I washed ashore in a place surrounded by images of you,

There were statues all around of you, also in shades of blue,

Granite and marble statues that seemed to reach into the sky,

I saw your likeness carved grand in the mountains on high,

As I walked along the path laden with gold I wondered,

Why so much gold is on this path of gold I now wandered,

So many wonders of you I’ve seen yet never have I this,

There’s even a monument celebrating a first magic kiss,

With wonder I realized the path was golden pages from time,

That had fallen from a book of love poems I write of in rhyme,

Time and love had melded to form golden pages for the book,

What is said of memories becoming gold is true as I take a look,

Fear has filled my heart as did pain with touches of forbidding,

My heart pains so for you, with each beat I must be bleeding,

Perhaps another has erected this place that I am now viewing,

Jealousy is entering my panicked heart although I am resisting,

Yet I continue walking this path as I am always mesmerized of you,

I come upon a fireplace of marbled stone embedded of jewels too,

A plaque above reads “my love is alive as are embers burning,”

Those are words stolen of me I think as my heart is yearning,

Atop the rise ahead is a street sign that’s commemorated in stone,

Getting closer to see I wade a creek of red from a past I’d known,

How I wonder, do I know I know this creek or is it I was once shown,

The sign carved in stone is the street sign of my childhood home,

Relief fills the heart spaces where fear had managed to invade,  

I think filled with wonder of whom and how was this place made,

Did I do so in another dimension of existence while deep in love,

Or is this another dimension of existence that I once dreamed of,

Tears trace my face ever so slow as I remember a time long ago,

It was a moment of assured love from the angel I have loved so,

I stood silently and stared with memories flowing through of you,

Then a light beam played memories on white clouds in the blue,

I feel you near my heart as I did when war took me to disaster,

Letters hidden from you are bronzed on a display titled “For Her,”

My trousers are stained of red as once were my hands of blood,

The red creek I crossed was of soldier’s blood mixed into the mud,

In such a lovely place of you it commemorated what we went through,

It was at the point of my weary return when from atop the hill came you,

Love fell back into my heart although never gone, silenced by fear,

How is that my knees feel of rubber every time you come near,

As I walk along the wonders of you I see nightfall across a line,

To step across into night skies was as if a quirk in the timeline,

I have no fear of darkness if you dwell near to be seen or heard,

You give me strength to carry on, which I describe for you in word,

Illuminated for all to see is a book of love poems written by me for you,

Nearby is a hall of dance with hardwood floors and music playing too,

“Love on the Dance Floor” turned into song plays on, amazing my mind,

“I must have gone to heaven,” I think to myself of this accidental find,

A beautiful statue stands of you draped in silk moving in the wind,

Your breasts and form so tightly exposed for me to see each bend,

It looks so real then I see it stir and it is you standing in the breeze,

So often I’ve approached your form, you’d think it would be of ease,

Yet my heart beats so as it has every day when I put my eyes on you,

My heart nearly halts as thoughts of going blind invade, what will I do,

For to touch your hand envelopes my nervous system with sensation,

But to gaze into an angel’s eyes is a link to heaven and brings elation,

Fear I’d only known once before fills every void within my aged frame,

It was a draftee’s goodbye kiss as I feared it would never be the same,

Taking my hand to dance, you whisper words of love on the dance floor,

Softly you add, “I am in your mind, I will always be in here as I was before.”

The end, for Patti.  I love you.

*Love on the Dance Floor is one of the first published poems written by Pat for Patti.  It is one of her favorites.  References to blindness are from a recent diagnosis of macular degeneration and other diseases. 

