~Ode to the Back Drop~

Looking long over the green meadows

Beneath blue skies

Yonder to the mountains.

Covered in pink majesty as the sun sets on another day in this

Mysterious land we call home.

 

It is misty out tonight.

Although there is no moon,

The sky is bright.

It is damp and quiet –

The silence is deafening.

 

Dawn. The sun bursts through the darkness.

The Plains of Abraham are alive today.

Its golden grasses burning in the mid day sun.

I sit here by this glistening river,

A place where I do not tax myself with the notion of what my life,

Or my children’s lives have become.

I search the land and sky for wild things.

Sitting here beside this river and these mountains in all their glory, I am at peace.

At peace with myself. At peace with the world.

I rest within the beauty of all that is around me and I am free.

JvLs

 

PORTRAIT OF A CONDUCTOR

The rain that covered the streets and became part of the distant horizon

Was to be no more in the time it would take to walk a city block.

The beauty of nature’s beast began to show when the sun took a shinning.

All the races immediately began to show their faces./

The evil normally seen began to show its innocence.

 

The music being played before us, I’m sure you’ve heard through and through,

But not in the same way.

It tells of what life was meant to be, could be, is and what used to be.

The music has a rhythmic flow that puts amazement into the minds and eyes

Of the people in the audience watching the show.

 

Let me take you to a time when a man stood as a mountain of one.

The greatest orchestra conductor throughout the land.

The music he produced would wrap you up

And take you to unknown canals in your mind.

Down all the dark tunnels, to all the rapid rivers, all the canyons of life.

And when over would leave you in an impressive, tense, wondrous state of being.

 

To be a part of it, of him, is a silent dream in which only the very best obtain.

Not the already famous – but the unknown that he helps become the best!

The music put forth takes the mind of the listener.

He will always stand as a mountain of one,

For his dream is not to have world fame.

His desire is to bring music to the people,

And to just do the thing he loves most of all.

Bravo Maestro, Bravo! And thank you.

{JvLs 1984}

~Dedicated to Vincent La Selva, the worlds Maestro.   09/17/1929 – 10/09/2017~

As I walk down these historical hallways,

I can see legends of our time.

War.

Good times, bad times.

Depression, recession.

I can’t help looking up the hallway towards the future

And wonder – does it hold another shinning star?

I can see a bright light,

That we are all guaranteed,

But are there good things to come inside my destiny

Before my death?

It is dark inside these hallways.

Within the candle’s light can be seen silhouettes of armor,

Shields and the great men and women who have died due to the cause.

There are shadows of people who died kneeling  in prayer;

Their life was stricken far too soon due to the cause.

In these windy hallways cab be heard the music makers melodies

Gently flowing in the breeze.

It is softer now,

The loud electric guitar is now a gentle acoustic.

We must all listen to the music.

In the quiet hallways can be seen a mountain of words.

Tales that mean so much, but are never paid attention to.

The tallest mountain of them all.

If only His children would read these words!

They say so much;

Instead we choose to walk through life on a crutch.

I, too, am dying due to the cause, yet is does not matter.

For one day we will all pass away.

Existence forgotten in time.

Without reason, without rhyme.

Simply, quietly forgotten.

Jvls (1984)

After shaking hands for the last time,

He slowly turned and walked away;

Knowing that another legacy was born

And another part of the present is now a part of the past.

 

On each occasion it was time to say goodbye.

Goodbye to old friends gone astray

And start a new life after leaving the always lingering

Hallways behind.

 

‘T is the day to say farewell.

A day to cry and say goodbye to a first love.

The couple strode out of the building,

Embraced and turned to walk away.

Goodbye to the street lights that lit the paths of your hometown.

The emptiness opens its door.

Seeing visions of childhood play,

He turned and walked away.

 

And now it is time to settle down.

Say hello.

Find life, live life, raise a family.

He will always remember the final smiles,

The endless handshakes,

The hard times and the easy times.

They will always be remembered with love.

So here’s to all of you!

Seeing visions of a life that has past,

He turned and walked away.

 

JvLs (1989)

 

~My Lonely Heart Calls~

Once again Autumn falls and betrays the hearts of the children

who stood playing in the streets.

The cold, unforgiving wind blows hard against their face,

like a knife piercing the body a million times.

All that need be done is think of you,

gray skies turn blue.

The sun beats down hard on my world.

Lost in time,

remembering hazy days filled with laughter.

Cries of joy when I was little,

the dream will never cripple.

A change of friends,

what was months now feels like minutes..

Lonely I walk without your love to guide me

and give me the strength to carry on,

for the miles are too far and between in this unchanging scene.

I go my way and you go yours.

We’ll continue to hide our love,

tucked away under a blanket, hidden from the world;

hidden away from each other.

Maybe I’m too late,

but this feeling won’t subside.

I can’t get you out of my mind,

your love is still deep inside.

I long to touch you again, but you’re not there.

I long to see the wind blowing you beautiful soft brown hair.

