Finish what you start.
The ending is apart.
Fill your life with heart,
And finish what you

Where is that FAX?
Where did it go?
It must be close
I am not lax
But where's my FAX?

Johnney--Two-- Thumbs
Met Eight--Fingered--Sam,
And shook two hands.

Together they each had ten.
Johnney and Sam became friends.

What you lack I know
Someone else will hold.
Strong together, weak alone.

Finished school, and here I am.
At the bottom, looking up.
Trembling hope for rapid climb.
Rungs of rules, on Ladder of Success.
Hand-over-hand; Pull-Step, Pull-Step.
Fingers clamping, straining
Bruising other's knuckles
Standing on their shoulders
Gripping other's bootstraps
Crying mentor's tears.
Dizzy heights, t h i n r a r e a i r
at the Top: Totally Alone

I looked across the void to see
An elevator full of leaders, just like me.
Raising their glasses they made a toast
to Teamwork, Friendship, and Loyalty.

Pack the bags, pack the snacks, pack the maps
Hurry, pack. Hurry, faster...don't forget!
E v e r y t h i n g, except the sink and the pets.

The car is crammed--should have bought that minivan.
Temper's pressure cooker hot--blood pressure tan.
Leaving for weekend peace--frantic for future fun,
Fleeing city's pace--seeking someplace else--slower run.

Racing heart, quarter-mileing--hoping the parachute will open.
Check the fluids, hoses, wires, filters, heater, wipers, tires.
When we get there--we'll be fine.
If we get there.
Sigh, I need a vacation.

My broker can close the deal.
His phone will have to do
So we can visit relatives
So we can see our children play
So we can have a quiet night
So I can kiss and hold you tight
Without my phone to change our plans
Without my phone and it's demands
Without my phone and broker
Without my phone.

Rinnngg... Oh, let me just get that.

Rinnngg... Honey, it will only take a minute.

How do you think I pay for these vacations?
Rinnngg...

Honey?

Beep!
Sam: I can make that meeting after all.

She wanted to change me
To make me OK
To fit her lifestyle
With plenty of fit.

She deleted my manly front end
And changed me to windows, only one at a time.
I was designed as a multi-user,
But she made me single, and dedicated.

She got some E-Mail from one of my friends,
So I lost my modem to make amends.

She gave me pink wallpaper and silly toons
And only used Write without spelckekker.

Reduced my RAM. She only liked sheep.
She 'plugged and played' me,
But seldom turned me on.
So, I'll just close my cursors, and pass off to sleep.

It was pressed against my temple.
My prayers had to pass by its muzzle.
He said he would kill me.
The powder from the last shot
Smelled like death.
Pushing so hard my pulse pounded,
My skull might explode ahead.
And all I could think of was:
'Did I have on clean underwear?'

I dug the garden deep
Deeper than the experts said to dig
Deeper than my muscles and my back wanted me to
Deeper than the furthest roots could penetrate down deep
Deep enough
Deeper still
Way deep
Too deep
Beyond deep
Below deep
Deeper

I turned and mixed the soil
Turned it and mixed it more than the experts said
More than my muscles and my back wanted me to turn and mix
More fluffed earth than the roots of my crops required to grow
More than enough
More still
Way more
Beyond more
More

I planted my crops
Planted them all over the place, without rows, in clumps
The experts all walked away muttering to themselves

Later, I watched alone as my crops grew like trees in a forest
Taller, and more than enough

I sit with this screen staring back at me and I stare
Wondering when or where my next idea will appear
Hammering out words for this verse of verbiage venting
Onto this page unrelenting, pushing, shoving, planting
Onto this screen of blankness staring back at you
Hoping for something to catch a page and hold it
Inking into our future to glimpse another past
I sit, and we stare, blinking back, typing at last

I work hard for my money
Most of the time my mind was on my job
I couldn't be expected to know everything
No one gets to work on time every day
My co-workers are aloof and snobs
They blame me when they fail
When they screw-up, I'm the one that pays
But, I work for my money
I show up most every day
Only a little hung-over Monday
And wishing Friday was today
But, I show up anyway

But the trouble is all worthwhile
Every payday I wear a smile
My envelope is bigger, and fatter today
They've given me a bonus, hooray!

Inside I gaze at Paycheck and note
All that it says is:
As a reward for sometime, maybe, almost, and the like
We're giving you notice, pack your bags, take a hike.

You thought I knew, I thought you knew
We both assumed and paid the price
Proudly knowing that we were right

You made your plans, I made my plans
We both committed and changed our lives
'Come follow me', we both did cry

You went your way, I went my way
We split apart, we both had left
Was our love false, or only deaf?

You miss me now, I miss you now
We both regret, but we both stay
Awaiting the 'sorry', we both won't say

I sit.
I sit and stare.
I sit and stare at the phone.
I sit and stare, but the phone doesn't see.

The phone is just before my eyes.
My eyes stare.
My eyes stare at the phone, but the phone doesn't stare back.

The phone is near to my ears.
My ear listens.
My ear listens, but the phone doesn't speak.

The phone is close to my mouth.
My mouth speaks.
My mouth speaks, but the phone doesn't listen.

The phone is within the reach of my hand.
My hand doesn't reach.
The phone sits, without eyes and ears and voice.

Phone.
This phone.
This phone is just like your phone.
Waiting, sitting, immobile, unused.

If I called would you answer?
If you called would I answer?

Sitting and staring, we wonder.