By Mark A. Leon

Break it to me gently
Just don’t break me too hard
Be gentle and candy coat it with your soft voice

Right now, you are breaking me to pieces
Let me love you for just one more moment
Hold you one last time
In your arms, I want to feel your heart beat with mine

Break it to me gently
Find the words to make it all right
To ease the heartbreak
Time is all I need to heal the wounds hidden under this skin

I know there is no easy way
We tried so hard to make it right
To make it work
To force the love
The heart knows not how to lie
The lies rested in the belly of our wasted hopes

Prayed to the stars to find the magic dust to sprinkle back on this fairy tale
Now we have come to the final page
No happy ending
No romantic sunset
No tomorrow

Break it to me gently
I haven’t accepted the reality of this dream
Not yet
I will, someday, somehow, somewhere

One day I will wake to a new day
A sunny day and smile
In the eye of the blue sky I will see you grinning in the clouds
Fondly I will remember

For now
For this final encore
Please
Oh, please
Break it to me gently

By Mark A. Leon

In the distance of my dreams, I can see the town where I was born
The sign said, you’re a long way from home young man
Worn by the force of life’s wind, a trek begins
I can feel the safe night air and the welcome scent of my mamas perfume
Crickets in the distance
Silent awakening all around
Cradle rocking through the years

Can’t you see
Can’t you see
What I am looking for is looking down on me

These tattoos, a permanent reminder of the journeys going on in my head
Piercing images of the loves, lessons and demons
Hold on
Hold on a little bit longer
I’m drowning, but learning how to swim

Can’t you see
Can’t you see
What I am looking for is looking down on me

Sleepwalking in my insomnia
The songs that lead my unconscious journey remind me of you
Led by the quiet beating of the heart

I didn’t want to leave
I just got scared, that’s all
I drank you away
With one last kiss, I ran
I ran so far, I got lost
Lost in the desert
Thirsty and covered in salty sweat

Can’t you see
Can’t you see
What I am looking for is looking down on me

Counting the days behind me
Praying for some ahead
A world overpowered by wrongful might
This time it just feels right
A force beside me bringing it all back home
The place where it started, so long ago

Can’t you see
Yes, baby, now I can see

By Mark A. Leon

In my neighborhood

Boys played ball til the last glimmer of daylight
While the girls dreamed from their windowsill of their star athletes shining under the Friday night lights

We wore our Chiefs jackets with pride and waved our flags on the Fourth of July
Basketball in the park, drinks deep in the woods, making out wherever we could

Cheers from the soccer field heard far and wide
Mothers calling from the windows rounding up their children scattered outside
Neighbors were friends til the very end
Streets were quiet
Our doors never locked
In my neighborhood

Mischief filled the Autumn air as the leaves painted a rainbow covering our yards ushering in signs of cold to come
Winds of change or so it seemed
Winters raged in a white powdery wonderland
Snowball fights, castles high into the sky and Christmas lights lit up the star lit night
Hark the Herald Angels and Jingle Bells

We traded up the first cards of the season
Loitered from Mario’s to the Quick Check on the corner of Durban and Heaven
We shoveled driveways and grudged the sidewalks and prayed for the warmth of Spring to appear

April rolled in, a joyous time
A musical, a race or maybe a dip in the lake for just a short time
Sneaking a kiss or a sip of whiskey was alright

It was the end of another school year
No more teachers, no more books
Three months of nothing but those skinny bikinis and adolescent boy looks

Soon the fall would come a day, where we would return to stay.
One day, one year, one blink of an eye, a gown, a hat and no looking back

We went away, wishing we could stay just after Graduation Day

In my neighborhood
In my neighborhood, nothing ever happened and that was okay

By Mark A. Leon

Just to the side of the bleachers leaned up against the cold metal frame, I looked to the distance, but she didn’t even know my name
Porcelain skin, perfectly shaped cheer outfit and that smile
I was a small-town boy, just wondering why

At seventeen, it was all so clear
Nothing meant everything
Power was all in the stare

Alone on the eve of prom, singing “Never Say Goodbye” with only a lava lamp to light up the night
Limos passing below
Shouts of a memorable night soon to be had

