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The Long Road to Heaven
--

To heaven is a longward path to tread,
for all the obstacles our worn feet know
do not appear as oft as we would read,
yet on we go through rain or sleet or snow.

Pursued by many-headed dog at heels,
ahead, a shadowed beast to run me off.
Against these hazards I bade bravely steels,
Boots guided by a secret I speak soft.

Now driven by an oath my footsteps be
though snow and ash blind. Where am I to rest?
Pretend I be not here, but close to she
who claims my all; the distance foul contest.

Along this hell-barred path I duly walk
toward Earth-bound Heaven: no inch of me mock.

Lovescapes
--

The ancients had their muses to compose,
And I, the sweetest skin with which to taste,
to see, to touch, to draw no bland repose
but paint Penelope's fair beauty chased.

Great Shakespeare used quill pens to write his verse,
but I require no such sustenance.
Give me the image of my poor soul's nurse
and I shall mimic ancient Av'lon's chants.

Da Vinci bade his math-hewn wings to fly.
He painted doors, invented routes to leave
and through those hidden exits I defy
the soul who speaks against my dreams conceived.

My love is all I need to set art free;
A future reached grants my serenity.