BarryCanuck

Amongst the tulips I sit in solemn splendor The roar of the falls billowing its breath from 60 metres below This majestic sound brings peace to my heart and comfort to my soul Through the mist I peek over the Rainbow Bridge The awakened sun rises above from a placid horizon An array of colors shoots upwards to the heavens I celebrate the sun as it cultivates hope at the start of a new day The songs of birds compete for my attention Chirping, whistling and trilling The birds croon their splendid tunes I spot a yellow bird with blackened wings As she flies by me she chants “hello” Amongst the tulips I begin to discern their col

Reach for love As we ought Rise above Think the thought Pretend no more Our hearts do weep What we long for A love so deep Let’s not fear it Such big demands Flesh and spirit Within our hands Come tomorrow The time is right All life’s sorrow Flushed from sight

For the last two nights I have so little sleep When I go to bed I lay awake thinking of her I can still hear her sweet voice I can still smell her heavenly scent I can still taste the delicious remnants of her passionate kisses in my mouth I can still see her beautiful face smiling at me I want to hold her, caress her, kiss her, and lay beside her But when I reach out to touch her she is not there I feel so sad After some time, I fall asleep still thinking of her But then after only a few hours of sleep I wake up in the middle of the night I am sweating, I toss and turn I cannot fall back asleep I feel a sickness in my stomach I fee

It is Saturday morning 8am I am on my way to a local cafe to get my morning cup of joe when an apparition appears before me A middle aged black man with the hardened look of an all night binge is sitting down in the entrance of some random storefront He looks up to me and says “Do you mind if I aks you a question?” I acknowledge yes, anticipating he will ask for some money but deep down hoping he will have something profound to say since in my experience I have found such men are sometimes the gatekeepers of wisdom As I look into his beet red bloodshot eyes, he asks “What is the difference... between an

I had a first date last night It was with a woman I had met in Berkeley We had a delightful dinner in nearby Oakland This first date was unlike any other I have had many first dates Far too many for my liking I have only ever wanted one Always hoping to find the one After dinner, we strolled along Piedmont Avenue We stopped to have some ice cream As I watched her satisfying her indulgence In the stillness of the moonlight night She looked so radiant, so beautiful We chatted about spirit, faith, ambition, self-reliance We have so many beliefs in common She allows me to speak from my heart To speak my truth She listens to me, I listen

Where do I come from? It is not from here Who are these people? I know not who they are They tell me to call them mom and dad But they cannot be my parents I'm just a prisoner here Condemned, Condemned Banished from paradise for choosing my own free will

When I arrived that summer I could not run up the hill without stopping to catch my breath At the top of the hill was a log cabin At the bottom stood a boathouse and the shores of majestic Lake Talon Chipmunks had free run of the adjacent woods I spent my days boating and fishing I chased and played with wildlife I created my own zoo with snakes, frogs, a chipmunk, a raccoon and other critters I had captured I used an old wringer washing machine as an aquarium and stocked it with fish I charged a nickel admission and earned about thirty cents that summer Enough money in those days to buy three chocolate bars I would fall asleep lis

Mom turned off the lights She whispered to us to keep quiet, while someone pounded on the door Dad was late paying the rent again The parading of horses and smell of dung The look of desperation as patrons flung their losing tickets to the ground This was my second home Dad played the big game at the Stardust Pockets so full of cash his pants fell down Now a whale, we were treated like royalty Comped to the best, until he lost it all Dad joined Gamblers Anonymous He went legit by playing the stock market In the bull market, he became a millionaire In the bear market, he lost it all Dad wanted to parade his son to his friend

Oh Sweet Sorrow You are my constant companion Uninvited you were born Cast from irrational reason Oh Sweet Sorrow I heard the Sirens’ call Like a faithful dog I came running To the bowels of Hades I did fall Oh Sweet Sorrow I ate from the forbidden fruit Filling my belly with insatiable desire Unable to gratify my earthly pursuit Oh Sweet Sorrow I touched Aaron's calf made of gold As a Wall Street banker building a fortune Untainted honor and virtue were sold Oh Sweet Sorrow I smelled the Angel’s Trumpet’s scent Dreaming the life of a bon vivant bohemian A wealth of abundant talent is never spent Oh Sweet Sorro

Mom enrolled me in Catholic school. The boy sitting next to me taught me to make the sign of the cross. When dad learned I was going to Catholic school, he became cross and transferred me to the public school. I had to walk by the Catholic school to get to and from my new school. One day, I met the boy who had sat next to me. He asked why I was no longer in class? I explained, my mom was Catholic and my dad a Jew and dad thought it best I go to a non-religious school. The next time I saw this boy, he was with two others. They dragged me into the Catholic schoolyard, and in communion, they taunted and beat me. As I lay nai