And so it begins . . .
In seconds, the world will change
and I alone can rearrange my footsteps
to dictate the direction of my future

In seconds,
Now will have passed and grow further from the moment
In seconds, today will be tomorrow
and if I do nothing then nothing will be different.

If I do nothing,
then I will be nothing more than a man trying to serve his time
while sinking into the quicksand of complacent failures
and wondering,
“Where did I go wrong?”

The crowd inside of the union hall was filled with out of work men with out of work attitudes and out of work faces. Most of them are not hirable—which is why they are out of work. They sit in the chairs, or stand around, waiting for either of the delegates to step from the doorway and call out a name. And each morning, they arrive Continue reading →

I start my day by looking at a blank page on a computer screen. Often times, I sit in the dark with nothing else but the dull light from my monitor to brighten the room. My day begins like this; my day begins with an empty page and I wonder what I might fill it with when it ends.

I work in an industry where if you ask, nearly everyone says they are the best at what they do. If they are not the best, then most say they are very good.
But fingers point and the blame rolls downhill. I work in a place where Continue reading →

Daybreak comes . . .
. . . and suddenly
the early sunlight filters through the trees,
which have been growing for generations,
and constantly changing from one season to the next.
(Just like us)

You know, it’s not too much to ask for. . . . if you think about it
Each morning, a new day comes
to settle the affairs of yesterday’s mishaps,
which eventually return if we fail to change our steps
(Or learn from our history)

I suppose we all have our own seasons that change us.
We all have our own private daybreaks and sunsets.
And it makes sense . . . . if you think about it
One is a chance to end another chapter,
and the other is a chance to start something new –

The bus picked us up in Queens and took us onto the island. I passed through a series Continue reading →

The Hammer and Chisel . . .

Every plumber has a hammer and chisel in their tool box. They may not always need them, but every plumber, steam fitter, or even carpenters and other trade workers have these simple tools in their collection.
The mechanics of these tools are simple; place the chisel on the spot, hold it tight, aim for its head, and then swing the hammer as hard as you can. But try not to miss. There is no difficult science to this; however, there is definitely a talent to using a hammer and chiself

Back when I worked for Continue reading →

Note to self:

There will be times when you want to quit
and the words you write
or the art you create
will feel like it fails you.

There will be days when everything seems worthless
and pouring your heart onto a page
feels like complete a waste of time

I admit there are days when I want to pack it in . . .
But I can’t

There were times I think about going through my files
and deleting them all . . .
But I don’t
Continue reading →

“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will completely give themselves to this simple program.”

This is from the beginning of chapter 5, known as “How it works,” in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. . .
My ability to advance or improve depends upon my willingness to listen and follow direction. But without the desire to change or surrender my lifestyle to a new order of living, then my ability to advance or improve falls to the whisper of lost opportunity.

I used to try and, “Set up shop.”
What I mean by this is Continue reading →

I often do the math, which consists of how many hours I work, commute, and sleep . . .
At minimum, I work an eight hour day. I work Monday through Friday, 10:30AM—6:30PM. Adding an extra hour, or an hour and one half for commuting time, plus the half-hour for early arrival; my day begins with a 7:00AM departure and I return home somewhere around 7:30 PM.
After which, I clean my Continue reading →

There is not much time left to change us.
Who I am—is who I am
and the road I have traveled has led me up to here
(With you)

I don’t want to waste another minute with anticipation.
I don’t want today to pass like some curious whisper
and all I’ll have tomorrow
is the regret of what I never said yesterday. Continue reading →

Over the years, I have tried to replace the things I have stolen or broken. In an effort to change, I made direct amends to those I have harmed, “Except when to do so would injure them or others.”
A friend asked me, “Do you think there will ever be a time when you don’t feel you have to pay back?”
And my answer was, “No.”

Yesterday marked the close of Yom Kippur. And though my faith has branched in Continue reading →

Man on 44^th Street says he has seen God.
I have never seen God myself, but I have seen some of His angels on occasion.
I think the sun may have tricked my eyes when this happened and I might have mistaken their wings for something else.
But I know I’ve seen them.

I have this reoccurring dream, though it’s been Continue reading →