By Mark A. Leon

These are the last words I need to say
The final thoughts on a world without spirit
Visionless
Lifeless
A loaded gun ignited by the gunpowder of hate

Born without emotion
A skeleton on the strings of the media taunting us with celebrity this, trend that
Wanderers, growing, growing to an explosion implosion

Free thinkers without a single thought
Free spirits without a place to go
Innovators in a world where it has all been done
Our popularity defined by a brand

Jimmy Cho, Starbucks, Tesla, Apple
Alexa, shut it all done
Shut down the mechanism of time
Alexa, go back to a time when you were not a glimmer
Before you ruled the Earth

Innovation
Technology
Punchlines of natural destruction
Burn the tower and destroy the beast
The Monster is unleashed
With his unnatural strength, he is choking us with the cancer of our own devices

Mother Earth, our garbage can
Green bucket plastic
Blue bucket paper
Red bucket Styrofoam
Give us your tired, your hungry, your vodka bottle, whiskey and beer
Puke on the seeds of life

A wasteland no rainbow can cure

Greed and hunger are twins separated at birth
Both manipulating us to feel or steal
A dirty vet with a cardboard sign, his only identity
A sailor yachting at sea disrupting the natural order of the ocean
A collector purchasing the art of a dead pauper for 20 million dollars
A child crying for just one meal as the bugs swarm his tethered body gnawing at the flesh

Cryptocurrency, an invisible disease
Bankrupting our souls with the perfect dream

Companies swallowing each other up, like predator to prey
Soon, no prey will walk this Earth
Soon, no food will inhabit our stomachs
Soon, the poets will hide
Soon, our souls will be run by AI

This must be my last words
Because they no longer find faith in the lost
No longer heal the wounded
No longer hold your hand to the promised land
Most of all, no longer remind you to dream

Goodbye my love
To the graces of the almighty

By Mark A. Leon

You’re the reason my life has gone awry
All those nights at 3 AM with only a bottle to keep my dry
Speed dial in hand, another life I can’t stand
Putting it down, senses in hand.

It’s just one of those nights

The sun in my sky, the center of my dreams at night
Like a country song on under the city lights of New York
A bit of poetic tragedy wrapped in a lifetime of irony

It’s just one of those nights

One of the reminders of a life that slipped me by
A painful peace I am feeling inside
Faint music in the distance
The moon reflecting off this sullen face

The sound of cars to compliment the buzz
Running children lost without cause
A dog barking for love
A musician strumming the guitar
I might get by and I’m sure gonna give it a try

It’s just one of those nights

Thinking of the sand tickling my toes
One more dance just to be so close
A silly story over a cup of Joe
The smell of morning caffeine to sex up the day
Too many things to confuse this meditative state

It’s just one of those nights

Beneath the bed, a card with the words of a young girl making promises that both of us knew would never come true
The soft “T’s” and little hearts
What a feeling to be guided by the heart
I read it nightly, remember it fondly

It’s just one of those nights

Cheers to you and me
And the wonderful things we will be
To the strangers and the lovers and the endless sea
Let tonight be a blessing and a remedy

I raise my glass and just be free because it’s just one of those nights

By Mark A. Leon

How do I turn these emotions into a melody that sings from the heart?
The memories take me back when Dolly and Kenny played on the radio
Islands in the stream, that is what we were

You, my Jersey girl living in my Jersey world down by the shore we lay

Another sunrise, another lazy day
Another shot of whiskey and a promise to never let go of today

Like the fireworks over the harbor, a Labor Day to pass
One last look back, we knew the day had to pass

In a daydream, we lie beneath the starry sky
Sand crystal hugging those thighs
I could not have been a more lucky guy
With you in my arms, the darkness found its light
Another night down by the shore and we knew it would be alright

Springsteen in the distance, James Taylor under the moonlight
Two silly college kids with no direction in life

It was then we knew, we found perfection
Two strangers running away to the promise of a better life
My Uptown Girl waiting on her knight on a chrome horse
Let’s ride off with the sunrise and drift back into the night
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
An anthem that would haunt us through and through

In a day dream, we were so safe
Lives put on hold around us, so we could plan our escape
A cabin by the sea; a boat out to bay; a glass of wine for you; a simple kiss for me

With your olive tone skin, blessed by the gift of the sun and soft silky curves leading the pirate to his treasure, I prayed Monday would never come

Now the winter chill washes the sand from this beach
The boardwalk lies empty with nothing more than shattered dreams
In the distance, I feel like the wind is calling your name

But for a moment, in this daydream, we thought it would never end.

By Mark A. Leon

I look in the mirror and see my nemesis
An enemy sleeping in my own bed
Mad Hatter laughing in the distance as he hops away to another game of chance

This body is aching in corruption
Nerve pain tingling throughout
Anguish stirring the next cocktail

You played the game a little too long
Stayed on the field when the rains set in
Dampened by a feeling of invincibility
Alone in the darkness
Teased by the momentary illumination of lightning

A natural in his day
Glowing radiance
Confident as the Man of Steel
With a smile, they fawned
A playful laugh, a gentle whisper is all it took

The slugger was up to the plate
The look, the wind up, the pitch
Home run
Just another home run
That is all it took
With a long thick stick aimed for the heavens, the King reigned on

Now the nemesis just looks at me
No emotion, but a stare of deep satisfaction
The battle is wearing down
Weapons lay to rest on the charred war torn fields of grey

The smell of disappointment is manifested from a cologne of disappointment, loneliness and fatigue

“Have you won?” I ask in my soft voice
No answer, just the energy of two playing tug of war
I’m being pulled in
Further to the other side
Further away from my rented time

I do nothing more than grin and wait

By Mark A. Leon

I know it’s gonna take us some time to get over the pain
It’s gonna take time to realize we just aren’t the same

In a world where yesterday mattered so much, we are stuck in the reality of tomorrow
With the change of seasons, the winter is a little colder without the warmth of your body laying by my side

I never asked you to hold back your love
I just feared it was not enough this time

I met you halfway, but the wind blew us apart
Further and further away until the passing sun darkened my vision and you were no longer year
Only an ocean away, but worlds between

I look back fondly on that first enchanted moment our eyes locked
We met on nature’s field and danced to the sound of the birds
Two spirits alive with the tingle of love
Bitten by the bug

I kinda liked you, you kinda liked me too
It was mysterious and awkward
Strange and exciting

A silly little crush
A deeper lifetime feeling

Still together in this dream I keep living every night
It pulls us to a place meant for you and I
Always safe

Our own private paradise keeping us together forever
So close
So close, but maybe a little too far away

I just want to be home with you
To stare away life with just the magic in your eyes