I hit my thumb with a rock by accident of course,

So hard I crushed my thumb as I struck it with great force,

A wasp had bit my thumb as I was looking for a rock,

Don’t worry, it’s not enough to rush off to the Doc,

Yet it pains me so to miss the wasp as I struck off course,

Self inflicted accidental pain is pain of the worst source,

My thumb felt as if a syringe of great size had penetrated,

As I saw the wasp with arched back I became exasperated,

Lightning struck as my brain reacted and I pulled the trigger,

The wasp flew off with great speed as my thumb grew much bigger,

Bigger and bigger it grew as did the pain from lightning rock,

It seemed to intensify with each click of the clock,

In panic I pulled the wire from the wall to stop the clocks tick,

To my surprise I pulled the wire lose as if a magic trick,

Electrical arcs were everywhere as sparks and time flew,

This is the worst self inflicted event this old man ever knew,

The clock seemed to spin but how if the power was gone,

Pain has affected my mind to think time would not move on,

Now I stand in a world of confusion as pain reaches my brain,

Electrical sparks, rock below, and a thumb swollen in pain,

Slight clarity came as I realized the sparks were emissions of pain,

Is there a moral to this rhyme that came from a painful brain,

I closed my eyes to calm myself and found the clock intact,

When in pain thinking isn’t clear and you may overreact,

Pain can confuse the brain and in turn can deceive the eyes,

Don’t overreact and use the rock, it is much better, pain wise.

The end.  By Pat

To ease Patti’s tears.

I love you baby.

Sometimes rhymes flow through my head of you,

Much more serious than roses are red and flowers of blue,

My chest actually tingles as my thoughts feel your touch,

Beyond touch is the emotion of loving you so much,

There is no doubt my life is made to be at your side,

I wear my badge of “Patti’s chosen” with great pride,

Each day I’m filled with angst as I watch time move slow,

It is anticipation of evening and basking in your glow,

I feel your love penetrate my being with heavenly sensation,

I love you my angel, from you comes love’s elation.

The end,

By Pat for Patti

For you my beautiful little angel.

Each morning as I wake my first thoughts are of you,

I look to find you as its the first thing I always do,

I promise myself each day to be a better man,

It’s not for others but for you to be the best I can,

So many times I fail you although you don’t see,

The things you fail to see comes from you loving me,

Thank you for loving me as I will recommit my goal,

I will succeed in redeeming myself for you and my soul,

Each moment I stand at your side I do so with pride,

Although I’m near seventy I still see you as my bride,

Time is akin to flowing water as it flows to never end,

A difference is time flows straight and will never bend,

As time ‘n’ water flows beneath the bridge we watch it below,

I prefer wading the water in depth so each moment I know,

Each time your little heart has pain I will try to understand,

If there is nothing I can do I will be there holding your hand,

This is a poem of promise that although our past is wonderful,

I will do everything I can to make sure we live each day in full,

Filling your life with happiness and joy that I may see you smile,

From you comes my happiness, you make my life worthwhile.

