Shared Strength

Oh the trails of big misery They pull me ever forward Purple wildflower meadows Blankets of boggy grasslands Rocks, logs and glacial creeks Rising firs and pines touch sky Birds and squirrels interplay Passing through morning's dew  The trail an ever steady incline   Brings about a scene change I look around at trees top Amongst them in the sky blue Whats taken them years to know I have now found in a few hours Canopy below the rocks emerge Red, void, open like a planet new  Exposed left, right and center Once blanketed by snow and ice Then by howling wind and rain  Now exposed and sun drenched The extremes are not inviting Except the hawk soaring above Boots feel heavy pack tight too I look back and see the world Forward all I can see is you Snowy white and truly massive A step from jagged rock to ice The glacier a blank canvas anew So white that it illuminates all Over ground not seen by man  The ice is hard with modest slope Crackling softly under heavy step The air dry and unwe

The small boy grows innocent and free He roams without need for property Life is an adventure with bags packed Only for that which fits in an old sack Battles waged and deserts explored Tropical jungles and nations implored Indian wars and robbers on the train Secret agents and sports highest fame The boy hasn't much, that is understood Only a day dream in a neighborhood The parents see the dirt and the grime Dirty face and fingernails all the time  What will come of the boy they say Certain to fall behind along the way For school brings no joy or amusement Just a cage with walls of confinement For some to learn is to physically do To touch, feel, try and fail until true No heed given to failure's insecurity To dream again of a new opportunity The world is hard on a dreaming soul To conform would be best he is oft told His dreams fade under obedience praises To keep up with Jones' and enter rat races Responsibility weighs heavy on a mind Through fights with self to avoid a

On the trail of life there are no u-turns It neither speeds up nor slows down It simply plods along in the mundane Until moments of joy and sorrow come And awaken it's true fleeting nature That life is certainly not everlasting   I look out from the mountain climbed And see another mountain yet to go Those down below, I think of them And find my own trials recounted "Don't give up" I silently whisper A rally cry as much to me as another I see those who come out of nowhere Seemingly starting where I am now In them, I see confusion and energy Robbed of pain and ensnared by glory Yet, I feel a familiar tinge of jealousy The vantage, the energy nie the pain Is to achieve without achievement all in vein or is it success all the same? In the distance those who passed by There steady plod faster than mine A mirage of my own imperfection A constant diet of what I still lack It is that criticism laid upon oneself It cuts the deepest and most perfectly I find myself gently into

I am older now and so are you Time has it's price that is true In the beginning, I held you close Marvelously you from nose to toes My baby boy with eyes so large Fear and worry to be in charge How can I ever truly worthy be? And bridge a gap too wide for me Soft little hands faith and trust No worry, no concern, no test At one, I got sick and lost a job Packing in the garage as I sob You danced to the music so free Just Darius Rucker, you and me We moved back North together So young you wouldn't remember It was Winter and the chapter dark But it was you who struck a spark We walked each day and talked A stroll passed all the cars parked You heard it all, the pain and worry During this season of melancholy Because of you, I went forth bravely With legs shaking and voice gravely I found my footing and so did you Walking, speaking to name a few Your siblings lives a little different Since you taught me to be a parent To see you grow and become a man Is to see that perhaps there i

The light grows brighter still So bright that I close my eyes It's comfort cuts morning's chill Quietly I sit and breathe a sigh Illuminating eyes tightly closed A sphere of dull orange hew I see nothing, I would suppose Might say, I see everything too The blue jay calls from the post The chickens cackle from behind A bee buzzes around its quiet host The creek ripples a steady grind My thoughts creep ever backward Distracting effort to make known To turn my attention ever outward But today I am not overly prone I sit the noise rises ever more No longer a threat or eerie foe Allowed to sit at nature's door A gentle gift only it can bestow   Nick Campos -  May 2024

The creek flows by Like a moment with you. To capture I do try Until I see a ripple anew. Nick Campos - May 2024

Their names on a screen up high, Perhaps for just a moment in time. The pins balanced tall before them, Street shoes together below a seat. From an onlookers watchful eye, This night was not a planned affair. Perhaps realities spontaneous escape, From a life of two becoming three. Her countenance weighing heavy, As she rests her hand on the bump. He stands ball in hand and smiles, A reminder that they are still kids. Two imperfect gutter balls roll by, She matches with two of her own. They sit by each other and laugh, Comedic beauty of life's failures. She breaths lighter and watches, A ball rolled beautifully along. Smack the pins fly and many fall, Another ball falls whats remains. She walks tall back to her seat, A little joy releasing the shadows. As balls roll by they do improve, In score, hope, love and attitude. They know not that this is life, Improving steady as days roll by. The final score will not ever matter, Rather the unity in highs and lows. With someone to live, la

Alone sitting in his chair Alone working in his garden Alone sitting at his table Alone with faded memory He stops and thinks of you He longs for little darling He gave you what he had He questions, was it enough? The world moves ever faster The clock is no friend at all The last time I stopped by The next time will be soon A memory is a funny thing A remembrance incomplete A stick in the spoke of life A hole that needs a patch So we live our separation So busy in distraction So alone with just a memory So afraid to just say the need. Nick Campos - May 2024