The clang of sword and shield subside.
The last man on the field had died.
No sound but harsh invader’s cheer
did reach the ragged captain’s ear.
Four thousand men he bravely led
lay cold beside the riverbed.
The blue and white his men’d salute
now muddied under marching boot.
With tears for comrades in his eyes,
sought cover on the wooded rise.
Desperate to ‘scape the hangman’s noose
with heavy heart, fled Robert the Bruce

The dark’ning sky brought wind and hail,
and freezing rain did pelt his mail.
The bark of hounds carried on the breeze,
and torchlight danced between the trees.
He out of briar bramble crashed.
A row of caves in lightning flashed.
Against the crags of rock confined,
and Robert to his fate resigned.
His foe’d arrive by break of day.
One last night in a cave he’d stay.
Out from the rain and storming sky,
Robert the Bruce would wait to die

In dimness of the cave he peeped.
Across the wall a shadow creeped.
Venomous spider silent crept
above where Robert would have slept.
Dagger-drawn, primed to smash with hilt,
he stopped and watched the web be built.
He watched the spider slip and fall
and again to climb the wet stone wall.
So Robert sheathed his blade and said,
“By morning light I will be dead
by soldier sword or spider’s bite,
no need that two souls die this night.”
He smiled on his last evening’s truce.
Closed his eyes did Robert the Bruce.

The soldiers came with morning light,
hoping to catch and kill and smite.
They stalked the face of cliff severe
and searched each cave with torch and spear.
Robert’s shelter they’d soon detect,
but these hunters found their progress checked.
Across the mouth of cave they found
that silver strands of web were wound.
A vast entangle, silken veil
did Robert’s hiding spot conceal.
The men recoiled and backed away,
shunned the domain of spiders’ sway.
And soon among them was agreed
to search this cave there was no need.
Surely no man could breech this space
without the fragile web displaced.
Hidden, they left in mornings gloom,
Robert the Bruce in earthen womb.

Emerging into light of morn,
Robert the Bruce stood a king reborn.
He mustered men for one more fight
and raised the tattered blue and white.
They fought till the ranks of rivals thinned
and drove them back with a northern wind.
And to every man, when the fight got rough,
he told of the night of the spider’s bluff,
of a mercy returned from beast accursed,
and all knew the tale of Robert the First.

palm trees sway in the distance

soft chirping sounds fill the air

I feel the grass on my fingertips

the soil beneath me

the sky above me

day turns to night

trees no longer sway 

birds no longer chirp

grass starts to wilt

the soil starts to part

my body sinks in

the soil engulfs me completely 

what happened to the sun

the bright light that used to

shine on my tan skin

the darkness consumes me

it is all I can see- all I can feel

why did this happen

am I no longer innocent

that sweet young girl

what happened to her

to the light inside her

to her dreams

her aspirations

her goals

her life…

why did you take it from her

why did you take it from me

the earth calls me now

and with these roots

these branches

this new found life

I will consume what’s left of you

Time in a nutshell is a beautiful thing

It’s shows our character as human beings

When we first met I was young and goofy

I remember you fondly like my favorite plush snoopy.

