Midnight Bus

By brian francis

She caught the midnight bus to take her down the highway
The life that she’d been living had never been her own
She packed her bags and took a room down at the motel
She slipped away the way her father once had done
Danny had waited that first night for her returning
He would have chased her if only he had known
But by the morning a state line stood between them
And the wheels just kept on turning until she was gone

PBR and a shot of Walker had helped him pass the evenings
That sense of loneliness was tearing at his soul
He’d heard a rumor that she’d run away with a soldier
Moved to the Philippines and found happiness at last
Red or black don’t matter he just wanted another Walker
And they kept them coming until the money was all gone
He’d stumble home most nights assuming he could find it
But the bushes by the bank had often served as his home.

She’d come home again when her mother passed last winter.
She had found Danny standing at the bar just down the road
They talked about the time that had passed since she left him
She told him how rough times had often worn her to a nub
He could only look at her and remember why he loved her
The pain had faded and was lost as he looked into her eyes
As she walked away again his sorrows were at once upon him
Line them up he said as he felt the cleaving of his soul

Copyright ©2021 brian francis

Fractured

By brian francis

I have felt you cleaving great pieces from my being.
Leaving me to care for my wounds, whimpering alone,
Like to toss a canvass over me, to conceal my torture,
Until you again choose to sculpt me yet even more.
I am the rough image you coax perfection from within.
Always becoming what you desire – chiseled pieces fall away.
Fearing that a fatal flaw might be found deep within–
to be tossed away with the unwanted shards of my being.


Copyright ©2021 brian francis

That strength within

I have found the peace of our Father’s love
It resides within our reflection of
His love so true it is a gift within
That allows us to be a reflection of Him

I have hoed so many crooked rows
Until I learned what true love was
And now with his guidance within
I can walk assured of avoiding sin

Bent and broken though he was
My father taught that there was love
So pure and true a sacredness
He smiled wide in his faithfulness

He had found the peace of our Father’s love
It resides within our reflection of
His love so true it is a gift within
That allows us to be a reflection of Him

My heart was lost in the tortured sea
When the sins of man washed over me
I fought and strained to gain a hold
The waves assailed me strong and bold

when my heart in fear called out for Him
and I felt that warming so deep within
The strength to walk a tortured sea
Became his gift that set me free

I have found the peace of our Father’s love
It resides within our reflection of
His love so true it is a gift within
That allows us to be a reflection of Him

By brian francis

Shattered

By brian francis

Soft moments
Hard breathing
The world spinning ’round
A simple promise
About forever
Shattered on the ground

Oh I believed in the graceful touch
I deeply yearned for it oh so much
I know now it wasn’t meant to be
The way it was always told to me
Angels dancing in a clouded room
Demons casting their depressing gloom
Falling from the great heights of love
Shattered on the ground

Hard lessons
Smooth talking
You’ve made me the clown
Heart broken
Lost feelings
Shattered on the ground

Copyright © 2021 brian francis

Zombie

By brian francis

Here I stand beside your grave,
unwilling to release you still.
Remembering you, hauntingly clear,
smelling you, and feeling you close.
The chill of fall is upon me, damp
and cold, are these lonely nights

I find myself tending our memories,
tending them like a garden;
nurturing them with my tears.
Listless and sorrow-filled
I wonder through yesteryear,
cherishing what I had once been:
whole, happy, united with you

Now here alone in the drizzle
I stand beside your grave.
Blinded with grief, longing release,
wanting to follow you,
to find where you are hiding-
to embrace you just one more time.


Copyright © 2021 brian francis

The Porch Swing

By brian francis

As the summer evening settles
Lightning flashes up on high
Rain drops sing a staccato rhythm
Thunder rolls across the sky

Here alone with you beside me
Knowing you are my closest friend
You lay your head upon my shoulder
And teach me to love you once again

Hearts that break can also be mended
Mistakes we’ve made – steps untrue
Torture’s lonely moments haunt us
Through it all I still love you

The flash becomes a screaming sizzle
And crashes to the nearby ground
The roar of thunder jars the moment
Deep inside you can feel the sound

Hearts together reach for solace
Smiles relieve the moment’s fear
Arms engaged in a gentle holding
Eyes awash with the salty tear

I know of love because I found you
After years of roaming all alone
Sitting here on this porch swing
Holding you I have found my home


Copyright ©2020 brian francis

Thunder’s Roar

by Brian Francis

Somewhere in the distance
I can hear the thunder roar
Rain drops pitter-patter
At the door
Somehow all the storm clouds
Rise and then they fall
Bringing cool refreshment
Nature’s call

And while laying here
Feeling your warm touch
Shivers of excitement
Seem too much
The gentle supple friction
Of our love’s embrace
The rhythm intertwining
Face to face

Passion’s magic moments
That yearning from within
Rapture in that instant
Does begin
Somewhere deep inside me
I can hear the thunder roar
Touching lips to lips
Wanting more


Copyright © 2020 Brian Francis

Laugh with me

by brian francis

I always find it hard to watch you cry
It dulls that special twinkle in your eyes
It makes my heart so heavy every time
So please come laugh for me

I’ll trip and fall if it will make you laugh
Act stupid, wear the face of a psychopath
Anything you want of me just simply ask
Just please come laugh for me

I’ll try to always be that worthy man
The one you chose to love and take in hand
The one to see only perfection in you
Hold my hand and laugh with me

As together we watch the future pass
Bound as one to the very last
Hand in hand walking joyfully
If you’ll just laugh with me.

Copyright © 2020 brian francis

Ebb and Flow

by brian francis

Like a changing tide you come in and out
As you shift the sands of my mind
Leaving patterns in your wake with your
give and take – Every action is by design

I tumble and toss as you move around
I laugh and I cry and I sing

If I try to touch you your direction shifts
As the hermit crab strides the beach

Yet I sit and I wait ’til the tide comes in
And I embrace you when you arrive
Only to watch you go away again
Every action is by design.

Copyright © 2020 brian francis