THE HEAD OF THE TABLE

Getting comfortable next to your chair to embrace the lessons of your stare and the sounds in your talk;

Tried to get free, but hesitated on the linebacker mentality, normally, I can hit the door faster than Marshall Faulk;

I have things to do and can’t understand the timing of your counsel;

The face tells me you’re on the line with the rookie in my hustle;

Dad, I want you to know that I realize the significance of your touch and feel your presence in every corner of my mind;

I’m truly blessed to have you in there despite the desire and dedication of your grind in the buff of my shine;

I really appreciate your guidance throughout my school of life, and grateful for you helping me navigate through my mistakes;

You always say everything has its place, even the trenches along side the cross-roads of life, learn to experience control and when to put on the brakes;

All the time encouraging me to explore TRUTH and remain open to the joy of maintaining good health;

Treat people with care and respect, and you will find inner peace in staying true to yourself;

Dad, I wish to express the exact nature of what I have to say;

I love you

Troy Balkum©

SEEING THROUGH THE EYES OF MY DAD

Breathtaking is the view through the eyes of my DAD filled with knowledge and wisdom;

Remembering the path of your footprints politicking your way through the peaks and valleys that built your dominion;

Holding onto your ticket for as long as I live and never losing sight of the struggle and sacrifice, I can see and it all makes sense;

Praising God for my growth in your vision and the peace in these words can’t do your value justice, seeing is believing in the evidence;

We often take for granted the meaningful people in our lives;

Thankful for your photograph that forever occupies my mind;

It’s an honor to hold the hand of a proud and strong man who is willing and capable to love with a Giant’s gentle touch;

I highly respect the teachings of your reason and give tribute to the morals of your character, DAD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

Troy Balkum©

A LETTER TO MY MOTHER

What can I say to express the feelings I have inside?
You are the most influential person of my existence;
Mother, you nurtured me, you sheltered me, you protected me, you educated me, you gave me life;
Everything that I am is because of God’s blessings and you;
I sit on God’s foundation supported by your enduring pillars of strength;
As I travel through the cross roads of life, I am forced to make very difficult decisions, I can either turn left or stay right;
I sometimes feel inhibitions in my spirit; I sometimes feel lost and without direction;
Now, I understand that these are just stumbling blocks that are placed in my path to make me stronger;
I want to thank you for your support, thank you for your continued guidance, thank you for loving me;
I always keep your roadmap in my mind and try very hard to stay on familiar roads traveled;
I push myself to be all that I can be because of your guiding light;
I have learned to never give up because of your example;
No matter what my standing situation, stay faithful and endure;
Mom, I’m standing tall in the gap today and I continually pray that I can stay strong and provide the same foundation for my children as you have so freely provided for me, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

TROY BALKUM©

FOR THE LOVE OF MY MOTHER

Rays of sun on the face of my mother glowing with gratitude and appreciation;

Giving thanks to God for your presence and the beauty in your creation;

Joy and happiness combined with honor and respect for the love of my mother;

Inside my heart a strong rooted love that’s unconditional and compared to no other;

A beautiful arrangement in a day of celebration especially made for you;

Complete admiration for your devotion with your dedication ALWAYS in full view;

Emotional tears form in my eyes when thinking about your struggle and sacrifice;

Always giving of yourself for the benefit of others at any price;

Your kindness and your patience are qualities that I can only aspire;

Truth of your promise dwell in the depths of my soul, I’m guided by your eternal fire;

Humbling is the experience standing in the presence of my mother filled with pride and grandeur;

The sensitive teachings of your wisdom are deeply engraved in my heart and I will forever treasure

TROY BALKUM©

FIRE AND ICE

Liberating to be living in the union of our spirit, feeling your love, experiencing the beauty inside our tradition;
Not concerned or bothered by the stresses or strains of the intangible, scarcity doesn’t matter, just as long as I have you, just as long as I have you;
I appreciate you beyond measure, you bring to me an immense sense of,
JOY AND HAPPINESS
You have become the safety net between me and the ground;
I was once falling hard into the cosmos of instability, but today,
I’M ALIVE
Rebirthed inside the discovery of self, transformed inside the knowledge of peaceful dreams, and all the time holding onto this thought, my body and mind integrated inside the supreme state of your delight;
YAMA Brings us self control, relaxed inside everything’s going to be alright;
NIYAMA Sits around the Hymn of Vedic, we rely on each other and the empowerment of our expanding universe;
ÁSANA Houses this thing of ours, no need to waste energy looking around,
JUST OPEN YOUR EYES
PRÁNÁYÁMA A moment of silence in our minds speaking the language of,
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE
Our song to one another, just breathe inside this carefree rhythm;
PRÁTYÁHÁRA We move our senses away from all negative forces, nothing else matters with you in my system and heart;
DHÁRÁNA My love burns inside my courtyard of fire, concentrating between the brows of your eyes my only desire;
DHYÁNA I’m fixated, therefore this power of concentration can never be broken;
SAMÁDHI Complete control over our moment of

