*IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR*

The moon in the bureau mirror looks out a million miles

(and perhaps with pride, at herself, but she never, never smiles)

far and away beyond sleep, or perhaps she's a daytime sleeper.

By the Universe deserted, she'd tell it to go to hell,

And she'd find a body of water, or a mirror on which to dwell.

So wrap up care in a cobweb and drop it down the well.

Into that world inverted where left is always right,

Where shadows are really the body,

Where we stay awake all night,

Where the heavens are shallow as the sea is now deep, and you love me....

* WHAT A FRIEND IS *

Each of us has a hidden place

Somewhere deep within ourselves;

A place where we go to get away,

To think things through,

To be alone, to be ourselves.

This unique place, where we confront our deepest feelings,

Becomes a storehouse of all our hopes,

All of our needs, all of our dreams,

And even our unspoken fears.

It encompasses the essence of who we are

And what we want to be.

But now and then, whether by chance or by design,

Someone discovers a way into that place we thought was ours alone

And we allow that person to see, to feel and to share

All the reason, all of the uncertainty

And all of the emotion we've stored up there.

That person adds new perspective to our hidden realm,

Then quitly settles down in their own corner of our special place,

Where a bit of themselves will stay forever,

And we call that person a friend................

*COMES THE DAWN*

After a while, you learn the subtle difference

Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning

And company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to understand that kisses aren't contracts

And presents aren't promises.

And you begin to accept your defeats with your head held high and eyes opened,

With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.

You learn to build your roads on today

Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,

And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much,

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul

Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers,

And you learn that you really can endure,

That you really are strong, and you really do have worth

And you learn and learn.........

With every goodbye comes the dawn.