July 1, 2019Poem

Is it safe

lossnaturemusicloveidentitymortality

Is it safe

To open up

Spread wide the welcome

Linger in moonlight

Look up at the stars

Extoll the beauty

Of a midnight sky

Be a truth sayer

In a cynical age

When the message

Is less important than the medium

Kiss my cheek

Steal away

Undercover of the night

We can all be Judas

In the morning

Selling intimacy

As an opportunity

For the predilection

Of strangers

What are the dangers

Of naivete

When sophistication

Is presented as a roll call

Of betrayal

Be honest with me

Keep my secrets

As I keep yours

They will be ours to ponder

In the long afternoon

Lazing in wonder

At the pace of parsimony

As the world speeds by

Increasingly reckless

Without pause

For reflection

Or allowance

For integrity

And innocence

So easily lost

In the haste

To join the chase.