Stampede
Hot summer sun
Burns down on damp mud
Clumped and trampled
By gladiators
Human and animal alike
Candy frosted sticky air
Rises and drifts
To cloudless blue skies above
Dust flies
And hats soar
Cheering and clamoring
The crowd goes wild
The beast within is freed
Dangerous chances taken
As warriors stride
Confidently among jesters
Challenging fate and gravity
Longing for the next battle
Heroes rise and fall
Under thundering hooves
of dreams
Where do you stand?
But on the hallowed grounds
Of your ancestors
Feel their tears and beating hearts
Like the drums and rains that went before you
Where do you stand?
But in the poverty of greed
Of your fellow man
Feel his apathy and power
Watch him rise while others fall
Where do you stand?
But where the past and future collide
In a simple meadow
Green with life and black with oil
Which one will stand the test of time?
Where do you stand?
When your voice is asked to rise
War paint stained
Will you stand like totems of the past
Or as pioneers on the new frontier
Surrender the sadness
Held by ghosts of this place
It’s all shadows and down draft
In this overgrown space
Surrender the madness
That corrupted this ground
No one left now to torture
And peace can be found
Surrender the anger
Just a muse for the weak
Found a place in the world
And a voice that can speak
Surrender the burden
And cast off that pain
Let go of what’s gone
See what has been gained
Pellets of darkened grey metal
Huddle together under mask of skin
Up against bone between tendons
Shifting with the steps and stride
The old dog strains to take
His brow is furrowed grumpy
And his broken teeth tell his tale
Of suffering and betrayal
Long before his rescue
Now regally endowed
He watches over his kingdom
While the jesters play to get his attention
Or avoid his wrath
Meals he used to hunt for
Now await him in this castle
Comfortable and home
His subjects just the squirrels
And birds that flutter all about him
Makes him happy in this place
Away from the thick metal noisemakers
Darkened grey projectiles make their home
Thick and brutal green
Chokes the landscape
And hides ghosts of summers past
Menacingly swaying
Over the dark damp underbelly of youth
But a symphony of ghostly voices
Rises just above the din
On harsh stifled breezes
Where summer begins
Shadows dance until early evening
When the ghosts come out to play
Leaving traces of themselves
On wisp of fragrance
Or taste of summer bounty
Hiding the nature of their desire
To keep you here
Stuck in this place as they are
Shrouded by overgrown maple
And foreboding lilac
Beauty as treacherous as evil
Not revealed until long after
Night falls and the breezes chase away
Sun beats down
But is blocked by darkened lens
Eyes that squint and strain across
This field of grass and play
Where athletic ghosts of youth
Banter and steal base and run
Dive for flies and swat them away
In the deep sweaty heat of summer
Mirage puddles fool their eyes
Across this expansive field of dreams
Perched atop this wooden splintering platform
Where just below young lust is born
Watch now as these creatures
Chase and dive through softened grass
Thick with the sweet scent of summer
Ice cream promises drip across the atmosphere
And time stands still in this moment
Slight and evasive tender breezes
Just out of reach of those who crave it
Drift aimlessly across a sky too high to reach
Like the game that tumbles through this landscape
The breezes and games will fade
And summer soon to be nothing more than
A whisper once again
Foreign body
Remains still through panicked shaking
Growing and aching
As it makes itself known
To the foreign body
Unaware it’s days are numbered
Like a demon to be exorcised
Removed from deep within
The foreign body
Resting itself against bone and tendon
Feasting on blood and energy
Soon to be exposed
To light and chilled air
A cold metal pan
The temporary home
Of this foreign body
Dissected and disseminated
Reduced to cells under the microscope
Until there is nothing left
Of the foreign body
Drag the knife across
Tender pale flesh
Blood does not run
Too stunned in that instance
To give in to the will of gravity
Open flesh exposes
Bloodied lump of mystery
Unwelcomed where it lays
Cuddled up against tendon and bone
From darkness to light in a moment
Exposed to cold air
And the indignity of a metal pan
Then transferred to a plastic casing
Soon to be sliced and shaved in pieces
Viewed under scopes of micro eyes
Tested and retested
Until nothing remains
Of the freeloading guest
That was the lump
The steel of the grey in his eyes
Steadfast in their terror inspiring stare
Gaze grippingly at which others overlook
The smile of that young cashier
The discontent of that ticket taker
The greed in that child’s crying eyes
The virtue in that painted girl
Remains lost on those without his sight
Widespread chaos across this county fair
This playground for alcohol fueled
And over sugared children of every age
Fantasies in thin rubber
Balloons of every shade
Held by menacing creatures
With blood red features
Dead and trampled grass
Reveal it’s muddy bliss
Immortalizing each passing footprint
For a moment
Only to be forgotten
With each passing step
The Traveler sees it all
Through filters only he knows
And judges each soul using only his logic
Watching and waiting for the perfect end to his day
When he will drift into the woods just beyond this place
Carrying a prize of his own
To lay his roots of pain and torment
And watch through their fading eyes
As another summer day passes by
She surprised him with her heaviness
As he dragged her to the garden
Deep in the lush late summer woods
Arms entwined like dancers
He dragged her over log and bump
And laid her by the spot he chose
Her broken skull shifted and caught his gaze
He stroked her blood matted hair away
From the pigment free eyes staring back at him
Haunted and empty much like his soul
He stood over her shovel in gloved hands
That would dig her final place
She would find no rest here
Just dark sticky earth to melt within
Time would cause her flesh to dissolve
And leave only traces in her bones behind
The Traveler would be her only visitor
Unwelcomed in the scream of her silence
He would not be there to mourn for her
Like those small town gossips who told her tale
One of selfish youthful need
That chased her from this one horse town
Never knowing she was steps from home
Just below the darkness of his gaze
bluefalling 