Life's Stories

CONVERSATIONS AND SUNSETS

FLOYD DIMARTINO AND DR. DAVE GRAYSON

"My wife will return, I have always known it,

Don't say otherwise, crumbling my hope away bit by bit,

She was lost in a place where evil resides,

Away in Vietnam, fighting in hopes to turn tides,

But I know she is not lost and home she will return,

For if not the world I must burn,"

"Floyd, Floyd, I beseech thee to listen,

It is alright to let your cheeks glisten,

Grief is a natural thing we all must endure,

But don't let it consume you or delusions it will procure,"

"But I must wait for her return across the sunsets,

Nothing else matters, I am loyal to my wife no matter what besets,"

"Your child matters! She exists!

These grief-stricken thoughts of yours you cannot allow to persist,

You are afraid to face the hard truth,

That your wife is gone and now you have lost your only daughter, Ruth,

You say you wait for your wife to return across the sunsets,

But sunsets promise tomorrows and not past presets,

Sunsets look ahead, not behind,

Please heed my advice and you just might find,

Other places that you can call home,

Your daughter may be estranged but that can change in only over the distance you roam,

Find her, tell her, show her you care,

Remember your wife together and solace just might dare,

Dare to find you, meet you, and greet you,

You are not alone and now Ruth isn't too,

Remember your wife, but not for what once was,

Remember dear Grace for what she still does,

Because of her you have a beautiful daughter,

Because of her your life is broader—"

"Remember my Grace for what she is still doing?

As if it was good to die for my viewing,

And maybe teach me a lesson on the way?

Your words fall short Doctor, goodbye, I mustn't stay,"

CONVERSATIONS AND BEES

MARYBELLE ALLEN AND DR. DAVE GRAYSON

"I look out across the faces,

Faces that I swear I have seen other places,

They scream at me, and I scream back,

Inwardly though, my composure must never lack,

So, I try to navigate this life I have erected,

But deep down I know I will never perfect it,

This is why I come to you pleading,

Show me how to live a life worth leading,"

"I can help with this Marybelle and maybe more,

I am not all you've got there's others galore,

If you simply look, you can find those places,

Where what you see are only friendly faces,

You say you don't know your worth,

I must confess, your value has been increasing since birth,

Furthermore, just look and you will see,

All the good you have done in response to a lesbian girl's plea,

For you yourself identify so,

Because of you other LGBTQ's have been able to grow,"

"But Doctor Grayson, is it worth it in the end?

If all I have ever felt is my soul utterly condemned,"

"Marybelle Allen, what troubles you face,

But you are not alone, none of us are in this race,

This race of life that some take too fast and others too slow,

It is alright, for if in your heart below,

All that you think is continually wounded, healing will always show,"

"Doctor, I have fought the oppressors who hate what I stand for,

As the first lesbian to get her own column in the Post, I have died more,

But I fear I have died one too many times,

I don't think I have what it takes anymore to keep making only dimes,"

"I know your frustration, personally I do,

But do not ever let it get the better of you,

The oppressors only truly oppress themselves,

For in their quest to hurt others they put their own lives away on shelves,

Look to the simple yellow bumblebee,

As he travels to flowers throughout his life carefree,

But without him the flowers would die,

You are that bumblebee and so am I,

You give life to others by your very existence,

Do not ever let up as you walk the distance,"

"I am lost for words, my kind old Doctor,

Meaning has been lost, my mind locked her,

But you have picked that lock against my time's clock,

Thank you for keeping me from pulling the trigger on my wife's Glock,"