The end, for you baby, I love you.  Pat

In the silence of the moment I find comfort in loving you,

A place in the heavens that in someway pulls me through,

Dimensions of departure must have an unseen bridge way,

Although this moment is so dark I must find light of day,

As suddenly as I was cast into this presence he returned,

The secrets they seek don’t dwell within me to be learned,

I am but a messenger seeking the sights and sounds as told,

Sadly today I am the center of attention as if I contain gold,

I am quickly hung with my hands while tied behind my back,

By my hands that are tied behind my back I’m hung until a crack,

My shoulders painfully dislocate after my strength to resist wanes,

Darkness comes and I am grateful to pass out instead of feel pains,

A tear follows the contours of my face as I face that I may lose her,

To lose her is significant as it would be through my life’s departure,

I seek an exquisite presence as light fades to black within my mind,

A silhouette of my special angel’s profile is the only one I hope to find,

This dimension of existence is new found as I enter unto it to explore,

I replay the memory of our first kiss over and over needing her more,

Suddenly I awaken to the spray of cold water up my nose and face,

My hips and legs pain as weights tied to my ankles dislocate each place,

Pain is a beast unto itself that raises tolerance to such extremes,

At first I’d pass out but as I adjust each day I tolerate more it seems,

My preference is to pass out, it allows me to enter peaceful dreams,

Dreams of her, she of whom I’ve dreamt since meeting her in my teens,

Has escape become my reality and has my existence become unreal,

How could I, a young boy but a man, be suffering through such ordeal,

I am but a boy in my heart seeking the angel I so adore so very far away,

As they strike my body yelling commands I seek darkness of yesterday,

Gently I fade into a world mixed of her and infliction upon my frame,

I’m thrown to the floor as I beg no more but they yell wanting my name,

It’s been given yet they don’t believe so they toss me about as I’m lame,

Each joint dislocated and muscles stretched to nearly leave my frame,

I’m limply thrown upon a bench and sodomized for an hour or more,

Pain has wrapped its filthy self around me as do they while I implore,

Be merciful I beg and I cry to the heavens for help while they explore,

The wire brush pushed into my rectum is to cleanse me some more,

We are trained for this, it’s sad to say, we are trained what not to say,

I’m thrown onto my cell room floor into urine and waste of yesterday,

Without movement the pain becomes bearable as I find escape in sleep,

And she comes to me into a world of mixed reality and kisses me sweet,

She wipes a tear from my eye and whispers words of love into my ear,

Telling me to be strong, that she loves me and that she is always here,

I see her looking back at me as I have imagined each day would be,

She suddenly fades as my jailer kicks the wire brush protruding from me,

As he departs I realize I must pull that sodomy brush from inside,

My arms hardly move but I must try as I grasp and pull I feel I have died,

I pass out quickly into a world not of sleep but simply dead darkness,

I see me on the floor and next to me an angelic form stands in witness,

Morning birds are singing to me as I become aware that I still live,

Bloods all around as I see her picture came free as I bled like a sieve,

I fear they will find her so I move as quickly as I can to hide her away,

Just as I find a place in the wall I am hit by a freezing water spray,

She is my life’s treasure that photograph, it’s my only piece of gold,

I’ve carried it near my heart for over two years it’s been in my hold,

In times of danger I kept it deep inside wrapped in plastic and more,

I so desperately wanted to put it back where it was once before,

Perhaps I shall survive, if I survive it is for one, it would be for her,

All my treasured gold is of her for only she would my life I offer,

Open your arms and pull me in I beg of you my angel of first light,

For over a year I’ve dreamed of you and in dreams held you tight,

I held you tight as you slept on my shoulder the night through,

Another dream has passed of a long day when saved by you,

So many years ago this occurred yet a day I appreciate now,

Was it an answer to a prayer to be discharged home somehow,

Happily you are my center of attention but still my only gold,

You’re the messenger of love today, I seek you within my hold,

The secrets of love I sought so long ago have been learned,

It is no secret in reality but that each day our love is returned,

Although the moments seemed so dark through you I found day,

Through dimensions of loving you I found love’s unseen bridge way,

A place in the heavens when darkness comes you pull me through,

In the silence of hard moments in life I’ve found comfort loving you.

The only end, by Pat

Dark moments are only dark because we don’t allow the light,

When anguish fills my heart I look for the angel shining bright,

Twas you I saw no doubt as ever so gently you calmed my soul,

My heart became interlaced with a thousand needles of control,

Love is like water from a failing dam as it forces its way inside,

Of this it is true for without you how many nights have I cried,

And now I am here in a place so dark I wonder has the sun died,

My existence won’t be lost to you but to others I will be denied,

I’ve worried so intensely of you the pigment has left the black,

Now I understand the meaning of falling through (into) the crack,

Somehow I feel your earthly presence even when under attack,

My heart so desires my will to be strong enough to make it back,

I’ve heard too many teenagers cry for mama as he passed away,

One held a picture to his chest along with a Dear John he got today,

I saw his teardrops start to fall and offered my hand to quietly pray,

A Beast of Darkness roams the jungle tonight, his feast is in the fray,

As the lifeblood drains from the maimed he will raise his ugly head,

When sunshine pushes darkness from the sky the beast has likely fled,

Angel guardians of ‘prayers answered’ whisper peace into my head,

Without those prayers I would be one of the early morning dead,

Birds will land upon the unseen bodies missed by his fellow men,

Keeping vigil until the soldier’s body is found by his countrymen,

It’s a reminder that once we’ve departed we are but empty skin,

I held a dream in my arms one night, I can’t believe this hell I’m in,

A creature roars or has the beast cried because there is no more?

The sun brings a new beginning they say but many ask “what for?”

Those with a negative nature think what next disaster is in store,

And I wonder how long it’s been since the time I knew as before,

I have no innocence of youth hidden safely away for my return,

Innocence and Santa’s remains are buried beneath napalm’s burn,

Napalm burns away more than life and has scarred me internally,

Yesterday I sifted through napalm’s ash in search of remnants of me,

Machine gun fire has awakened me from a quick escape to you,

I held you briefly in my arms and whispered of my love so true,

Tears have once again filled my eyes in a lonely tribute of love,

Know my angel of Texas dreams, you are the only one I dream of.

The end. For Patti 1969