned

The petals are all lost in the air

There’s no use trying to catch them now

The stems are broken and wilted

You will never know how redolent they were

I’m so sorry for the storm

I tried to keep your heart protected

But it was a tempest

Even the great oak tree has damage

Limbs are scattered on the lawn

There’s no use use trying to save it

The trunk is splintered and uprooted

You will never know how much time it took to grow

I’m so sorry for the rain

I’m so sorry for the wind

I’m so sorry for the storm

I’m so sorry

Lost Heartbeat

I'm finding it hard to get my heart to beat today

The grey sky fills the air with rain

 The sound of the drops invade my ears

Echoing into my chest

Keeping the cardiac rhythm silent

My lungs fill with the damp air

My arms move

My hands press on my chest

 Trying to start my heart

Ba-Bum

Ba-Bum

   Nothing

I press harder

Feeling my ribs press back against my palm

Ba-Bum

Ba-Bum

  Nothing

  Nothing

I blink

I watch the rain fall down the window

I cough from a tickle in my throat

Panic filters into my mind

I wonder,

  How long can I live without a heartbeat