Tell me, what the "matter" is That fills up empty space Holding the orbs and golden spheres And keeping them in their place And what is it-- this gravity That distant things attracts With unseen power and mystery But is, an actual fact? And, air! --Thin air! It slips through grasping hands But holds the eagle high aloft And piles those dunes of sand And what of Love, o'er powering Love? So much must time subdue Yet it cannot quench the thirst of Love That memory's touch renews! Planets spin ...

First amongst equals, he was Of a peculiar kind of breed Not given to extravagances That glitterati seem to need Ruminating with real passion Over life's sundry vital bits And the discordant harmonics Of the odd conniption fit He was, all in all, just a man Not perfect, and not uptight-- But resolved always to be fair To do what he thought right He had but few possessions Some books-- not much more But of love, he had plenty And his children he adored His wife was his comfort Who filled his e...

Water works its wonders running the courses of downward rushing streams Small stones imagine themselves boulders immobile against the rushing onslaught; resistant to the forces that must, and will change them We too, stand against the winds of change-- Proud Defiant And foolish The tides rise indifferent to us; The winds blow, until our last breath is forgotten; and the winds of change blow on; alone Every small stone imagines itself powerful, but the water wears it's turbulent edge supple-sm...

Dressed in black, her sensual curves Are a feast to the most discerning eye That dares to touch her suppleness With deft hands that can make her cry Oh! she has a polish that eludes me For I am no more than a simple man Daring not to presume that my caress Could entice anything so grand There is a power alive in her stillness Resonating in an unknown part of me That yearns to hear her whisper: Come touch me…. and set me free Keith Allen Scalf 1-19-07

Shades across the eye drawn tight Portend illusions devoid of light Yet the wise with inner vision see Fecund wombs ripe with destiny That know life will not be deterred To claim for itself what it deserves And thus the travail is all for gain As hope transcends prescient pain When joy dissolves shadows cast Over the misbegotten barren past That did its best to vow the curse Of familiar scripts long rehearsed Howbeit then some cower in fear Whenever darkness looms too near? For a sickle guard...

. Beauty-- Steps out of the shadows wearing a veil of soft moonlight; she is an animated dream of supple curves The years have changed her-- she is more sure of herself now, as she moves in the graceful poise of shadowed temptations; but-- her beauty has ripened into my heart's fondest dream When she is ready-- but, not until then: she will sigh warm breaths; soft whispers of meaning, that only she knows And I will wait-- while the clouds of her hair settle against me; and the stars of her ey...

. Beauty-- Steps out of the shadows wearing a veil of soft moonlight; she is an animated dream of supple curves The years have changed her-- she is more sure of herself now, as she moves in the graceful poise of shadowed temptations; but-- her beauty has ripened into my heart's fondest dream When she is ready-- but, not until then: she will sigh warm breaths; soft whispers of meaning, that only she knows And I will wait-- while the clouds of her hair settle against me; and the stars of her ey...

. A man is more than the sum of his parts When the calculations are done; at the last Things more ethereal than flesh and bone Reveal the ore from which his soul was cast Pig iron for some; and gold for a few It seems--that most men are alloys--I guess But those made of steel are often surreal In the nobility of the character they possess So, she sits there in silence, a tear in her eye Knowing her knight will never come home-- She holds the banner he waved o’er his head When he stood up to b...

He took his seat beside the Twelfth Imam: And with his last breath--urged martyrdom on Confident that murder would thus ensure Allah’s will would be his sore heart’s cure But lost in the roar: God's instrument When all aboard became torn remnants Of commingled flesh and bone and excrement In a perversion of God's abiding covenants The mother-- --The child The Christian-- --The Jew And the innocent Muslims he murdered too Are a triumph of legions who exalt in hate That the minions of Satan so...

Remember Me-- (audio) . Remember me, come morning-- When sunlight spills into our sleepy room And the birds outside are singing And the air smells of perfume Remember me in tangles-- Of warm sheets, and frozen toes When all was safe and coziness Was cocooned in afterglow Remember me, when the steam Wafts above your coffee cup How I kissed you on the shoulder-- Yes, I know-- I'm getting up Remember! Yes, remember-- Those were good times that we had Oh, I loved you. Yes, I loved you... And the ...