TRUTH


Troy Balkum©

INSIDE THE FALL OF MY HEART

A precious light shines through the heavy flow of clouds drifting towards autumn leaves dancing in the wind;
Peace instantly enters my body as I move closer to fully absorb the natural rhythms within God’s ensemble;
My mind, captivated by the brightly colored reds, yellows and oranges in the fall of a winter’s green staring at my face;
I’m lifted into a canopy of joy because there’s a vision of love within this display of dazzling beauty;
I have such an immense appreciation for your presence in my life;
There’s an abundance of beauty in the changing of season with your love beating unconditionally inside the fall of my heart;
Your love so bright and natural like the ensemble before me, I can smell the aroma of your promise within the spirit of spring;
My feelings for you so profound that I can feel your touch inside the coolness of the light November breeze;
I’m so happy and elated that I twirl myself around like the dancing foliage before me and look up into the calm drift;
My heart skips into its floating form because there’s an exhibition of pearly whites that have by far exceeded my every expectation;
You have fulfilled all the fantacies of my dreams,we will forever grow
inside the fall of my heart

Troy Balkum©

LOVE WHISPERS INSIDE MY MOTHER'S LIGHT

Side by side we stand reflecting on this place ahead of our life's journey;

My eyes enriched with faith by the favor of God;

My untied wings guided inside the breath of your blowing wind;

My fate predetermined on this earthly walk with a love developed
inside the light of my mother's whisper;

Much more than a beautiful face, you are my hero,
you are my gift dearest mother, you are my rock;

The peace of your heart is an example of grace in its purest form;

So blessed am I to be comforted inside the warmth of your blanket,

I am a witness to a spirit of incomprehensible beauty; mother,
you are my Angel, you are the “Wind Beneath My Wings”;

The mold that stands before you humbled inside the cast of your strength;
So amazing is the warmth of your loving heart;

I have grown to live in comfort inside my own house with grace
because we lounge together in yours;

Thank you for your companionship, thank you for holding onto me
in the midst of sorrow, thank you for guiding my wings into the promise of today

I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL

Troy Balkum©

DARLING I LOVE YOU

Touched by Grace when you fell upon the fruit of my love;
Conquered my defenses when you stumbled upon the arms of my dreams;
Joy seized in a kiss of faith with your loving sweetness;
Every moment of the day, I'm moved by the gentleness in your sincerity;
Some time ago, thought you were a hand holding pleasant dreams type of fellow;
Dropping me off into the swamps of an old timers lovers rock fable;
Two spots of a buckeye fluttering in and out of my head, only to find a lion's paw pouncing on my distracted heart;
Suddenly, my doubt was lifted, as if, a laying on of hands touched my spirit;
I could see the strength in the modesty of your temperance;
I could see day break inside the strength of your strong Christian values;
Comforting is the quiet stroll of your walk;
My life enriched with God's favor;
Blessed with a devoted husband, a God fearing man and a wonderful father;
A reverent servant without the precursors of selfish gains;
A humble man of faith singing psalms of peace;
Husband, you are the “Wind Beneath My Wings”;
Darling, I LOVE YOU
Your love has fallen upon my eyes, so beautiful this vision of you;
Forever may we fly within our embrace, fly together all the days and all the nights;
In a winter's sky the snow may fall;
May We Always;
ALWAYS
Soar in the stillness of this loving moment;
Never apart from me for you are the love of my dreams all the time;
You have been and always will be the sugar in my bowl;
What God has joined together;

LET NO MAN SEPARATE INSIDE OUR BAND OF GOLD

Troy Balkum©

CARPE DIEM

On the A going uptown about to get some of that J nice;
Don’t trip this little package aint nothing but Sugar and Spice;
The city is yours Miss Thang, steppin young and juicy high on your couture;
Take your key darling, use it anyway you like, peep on this, knock down the damn doors;
Here’s a goddess birthday wish for a modern day almighty Isis;
Gold bands on your arms got your hot pants on, ground zero the cause of major crisis;
Gentlemen, rules of the engagement to the point and very direct;
Students will come prepared or off to the principle’s office for classes in chivalry and respect;
Remember, very fond of the robotic train line and old school classics;
You want fever, step on the dance floor, but you better have much game and able to handle free style gymnastics;
Exercises are at your own risk; watch your pace, dude you were forewarned when you stepped through the door;
Don’t let the sleek classic body fool you; engine stacked, built for a speedy Formula 44;
Happy Birthday boo, don’t be scarred, go get some of that cake, it’s your time, this time it really is all about you;
Relax on the stop hand, let the brother rap a little, and ease up on the high heel cut, shoe fly shoe;
Who knows, he can be the magical one who scribes love letters for your sweet papyrus;
He can be the red star in your Paisley Constellation with a warriors name fit for a king, he rules the Universe with, “OSIRIS”;
Go ahead Jazzy J, seize the moment of your days without concern;
Today’s your birthday and if they didn’t know, they will soon learn

