I Didn't Know You Were There

Coulda walked
A little bit past
Where I needed to go.
Coulda talked
A little bit fast,
But I just didn’t know.

Didn’t think
You would be there
So near me.
Didn’t blink
As you walked away
Tearily.

Didn’t know.
Didn’t see.
Never showed
How much
You meant to me.

Coulda cried
Through the night
Had I known
You were there
And you cared.
But I didn’t.
And you didn’t.
That’s clear to me
Now.

What can I say
Now that you
Went away?
Can’t hear me sobbing
On the city streets.
The rain is pouring
Coming down in sheets.
My face is soaked
With tears and rain.
What we had
Was so much pain.
But I’d trade it all
If it meant I’d see you again.

Coulda walked
A little bit past
Where I needed to go.
Coulda talked
A little bit fast,
But I just didn’t know.

Didn’t think it would hurt
To imagine your smile.
Didn’t think I’d be affected
After this long while.
Guess I was a fool,
then as before.
But can’t stay away from you
And can no longer ignore.

Come to me
And you’ll see
I can be
A better soul.
Staggering
Out of breath,
Leaning like a bum
Against the gas lamp pole
Water rushing
Through the gutter,
Sweeping trash and debris.
Like the rain in the night
Is cleansing me.

When they said it was you
And you were staring at me
Wish they told me sooner
So I could see.
I bet that you were radiant
Giving warmth like the sun.
Why didn’t you stay longer?
Why did you run?

Sitting in a puddle
Who really cares?
The whole world is flooded
No one answers my prayers.

Fame and fortune
Don’t mean a thing
Without you, your love
And you wearing my ring.

Coulda walked
A little bit past
Where I needed to go.
Coulda talked
A little bit fast,
But I just didn’t know.
You were there.

Misplaced Lucky Charm

Is that you
Standing there
I can’t see
Past the past

Is that you
Standing there
The one who said
We would last
Forever

Thrown away
All your trinkets
Teddy bears
And notes now false

Tossed aside
Dreams of tomorrows
Hide inside
All my sorrows

Said goodbye
To favorite places
Gone away
Familiar faces

Is that you
Standing there
Is that you
Without a care

Is that you
Standing there
Can’t believe
You would even dare

Come back to me
And my home
For these busy streets
Make me feel alone

Hold me now
Like before
Tell me how
You adore

To see me now
As once I was
To love again
Just because

You see me
Standing here
I look away
Although you’re near

Come back to me
My one true love
Come back and see
I’ve risen above

All the petty
And hate
And now you’re back
As if by fate

Is that you
Still standing there
Don’t you know me
And the love we shared

Oh, please excuse me
I meant you no harm
I mistook you
For my misplaced
Lucky charm

He Never Kissed the Girl

He never kissed the girl,
For all her charm.
He never kissed the girl,
For all she could disarm.

He saw her go to islands
and party with an old rock star.
Heard about her trip to China
Where a billion other men are.

Wanted to go sailing
on a blue boat across a green bay.
Wanted to have music and lyrics,
but he had nothing new to say.

He never kissed the girl,
For all her charm.
He never kissed the girl,
For all she could disarm.

He felt her pain in losing
a love that was no good.
And though there was much fighting
he really understood.

He smiled about the Greek god
who flew in dark as night.
And though he trembled at thought of it
He knew if this guy said “I do”, she just might.

He never kissed the girl,
For all her charm.
He never kissed the girl,
For all she could disarm.

He thought about her laces
and trunk, full of surprise
and how her hair would cascade
and how she’d hold her eyes.

And about the life she’s lived so far
And of how he first got hooked.
Imagined the way she strummed her guitar
And could taste the meals she cooked.

He never kissed the girl,
For all her charm.
He never kissed the girl,
For all she could disarm.

He says hello
time and again.
They reminisce
about the past and when
he said he loved her
and she just grinned.

He’s not saying but
he may still toss and turn in the night.
He may still picture her
and yearn in delight
He may not get it
but she still shines a light
on the things he thinks about
and he still thinks about how

He never kissed the girl,
For all her charm.
He never kissed the girl,
For all she could disarm.

In the Moment

She flirts with boys and men.
Forgets where she left her pen.
Works in the bookstore across the town.
Likes it best when the guys come around.

Drinks in bars with billiard balls.
Dances with her girls and nearly falls.
Laughs out loud in a fire burst.
Practices pick up lines, well rehearsed.

Goes to yoga to try to relax.
Stretches her mind, her body
and tightens her …
just ask.

Jogs around the track
way too late at night.
She’s a jumble of emotions,
none of them is fright.

She’s crazy busy
and has had her fill.
Would love a place to write
up on Beacon Hill.

She likes to fish and dance.
Take the bike out for a spin.
Likes to find her way out
of the trouble she gets herself in.

She’s an artist.
To some a sinner, to some a saint.
She’ll be the first to tell ya
that either one, she ain’t.

