They said that I deserved a man
Who wouldn’t make me cry
But I cry more in the absence of you
And I can’t help but barely feel alive

And I know when I close my eyes I’m destined to see
Your empty smile still haunting me
And I just ache for a peaceful sleep
Where I see nothing there at all

And I breathe again deeply
Sigh again cheaply 
The night remembers everything 
That I spend my days forgetting

written August 10, 2022

April is National Poetry Month, and I committed to post a poem a day to spread my love for this art. So, why am I posting lyrics to a song? Well, most of my songs started out as poems, like Tupac, and they come from hard places others can relate to. I don’t post them on the web, but I do use them with my students as exercises to talk about writing from those hard places… plus, we can meet some English standards analyzing figurative language, sound devices, etc.

Many of the catchiest songs are lyric poems put to music, art accompanied by art. I’ll never sell an album, but writing through loss on the piano helps me make something good from painful experiences. God and my dog Tito make the best audiences.