YOU-NESS

You are valuable to me. Without you I’d be less alive. You are my Batman. My Wonder Woman. My supporter. My fire starter. You remind me I am not alone. That possibilities are all around me just waiting for me to engage. You are potential. You are energy. You are my community and my possible…

ALL THE SHADE

I’m a big fan of black and white photography. Landscapes and portraits. It’s simple and yet a complex mix of shade, of brightness and hues. When it comes to experiences black and white just won’t do. I want bold and soft. Pastel and neon. I want to live in a world full of colorful personalities,…

TO BE YOURS

I want to be the fierce and fiery dragon That chases away your enemies To be the sun that shines and guides you When you need to find your way I want to be the orange and yellow sunset When you need to find a bit of peace To be the moon that shines ever…

THE WAY LOVE FEELS

I’ve written A thousand Beautiful words Played inside Wordy poems Teasing Hundreds Of lines Of prose From my soul Crying out A thousand Verses worth Of joyful tears Only to be Left erasing Every letter Ever written Because No matter How I line Them up Or how each Character Is arranged No matter The rhythm…

INSIDE YOUR EYES

I see my future Inside your eyes A predictable universe spinning Prying, preaching, reaching Narrow vision tunneling towards The very center of my core Pulling me from this black hole Into a world full of sparkling stars Inking hopeful fantasies Into detailed maps Where destinations Are drawn and colored My new reality Reflecting back at…

LIT HEARTS

She imagined the stars Were bright shiny hearts Blinking as they beat Having lived a good life Having been loved by And cherished by one Hearts that were once Empty lanterns waiting To be lit by someone Hearts that became stars To share with us The love that made them

THE NIGHT THAT DANCES

  The night dances even though day We go from dark to light to dark again From waltzing to swaying to waltzing again Our steps paced evenly hand in hand We pay no mind to the flickering lights To the rolling of the hills outside our door Or the way the sky knocks heavily on…

#BeREALATIONSHIPS: OH BROTHER

Please welcome Don Ortolano to #BeREALationships. Where did this relationship between brothers start? Well, actually, it started before my younger brother, Robert, was even born. I recall the day well, even though it is in many ways, an eternity ago. It was one of those beautiful, cool sunny days in New York and I was…