"Paved Paradise"

It's been a long time since I paved paradise
My blissfully intoxicating ignorance of youth has left me
The needs far surpass the wants
Everyday life is a bittersweet gift now
I am grateful for the job I once tollerated
The future is no longer a dream
It is inconsequential
The here and now must be dealt with before I entertain what might be
Is it considered theft when you steal from yourself?
Careless, Selfish and Greedy are calling in the note
The wick is gone and I'm standing in the ashes
Obligation and necessity have entered an epic battle
With a sling shot and stone, I fight the beast
But when it's over will there be anything left to salvage?
Does it ever end?
Or is the pavement so thick that trees will never grow again?
Even still...I hold out hope.

The House Without a Wife

I saw him again tonight as I took my evening stroll
Unfolding his tall frame, he emerged from his rusted blue Chevy
and slowly made his way toward
the house without a wife

Dirty windows, loose gutters and sagging shutters
welcome him home as he passes window boxes
void of her favorite lavender flowers
and overgrown shrubs blanketed by
brilliant red leaves the Old Oak shed like tears
at the house without a wife

Carelessly tossed garden boots sit under
the wrought-iron table
holding a well-worn book
A thin red ribbon marks the last page she read
And the cool wind gently pushes the rickety swing as it sings it's sad song
for the house without a wife

His hand closes on the tarnished knob and he slips quietly inside
Soft light shines across the front lawn from thinly veiled windows
and I wait, as has become my habit when i find myself in front of
the house without a wife

Curiosity paralyzes me as my mind wonders over what his life has become
His nest is empty and I have seen no visitors
The flicker of the television has become his constant companion
inside the house without a wife

Has he mourned his fill or does he still weep at day's end?
Does he long for a friend or would he prefer to wallow in the grief of his loss?
If I knocked would he turn me away or invite me
into the house without a wife?

Regrettably, my courage is thin and I do not leave my distant post
Rather I say another silent prayer
And as I have a thousand evenings before, I walk away unnoticed
from the house without a wife