Marco

You pulled me

across your basement floor

in circles on a rug

I was four years old,

and I laughed

as you did,

and you were strong

I told the other kids

my middle name

was Marco,

and, proudly,

I said that I

was named for you

I saw your face,

smiling as always,

within your name

when I wrote mine

I watched your hair

turn platinum,

but never fall out

You watched me grow,

and never once

were you not proud

You always said

that I was strong

long before I truly was

I watched you as

you lost your wife,

and saw you cry

as you held your daughter

I saw you stand

at your love's grave

and you prayed;

you shed your tears,

but stood your ground

I watched you stand -

strong, composed -

through it all;

a life well lived

You showed me what

I try to be -

always full of love

and always with a smile

Even through the pain,

through sickness

and through fear,

in foreign places 

and new chapters,

you always smiled

I heard today

that you were sick;

I cried for you

and wished that I 

could take your pain

And selfishly,

I wished that you

could never leave

You haven’t yet,

but when you do,

I know that I 

will shed my tears,

But I will stand

strong as you are

and I will smile

because you taught me to

No matter the storm,

no matter the place,

despite the weight

of the unknown

I'll always smile

the way you always have

And, proudly,

I will always see

your face in your name

when I write mine

Chasing Dragons

Below the surface, oft I find

There lies the peril of my mind

And not a thought was so aligned

As those born of fraternal kind

Dreams of laughter, wet with tears

Memories of gone-by years -

I stop myself, and draw a sigh

I’m chasing dragons long passed by

canvas sky

To be as bold
as the fluttering wings
of a dragonfly

Oh,
to be as free
as a leaf that falls
on the burnt end
of a Marlboro

To be as still
as the water
of a silent stream

And to be so calm
in the autumn wind
as clouds creep through
a canvas sky

the silence

It was not 

a woman’s gaze

that turned me

to stone

Was not

the temperature

that turned my

blood cold

And it was not

a cloudy day

that caused me 

to hang my head

It was the lack

of cause

that brought me

to my knees

It was the wind

empty as it came

and solemn as

it left

with no trace

It was 

the silence

that deafened me

and drowned out

all else around

Funny

Funny, how

once you’ve taken

a cloth to your mirror, 

you just might find

that you look

better than you thought

Funny, that;

for here I had

been under the impression

that I never needed

to clean

My head hurts,

my body aches,

and I am sick

in many ways;

and yet, I smile

shed my leaves

I shed my leaves,

for fall has come, 

and it has been 

far too long

since I've shed

that weight

I clear my skies,

my eyes, my mind;

the air has told me

that it’s time

Today is day one

of many more,

and many after those;

today, however,

is special

Because, today

I get the chance

to shed my leaves

and start again;

to face my fears

and insecurities;

my habits and

my self

Today

is day one,

and I

am ready

to begin again