The boat tosses and turns
You look for a point of escape
All avenues are blocked
Trapped without a choice

Voices appear out of the air
Pulling you this way and that
One says listen to me
A voice rising above the din

The sea of emotions
Upon which you sail
Never calm, never still
Tosses you blithely about

You find an anchor
It washes away
It seems yet again
Another false hope

Again the voice is heard
Rising mightily above all
Telling you things to be done
Against what you know is right

Feeling small you cower in fear
Defeated you give in
The voice has its way
Drunk in its malevolence

You ride the waves of the sea
Emotional highs
Emotional lows
Never ending, always there

The voice goes into hiding
Relief, release from the pain
The anger, the hate, the horror
Gone for a time too short

Calm for awhile
The sea is still
Your mind and thoughts serene
As you sail on an even keel

Too soon the storm returns
Seeming stronger than before
Extending its wings
To make waste of what can be

Again you hang on
Again you ride the waves
You pray you can survive
This onslaught against you

The voice is heard
Loudly now
Struggling to get out
Wanting more control

Upward highs
Downward lows
A roller coaster ride
Then the cycle repeats

This tossing boat of emotion
Tires you, exhausts you
But no rest does come
No reprieve from this stormy sea

When you say you love me, do you really mean it
Or mouth the words you think I want to hear
Is it in your heart or created in your mind
Is it a fantasy or real

Love is more than words falling from the lips
Deeper than the ocean, not a shallow pool
It reaches to the depths, not just on the surface
Consuming your whole being, not just a tiny part

I think deep down you really do
But you’re scared to take that step
Afraid within your being
That you’ll lose yourself in me

Do not be afraid
Let loose your abject fear
Let flow the love you feel
So confusion does not win

Fantasizing late into night
Of you and me, another life
Together, silent, embracing
A kiss shared, and a look exchanged

In your eyes I see the future
In your sighs I hear an inkling
Of what could be and what now is
I think of what we could become

In you I have found what I want
In you I have found what I need
Silently my mind does traverse
All that we are, all that can be

In waxing dawn’s revelation
I find that my fantasy holds
That to be with you is my fate
One that shy away I can not

For to my heart the keys you hold
Unto the end of time and beyond
Another path I cannot see
Other than those that lead to you

I close my eyes and you are there
Hauntingly, beautiful
Drawn into you I am
I feel your presence

If I try to run
I can not
For your beauty, your presence
Entangle me
Holding me in the moment that is

Feelings intertwined
Thoughts shared
These things hold me
Hold me more than I admit

I find that I do not want to run
I do not wish to abandon you
To do so would be to admit
That you are beyond me
You are not

So I close my eyes
You’re still there
Still hauntingly beautiful
Present
I let myself be drawn in

A darkness engulfs
Takes your breath
Beats you down
Steals your life

Deep in your mind
You wander paths
Of hopes dashed
Litter of regret

A toll this takes
On your mind
Your body
Your soul

I want to help
To give you comfort
To ease your thoughts
And give you calm

If for a moment
Or forever I could
I’d give to you
My strength, my resolve

But know this now
By you I will be
Weathering the storm
Inside your soul

Forever

We all have baggage as we go through this life
Many hopes and dreams that are unfulfilled
Problems and regrets that we wish we could change
Loads of baggage of which we are ashamed

We must learn to accept things we can’t change
Move on with our lives in the present moment
But honey there’s one thing I want you to know
I’ll carry your baggage as far as we go

Every fiber of my being says go
Every fiber of my being says stay
Frustration you put me through
Endless joy you bring me

Disappointment and happiness hand in hand
Stupendous heights and deepest lows
Still I do not leave
But wonder after that which is you

You asked me once a question
Curious you were why I stayed
I have only but one answer
I do not know why I love you
I only know that I do

Beside my tortured soul I sit
And weave within my mind
Stories upon illusion based
Wanderings inside my head

I think of things that could be
And things that never have
And construct within my feeble brain
A delusion to drive me mad

I think of you, your silky hair
Your countenance so true
And dream of dreams about our lives
Undaunted by mere fear

I dream of love, of loving you
Of holding you so dear
To keep you safe, to take your hand
To hold your fears at bay

But then I must conceive reality at hand
And put the hopes that I have
The dreams, the thoughts, my aspirations
Back inside their shiny box
And lay beside my tortured soul

If I could take away the darkness
And wipe the tears away
I’d do it in a heartbeat
To keep your demons at bay

You say you can’t handle it
That life’s too hard to take
That’s just a little lie
That your demons like to make

I don’t know what I can do
I don’t know what I can say
I’ll be on this path beside you
Just you know
That if I can, I will
Be there till the end

You want us to have peace
And have all that life can give
But I’ve found that that’s a dream
That reality outlives

Happiness I have
Whenever I’m with you
The good comes with the bad
No matter what trials we go through

I don’t know what I can do
I don’t know what I can say
I’ll be on this path beside you
Just you know
That if I can, I will
Be there till the end

You’re not in this alone
Although it feels that way
I’ll never leave you hanging
As beside you will I stay

Know I’ll be beside you
Know that if I can
Know I’ll be there
Until the very end
I’ll be there till the end
Be there till the end

As my heart yearns for you
About you I worry
When I don’t hear from you
My mind jumps to bad thoughts

For days I text you
For nights I agonize
No response
What have I done?
What’s wrong?

With your problems
I worry a lot
If something happens
Will I get a call?

I’m so afraid of losing you
So afraid that one day
One dreadful day
I’ll wake up and you’ll not be there

When I’m with you
I am happy
My world has meaning
At last
Through you

Frightened I become
When disappear you do
I worry so
That you have succumbed

From woe to woe
My mind does dance
As it tries to make sense
Of your silence

Are you dead?
Ignoring me?
Or frightfully
Gone down a dark path in your mind?

I love you
In love with you
I am
I can think of little
Nay, nothing
That thrills me more
Than trying to make you happy
Whole
Loved

Blessed I have become
In knowing you
In loving you
Thankful that you have I found

But still my mind
My psyche
My soul
Is pained by thoughts it engenders

To hold you
To love you
To keep you safe
My mind feels I have failed in this task

So along I plod
Worry in tow
Till that time when again
Your voice I will hear

For you worry will I carry
Within my heart, my mind, and my soul
Till my last breath exhales
Till my eyes do not see
I will always worry for thee