The Piano Stool

As I look on stage
Into the far corner I see
A piano stool
I think to myself
I wonder where that has been
Sitting in the corner
All alone
Why was it there
I would always ask
How many people has it sat
It was made of old
The wood in the days
When it was good
As also style
If it could only talk
Telling us the stories
Of the people that sat on the stool
Were they learning how to play
Where they a pro
Did it hear the boogie woogie
Or maybe a classical play
Was it a child
Who's legs couldn't touch the floor
Or raised up for an adult
Whom wrote a score
As its days grew old
With no more
Replaced by a bigger bench
That could store
Put me off in the corner
I've done my work
Give me a glance
As I've seen you do
Smile as you look
I'm still solid
I will never rot
I'm glad I could sit there
As they were taught.......


Michael Vandyke C@ 2018

The Lonely Walk

I see him walking down the street
With the world on his shoulders
What's wrong, may I ask
His story as he told me so
Weeping like a willow
Feeling so blue
I see the tears on my pillow
As the nights turn into days
I need room to think
His eyes where of a glaze
It was the simple things
That mattered to me
So I thought
But didn't see
His story so sad
Have you seen a broken heart
Your spirit hanging on a sleeve
Advice your told
In reality, its all
Up to you
You pray for them
Even if its to let go.........


Michael Vandyke C@ 2018

In The shadows

Where you going to run
Where you going to hide
Where you going to go
Where I don't know
The shadows of the past
They follow me
Wherever I go
Never at peace
Never alone
Where you going to run
I don't know
Where you going to hide
I don't know
The shadows follow you
As you say why
Instead of no
Will the madness stop
As I fear the next corner
The next dream
Face the darkness
Tell it no
Let the light
Take the shadows away
Where you going to run
I run no more
Where you going to hide
I hide no more
Where are you going
I'm going to be better
The shadows of the past
Have laying onto the ground
I feel the warmth all around
Walk in peace my brother
The shadows
Are of no more............


Michael Vandyke  C@ 2018

My Hands

I look at my hands
To see the many miles
My life has put on them....

The childhood
With toys trucks, bikes and sleds
Dirt, rocks and trees to climb....

The teenager, swimming the river
With beach of sand
Feeling the soft touch, of a girl
While holding hands....

A young man, with tools of work
While walking this earth
Of all its land....

A sandpaper touch
Or a babies smooth skin
The hot and cold water of life
Some of it planned....

Or the feel of the dirty world
As you sweep away
The dust of the land....

The scars I see
The memories they bring
Some scars run deep
Some into your soul....

These hands have seen death
These hands have loved
These hands have worked
These hands have held new life....

With these hands I have said goodbye
To also say hello....

The many miles
These hands have seen
Make me tired sometimes....


They help me up
When I fall down
Dust me off, to go again

So I can add more memories
For my eyes to see
My hands to hold....


Michael Vandyke C@ 2018

That's Why I Grew up,To Be Me

They ask me why I am the way I am
It doesn't take long to say.....

I use to see the tears roll down Mom's face
The scares inside, the bruises outside
I'm sorry, it will never happen again
I know it's a lie
With a lot of practice you see
That's why I grew up, to be me....

I knew it was time to leave
Where do you go
I haven't a place
A broken heart at a young age
That's why I grew up to be me....

Don't yell at me, I'll walk away
I've just seen it to many times
I'll be nice, if you will too
All you have to do is say
That's why I grew up to be me....

Here I am, on my own
Making a living you see
Never hurt a person, leave them be
You think you know who I am
You will never be (as you think)
That's why I grew up to be me....

A few choice friends
Are in my world now
They understand, they know
One thing I can say, they do too
That's why I grew up to be me.....


Michael VanDyke  C@ 2018

Broken Down Angel

I was broken as a child
My emotions shattered
All over the ground
My heart stayed strong
My feelings I gave
My spirit laid in pieces
Some were missing
I thought to never be found
Life removed all innocence
Words stab deep into a child's soul
The smiles left
Replaced with frowns
The laughter
Into anger
Pack it away
Push it down........


Michael Vandyke  C@ 2018

The Wheels of Life

My heart is like a wheel
Searching into the darkness
I looked for the light
Through the falling rain
I yelled out
As if a bird of the air
May carry my voice ....

I have seen the things of today
But what of tomorrow
My heart is like a wheel
Searching into the darkness
Is that sunshine
I see out there
In the rain....

Pay no mind to the demons
That give you fear
One day your mind will clear
For now is the word
The sun and the light
The moon and the stars
Are not of dark....

Not of yesterday, today
Or tomorrow....

My heart is like a wheel
Searching into the darkness
Open our minds
Into the lives of others
Take another look
Tell me what do you see....



Michael Vandyke  C@ 2018