Deep inside this garden of souls lies the bones of a lifetime drowning in half-truths, Of long and slowly forgotten days that were sadly beyond repair, Of nights not unlike the darkest side of the moon A few insignificant touches of the brush would be all that it took, to make life go on as she thought that it should; Unbroken and bright, the simple and small while echoes of unwanted things filled the silent grey halls . . . Of her Gothic cathedral, sadly visited by few, where three skeleton keys were kept hidden from view because life wasn’t meant to be that easy, and she kept it that way, anyway maybe all the way The tall stained-glass windows soaked with rays of the sun kept the white light of truth from touching the soul of anyone, near or far, it never really mattered distance was never a fragile thing Deep in this garden of souls lies the bones of my life, my blacks and my blues, and yes, my oh-so-not-insignificant life But you will know I was here by two things left behind originally unwanted but in the sweet by and by they would find . . . You. Somewhere deep in Gethsemane with two deep sunset roses nearby . . .

I hate wearing new shoes and I’m willing to bet that 99.999% of the male population does too. They never feel right and by the end of the day you’re walking like Donald Duck after sniffing glue and eating one too many Skittles. Taste the rainbow of discomfort. The only footwear that feels right to me the first time I wear them has been (and always will be) sneakers. I didn’t wear sneakers today. I wore shoes. New shoes. Uncomfortable and unbroken-in shoes. Evil, nasty monster shoes that should be thrown into the footwear abyss where all the bad shoes go. Actually, they were a pair of Timberland casuals, a gift from my mother-in-law that can’t say no to anything 70% off, although sometimes I wish she would. I love her anyway. But my feet felt like two squishy blisters about to pop as I walked to the train. Even the people driving on Boylston looked at me, concerned, as if to say, “Hey, man, you look like you gotta take a crap or something!” As I limped to South Station, I began thinking about walking in my father’s shoes, not theoretically but realistically. I would put on his oxblood wingtips that were 6 sizes too big and waddle around the living room tripping on things while making believe I was him. Everyone would get their chuckle and it would be bedtime for Mick. I liked going into my father’s closet in the hallway. It had all of his ‘stuff’ in it and I could get lost for hours. In the back of my mind I can see the large glass pickle jar filled with change. It was in the shape of an actual pickle barrel and it weighed about 200 lbs (or 90.718474 kilos) ;) I wonder when he cashed those coins in? It was probably after I’d lost interest in the closet and moved on to collecting pollywogs in a rusty pail underneath the back deck. There was all kinds of stuff in that closet: old army boots, belts that had fallen off their hooks that he forgot he even had, an empty ‘Tootsie Roll’ bank that served no purpose whatsoever and a shoebox filled with brushes, polish and stained rags. If I could have bottled the smell of his closet, I would have. The thing I liked best about my father’s closet was the feeling of comfort that it gave me as I sat there surrounded by his stuff. My world was safe as I sat there on the closet floor even when he wasn’t home. These days I find myself missing the ‘safety’ that was him. When my mother and father were well I always felt I had that net stretched out below me should ever I fall, not that I would ever use it. I just liked knowing it was there. The net disappeared many years ago and I really miss the feeling of calm that it gave to me. For now, I’ll choose to cherish the memories of that special closet in the hallway that seems light years away. Maybe it’s not that far away after all. As I finish writing this post I can see snow falling outside the dark kitchen windows and it’s only October 15th. Maybe it’s my mother and father’s way of telling me that I now have my own net to tend to. They always had a way with words . . .

He was walking in the morning, Sunshine a green and red pizza-sliced umbrella hung over his head like a clown’s frown He was neither here nor there but anywhere was better than his here and now With a grey rag wool cap on his head and a scratched up pair of $3.99 Aviator sunglasses covering his tired and muddy eyes, he looked like some godforsaken Howard Hughes, waiting for Godot But you wouldn’t know how he carried his world full of blue in a wrinkled leather satchel, his personal box of rain that seemed almost attached to his hip It was far from cool, this game, maybe this joke kept his rarer than rare smiles in his bag, next to his smokes because nothing made sense anymore, and it hadn’t for sometime his box filled with rain, this life without rhyme So one day He was walking in the evening sunshine at least the sun don’t ever lie and sometimes that just has to be enough for a guy called Sunshine . . .