Cherished, nurtured, distant, yet loved,

Our bond has grown like a mourning dove

Coming home to a foreign city

Familiar faces showed nothing but pity

Affiliations ends, Anxiety ascends

You were there when I needed a friend

After crashing hard on the toughest of times

You believed in my future even with a crushed spine

Insulated with no room to grow

Desecrated with nowhere to go

Time lost to the weight of my pain

Alone in darkness shrouded my shame

Abandoned by my day one’s, I guess that’s life

The pain of it all like the edge of a knife

Trapped in limbo, trials and tribulations

Your correspondence pulled me out of damnation

Paralyzed thinking what could have been

Contemplating my past’s potential

These thoughts were once deemed confidential

The unshakable notion this is punishment for a sin

You may not know but this you should

My mentality is free of these unhealthy obsessions

And from my battles with depression

I’ve fought my way back to manhood

This new reality was significantly rough,

Adjusting to my body was difficult as fuck

Replies to “how are you” we’re always a bluff

This great hurt, no substance was enough

Sentimentally explosive, sorting through debris

Your post-stroke letters challenged the inner me

Trapped in my mind I never would have foreseen

Paying it forward towards my degree

Emotionally exposed like an opened vault

I can feel it coming on, vulnerable by default

This sensation’s too strong, unable to halt

My eyes are the sea, full of water and salt

Invisible passion like tears in the rain

The affection you draw is special, not plain

Streaming down my cheeks, flowing affinity

The love from family is your til’ infinity

Time in a nutshell is a beautiful thing

Your soul blossoms like flowers in spring

Constructing this letter with tears in my eyes

Running from my eyes like I’m running from demise

Time is endless, an Infinite redux

As you Pin-pal, I vow, I shall never leave you

Flowing through your body every inch of pain

The strength you showed me will not go in vain

Choking back love is never easy

My only wish is for your eyes to see me

So picture me rollin’ with the power of the sun

The source of your vitality is where the battle was won

Find the courage to move your lips and and say hello
Embarrassment can be forgotten or laughed about
Regrets lead to a lifetime of misery and woe

Wipe the fear from your forehead and emerge from your shadow
Formulate words to woo but don’t whisper or shout
Find the courage to move your lips and say hello

Smile and breathe, be simple and don’t read a manifesto
Fears of insecurity or failure are not a reason to bail out
Regrets lead to a lifetime of misery and woe

Trust yourself and be honest; ignore the status quo
Perfection is an illusion not a reason to be devout
Find the courage to move your lips and say hello

Rejection can better than being always being solo
Failure can be learned from, inaction breeds doubt
Regrets lead to a lifetime of misery and woe

Be brave today and enjoy a different tomorrow
Risk normalcy for something unexpected
Find the courage to move your lips and say hello
Regrets lead to a lifetime of misery and woe

No warning it gave
Like lightning it fell
One foot in the grave
And soon I could tell

The strike uncommon
The sting much more so
Though I had gotten
No doubt a worse blow

The problem the male
A brother of mine
Had swung without fail
With hatred in mind

Already a grudge
Was on my wry face
For I would not budge
Without vengeance in place

I raised mine own hand
The target was clear
He would not withstand
A blow to the rear

my name was coated in the huskiness of his voice,

the pervasive drumming in my heart echoed into my skull.

dragging my feet across the room,

while drowning in the dusk of their silence.

thumb pacing across the plump tips of my trembling fingers,

one-two-three-four, four-three-two-one, repeat.

my clammy hands sliding along the seams wrapped around my thighs,

as my body weighs down on the frontline,

before their darting eyes.

i detached from my act as a cat on a hot tin roof.

a wooden cottage weathered pastel blue

on that rocky beach, speckled with sea glass.

light filters through the pines over my head,

a patchwork, shades of brown upon my skin.

a loon calls, no answer, only echoes

carried ‘cross the bay by an ocean breeze.

above high tide wild flowers spring to life

as the smells of moss and salt fill my lungs.

I close my eyes, remember summers past.

the crashing waves, the soundtrack of my youth.

Walk through the blue front door, calm but nervous

Blinding white suits and walls torture my eyes

Eyes which burn and struggle to stay open 

The thick smell of shit overwhelms my nose

Nose so stuffed I’m surprised I can smell

Warm humid air lifts the skin off my bones

Skin, covered in picked scabs and track marks

And bones still aching from my concrete bed

I put on the rough and itchy jumpsuit

With eyes closed, travel the world again

There’s a village in Fiji where the cattle roam free and the boys scamper about without shoes
The river runs long and the wells run deep and the Fiji parrotfinch sings the blues
A family of eight all in one hut warm themselves by the fire
Little brown hands crowd around the sparks as the black smoke ring rises higher
Their little muddy feet dance and prance as aprils warm rain descends
The sun rises over the sea and the waves attack the shore, sunsets and again they make amends
The youngest boy in the brown round hut is called “Baboo” for baby
His tummy sticks out under is stained white shirt, his hair sticks up like crazy
Baboo and his brothers bathe in the clear water of the stream
as fish swim past their legs they holler skip and scream
Baboo and his brothers brush their teeth with twigs from the twisted tree
They ride bareback on bounding mules racing towards the sea
Their laughter rings across the town
They’ve been lost but always found
Through the village streets they rome
Viti Levu will always be home
Baboo grew up and had a daughter and that daughter is me
No matter where life takes him now he’ll remember the twisted tree