Reflecting now on the adolescent dreams
It was all so simple
A bottle of Boone’s Farm, a 40 and Bartles & James
Under the stars, in the woods, out of sight
No cops could bust us as we owned the night

At seventeen, it was all so clear
The world was safe
We had no fear
Being with friends was all we had until the day it turned sad

On graduation, we tore up the streets
Wild rebels and sexy beasts
A toast to you, a toast to me
This is the best it will ever be

This is the time to remember, Billy once said
We ate that up, forgetting what was ahead

One last night, before school ends, army calls or the first child bore, to celebrate the times we shared
The trophies, medals, honors and feats
To the intimate nights by the lake filled with false promises of eternity

We found love in the lyrics of songs forever etched in our hearts
We regret the times we should have embraced before they fell apart

One last chance
One last dance to tell her this

I loved you from the first day of school and dreamed of our first kiss
For now, I say goodbye, but always know, you will always be my inspiration why

At seventeen, it is all so clear

By Mark A. Leon

I lost my way home
You left the light on for me

A flicker to remind me of the heartbeat I seek
You left the light on for me when the darkness poisoned the soul
Left me cold and alone
Beat me down on these lonely streets

With hope disappearing in the distant sunset
You left the light on

A simple light filled with warmth and love
At the edge of the window sill I looked through so many times before
Inviting and playful as it tickles the air
Powerful and nurturing

Once we kissed in the shadow of that light
Danced to the harmony of our heartbeats

The mistakes I made, never a fault in your eyes
You let me breathe and experience the journey on my terms
You held me close while letting go
Always by my side
Love letters read in my mind in those darkened hotel rooms

It was you
Encouraged by ambition, you cheered the risk
Praying for safe passage
Hoping for this soldier to return home

Now, I see
The light gleaming in the distance with each step closer
You left the light on just as I remember
Bright as the North Star
Clear and pure

I want to rest on your bosom
In your soft arms, I will lay
For just a few hours
For the night
Perhaps for the rest of our lives
Always safe
Protected by your love
Warmed by the light you left on for me

By Mark A. Leon

Tell me about your day
About the little things; the tiny details
Telling about the way you are seeing the world
I want to see it through your eyes
The way you feel others
The way you find goodness
How the sun shines in the eye of a storm
How your tears cleanse you from the drought
Your eyes light the darkness
Your hands make a child feel safe

Cry to me
Shower me with your feelings
Be grateful with faith and hope

Tell me about the way you found satisfaction in the laughter of a baby
Helping a stranger in need
Giving food to the mouths of those who starve

I want to hear all the details as we lay in bed
I want to fall asleep to the sound of your voice
I want to hear how you put color in this black and white montage

Tell me about your day

The next day, I will kiss you gently on the lips
Promise you it will be alright
Never let the world hurt you alone
I’ll hurt with you
Be close for all time
Nothing I won’t do to protect you

Each night with the setting sun, when you walk through that door, so beautiful with each passing day, you tell me about your day

Until my weary eyes close and my last vision is your beautiful soul
How lucky I must be to have you to tell me about your day for the rest of my life

By Mark A. Leon

In the summertime
The sweet, sweet summertime
We had nothing, but represented everything

Sweet kisses in the night at the lake cooled our heat
Your lips, the charge of lightning in the air
Your tongue cooling off my adolescent urges
Fighting hard the plight of a teenage dream

Under the stars, naked in the pond, clothes on the rocks, a 40 to give us strength
It was midnight under that moonlight
Courage at a high

No future, no past, no consequences, but the ache of my longing to feel you by my side

Forever was the promise we made
Forever until that first autumn leave

A car ride away seemed like forever
More like a planet, a galaxy, a universe

It was meant to be for these two passing stars
My prom queen
My youth
All my greatest memories
“They couldn’t end”, we said
Just the words of innocent hearts

But, we have tonight
We have this hometown finale
Cue the theme song

Tonight, we dance, tonight we swim, tonight we kiss
In one intimate moment, felt only by the young, we make love

No fanfare, no photo journal, no yearbook
No story for the reunion
No, just that secret smile
When I see you with your husband and two kids and for a moment, a blink in time, picture myself next to you, I will remember every second of this night

This special night when we lost the last thing we could
That was our promise, in the summertime
The sweet, sweet summertime