To run through the fields of love.

To have the strength of an Eagle,

and fly with the grace and beauty of a Dove.

My heart calls out for you, but you’re not there.

Another day is beginning,

the sun rises slowly in the East to settle in the West;

in my mind you won’t rest.

Another season slowly dies,

the tears freeze beneath my eyes;

for your love is still deep inside.

Alone without you.

Isolated in a world without boundaries,

my heart calls out for you,

this feeling won’t subside;

maybe I’m too late.

Another winter night is falling,

the stars shine bright in the sky.

Still I wonder where you are,

destiny is calling,

but maybe we are too far.

JvLs 12/95

~The Poets Dream~

Soon winter will be upon us.

One can feel the cool Canadian breeze in the air today,

For in a few days the leaves will turn brown

and fall to the ground.

Autumn and spring become the stepping stones for the unseen.

A time to be born, a time to die,

Many sit around the fire asking why.

Guitar player,

Ancient warrior of wisdom,

Play your soft chords that lead the chosen

To discover and rediscover reason.

Some of us commit treason,

Others ride the tide from season to season –

We will return again.

Captured over the bridge of circumstance,

Will I ever be free again?

Without will, little knowledge, not a choice;

Love me said the calm, whispering voice.

My body is being swallowed by the sun.

I run and I run

Hoping to catch up with the fun,

But the deed is done,

The line is cast

As I am hooked by all my past.

With the clouds faces tucked away in the corners of my mind,

The sun beams through the empty spaces like a flashlight

Violently searches the night,

My body explodes into the heart of the sun.

Floating through the clouds

The memories come rushing back to meet me now.

Of you and me and how happy we used to be.

Rising up to the space between the heavens,

I had a dream.

I had a dream of a place where people walk safely down the street,

Where everyone has enough to eat,

Where no one ever misses a beat.

A place where the waves always reach the shore

and no one kills the children anymore.

I desperately try to hold onto the dream,

Hold on to the dream…

JvLs 01/96

~The Wanderer~

No games can be put past this shattered brain,

For I seek no pain.

He seems to be very insane.

His brain leaks as he sits there and peaks.

Drops of frosty colored rain fall upon the mountain tops,

As his mind takes a twist and flop.

If thou shall fall to his knees,

If thou shall put his dignity forth to the ground.

Bees softly float through the breeze.

A chill climbs his spine,

As he looks back to the little town where he

Left the pieces of a past life.

with a turn of his head he sees the road

Whereon lies tomorrow.

JvLs 12/83

~I Saw My First Love In A Dream~

I saw my first love late last night in a dream,

Our dark silhouettes danced beneath the light of the

Forgiven moon.

In my dreams I see her often,

Laughing or standing at a distance with a fulfilling smile –

Beautiful red hair blowing in the wind.

For in my dreams she will stay

And in my heart she will always be mine.

Red is the sky of a winters dawn,

The sign of a new beginning of conscious reality.

Sometimes there is nothing more to react on

Than a dream,

A silent, hard driven machine.

White is the sandy beach

Where we will lie and soak up the summers sun.

Fierce are the waters waves.

Hard and uncertain, we will ride them to the end

And look back over the ocean.

A placid image that will last forever;

For I saw my only true love late last night in a dream.

JvLs

~My Cell Door~

I sit quietly, alone, behind my cell door,

The world outside rapidly flowing by.

I am trapped inside my four walls,

No one outside can hear my calls.

Am I trapped inside this silent world forever?

The pilot light to the future is growing dim,

Innocence fills its way to the brim.

For I have not committed a crime;

Still I do the time.

This cruel world, which you call kind, has done me wrong.

Why am I to pay for the crime?

Will I sit behind this cell door for eternity?

Sympathy is running low,

For in due time I will live no longer

And die behind my cell door.

JvLs 07/84

~For I Will Be~

I’m Crying at you mindless people,

For you’ve shattered my soul,

Torn me apart from leg to arm,

Left me down, confused and without answers,

Only prayers.

I’m laughing at you mindless people,

For you’ve shown me your stupidity.

Left me without trust and faith.

Dropped me in a circle, at to which only I contain and remain.

I’m left in mindful wonders, oh mindless people;

For you’ve shown me your ignorance.

Leave me to live my own life,

I am not your silver duplicate!

My destiny is not yours to see.

For I will be the tallest mountain that you’ll ever see,

The strongest power that you could never be,

For I will be me!

JvLs 04/84

**Authors Note: If that takes you back to your youth, remembering a time when you had an argument with your parents over something, maybe not letting you go to a party, or not letting you hanging out with certain friends – good. Because that’s what is was about. I was mad at my parents over something I don’t remember now. I was expressing my dominance, my strength. Letting them and the world know that I am going to be me. And I’m happy to say, I am. And if you’re a kid struggling to find your independence, trying to find yourself, I promise, you will.  Keep you head up. Do the right things and NEVER stop chasing YOUR dreams!