Troy Balkum©

ODE TO WILLIAM HENRY

Hey Willie, handsome little boy born and raised in Philly;
Gladys gave birth to you in the year of 1927 on a beautiful spring day in the month of May;
Introduced you to the world and gave us your presence;
We gather here on this brisk winter’s day to celebrate your life with sincerity and with expressions of complete reverence;
We gather here to remember you together;
We hold tight to the memory of your life in our hearts always and forever;
As a boy, you were often judged for misbehavior, but the conduct of your mentality was simply misinterpreted and not understood;
Mama had no choice in sending you away to school, she prayed everyday so you would learn your lessons in order to do some good;
Hey Bill, you were so happy to see you had a younger brother;
You would love and protect him like no other;
Ralph, the Ebony Italian Stallion riding through the Philly streets faster than any motorbike trekker;
He rode that bike so well, made it all the way to Philadelphia Police Inspector;
Hey Bill, at age nineteen, off to distant shores to be a merchant marine;
You will make nothing into something and live the good life;
With your head always held up high and shoulders back you would ride in the fanciest cars ever seen;
Bill demanded the best and man he could wear a suit, he was such an elegant fella;
He wore his mustache preppy and his behavior similar to the natural courtesy of an English gentleman, without concern, he proudly walked with an oversized umbrella;
Hey Bill, do you remember when we were chilling out at that groovy jazz scene and that cat was smoothing out a romantic tune using a fiddle;
Speaking of sweet music, what ever happened to that classy little gal from Connecticut named Dorothy Little;
Just like that, Bill and Dot were happily married in 1964; she was so pretty, the most attractive bride you ever did see;
Bill was delighted; he overflowed with sunshine and glee;
God blessed Bill and Dot with children and gave them a beautiful three;
Jocelyn, Stefanie and Jeffrey were born into their union;
South Orange New Jersey is the town they would learn the ways of the world and get cool in;
Bill worked hard and was a dutiful husband for there was a lot at stake;
Besides, Dot had a trump card and his name was Big Brother Nate, and with a hard ace like him coming at you, there was no escape;
Jocelyn is like her dad, she is the life of the party;
Get down and rub on her the wrong way though and you will sure to be sorry;
Smart, quick witted, fast on her feet, and task oriented with a great smile that reveals nothing but teeth;
We have been rubbing elbows all night long, what time does the party close;
Hanging out with Jocelyn or Bill the party doesn’t end until the sun shows and even then nobody knows;
Stefanie (little Bird), a well mannered little girl with two pony tails and equipped with a smile that could sell a salt water fish a lake or a pond;
She would spread her wings from door to door selling Avon;
On Fridays, little bird looked forward to go to the lanes with her dad to see him bowl;
Bird, with all of her wisdom, young and bright, really was an old soul;
So happy and cheerful she would be, proud to be daddy’s little girl;
Around him she would rather be than any place in the whole wide world;
In 1987, when Jeffrey was about ten, Bill and Jeff boarded a white water challenger raft;
A race they were in and sure to win, Jeff’s dad had a hidden seaman’s coast guard craft;
Bill boarded that raft head held up high and shoulder back with a close fitting diver’s wet suit on;
Bill shouted proudly, hey partner, US merchant marine on board and on the call;
A little ways down the river the water turned rough, it was calm but now its white;
Our bold fearless merchant marine suddenly switched his tune into extreme fright;
Little Jeff watched in disbelief and was very perplexed, wondering what had happened to him;
Bill shouted loudly, SON, I CAN’T SWIM!
Hey dad, be careful, don’t stand up to tall or you will certainly tip over and fall;
Bill and Jeff rowing merrily down the stream;
They didn’t win the race but, they were the best damn looking, best dressed father and son challenger racers on the team;
Hey Bill, Your journey has just begun, MAY GOD LOOK AFTER YOU AND BLESS YOU ALWAYS;
We gather here to say farewell to a man named Bill Taylor;
Your spirit will always be in our hearts and you will always be our number one sailor.

