As my soul weeps

and yes, he was my father
in ev'ry sense of the word
I his promise to the world
he meant to keep

and when I fell in the face
of my future he raised me
up unto my feet so I could
live the life meant to be

and when he fell I raised
him up as well as I could
but in the end his life was
no longer meant to be

and yes, his souls's still
in me the one I couldn't
keep sometimes I can hear
him speak as my soul weeps

(c) JR. 2018

At Dawn

I feel air 

touch my fingers 

spread over my body 

notice my age

blood rushin' 

through my veins 

almost awake
at dawn

my dreams 

fly away

respiration grows

I sense the world 

returnin' to me 

suddenly I move

open my eyes

commit my life 

to the world

at dawn

I'm yet 

unable to rise

night's 

clingin' like a cloak 

I shake it, shape it, fold it 

throw it away

I'm alive 

at dawn

I see the walls 

that surround me

so familiar
so trustin' 

in their need 

to protect me 

from reality 

closin' in 

at dawn

I bathe

water trickles 

down my spine 

it's pleasant 

a freshness within

dressin' with care

one glance 

in the mirror

it's all there

at dawn

ready for a new day
its challenges

its surprises

its disappointments,
its difficulties 

its beauty

born 

from the womb

dawn is

(c) JR. 2015

Life

and when I did descend from my mountain of pain
where my world stopped and made me think again,

I had met my self comin' up, feelin' the sense of life findin'
me in yet another day,

so I promissed my self  never to drown again in those hills
leadin' up to its agony,

'cause a next time climbin' it might not bring back the promiss
of a new world in yet another day .

(c) JR. 2018