Iron Maiden

I stand before my judges
Watching the shadows
Playing at their feet

I am expendable now
An obligation of time
Residing in this court

How did I loose my footing
Falling so far from grace
Used and completed

I let go of the strings as asked
And weeped behind
Closed doors

My gifts were misfiled
And misconstrued
Our lenses have different views

I wear the Iron Maiden
Residing in this molded form
Clawing at its false representation

I felt its piercing pain
As it slammed shut
I bled as I became new

Waiting for the Moon

Put the empty days that rattle in their shells

In a place that is deep as any well

When the heart looks for the task

Ask the question, how long will this last

Fill it with tinkering and what-knots for display

Longing for the grassy field where I use to play

Castle clouds would fill the afternoon

Dreaming of tomorrow, waiting for the moon

Gazing at the variation of this moment of mine

Looking for the memory that stirs the grasses of time

Alone I laid in the field of sweet disguise

Wanting not the discovery of another's eyes

Choice has led me to the warmth of this room

Night has fallen and I still wait for the moon

Where is the heartbeat that promises to stay

Enfolded in the present, no entitlement today

But still I surrender to the castle in the sky

Pulled by the chatter of my mind's eye

Believing in the daydream of childhood's bliss

Conjuring up magic for what could be missed

Raven

The Steam on the Mirrors

The foolishness of actions waits for the light of day

And begs us to hear the voices of our own decay

Words sent by thoughts that spin off our lips

Blaming our regret on others, in between sips

Easily shifting the sands of our lives

To blind us from seeing our own true lies

Our words sent like angry boomerangs spin off

Only to return, and their landings are never soft

The steam on the mirrors we use each day

Soon come to an end and crumble away

In the broken pieces left on the floor

Is the answer that hurts to the core

We ask for the response we don't want to hear

So we shift the fault to someone so dear

When enough has been said and you can't feel anymore

You walk away blind, broken and sore

You live in the numbness of what hasn't been said

Picking up the pieces as if you were dead

How far will you walk if the shoes don't fit

Throwing away the candle before it is lit

Breathing in the truth of your life and its lore

Answering questions you have denied before

Seeing with integrity that which you find

Healing the anger that made you so blind

Raven

Echo

She was mislaid in the creases of my heart

Lost as I wandered the paths of my life

Tears cried were misunderstood from the start

It completely tore my life apart

Unbalanced and teetering on the edge of confusion

How long could I stumble before I would fall

She was the echo that would vibrate my illusion

I needed her voice to end the delusion

Falling into the darkness of night

She found a crack in the prison I built

She swam to the surface to breath in the light

Completing my being and awakening delight

 She shines in my presence and gives me life back

Plays in the sunlight and not in my shadow

Keeping the magic alive and wonder intact

And teaches me, there is nothing I lack

Raven

Deja vu

My heart is open to the flow of song

But hears not the symphony that it requires

It surrenders to the notes that drift on the wind

And searches for the harmony deep within

Knowing not the emotions from the songs that come

But filled with their sorrow that does not belong

Each of the notes that sound the lead

Are followed by others that cannot plant the seed

Perhaps the season is too cold for growth

Lost are the chances of Spring's magic

But I feel the deja vu of an uncomfortable dance

And the staccato of a need that breaks any chance

I know that my melody spins in my heart

And waits for the words to realize its passion

Fulfilled in itself by suffering what it gained

Watching too carefully the stanza to create blame

I feel the sadness of an incomplete song

Knowing my mind plays with the rhythm

So I'll sing my own song and dance to its beat

And find within myself the love I will meet

Raven

Spaces

The words floated in the air

In between your smiles and sadness

I heard each one and felt its sting

They pulled the threads of my own past

I've slipped on those shoes before

And felt the discomfort of familiar pain

Wondering if it was my fault that

They didn't fit

Wanting someone to hear

What I was really trying to say

The truth lived in the silent spaces

Between the inadequate symbols

The right choice lives in your heart

But the heart needs a place of solace

Where it can be heard by you

Away from the storms, and the thunder

I heard your words today

I listened to your quiet prayer 

I saw the truth in the spaces

I care

Raven

The Sound

The sound carried with it a prophecy and a warning

I didn't say it out loud, it came on its own

I can hear its whisper as I sleep at night

The possibilities bring unfamiliar lost emotions

I stand on the edge of a cliff like the Fool

And question the validity of my quest

I worked so hard to feel whole

Do I want the answer to this query

It dances in my head like a whirling dervish

Until I silence the storm within my breath

If I take this leap I will begin a journey

Into my heart

This all crushes me before I open my eyes to see

It's just a fantasy that creeped into my reality

I pulled it in with wanting

And now face its green gaze

Who am I now, as I look over the edge of fear

Do I have the strength to keep myself intact

Do I have the vision to see the truth

Do I love myself enough...to open my heart again

Raven