Troy Balkum©

SWEET LOVE INSIDE MY BEAUTIFUL HONEY

Together, standing as one feeling the union of an enduring embrace;
Sweet love inside the rock of my chalice, this is no ordinary love case;
Your eyes fuel my fire with intoxicating visions burning deep into my dreamy nights;
Locked inside the passion of your tender kisses renders me defenseless, inside you, I’m moved into everything’s alright;
Golden delicious is the taste of promise within your delicate bites;
Forever free inside this always and forever love, instantly captivated by your beauty at the very first sight;
One love taking flight with two hearts in a flutter;
This love, a deep rooted love that sustains like no other;
Feeling the softness of your rose petals within the strength of my open palms my love;
No loner shall we search for fairy tales inside a never-ending story featuring lonesome doves;
Gazing upon the bright lights outside the window of emotional rapture;
The kindness expressed inside your giving heart a memorable photograph within reach to forever capture;
Rejoicing in the celebration of two souls dancing towards a band of gold; Giving unconditionally the precious gift of best friends;
You are my true love and I’ will be forever yours;
Beautiful honey inside for my one and only love;
THESE WORDS YOU CAN FOREVER DEPEND;
You are everything to me all the days and all the nights;
You are the gravity in my moonlight and the warmth in my sunshine;
My sweet love for you my promise until the end of time;
The thought of us together as partners truly blows my mind;
You’re the strength in my life running through my river’s highs and lows;
You are an angel sent from above, with you by my side, everything flows;
Together, may we grow even stronger climbing towards God’s stairs;
Together, may we maintain the confidence needed in all of our affairs;
Together, may we always express affection and continue to keep the faith, the hope and always keep love for others in our prayers


TROY BALKUM©

Aunt Joyce

Just wanted to call to say;

Emotions all over the place today;

Time seems to be moving so slow;

Why did you ever have to go?

Your physical body lost forever;

Finding it hard to get that together;

Eyes heavy and my head aches badly;

Trying to deal with it sadly;

The fact that you're not around anymore;

Picturing you opening up your door;

In my mind your smile with those inviting eyes;

In my mind your highlights with every sunrise;

Troy Balkum©

The Saboteur of Joy

While peeking around the corners of my mind, I can see what appears to be the strut of dark hoodys trespassing in the dims of my blinking blue light;
Every now and then, I get a glimpse of their shadows stooped in the lows of my periphery; I have them in sight;
A threat? Not yet, so I keep a close eye on them at a distance, I read the movement of their mouths, because a can faintly hear what they’re talking about;
Here we go, since I’m dealing with the psychos of my mind, there’s really no weapon to find, so I relax on my scout;
Damn, this is really weird, just a minute ago I was coolly on the spot and thought I had some happy in moderation to mention;
There’s something about those hoods that just doesn’t seem right, but still they have my attention;
And just like that, BAM, they hit me
I stumble and fall into my old habits and right back into myself destructive behaviors, compelled to put myself in harms way and sabotage the goodness of my Savior;
Now everybody’s wearing a hoody and I can’t tell them apart;
I hang out in the gallows of my mind just long enough to defile all that’s good and wholesome running strong in my heart;
Not enough to kill me though, but almost;
Doused with just enough pain and anguish to loathe in all the things that bring my joy to a sudden and complete halt;
Slithering around like a wounded snail reduced to an even slower creepy crawler, because I willed myself to a midnight swim treading in a solution of water and death;
Strange, I aspire to grow and feel the wonders of joy and happiness, but for some reason, I entertain those dark shadows lurking around in my mind;
Walking aimlessly alone knowing exactly what goes on over there, shadows in the dark are just that, dark shadows, there’s absolutely nothing to find;
Overloaded with so much hurt over the years, the demolitions of good thought are now permanent tenants;
Detained am I with no probable cause, battling all my life as a self representing defendant;
There’s nothing more ill than living in self pity, it’s about time to move on and stay cool, keep my head tight;
No more break downs in the system, no more hostile takeovers, no more mental lockups with my homicidal homeys in self built jail cells to fight;
No more expectations of malicious intent in everybody and everything, no more damaged goods in my duffle bag tonight;
Are you going to answer the telephone or are you just going to let your freedom ring?
Hello, this is redemption returning your call;
Hi, I was expecting your call, I would like to feel the true meaning in your freedom song, but most of all, I would like to learn how to sing


Troy Balkum©

Don’t Produce the Cause if you Can’t Deal with the Infected

Handle the truth behind what really ills you;

Crying for help in your every step;

How is it explained in terms of laymen?

Give it up, your life is the final payment;

Remember the creed to serve and to protect;

Erased through greed of systemic effects;

Love within my heart burns for its victims;

Learning to living inside checkout conventions;

Shame inside the profit of a researcher’s cure;

Whose really infected ? I’m not so sure

Troy Balkum©