Silence is good for me right now. Just stay with me. Life goes on, as will I. Promises . . .

I've been thinking lately about how disconnected I feel regarding my father. He's been in limbo for so long now that I almost forget how to love the man. I write this knowing full well I run the risk of sounding cold and emotionally apathetic, which I am definitely not. But how do you find a way to love someone that for all intents and purposes is no longer there? I care for him, God, I do and will forever remain his most vocal of advocates to ensure he's treated with the utmost respect and compassion. I owe him that and so much more. Three years ago, I would have had a very hard time letting him go. Today, I'm not so sure. I want this thing to be over with for him, maybe for my sister and me too. I want him to ‘get there'. I want him to feel peace, not chaos; sunlight, not rain; happiness not despair; warmth and not apathy. Anymore. It makes me sad to write these words but I mean them in the best and most tender way possible. These thoughts are always hanging off the edge of some deep and internal precipice of mine, wanting to fall off into some godforsaken abyss and be gone. But somehow, they remain. Until now, perhaps. Maybe I'm writing these words in the hopes that they remove the chains that keep me from getting as close to him as I feel I need to be, loving him deep within my heart and not just on the pages of Smoke and Mirrors. I waited on an older gentleman the other day that reminded me of my father some ten years ago. He wanted to buy some cigars for his son who was celebrating his 30th birthday. I wanted to tell him how lucky he was, how fortunate his son was that his father was still in good health, how life can change in the blink of an eye. Giving advice on life to a man that could have been my father just didn't make any logical sense to me. It's almost tragic how many things there are in my life that I no longer take for granted these days. Like someone I love remembering my birthday. Yeah, in a perfect world . . . This isn't a 'poor me' scenario because I honestly don't feel that way at all. I just wanted to let someone know just how precious certain moments really are. I didn't do that. And the days go by . . . .

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all. Know that in the grand scheme of things, no matter what happens, love IS the answer. It's all that the 'babe' ever wanted all of us to agree on anyway. It's a shame that we're still fighting it . . . Be safe, be warm, be loved. I wish this for each and everyone that visits here over the next few days. Merry Christmas. Love is the answer. ~Michael

His shadow, embedded in ice frozen in time, Inescapable in ways unimaginable with cold that numbs the very soul, winterness Night train, with no destination in sight on the broken hands of time, a window seat overlooking an arctic world searching for signs of his life, winterness Eyes cry freezing rain a polarized crystalline blue with hopes of some homeward bound image but it's never safe from zero winterness michael's on ice, a seasonal flatline in black like the snow-tipped mountains of forever with a soul numbing wind of 1 below zero, winterness

Sometimes, the problems you must face are more than you wish to cope with, and tomorrow doesn't seem to offer any solutions. You may ask yourself, "Why me?" but the answer is sometimes unclear. You may even tend to feel that life hasn't been just or fair to burden you with such obstacles. The roads any of us choose to follow are never free of bumps or curves, but eventually the turns lead to a smoother path ahead. Believe in yourself and your dreams. You will soon realize that the future holds many promises for you. Remember . . .  difficult times don't last forever. ~Geri Danks {dedicated to my three girls}

Positive Thinkers have Twelve Qualities in Common

• They have confidence in themselves
• They have a very strong sense of purpose
• They never have excuses for not doing something
• They always try their hardest for perfection
• They never consider the idea of failing
• They work extremely hard towards their goals
• They know who they are
• They understand their weaknesses as well as their strong points
• They can accept and benefit from criticism
• They know when to defend what they are doing
• They are creative
• They are not afraid to be a little different in finding innovative solutions that will enable them to achieve their dreams

*by Susan Polis Schutz For Sarah, Jenna and Hannah * hope you read this ladies . . .

obsidian glass Opaque windows to the soul lucidity's dead . . .