Autumn Wishes

The fall is
Crisp yellow leaves
That fade to brown

I walk facing the wind
And when indoors
Bar windows against the cold

Frosty breath seeps in
With the dead of night
Tickles along the spine

October waits
While I sip hot drinks
Mourning summer

I grow fat on coconut milk
Unwilling to let go
Of warmer climes

Watch from the corner
Of sharp eyes
Winter's stealth approach

Together

We are worlds apart
I may beat on this drum
You shake this rattle
But we are out of time
Or vision of music
Is disimilar

We cannot make the rhythms
Interwine
This is no melody to your harmony
We cannot bring together
Our different worldviews
In one symphony

There's just cacophany
Harsh sounds
Over harsh sounds
An earful of agony
Mismatched misery

Until we develop
Musical tastes
Both bizarre and new
This sound is to hip hop
As hip hop is to rock
What rock is to classical

And soon we forget
The barriers
That once held us back
Lift the disguise
Of a new art-form

In Between

There is this feeling
Of flitting in between,
Neither here nor there
But on the threshold.

Beyond time,
A place for spirit,
Where bodies become frail,
Forgotten
Shades of grey.

Beyond decision,
Uncertainty and wonder
Bud together,
Dance in delicate footfalls.

Soon memories fade away.
Will
Becomes a fool's errand.

Stay here,
Whispers the air,
Beyond reach of despair.
Live this strange pleasure
Eat the food,
And stay forever.
Forget all
You left behind.

In this world of tricksters
Become blind.
Breakdown the crippling walls
Of sight.
See beyond your senses.

Qualified

Am I qualified
To tell you what to think
How to think?

Let me tell you now
That I stand before you
With confidence
And doubts
And experience in many things.

But I am as qualified
As the next guy,
Let me tell you
You will never feel 100% confident
But you would remain stagnant
If you didn't take a leap of faith
Cast yourself off the deep end
And free fall.

Some day you'll understand,
I promise.
But for now
Just remember
That I'm qualified,
And that I'll tell you what to think,
How to think,
But never
What to believe.

The Perfect Creole

You can tell me
That I am pale as a sheet,
Try to glare until my skin catches fire,
But you can't change history.

My ancestors were a mixture,
The perfect creole
That spans two continents,
Bridges gaps
Most wouldn't dare attempt.

We are mediators,
The go-betweens,
That once held this country together.
We are the glue
That connects two nations,
Interwoven
Among willing and unwilling participants,
In the rise and fall of civilizations,
The creation and destruction of ways of life.

We are unpopular,
Loved and hated by all
Without pause,
But still necessary.

You may not want to believe
In who I claim to be,
I could look like my European ancestors
Or Cree,
But I would still be
What I have always been,
A mixed-blood,
A Métis.

Mental Genocide

You're just a child

Trying to care for a child

And you aren't well

But neither were your parents

And this bridges 3 generations now

Maybe more

I never asked your whole story

You never told me

And I wonder

How many broken families

Are just like yours

It is so difficult to be a witness

To this mental genocide

I only hope the cycles will break down

But we spiral up through time

And it is never easy

To erase the sins of the past

You can turn to the bottle

Or something less productive

And yet the results play out

In your social DNA

What will that baby say?

When her thoughts begin to form

When teenage angst

Drives her away

The same way you left your home

Will she come back when she's 20

Scrub the walls of mold

As your sickness sets in

Drive you to the hospital and grieve

Leave

Before she tells you

She's going to have a baby

Surrender

I can't keep fighting back these waves

They're growing stronger

The water below is murky

What is down there?

I want to hold on to something to stay afloat

Yet I don't really want to get back on that boat

It was on fire when I leapt out

And now I'm afraid of drowning

I keep on struggling

When it makes no more sense

I should let go

Surrender myself to the undertow

It is fear that keeps me here

Maybe there is something better

Just below my feet

Maybe when I quit this struggle

I'll realize it's not deep

But right now I'll flounder round as though

I cannot take the pressure

I am afraid to surrender

It's not the water that scares me

It would be soothing

But I can't trust myself

I second-guess past decisions

Foolish thoughts I can't see past

And these waves look like mountains

But really they are in my mind

The water is as smooth as glass

I would realize

It is just a puddle

It barely even is to my knees

If I looked down I would catch my reflection

Showing who I am with accuracy

But first I need to surrender

I cannot even see beyond my nose

I need to surrender

Until I do this storm keeps raging

And I feel alone

Whispers on the Breeze

I have always
Listened to the wind
It speaks in whispers
Beckoning
I go where it calls
Echoes from the mountaintops
Gushes about streams
Washes over seas of flowers and grain
I follow its winding paths
Dance where it touches Earth
Fly amidst it
Carried on false wings
It bathes me
In tranquil excitement
Leaves me stranded
Where its furies boil
Dies and is reborn in one breath
I have always
Listened to the wind.