She just lives her life in the moment
and lets the moment take her there.
She’s feels alive in the moment
the moment she has no care.

Just Understand Her

She speaks two languages

But still feels misunderstood.

Will translate if needed,

But really wishes you would.

Just understand her

Listen when she speaks

She got things bottled up inside

But that bottle has some leaks.

She got passion for words

And chocolate too

For breakfast inns

And attention from you.

Just understand her

Listen when she speaks

She got things bottled up inside

But that bottle has some leaks.

Spent time in Paris.

Imagined a torrid affair.

She wished it was you

who was meeting her there.

Torn between her lovers.

The dark and the light.

And the one left at home

Who stayed up late into the night.

Just understand her

Listen when she speaks

She got things bottled up inside

But that bottle has some leaks.

To some she is stoic,

Quiet and cold

To others exciting,

A temptress, so bold.

But there are times that she crumbles

And falls to floor.

Leans against the bathtub

As lonely tears pour.

Just understand her

Listen when she speaks

She got things bottle up inside

But that bottle has some leaks.

Chickadee and Pigeons

She walks through the garden

it's all covered in snow

she'd walk with purpose

if she knew where to go.

He stumbles on the sidewalk

icy brick and stone

lands on his back

a fear flashes - will he die alone?

Chickadee and pigeons

cluster by the bench

feeding on bread and seed

from an old lady with an old stench.

Cars and trucks and buses

speed along the street

no one stops to help the man

as he makes it back on his feet.

The traffic lights are useless

yellow, red or green

everyone moves in every direction

a very chaotic scene.

Across the way her see her there

pink gloves upon her hands.

Across the way she sees him there

and the puddle of slush in which he stands.

They smirk a bit

and straighten and preen

she waves a little to this stranger

his smile the brightest she'd ever seen.

Her checks go blush

not from cold

but from her forwardness

and finally acting bold.

He never took his eyes off her

she giggled at the fuss.

He should have looked the other way

to avoid the speeding bus.

The screeching breaks and screaming horns

drowned out her anguished cry

All the ruckus did induce

the chickadee and pigeon to fly.

He did not die that fateful day

alone, as he had feared

but near the wings of an angel

who had suddenly disappeared.

Sitting Here

Sitting here on this plane
Heading toward her and their weekend
Planned for months, just where to see her
A book with empty pages, and a favorite pen.

Sitting here in this taxi
Stuck in traffic, and it sure is hot
Finds he’s thinking about what she’ll be wearing.
In this weather, she could be revealing quite a lot.

Sitting here in this hotel lobby
The park’s across the street, what a view.
She slinks behind him with lips barely by his ear.
She smells like heaven and whispers, “Is it really you?”

Sitting here on this bench
Green trees that tower
Surrounded by every color of flower
They’ve been here for hours
And nothing is written
‘cause both have been bitten
By a bug that fogs their eyes.

Never mind, Bye-bye.

Look,
My eyes are dry
For I did not cry
Even though
You passed me right on by.

Can you tell me why
You didn’t even try?

Maybe I should lie
And not tell you
I thought I’d die.
You brought me up so high.
Just wanted to stay there and fly
Soar across the twilight sky.

Did I act too coy,
Did I act to shy?
I’m breathless now,
just one more sigh.
My arms, my hands, my tongue you tie.
Stumble and trip
can’t even blurt out, “hi”
Now you’ve gone so fast, and my…
Never mind,
Bye-bye.

I Can Tell

She dreams in color
But no one believes her
She doesn’t care
She knows what she sees
And she sees you
I can tell

When I look in her eyes
In the morning
Past the shine
And sheen
And sparkle that’s there
You put it there
I can tell

She says in her dreams
She’s always flying
Like a hero
A bird
Or a kite
And she believes in it all
She says so
All through the night.

And when she flies
She calls out your name
With a passion meant for a king
When she wakes with the dawns’ light
She tells me she didn’t dream of a thing.
But I can tell

She’s dreaming
Every night
of a better place
She dreaming
of her kingdom
and dresses of lace.
And flowers
Vivid and bold
And shoes and stories
untold
But she tells me
Her dreams are never of you.
But I can tell

She’s lying
Because the smile she wears
Wasn’t put there by me
And the songs
that she sings
Are never off key
When she dreams
In color
And of you.

For Now

So close
but cannot touch you.
So close
and though I reach for you
you don’t see me

Crying out
so you can hear me
Crying out
please be near me.
But you keep walking away.

Evening streets
wet with rain.
Dreams flow like the current
down the drain.
Impossible, you say.

Am I dreaming
when I see your face?
Hear me screaming
before your door I pace.
Are you even home?

Clap of thunder
echoes loudly.
Gothic statues
sit so proudly.
Only I cower in the night.

Headlights cut
across the growing mist
whisked away
the woman kissed
for now.