"Nature's Way"

Snuffed out candle
Of something loved
Betwixt a crow and a morning dove
One takes flight it never returns
The other comes back
To the heart which yearns
Smoldering wick in the darkened room
Where the flame once brightly burned
The soul grieves in autumn leaves
Newborn flowers not yet turned
Sown seeds firmly planted
Into waiting soil
Next spring when birds sing
Show results of past tence toil
Boughs of trees bending in wind
Seem to lean in season
A sun that slumbers
Giving in to reason
Days pass slowly
The moon pleasant to the eye
Faithful appearance each night
Never questioning why
As expected it is just there
To calm a grieving heart
All healing comes in its own good time
Over coming all despair

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Troll Celebration"

We celebrate life in the brier patch
Far from prying eyes
Remotely situated
Life is beautiful
In so many ways;
Below the surface
Where it resides
Deep within the heart
Even though the surface
Pleasant to the eye
Where light dances
Upon moonbeams and in the sun
We do not question
Where its source is
Rather to enjoy its presence
As each day goes by

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Isolation"

Deep within these solemn walls
Cloistered from a world which turns
Inside of myself are words of rhythm
In the flame that intensely burns
On fog filled nights when all is quiet
It seems to be my best
Addiction to the written words
That haunt me in my quest
Inescapable visions clutter in my mind
On my journey through this life
In search of things I may not find
Hope still resides within my heart
Behind these solemn walls
Of such things that each day brings
In cluttered silent halls
I walk with my visions
Hand in hand
Entering into unknown places
Knowing I am blessed in many ways
To last me to my ending days
Under the guidance of something
Beyond my understanding
In a world that's ever growing
In a universe which is forever expanding

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Tempest"

The storm suspicously lingers
By the nearby shore
From the essence within
Such emotions shall pour
Every tempest has its own heart
Upon observation it reveals
Inner most thoughts although inanimate
Coming out in the way that it feels
Here at the crest where it slightly forms
Far from where the tides mark
In the form of what it shall be
The spirit of the great white shark
Not meant for all to see
Only a chosen few
Within the clutches of its cloud formed teeth
Shall it attempt its coup
Unto all that lies beneath

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Mermaid"

Over a century has passed since then
When whaling fleets would roam
She first appeared at starboard bow
Amidst the brine and foam
She could not speak our language
But let out shrill like squeals
Reminding me of life on the Pribilofs
Amongst the many seals
Her vain attempts to warn us
Impending storms beyond
Far off over our horizon crest
This strange yet human bond
Eyes were fixed upon her
None had seen the like
Of anything with such beauty
Moonbeams upon her strike
Slender hands of glistening silver
Large wide eyes of deepest green
Our eyes met briefly before the tempest
I thought her to be tween
Skies turned black within the calm
I held her stare within my palm
Rolling waves lashed out with force
Dashing upon our struggling ship
Consumed within the storm
Within its mighty grip
All hands went down that day
Save myself and one other mate
Grappling with the capsized dinghy
Hoping to change our fate
Yet the maiden of the sea
Who risked her life for ours
I scanned the endless sea before me
What seemed like countless hours
Her haunting eyes pierced me
Yonder an island ahead
With no sexton in use that night
Unknown to all I'd dread
Upon the island in its wake
I spied a motionless frame
It was the maiden of the sea
Upon the rocks we came
Then she was within my grasp
Soon resting in my arms
A deep gash upon her temple
Riveted with her charms
We soon found camp in solid caves
I feared would be our final graves
Strewn about was scattered wood
Flickering flames that calmed our shivers
Down to marrow in our bones
But thankful unto He who delivers
The warming sun was hidden
There we slept for what seemed days
Gathering our thought as I tended to her
Studying her peculiar ways
We kept her skin moist with our shirts
Watching over her day and night
Feeding her fish we ground to meal
Her movements ever so slight
A century has passed since then
Her health improved with time
I carried her back to the waiting sea
Her eyes affixed upon me
Most of our sunken ships provisions
Had landed upon our shore
My ships mate now long gone
In days of yester yore
As for myself It seems
I haven't aged a day
Gathering from my inner thoughts
It must be from the way
She still brings me strange green kelps
Of which I make a stew
Each day I wake from my slumber feels like anew
She sings to me-my only friend
Yet we have love in our hearts
Wherein can we make our nest
Amidst the waves
Or upon land
Therein the divide which parts

