DISPLACEMENT

You died at 69
With a body full of cancer
I asked your god “how could you”
But I never heard an answer
No one saw it coming
The Diagnosis of stage four
The bravest woman I knew
That survived it once before
Last week I crashed my car
I walked away unscathed
Maybe that was you
Asking me to keep my faith
You’d cry at the thought
Of never seeing me again
If there was an afterlife
Or what you’d call heaven
I’ve never felt so selfish
It’s not what I prefer
I always kept it honest
Especially for her
She gave me her best
She swore I was her heart
I couldn’t worship the god that let her fall apart
I’m not sure what I believe
Well I think that’s understood
But I know she’s looking out for me
The way she said she would

BENEDICTION

It’s an ugly day in Glendale
In a place that you once knew
Where you helped that senile woman
That now has outlived you
I’m still taking it all in
I’m adapting to this loss
I wonder if she
remembers you
How could she have forgotten
There’s a crack in this shell
And some light is shining through
As I sorted through the pieces
That told the stories I never knew
You left a hole in this earth
And you paid for it up front
I had to fill it with dirt
While your friend sang the song
May the Lord, mighty God,
Bless and keep you forever;
Grant you peace, perfect peace
Courage in every endeavor
It was a sunny day in Norfolk
Next to the tree that caught your eye
I walked the ground you grew on
With my brother at my side
I’m still taking it all in
I’m adapting to this loss
People say with time
it gets easier
But I just think that they are wrong

PALM DREAMS

What was it that brought you west?
I assumed but can only guess
It’s the questions that went unasked
That appear when time has passed
It felt like many years
Taking apart our home
I dug through 40 years
All alone
On my own
Was it all the palm trees
Placed where they shouldn’t be
That made you feel complete
In this land of make believe
Like going 65 on the 5 at 5
I am still bereaved
Come every ocean breeze
What was it that brought you west?
Where I lay my head to rest

RAPTURE

With so much gloom surrounding
I feel cornered up against a wall
Pulled down and slowly drowning
Taking bets on who is next to fall
I saw the glass as half full
So I felt I could ask for more
I was comfortable
It spilled over onto the floor
I begged to go back to before
With the damage done
And the damage won
Like a wave
Like the rapture
Something you love is gone
Like a wave
Like the rapture
Something you love is gone
Someone you love is gone
And leaves you fractured
i saved the worst for last