You Say

You tell me to relax
I allow myself
To melt into a puddle of tears
Emotions I didn't know I had
And you say
This is ESP
But I'm wondering
How I can be so unstable
And yet cry happy tears
I wonder how I let stress
Lead me this far
I feel vulnerable
And yet fear drifts
Somewhere far away
You read me
Like a book
Looked between the lines
Discovered the hidden plot
I can only hope
I proved to be
More than some trash novel
A story with a plot
That leaves you
Eager for more
You read the lines
As I write them
Watching as our stories
Intertwine
Composing words yourself

Once Upon a Time...

... in a land far away...
Do you remember that day
In a far off time and place?
My memory has grow foggy around the edges
As though from the tropic heat.
Everything fades away there
Time is meaningless
We are trapped in a void of constant
And as memories resurface like tiny bubbles
In a Coke can, or possibly Chang,
We can delight in those moments as well.
A few words exchanged,
Echo still,
While the image fades from view,
Only recognizing bright sunlight
And humid hot.
Somewhere made of dreams,
Carried on the wings of imagination
Like a fairytale.
The End, not yet in sight.

Adventures in Paradise

Dark city streets,
Golden city lights,
Playful accents call out,
And suddenly we are backseat driving,
Giving directions,
Awkward.
Thank you,
As we zip down these night streets,
A speed that comes,
Only once darkness falls.
Talking,
Disjointed.
Taking risks,
Assessing them with spontaneity.
Moving towards
Something bigger.

I'm Sorry

I'm sorry

Have we been trained

To express things we don't mean

And shouldn't we always mean sorry?

But we are so bound by ego

We let anger run unleashed with fear

Throw guilt to the wind

Until we learn those simple words

I'm sorry

For what?

If only I knew

All the little things

Like jabbing needles

That drove us apart

Had I seen their silver sheen

Would I have stopped them?

Or was it meant to be

That here we are again

And

I'm sorry

But not really

Because sorry means

I won't do it again

And in this circumstantial world

Where we are drawn taut with emotion

I would be a fool to say

My actions

Will always be virtuous

We delude ourselves

With dreams of perfection

Cast up a false ideal

I'm sorry

But only in this moment

I want to feel forgiveness

It's release

But tomorrow is another day

When we will learn

Things can't always mend

Because we say

I'm sorry

Forward

I am afraid

To bear my soul

Find myself unworthy

You wounded me

When the world was dark

I wasn't sure it was you

But now you face exposed

I know the truth

We have been running from our pasts

But past determines future

This was a fatal mistake

You and I must learn forgiveness

Find solace in this wake

Let go

Move forward

Earthbound

Me and this drum

Share secrets

Whispered across taut hide

We are one

In deep resonance

To remnants of a simpler time

Soft beats

Mingle earth and moon

Together

Weave cycles

Peel back layers

To reveal

Endless blackness

Sequined with glittering stars

Little lights illuminate footsteps

Our secrets are safe

While the notes resound

Empty Doorway

You walk through that door and disappear

It is all an illusion

Now minimalized

Expanding on clear view

Always one step ahead

And now my guard down

You saw me cry

I thought I was all alone

But you were watching

Carefully letting events unfold

Like lily petals

Delicate

And now you see

I quiver in the cool breeze

I look through the empty doorway

Still see your shadow

Wonder where you've gone

And how soon you will return

I'll be dazzled once again

And forget

The illusion

Walk blindly

Into your caress
Without you
My world
Is that empty doorway

Thor's Hammer

Thor's hammer falls
And falls again,
And lightning fills the sky.
He could barely wait out Woden's Day
Until he could come out and play,
And now the sky is white as day
His hammer never stops,
He welcomes in a brand new month
With loud and boisterous knocks.
His excitement is untamed.
Electric, his discretion lost,
Awaking entire towns
Before the sun can yet be found,
Mortals hide upon the ground
And keep their windows locked.
A peak out of the curtains tells
The sky appears on fire.
What festive day could this one be
That fuels bold Thor's desire?
Even atheists tonight
Would cast a wary eye,
And wonder what sensational mode
Could light up the whole sky!