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Approaching Friend"

It first began out of curiosity
Watching them strut in the sand each day
They never seemed to say very much
In their own peculiar way
Then one day this crow shows up
Seems like he wants new friends
Three gulls walking in silence
With an outsider who pretends
Each day goes by
This odd procession
In the distance of crashing waves
Will they accept him into their circle
To satisfy what he craves

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"In The Doghouse"

You ate all the cookies
Except the last one
And smoked my last cigarette
Yes I am angry
I will hide a box of cookies
In my glovebox
Cigarettes will be plentiful
They will be stashed
In the garage somewhere
From now on eat your own cookies
Smoke your own cigarettes
Let me wash the dishes for you
Empty the garbage
Mow the lawn and put gas in your car
I want to make life easier for you
But you cross the line
When you eat all the cookies
And smoke all of my cigarettes
I like your mother
Don't worry
Everything else is fine

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"What Pours From Fire"

Tumbling rhythms about in my brain
Octaves smoking in constant dilemma
Notes that play amongst tinkling cymbals
All arriving at the piano's feet
Yet I can feel that down home beat
Like it used to be in New Orleans
Where I stood on the corner and listened
In my torn blue jeans
Down in New Orleans
Where the music was sweet
How it caressed my ears and brought me to tears
Quenching my desires
In my self inflicted pain
And the tears
Yes the tears which flowed
When nobody was looking
Or sometimes they were
But I didn't care
The energy and the spirit
That flowed in the street
How my heart was captured
In the pounding of those notes
In spite of the demons
Or the evil that gloats
Upon my shoulder as I witnessed
The smoking piano that blared out the songs
Making all of the rights in my life
The opposite of wrongs
Sweet smelling incense mixed with familiar body odors
Smiling faces with piercing teeth
Enveloping me and expelling my grief
In the dust kicked up by scuffling feet
All part of the deep down beat
Whores and drunkards alike
All my friends
As I smoke my Picayune cigarettes
In the middle of the street
Of which I am part of to this day
No escape from the parade
Like the smoke that pours from the stacks
Down by the railroad tracks
At crossroads where I flee to in my escape
Cobblestone streets reaching
Preventing my departure
All within its nature
With no real nomenclature
It sucks me back in to where I began
When I first ran
To the arms of the freight train
In the rain
I slipped on the tracks
Trying to get in
The boxcar made of wood and tin
Where hobos reclined
Rolling cigarettes and eating cans of beans
Heinz vegetarian beans
I remember-the 27th of December
1965 when I made my escape
It was the year of the death of Martin Luther King
Not much to sing about that year
Feeling the pull from New Orleans
Where I would eventually stand
In my torn blue jeans
Offering myself up to the crowds
Who mourned in the streets
Wearing their shrouds

~Moses~
© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Deserted Mask"

Discarded mask of the Mardi Gras
Trampled as the parade goes by
Mixed with conglomerations of many things
Barely a moment in time in the sky
Hooping and hollering and last hurrahs
Confetti that slowly dies upon the streets
The spirit still survives within the mask
As surely as the heart which beats
It searches for its host although departed
Desertion occured after its use
After brief contemplation the spirit departs
For yet it is back on the loose
Seeking out for what it must obtain
A human beating heart
Looking to become as if in one
Though it knows deep down that it must depart
Wandering in wanton to meet its needs
In places chosen by random
Two distinct forms that exist in time
That shall never run coherently in tandem


~Moses~

© 2009 Moses Lestz - All Rights Reserved

"Flim Flam Man"

He's the flim flam man
Who never quite straightens his tie
Meaningless words expel from his mouth
While he watches your insides die
He will sell you his line of worthless goods
With line after line of smark cracks
His story is good-he's rehearsed it enough
Making up for the class that he lacks
He can be found at the gambling tables
Or in houses of ill repute
Although his concept of the world is warped
At his craft he is quite astute
Then in an instant he is gone as quickly
As when he first appeared
The man who talks out of both sides of his mouth
Amongst the crowds that jeered

~Moses~