Quite An Entrance I hope that you would pardon me, But I don’t believe that I have had the pleasure To introduce myself to the lovely angel dancing around the ballroom with such leisure Swaying with reckless abandonment, yet with a sense of sweet elegance And it just seems perfect to me, seeing you with this music, I can’t help but ask for a dance One with two partners swinging their way across the floor; yes, that’s how we should be Because, if I may be frank with you: this big ol’ world can get a little too lonely for me But here with you it just seems so natural: a rock step here and a triple step there A twirl back and forth, a gather, and why not a little nonsense simply because we don’t care For the night is young and full of wonders, you can count each one in that beaded sky A few more steps and we may just reach them; we’ll never know unless we give it a try And there we could tone things down, slow stepping on the#moonin tender affection I wasn’t a believer in first glance romances, but I hadn’t ever seen anyone give quite an entrance So if you’ve got the time, then just stay with me; as long as I have you and a rhythm I’m a happy man Tell the world goodbye, because we’re getting lost tonight, and it just might take up a whole #lifespan

Dead Night I open the door and step outside into the midst of a dead night Such a quiet place; a time when the world is neither dark nor bright The slate sky becomes a shaded canvas, displaying every faint detail of the barren trees towering above The branches stretch their decaying hands towards it, clawing in hunger for the sun whom it loves But alas its warm touch is never found, forever forgotten by what remains of the fading day As the shadows start to creep their way out of the corners, eagerly anticipating their time to play I begin to make my way towards my destination, each step echoing out into the stale breeze of this still night Past sidewalks and abandoned roads; alongside familiar homes and streetlights giving off their amber light Every breath becomes a little heavier, every step a little shorter, but in time I finally wander to the doorstep of that worn down house Through the window I can see the wretch that is a poor broken man, holding firmly to the hand (and possibly the #life) of his ailing spouse His eyes vaguely swollen from the previous times his sorrow overcame him, Her eyes fast asleep, no knowledge of if they’d open again A tap at the window turns his head my way, and upon recognizing me he grabs his cane and makes his way to the front to let me in Pleasantries are understood, but not discussed, for our attention is upon the one resting this moment in her bed We take our places, joined together in our pursuit of a glimpse of hope, I take her hand in mine, entwined as thread I whisper in her ear that her son, her little boy to be precise, was there to see her, holding firmly to fragile hands that may be slipping away A few hours pass, without a sign from her, much of that time spent with bowed heads and heavy hearts, begging that she would stay But the answer to that prayer must come another time, because yet again I’m escorted out without seeing her fully alive And across a silent holiless night I return, yearning for the day when we will finally see the fruit of the hope for which we strive

Autumn Love It’s only four in the afternoon, but already the sun starts to tell its goodbyes with golden streaks on everything surrounding us As we make our way across an autumn field, the cool breeze whispers in our ears those things that it cannot discuss And the leaves crunch beneath our feet, decorating the ground with reds, oranges, and yellows that become more vivid with each glance Her hand is nestled softly in mine as we walk, almost like a sweet daydream; reality and fantasy coming together to take part in a beautiful dance And we come across an old wooden bench hidden beneath a scarlet tree, and decide to rest a moment from our little travel The tree shelters the bench with its outstretched arms, like a mother to a child, from the glimmering rays, though she remains fragile As the wind whistles by and continues to come and pluck off leaf after leaf, until one day she becomes bare Only to be reborn with the sight of spring, stronger than ever; an unending cycle between the tree and the air We take a moment to admire the sight before us: hills that look like oceans of warm colors, with glowing ripples as the sun sneaks away in the distance I draw a little heart with my thumb on the back of her hand, and she rests her head on my shoulder; just another moment to add in this perfect romance She wraps her arm around me, and I do the same, bringing her close and cherishing this sweet angel that I am unworthy of I reach and kiss the top of her forehead, and watch as a subtle smile crosses her lips, telling myself that I may have just found the answer to the question, “what is love?” Because I can’t think of any thing or any moment that could give me the same feeling of happiness and completeness that I feel right now So I’ll say this is love, the first word to escape my thoughts when I see her, only to be jumbled up and expressed in a simple “wow” We start to leave just as the sky turns dark, laughing and dancing across sidewalks among the streetlights and glittering stars Fools tend to fall for love, and I agree wholeheartedly, for though I know it can’t be true, I could’ve sworn that today the world was ours

Flaming Tongues (Burning Bridges) I've heard it said that the tongue can be as a raging fire Starting off as an eerie ember, igniting a world in its desire for power At any moment it can be provoked into speaking wrath and fury into fragile souls And, quite frankly, there's nothing that can contain it, in disbelief we watch as it unfolds Relationships combust into soot and ash, we breathe in its remains, but it weighs on our lungs as stones And we watch as the bridges, once founded on love and admiration, melt and collapse into the unknown I should know; I have done my fair share of starting destruction with just the flick of that wretched tongue Whispered flames that grew and crawled across interacting worlds (Oh how careless we can be when we are young) Leaving me lost in smoke, and one cannot make amends when they themselves are stumbling for direction But I don't know if I can; too much guilt to properly apologize, especially when I see your expression See that pain and hurt in your eyes, the rawness of the never-healing burns that decorate your damaged heart But I guess that's the thing about fire: it warps everything that you would want to bring back together, every little part Occasionally I can look though a clearing, catch a glimpse into the lives I decided to lose affiliation with And I see that they are happy outside the ruins, and I'm fine at the end of the day being a myth Nothing can last in the full mercy of the fire, so sometimes it's best to remember things as they become: nonexistent I'll say my apologies, but I doubt that they'll ignite into anything, the dead skin of the Earth can be quite resistant I've heard it said that the tongue can be as a raging fire And I am a testament of that, losing sight of the souls I once had admired

Just Stay I'm bound to this bench, but I have no chains; my shoulders give way, but there is no weight Or at least physically there isn't, but if you'd look into my soul you'd find the shackles there great I hear too much, I think too much, so lost in the probabilities that I cannot understand the actualities But I'm aware of that, so am I really lost? My spirit is broken to the point that I may never find stability But you see me, and you decide to come near my way, to offer assistance if needed And I can already tell you the reply, "Oh, it's ok. No big deal, but thanks, it's much appreciated" But please don't leave, I beg of you, if you have the time, just stay The war within rages strong, and you're a welcomed sight in the fray Just sit with me, don't say a word, because I cannot hear you with the voices shouting in my head But if you'd stay long enough, maybe the noise will weaken, revealing the things that need to be said Please don't hug me, please don't hold my hand reassuringly, but above all, please don't leave Because your time isn't being wasted, it helps and relieves, more than you'll ever perceive Though I know that for you to just sit there with me may be assumed as peculiar and strange A person's countenance may tell a story, but it is in the heart that you'll find the change I need to be able to breathe again, to stand again, I'm calling silently for help because I don't know another way So would you please be the one to keep me from being alone in this trying hour, just to be here, just to stay