CONVERSATIONS AND FLIES

DR. DAVE GRAYSON AND HIMSELF

As he watches the night sky, all alone in his leathered upholstered chair,

Dave Grayson's agnostic mind wonders what is happening up there,

Space is a mystery and so are people's hearts,

He isn't convinced people are able to pick up their fractured parts,

Not when he himself is so thoroughly destroyed,

Lost in a world he doesn't think he's ever enjoyed,

Before you help others, yourself you must fix,

Unless perhaps helping others does the tricks,

Hobbling Grayson grabs his cane,

Walking to the window he thinks of his bane,

The bane of his existence,

Is his foolish hearts persistence,

To go where it wishes,

Even if it stirs all the wrong fishes,

Quietly he sighs, contemplating life's wiles,

And realizes a revolutionary thought worth more than all his files,

Be like the flies, so simple, so sweet,

For all they do is die, mate, and eat,

Life is as easy as one makes it,

Don't over think it, embrace it,

CONVERSATIONS AND PARASITES

DWAYNE PTONOMY AND DR. DAVE GRAYSON

"Every night I see the blood my brother spilled,

It plays over and over in my head, it's completely filled,

No matter how hard I try it cannot be described,

What, on that fateful night in my mind was inscribed,

My brother killed my mother and my sister,

Oh, to see my mom's sweet smile, how I have missed her,

Doctor, how can I go on living,

When all I can think, feel, and see are thoughts unforgiving,

I was useless throughout school, not daring to care,

For if I did, I knew someone there,

Would be hurt just like my family did,

For anyone close to me they would also be rid,

Rid, gone, dead, whatever,

All personal ties to this world I must sever,

If someone approaches, panic will strike me,

I would run away before they could see,"

"You must get yourself, Dwayne, out in this planet,

Don't be afraid to spark a flame and fan it,

Those who get close to you do not perish,

Only love comes from it and things you can cherish,"

"But Doctor, how can that be true?

When my family is dead and mine is passed due,"

"Parasites creep into people's minds and create,

Horrible feelings that people aren't able to abate,

Yours is fear of relationships with people,

It keeps you from the world that you view from a peep hole,

Panic strikes your heart when you are near another,

But do not forget, they are not your sister or mother,

Your brother is gone, locked away,

There is no need to fear anymore, so I pray,

I pray that you consider these next few words,

You need simply reach out your hand,

Someone will grasp it and help you understand,

You are safe with them, always and forever,

No matter what trials come, however clever,"

CONVERSATIONS AND SUNRISES

FLOYD DIMARTINO AND DR. DAVE GRAYSON

"Throughout many sunsets I have pondered what you presented,

And I have realized just how far my mind was demented,

Deteriorated because of my loss then delusion,

Created a new reality where my wife would return, she's the illusion,

She is gone, but I am not, so onward I must trod,

Down a path that promotes cum laude,

I reconnected with my daughter, Ruth, and you were right,

I crossed the distance and though it might've taken a fight,

She was overjoyed that I came back for her,

After all these years in waiting I'm healed and that's thanks to you, sir,"

"Oh Floyd, how glad I am to hear this,

You are a good man and although you miss,

Miss your wife, that is a void that will not be filled,

But your daughter is with you, a relationship you can continue to build,"

"Aye Doctor...before you said sunsets promise tomorrows,

Well, if that is true then all of my sorrows,

Are gone for I am experiencing sunrises,

The tomorrows coming to fruition with all of their prizes,"

CONVERSATIONS AND FROST

JASMINE SONATA AND DR. DAVE GRAYSON

"Life is a carousel of unending heartbreak,

You put yourself out there and hope that you can make,

Relationships that will last and not fail,

But in the end, everyone with you will bail,

Once again you are left alone,

Alone to succumb to the tempting grips of others that shouldn't take you home,

You do not learn from your past mistakes,

And so there you are on the carousel again as your heart breaks,

Happiness, love, belonging, are all things you will never feel,

And so, your inevitable emotional demise is all too real,"

"Oh, dear Jasmine, no one is doomed by their existence,

For through all this chaos shines your persistence,

A great potential to live despite all that besets you,"

"But Doctor, I don't want to survive,

No matter who it is how can they derive,

The time they'll spend with me is without merit?

I feel as if I can no longer bear it,"

"You focus on all that you have lost,

Instead try to peek through the thick frost,

It has crept into your life, freezing joy,

The emotion that children always seem to employ,

Melt this frost with an open heart,

Take things slow and careful, things won't fall apart,

No matter how far you have been driven,

Remember there is always someone by your side, their heart they have given,"

"No one is beside me, everyone gone,

My parents are dead, and my old friends moved on,"

"I am beside you and so is God,

Never forget that in this life that we trod,"

"God? Ha! What has he ever done for me?

I've been crushed and forgotten, he cannot be,

Would this God've let my soul languish away?

Frost bitten, frozen, just as you say?"

"Let me tell you something counselors don't often say,

I do not know...why God let's people go into the fray,

But I do know he loves and cares,

And if you seek him, he'll ensure you'll have victory over life's snares,"

"...Well...I am afraid there is nothing else to do,

I will heed your advice, thank you,"