by Bertie Koller

I am sorrow
waiting for a dream
to gather up my pieces
& toss them in the stream

with curling toes
& swirling woes
where I am headed
nobody knows

I am laughter
drinking with a friend
where night becomes day
the darkness will end

with wet lips
& swaying hips
she fills with love
her goodnight kiss

I am everyday
& everything
water for your thirst
a bell for you to ring

with whatever
& whenever
in sun & rain
& any weather

mb
like a graveyard holds the dead

I’m haunted & I’m lonely
just hoping to survive
swimming from a shipwreck
on the ocean of your eyes

hold me like the book holds the page
like poetry warms the heart
like curtains close the stage

by Bertie Koller

grey skies & no wind at all
the table set for two
a candle burns at both ends
amber rose & blue

hold me like the puddle holds the rain
like the shadow hides in darkness
like fire consumes the plain

laughing at the sorrows
knockin’ down the door
drinking mead from glasses
just as fast as it will pour

hold me like the highway holds a dream
like the stars hang forever
like coffee swirls with cream

there’s something in you sweetheart
strong as any bear
just as wild & as crazy
lurking sweetly in your stare

hold me like the oven holds the bread
like a child in the womb
like a graveyard holds the dead

I’m haunted & I’m lonely
just hoping to survive
swimming from a shipwreck
on the ocean of your eyes

hold me like the book holds the page
like poetry warms the heart
like curtains close the stage

by Bertie Koller

in loose fitting dreams
by the light of the moon
silver sharp & still
he nurses his wounds

cold fingers work quickly
on the strings of the soul
as his heart pounds to fill
the flesh full of holes

& blood stains the highway
where an animal died
a victim of progress
caught in the lights

the stars begin to fade
into dawn one by one
as he struggles to embrace
what he has become

a creature losing sight
of a world he once knew
& as it slips away he finds
himself slipping too

& blood stains the highway
where an animal died
a victim of progress
caught in the lights

by Bertie Koller

work your whole life
for just one thing
make it a song for your heart to sing

you don’t need money
& you don’t need god
you only need love to fill your heart

we’re not here to do
what we want to do
no we’re here to do what we need to do

& for each soul
that’s a different chore
love is the key to every locked door

what leads one home
leads another to war
never lose sight of what you’re living for

follow your heart
as you would a road
your heart always knows which way to go

you will fall down
you will make mistakes
just try & give more than you take

blue skies will flood
with darkness & rain
but blue skies always come around again

so work your whole life
for just one thing
make it a song for your heart to sing

you don’t need money
& you don’t need god
you only need love to fill your heart